Freedom from being unavailable and being immobile, freedom from insecurity, freedom from waiting lists and apathy: freedom is revisiting us ... yes, with a change in the definition. In the 50th year of Independence, what could be the better gift to people than the freedom of movement and communication! The customer will be the king ... though may be a slightly "bewildered" one. The change is quite abrupt, with the sides switched. The theory of "waiting lists" is replaced by the theory of "churning". We need to salute those who made it happen and even those who let it happen!
Fatalism has been our trait. But when something, with hardly any parallels, is happening, it makes one sit up and feel proud to be part of it. As one of the senior DoT officers remarked, "Nowhere in the world so many cellular networks went up together. The demand it makes on an organization is enormous and unprecedented. Many new things are required to be set in place. Despite many odds, the networks will soon be a success story, for all of us to be proud of."
In the 50th year of Independence, what could be the better gift to people than the freedom of movement and communication! |
Yes, India has waited for long. For something so essential to supplement basic human needs like growth and security. The consumers have responded with great enthusiasm and sometimes impatience which makes us wonder, if these were the same people who waited patiently for years for a phone connection. The cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Lucknow and Meerut, and the Kerala circle are believed to have firm bookings of two to four thousand subscribers each and many others with thousand each even before the service has been launched and most subscribers have not tried it even once. At this rate, all cities put together, "The Cellular India" is likely to touch soon half a million mark. Not a bad beginning.
Customer curiosity is reflected in innocent questions like "What is the difference between cordless and cellphone?", "Can I make calls outside my city on cellphone?", "Can I call my home phone from my cellphone?", and "Can someone else eves-drop on my conversation like that on my cordless". Answering these sounds simple, yet difficult.
The consumer is being frantically wooed by the rival operators and seems to be really "relishing" (... if we refrain to use "exploiting") it. There are price-phone_and what not_packages which start to look more like mathematical equations. And this is just the beginning ... wait till operators offer myriad of services including value-added services and intelligent network services. Life would never be the same (or say, "simple") again. Our "bewildered king" will be even more confused. Poor Ramdin chacha!
The key accepted parameters used for "customer satisfaction" are:
value for money: For clear perception, customer needs freedom from complexity. It may also mean devising packages for catering to the usage pattern of specific segments. Some operators may even restrain competing on price and compete on other parameters though it may make service more expensive.
Customer Care: It can have many forms. In Calcutta, I am told that most new cellular subscribers expect a personal demo of their cellphone features ... One can imagine the situation in circles, the most user manuals, whether programmed or printed, being in English. We shall need creativity to free from the language barriers. We have to always find new ways of expressing that we care. It is priceless and will reduce "churning".
Coverage: Subscribers may want full coverage inside-buildings, highways, or even rural areas but cost may be prohibitive. It is, therefore, a function of investment and marketing strategy, and can be improved gradually. Though the definition of subscriber demand is the "key", network design and radio planning also play important roles. And, so does the subscriber education.
Quality of service: It implies a continuous process from the definition of design parameters (like target subscribers, coverage requirement, blocking probability, traffic/mobility pattern, morpho/topography of area, and redundancy) till its translation into successful performance of network. However, certain external factors like shadow regions, hot spots, and radio interference may influence the network performance needing specific solutions.
Additional services for differentiation: New services are an on-going process.
We shall have to find more ways of keeping Ramdin chacha happy and satisfied.
My friend Mr Chinta-money er, mani, like always, does not seem to agree. "But who wants to be free. I enjoy being bonded by this little piece of equipment called cellphone to the rest of the world." The global bondage?
But Mr Chintamani, does not it "free" you of your chintas?
By Niraj K.Gupta, Voice and Data, February 1997.
