Happy to harass! - "IIPM News"

Oops was that Happy to Help?
Substandard customer service is fast becoming the bane for consumers, say Pallavi Srivastava & Abhishek Kumar

Seventeen-year-old Prateek Saran, a first year B.Com student of Delhi University, switched to a Vodafone prepaid connection some time back, cajoled by the telecom service providers’ consumer friendly and ready to help image created by their multi-million bucks campaign 'Happy to Help'. “They are just happy to harass,” is what Saran feels today in just less than two months of the use of the network. Saran bought a Rs.30 Bonus Card (on August 22, 2009), which offered reduced local and STD call rates and cheaper national SMS valid for one year. But when he tried to recharge his number with the card, it repeatedly displayed: Recharge not possible. When the troubled customer tried to call the heavily publicised ‘Happy to help’ customer care, hostility is what he got in return.

He was blatantly told by the first customer care executive that the benefits of that card is now available only for the new Vodafone connections and the company has revoked the scheme for the existing ones. The Bonus Card was first launched for all the customers on July 26, 2009 (Vodafone customer care is not sure about the launch date as some executives say that it was launched on July 24 while others say it was launched on July 26). However, by August 15 the benefits of the card were revoked for existing customers. When Saran inquired about why was there no mention on the card about the same or why was there no communication from the company’s end about the sudden change in the scheme, he got an unconcerned reply, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience sir… but we have launched a new Bonus Card for our existing customers… you can buy that…” and the executive started blabbering about the benefits of this new card. Saran further pressed on the fact that why was the promotion still there in the kiosks and dealer shops (without any mention that it is only for new customers now) or why the change in scheme was not communicated either through SMS or promotions, the customer care executive simply banged the phone on his face. And this was not the end of his woes. The next three calls made by Saran were also treated in exactly the same manner by executives Kumar Singh, Vir Singh and Shehanwaz. Interestingly, the feedback SMS that a customer receives after talking to a customer care executive, was also not sent to him for any of the four calls.

Saran was in no mood to bear such an ill-treatment so he called Vodafone customer care once again and threatened to lodge a complaint in the consumer court. The executive this time offered to connect the call to his senior and Saran was put on a hold for one hour and one minute (before his phone was disconnected), only to listen to Vodafone’s signature tune. Interestingly, none of the executives registered a formal complaint. This is totally against Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s regulation, which stipulates that a telecom service provider has to ensure that the call centres immediately on receipt of a complaint have to register such complaints by allotting a unique identification number.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
Read these article :-
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better
IIPM fights meltdown

What’s up at Iskcon?

The Bangalore branch of ISKCON is being accused of amassing wealth at public expense. It is also being hauled up for taking more interest in real estate than its original purpose, KR Arun Kumar & Chitra Karkera report

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Bangalore is in an ungodly mess, forcing the BJP-led Karnataka government to order a house committee probe into its allegedly irregular activities. Allegations have been flying thick and fast that the organisation has siphoned off large sums of money from the government-sponsored Rs 379 crore-Akshaya Patra mid-day meal scheme that was supposed to benefit over 70 lakh schoolchildren. Besides, devotees are outraged that ISKCON, a philanthropic body, should be flirting with real estate.

The censure cuts across party lines, with critics calling ISKCON’s fundraising methods “highly questionable”. ISKCON is said to have been circulating photographs of famished children to whip up donor sentiment in its allegedly illegal bid to mint money. “This is simply inexcusable. We cannot allow any setup to portray the country in a bad light. The route ISKCON has chosen to collect donations is disgusting. We consider the matter serious enough to order a house committee probe into ISKCON’s functioning,” said Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs S Suresh Kumar.

The Centre and the state government have been spending Rs 379 crore on the mid-day meal scheme that, since June 2003, has been providing free lunch to 69.26 lakh schoolchildren across the state. ISKCON is supplying cooked food to 3.67 lakh children, including those in Bangalore city, for which the state provides rice, among other inputs, as also conversion charges.

Things were running fairly smoothly between the state administration and ISKCON till DK Shivakumar of the Congress smelt a rat. Raising the issue in the House on July 23, he accused ISKCON of misappropriating funds received from the government for feeding schoolchildren. The irony is that when the Congress government was in power, there was only praise for ISKCON’s “humanitarian activities”. Impressed by its work, then chief minister SM Krishna had even awarded ISKCON’s Madhu Pandit Das the ‘Rajyotsava Prashasti’ — and at that time Shivakumar, a member of his cabinet, had stood by the CM. No wonder tongues are wagging about just what could have gone wrong in the interregnum to put ISKCON in such a spot. Shivakumar claimed that his earlier praise for ISKCON was wholly justified, and that the rot set in much later.

Said Shivakumar: “The law says no institution or foundation assisting the government in this project can raise funds independently. When ISKCON stepped in as a stakeholder it had agreed to all the rules and regulations set forth by the government — but later it brazenly defied government guidelines. And it has since been amassing money in the name of Akshaya Patra”.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better
IIPM fights meltdown

Worst-ever hooch tragedy

Critics comment that even if Modi’s personal aura remains, there are issues that are affecting his administration’s sincerity. The law and order situation in Gujarat is a sticky point – recently, Ahmedabad witnessed the worst-ever hooch tragedy, which claimed more than 160 lives due lack of timely police action. Congress spokesman Arjun Modhvadia says: “When the hooch tragedy was claiming a large number of lives, country liquor was still being sold openly in that area... This government promotes only those police officers who are with the powers-that-be. Others are sidelined...”

That may or may not be, but the fact is that the law and order situation has deteriorated on the public front; and crimes against women have got the maximum attention of media in the past few months, much to Modi’s disadvantage. Police records say that rape cases are increasing and Ahmedabad is the worst affected. In the past three months, 19 rape cases were registered in Ahmedabad alone. Recently, in Surat, three boys raped a school girl in a car, made mobile clips and threatened the girl with dire consequences if she complained to the police – that two of the culprits were policemen’s sons added fuel to the public outcry. In 2008, 374 cases of rape, 1,110 abductions, and 122 sexual harassment incidents were reported in Gujarat.

Although much of the negativity is towards the incidents than to the overall state of the economy, it is a fact that the party has sometimes not pulled the right card at the right time. For example, no significantly placed minister or government official paid a single visit – at least not publicly – to the areas where the hooch tragedy occurred. Given the fact that Majur Gaam, a cluster of shanties where this tragedy occurred, is a neighbourhood of Modi’s Maninagar constituency, this does come as a surprise. To add to the hits, the recent CAG report – that apart from large scale cases of agricultural land being converted into industrial land, there have been cases where many expenses seem to have been deliberately overpaid – has also added to the Modi’s cup of minuses. The state government has not yet responded to the CAG observations. Political observers believe that in the last three years, complaints of corruption have been coming in against various departments of the state government and unless Modi undertakes a visible public drive against the malaise, he might quite well find the short end of the election roulette the next time around.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
Read these article :-
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better
IIPM fights meltdown

Is Mehsud really dead?

Confusion still prevails over the announced killing of the terror kingpin

The death of top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud by a US drone attack has been by and large hailed in Pakistan. It not only sent a sigh of relief amongst the people who have been braving suicide attacks for many years but was equally greeted by the media.

Business Recorder, Pakistan’s top financial daily’s headline said: ‘Eliminated.’ The most influential English daily Dawn’s headline was ‘Good riddance, killer Baitullah.’ The News, another national daily was a bit cautious. Its headline was, ‘Is messenger of death dead?’

Pakistan’s top defence analyst and scholar Dr Hasan Askari-Rizvi believes Mehsud’s death would not only bring solace to the vast majority of Pakistani people but also boost the morale of Pakistan army that has lately been pretty active against the Taliban. “Baitullah was the leading Taliban leader who dominated the political scene since 2007. His death is positive news for Pakistan and provides the Pakistan military with an opportunity to assert itself in South Waziristan while the Taliban movement is passing through a leadership transition,” he told TSI. But Dr Mutahir Ahmed, Professor of International Relations at the University of Karachi and an expert on Afghanistan has a different view. “It’s true there will be a setback to the Taliban in the transition phase but it will have little impact in the long run since Taliban’s command and control system is in Afghanistan,” he said. “If he is really dead, it will be the first high value target killing in an operation against the Taliban and subdue criticism against Pakistan army that has been blamed for failing to kill the top leadership of Taliban,” he added.

Tauseef Ahmed Khan, Professor of Mass Communication at Karachi’s Federal Urdu University and a well-known political analyst said: “If Baitullah is really dead, Benazir Bhutto’s murder case will be put in cold storage since he was the main accused in the assassination of Pakistan’s former prime minister.” He was of the view that even if Baitullah Mehsud is dead, it won’t be difficult for the fundamentalist section of Pakistan establishment to create another Baitullah.

According to media reports, Mehsud, 35, was killed in a missile strike by an unmanned US drone on August 5. No wonder Taliban leadership initially denied that Mehsud has been killed but on August 7, a top Taliban leader Kafayat Ullah confirmed that Mehsud and his second wife have died. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister also confirmed that the dreaded Taliban leader was dead. “According to my sources, the news is correct,” Qureshi said. “He has been taken out.” Enjoying support from senior al-Qaeda leaders and with an estimated 20,000 fighters at his disposal, Mehsud emerged on Pakistani scenario in 2005 after signing a controversial peace deal with the Pakistan army and has been carrying out suicide bombings across Pakistan, including capital city Islamabad. He was also accused of assassinating two-time PM and chairperson Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto, an accusation he denied. In March, the US put a $5 million bounty on his head followed by another $650,000 by Pakistan government but he remained elusive. While it is largely believed that the US drone has successfully hit the target on August 5, a BBC report on August 8 said, Taliban Commander Hakimullah Mehsud claimed the reports about Mehsud’s death were “ridiculous.”

He told the BBC the reports of his death were the work of US and Pakistani intelligence agencies. He said the US and Pakistani intelligence agencies wanted Mehsud to come out in the open so they could achieve their target. He said he would issue a message in the next few days.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Amitabh Bachchan - Rebel with a capital B

“He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl, He’s always at home with his back to the wall. And he’s proud of his scars and the battles he’s lost, And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross-And he likes to be known as the angry young man.” - Billy Joel, 'Angry Young Man'

He counter culture wave of the 1960s spawned many rebels - with or without a cause. But the one rebellious image that has remained the most enduring is that of the ‘angry young man’, indelibly etched into the hearts and minds of all Indians who have been fans of Amitabh Bachchan’s portrayal of protagonists modeled on that concept. The 70s were a time in India where a lot in the system seemed wrong. Restrictions stifled creative vents; politics had held economic development hostage and the rising unemployment and disillusionment with the establishment tormented the youth. As a protest symbol, the concept of the rebellious angry young man was an import from Britain (specifically realist theater in London in the 50s and 60s) but Amitabh Bachchan’s characters gave the term a whole new spin representing the hero battling injustice. ‘Vijay’ was created by Salim-Javed in numerous scripts, most memorably in films like “Zanjeer”, ‘Shakti’ and “Deewar”. Says film producer Ramesh Sippy, who was the producer and director of “Sholay”, “The term ‘angry young man’ was coined for Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and the credit goes to Salim-Javed who gave a vent to the burning anger of a common man in the society. Their films “Deewar” and “Zanjeer” were the trendsetters and there is no one more apt and befitting for the role of angry young man than Amitabh Bachhan.” Sippy’s assessment is perhaps based on the adulation that Bachchan earned by playing a character that touched a chord with the viewers at large providing them a sort of a moral anchor as well as the inspiration to rebel against injustice.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative