Movies – A reflection of our society!

Being in advertising I must have flogged that line, god knows how many times. The reason I am writing this is that recently I saw – Bheja Fry, Khosla Ka Ghosla, and Mixed Doubles. The so-called “movies for the multiplex audience” Although I might be over intellectualizing but I thought there were 3 notable trends, which one can see.

Bheja Fry & Mixed Doubles highlight the frustrations which today’s urban rich are going thru. Rich but bored. Married but frustrated. It’s not just about wife swapping as shown in Mixed Doubles or the extra marital affair in Bheja Fry. They are just metaphor but just look around – talk to today’s teenagers, school going kids, fresh graduates and you can feel that pulse. As you grow the need to achieve some thing / reach somewhere / make a mark grows faster. And this in a way has become a second nature for all of us - that constant dose of adrenalin, activity, something new / different / exciting will manifest itself in one’s personal life at some point or the other.

The second interesting aspect of both these movies is the change in the attitude of women towards sex. In Bheja Fry in a touching turnaround, we find that the tax inspector’s (who is our usual middle class fellow) wife is sleeping with some rich person. Similarly in Mixed Doubles, the wife is never interested in the entire wife swapping business, but in the end it’ she who actually agrees and goes ahead. In both cases the women made the choice while their counterparts just watched and gagged.

Both movies also in a way depict a strange status quo which today’s marriages are reaching. It is more of an arrangement and not a commitment. Each has their own aspirations not only about them but also about their kids and their future. So if the EMI has to be paid and the kid’s future secured both need to work. Most of the younger generation is wise in having that bank balance before they start washing the diapers. They are ok in taking a break but “looking after only my kids for next 5 years” or “having a kid after the 1st yr of marriage”– No way! Lot of couples I talk to have found an easier solution – Adopt a dog. They are faithful, your house is safe and they live only for 20 years. What next! A robo-dog who doesn’t shit and can be switched off when required.

It also showcased, the difference between a grown rich and someone who becomes rich. While the former believes it’s ok to exploit the other. Someone who has grown rich by nature remains middle class and believes in helping / sharing the pain and by heart a genuinely warm person. A lovely example of this Khosla Ka Ghosla which beautifully depicts the pains which a father goes thru so that his son can go to US and he could buy a house of his own.

While Mixed Doubles dragged at times Bheja Fry and Khosla Ka Ghosla was just brilliant. No fancy sets, songs and dance sequence but simple focus on characterization, dialogues – getting the accent and the local lingo right. It was almost like seeing a theatre in NCPA. I don’t think too many people read my blog but Great Show and yes I will see it again when it comes in the idiot box. So your TRP is secure. Jai ho Multiplexes ki! (Although I saw it in a DVD)

Delhi da Culture

2 weeks back I was heading for Delhi to do an event from Bangalore.

At Bangalore:
I called the city taxi at 6am in the morning. The call was taken in 2 rings. The cab was there at 5.45 am, the driver called me from my flat’s security desk and waited patiently for 20 minutes, wished me when I was there. Through out the 20 mts drive, he was a smiling happy person – who in general makes a passenger or an unknown person comfortable. When we reached the airport he offered to carry my luggage, I refused. He insisted that I take the bill and gave me one. I pleasantly checked in and got cocooned in my music.

In Delhi:
I wanted to reach South Ex by 10 am, so I called the Taxi Stand and you are welcomed by the typical “Kahaan jaana hain….No Good Morning etc, he kept me on hold shouted at 2-3 drivers asking who wants to go. Then he said, the cab will reach. I asked how much – he said 250, I said OK (I had done a background check with my folks on the cost of cab and it was around 250 – 275…so I didn’t bargain otherwise I was all geared up with the information, and ready to argue). When I said give me a bill, I was told “We don’t waste money for small bills, we make bills only for 500/- and above” I decided, no point of arguing and let go.

The cab came half an hr late, once stopped – it didn’t start for 20 minutes, when we reached South Ex, he parked the car in a NO Parking Zone and refused to give 10 bucks change because the Police guy was ready to challan him 600 bucks. His argument was “For your 10 bucks I will loss 600 bucks.”

Same service but 2 experiences, which are poles apart. Questions is

Was I shocked? The answer is straight “No” without blinking. I have stayed in Delhi for 5 years and I know this is the fabric of Delhi. Argue, negotiate, bargain, look smart, party hard. When I step out in the morning I know I am stepping into a war zone.

In all my training sessions in Delhi
– the worse scenarios always came in Delhi. Even if I debug my software for few weeks, I know this is the place I have to watch out there because they will have some via media to achieve their objective. (Jugaad is the word)
– The team in delhi would be always more aggressive, more enthusiastic and which is extremely positive for the program owner because it spreads positive energy around

Although I have stayed in Delhi for 5 years I always hated the place and wanted to get out of there as fast as I could.

But having stepped out – I miss the energy, the aggression, that Punjabi dosti yaari, daaru shaaru wala culture. There was some kind of vitality, everyone was driven by a personal agenda and they showed it upfront giving a damn about anything else.

Although I used to hate the 2 hr drive from Gurgaon to Kalkaji, I will never forget the beer bottle(s) & egg bhuji, which my co-passenger will pick up from the Gurgaon check post.

Is the grass always green on the other side or am I just being nostalgic? Ki farak painda, blog hi to hain?

(Above pic of RDB – probably the best tribute to the delhi culture in recent times)

Googling for Food!

Well, by any standards that’s a first. In last 3-4 years, Google has become part of my(our) daily routine. So whether it’s a case study or a bio or online guitar lessons or book review (or reading actual pages from a book) – all of them had only one solution “let me google”.

Few days’ back the refrigerator was empty and the only menu staring at us was Pizza Hut. Having spent last 5 years in Delhi, all of us wanted to have proper Punjabi food for a change.

So we googled and found http://www.hungrybangalore.com/. At first we were not sure, like everything on the net. The first time is almost like crossing a lakshman rekha – the first time I bought something on the net or I transferred money / paid a bill………my heart skipped and till there was an actual confirmation that the action has taken place I literally kept my finger crossed.

It was the same this time, so after browsing and getting confused and debating we ordered food from Mast Kalandar and waited with bated breath.

But, Voila – the food was brilliant and at no extra charge. Piping hot and finger licking Baingan Ka Bharta (which obviously the kids didn’t like) we loved the experience.

So next time you are hungry, don’t just stare at the blank PC screen just type google.

Knowing Google I am sure they must have already started working on a business (read revenue generation) model in which Google will get a royalty, if a consumer sniffs out a restaurant n Google and order food from them.

Me, I want to repeat the search, with that speed (broad band) in my mobile and get served with offers from my favorite restaurants where I have dined in last 1 year.

2 Very different experience

I visited the new Docker Showroom in the Indiranagar 100 ft road (Bangalore)last week and it was a perfect example of "everything being perfect - except the personal touch"

Catalogues / Tissues / Chocolate - with Dockers written on it / A laptop kept which probably helps in browsing the catalogue on a screen. But everything was there like some pieces in a museum and u are just walking thru it ....I wish there was someone who would come and say - Hello sir can i show you some cords or have a chocolate or something about the latest chinos which ads are talking about.......There were certain store exec's checking their inventory some just standing there watching you. I was there for 20 minutes and I could literally see the faces of people coming and going out - WOW! What a store - let us check it out. Walk in make a round of the store ,take a look at the plane probably thinking - Wish I could ride it....touching some fabrics, not sure if they should have the chocolate or see the catalogue, smiling at the sales exec and then moving out.

Around 100 mt rs from there I visited a small shop called "Apple of my eye" - a shop which specialises in everything to do with children. Note that I am saying store and not a showroom as it was probably a bungalow converted into a store. I have two kids and they just didn't want to come out of the store - there were toy cycles they wanted to ride, chocolates etc but most importantly some very smiling, accommodating always help full kind of staff - the entire place was live and you could see that everyone was having fun (including the sales exec's) chatting and yes 9 out of 10 customers bought something or the other.

Why am I writing this because
- as a customer I was quite frustrated when I walked out of the Docker's store and I (and my wife and kids) were thrilled to bits when we walked out of the Apple....eye store.
- as a marketing person I felt these guys must have spent crores creating the store ,doing consumer research etc etc......all of this probably not done by a store which is at a stone's throw.

How could they create that experience......was it pure guts / mother's experience....or just fluke?

Atta, Dal ke Bhav !

When I came to Bangalore last October' I had no clue from where I should buy my grocery. Having spent most of my married life in Delhi I was used to shopping at the wholesale market.....quite a few of Banglorean's laughed when I mentioned that.

The only option which kept screaming at me was the Big Bazaar ads - Isse sasta....kahin Nahin. So one Saturday all of us trudged to the store(near Forum).As we walked in we realized it was more than a store ,it was a battlefield.....no different from the whole sale markets we used to buy in Delhi. People were literally pushing and shoving to buy stuff. Almost everything was available - sabse sasta - I was not sure. But after spending 3 hrs and more than 3000 bucks I was really exhausted and I wished I could have a beer. No such luck....but by a stroke of luck the cashier charged us Rs 65 for a 2kg Surf Excel - which was actually the cost of the free container. So unintentionally I saved 250/-

My next stop was Subhiksha(next month). Why? As they keep saying in retail Location Location Location.......Subhiksha (there are 2 of the within a radius of 2/3 km). Less said the better. Out of a list of 25 items we could just buy 5 items and this was true in both the outlets. I don't think I will ever walk in into that store again. For once location failed and inventory / supply chain won :-)

Then I visited Fabmall - the impression I went with was "let me try it out...". I was quite amazed by the neatness ,speed of billing, helpful stuff and some interesting innovation like a basket of regular items - dal / chawal / masala etc which saved us 20 minutes.........For once we felt everything fell in place.

No ,it does not end there.....after 6 months last week I went to the Big Bazaar at the old madras road and was quite amazed by the experience. Neat and clean - 11/12 billing counters - 4-5 floors with never ending variety for all - escalators - samosas / pizza / milk shake......still no beer....but I know it's not too far.

How's that for a name ?!!!

While switching from the old blogger to the new blogger, all my blogs dissapeared. I trust Google to give them back ......must be some technical glith....a momentary lapse of link.

As I was searching for a new blog name, since mystery shopping was not available I did mystery shoping 07......but then i added another 0 and thought nice. 007, the famous spy will now rove the indian streets (when time permits) and share his and her experience at the retail front.

Afterall, with the retail boom, the last mile - customer experience at the store can decide the fate of a brand.

So, do visit to read some of my experiences, views, cases.....to get a glimpse on what's happening and what can happen in the retail front.

Cheers!