Racing to serve

The concept that the customer is king has probably worked best in the mobile service industry. After drop-boxes for paying bills, recharge zones in lounge areas and customer care teleshops in main markets, it is now the turn of Delhi Metro commuters to be pampered by the service companies.

And Hutchison Essar has taken the lead. Hutch has opened a series of state-of-the-art 'Hutch Shops' at key Delhi Metro stations. The shops are manned during Metro rail hours, and commuters can use the touch screen 'anytime' interactive kiosk during non-rail hours. Besides, these kiosks provide round the clock customer service.

Hutch claims the Delhi Metro services approximately 3 lakh commuters daily. It has therefore chosen key 12 stations on the operating red line of the Metro for its customer servicing shops and kiosks out of the existing 16 stations.

Says Naveen Chopra, vice president, corporate marketing, Hutchison Essar: "Since the mobile phone has become an integral part of one's life, our basic motive is to reach out to customers physically and in a humane way."

He says the touch screen kiosk is an extension of Hutch's strategy of humanising technology. The touch screen kiosk can carry all functions, such as bill payments, recharge coupons, activations, demonstrations of value-added services, except dispensing SIM cards.

"Though technology permits even that, SIM cards have purposely not been included due to regulations and security considerations," adds Chopra.

With Hutch taking the lead in this value-added service, other service providers like Airtel, Idea and MTNL are mum about their plans. Airtel, which has the largest user base in the Delhi cellular circle with 16.31 lakh users, followed by Hutch with 14.8 lakh users, claims it has taken an initiative of this kind through 'Airtel Experience' centres in shopping malls and market areas.

According to Mohit Bhatnagar, vice president, new product development, Bharti Tele-Ventures, "Customers are discerning in whose service they choose. They don't just want vanilla but also all the toppings: that's why these customer convenience initiatives are important. Cellular service providers started recharge zones that later sprung up in eating joints and malls."

The 'easy charge' service initially started by Airtel to provide recharge facilities for pre-paid users through an SMS and the mobile bill for post-paid users were moves by the operator for customer convenience. Services like the drop-boxes too have been a hit. Almost all cellular operators are facilitating this.

And for Hutch, the Delhi Metro was an extension of such services. The company says it started the concept of recharge zones that found its way from waiting lounges at airports to hotels, and till date has installed an approximate 3,000 in Delhi alone.

According to Chopra, Hutch will set up similar kiosks in areas with more traffic. Officials also claim this service will be extended to other Metro lines and shopping malls across the country. "We finally have a model that will work in many places. Kiosks will be installed in as many places as possible," adds Chopra.

A visit to the fairly busy Kashmere Gate Metro station suggests that commuters are using the shop and kiosk mainly for bill payments and recharge coupons. The Hutch representative present there said the response has been good and people are inquisitive about the use of the touch screen kiosk.

On an all-India basis, Bharti Cellular's Airtel has the largest share of the Indian cellular market "" 27.04 per cent, BSNL and Hutch follow with 22.99 per cent and 18.89 per cent respectively (as per Cellular Operator Assocation of India, April 2005).

With a large customer base enjoyed by the three cellular operators, reaching out to them and servicing it is an issue that has gained precedence.