The Subhiksha Business Model
by krishnamoorthyb
Subhiksha is a company that claims that they offer the lowest prices on mobiles in any city. I wanted to verify this and i placed a call to 60607777. This is the number listed on their web site and flashed every other minute on TV advertisements. The call was connected immediately, but i was forced to wait for 1 minute and 10 seconds as i listened to one of their ads. Just as i was about to hang up, a sales representative (Jagan) came online. I asked him if was their corporate policy to force an ad down the throat of every unwitting caller. He offered what can best be described as a half hearted apology. I let it go and i asked him the price of a Nokia E65. He put me on hold for a few seconds this time(thankfully). Imagine my suprise when he told that he would tell me the price only if i would provide him my contact details which included my phone number. I told him that i was not ready to divulge my contact details only to have annoying marketing calls. He told me that it was company policy that they would provide price details only if i was willing to provide my personal details. I asked him how it would be if retail chains adopted this policy for every customer visiting their store. He didn’t see my point and after 4 minutes and 38 seconds i hung up none the wiser. I would think ten times before i venture into a Subhiksha store the next time and certainly would not recommend it to a friend who asks me for buying advice. A company that forces would be customers to part with personal details to provide public domain information has to rethink on their corporate policy with respect to the customer experience. Well, maybe…. Subhiksha has a tie up with mobile service providers where they assure them of a minimum amount of talk time for every call a customer makes to their well advertised number in return for a fee that helps offset thier lower prices… just maybe….
The Steam Room 
That i certainly sounds like a stupid policy Subhikhsa has.
If they have a good reason for this absurd policy, they should atleast justify a customer a reason behind it.
Quite bugging…
I have used JustDial.Com ‘s service many times (provides retailer information over the phone for free) to find phone numbers. From Indian Bank Zonal Office in Hyderabad to Nokia Showroom near Bangalore Bus Stand to Auto Consultants in Coimbatore. They usually ask for a number where they can send the information. When I mention that my email address ( a separate one for such services, of course) is registered with them, they send the phone numbers to that email address and also dictate them to me on the phone so I can note down. I usually use a landline to call, but I don’t think they might use/sms my cell number if they were to see who is calling, against my wish since I am registered on the DNC registry. (You never know, though). And they dont even have ads. Wonder whats their revenue model though. I can guess only about companies who subscribe to them to get yellowpages info out.
Heard Google is set to launch a similar service in Hyd on a pilot basis. As one would expect, Google is going to put your call through to the restaurant so you can book a table !!
I used to wonder about this asking of phone number, when caller ID is so common. If they want your number, can’t they just read it off their display instead of irritating you by asking for it? Airtel customer service at least has stopped doing this now. And thankfully they adhere to their Do-Not-Call registry.