Why should a consumer pay for cheese and get butter? Why should he be charged for a pen that does not write; a refrigerator that does not cool and an LCD which has already been used by store staff (reff– Rajiv’s article 2nd dec)?
Many a times we come across goods and services that are not up to the mark and do not meet our expectation. (By expectation I mean those features which the producers or service providers promises to deliver or should deliver). Some times the problem can be resolved by accelerating the issue to higher level but at times these measures are unavailable or they simply don’t work. A layman is handicapped and wishes some system; some mechanism must be in place to punish the retailer, to pacify the action and to give justice to the biggest player of the industry – The consumer!!
If we refer to the Indian Legal structure we have Consumer Protection Act, Sales of Goods Act, bla blah! But knowing the Indian legal system I guess hardly some fraction of our population is seeking relief via such routes. Though the three tier consumer dispute forum is useful many a time, they take lots of patience and time. Another problem with this system is many of us do not know law and hiring a professional service is an expensive choice.
Having said that it doesn’t mean that choices for consumers are limited and they have no way to deal with these kinds of situations. The first remedy is to always bring the issue to the notice of senior management. Well that at least is a benefit of buying from the organized market. The staff at store level might be inefficient but it doesn’t imply for the entire company. Many a times I have got amazing response using such mode.
If this doesn’t work there are blogs where you can post your experience and the company responds to it. It works as in this competitive market no one can afford to lose their reputation in the market. Im sure Rajiv must have posted a word at Big Bazaar blog, and if not his article here will sure reach the right ear soon.
Finally even though our legal system is not very consumer friendly there are lots of NGOs who provide professional services for a nominal fee of Rs. 200 – Rs. 500 p.a. and takes care of all legal proceedings on your behalf (obviously this you resort to when the problem is major) Many a times it works wonder as people get on their toe after receiving a legal notice and are ready to settle the claim at the earliest. Besides, various industries such as banks and telecom have separate grievances handling bodies and complaints to these bodies can be made online through the links provided on their websites.
But all these measures are insufficient and what can actually remedies the problem is the efficiency and diligence on the part of individual, companies and management to understand that they are part of the big value chain and if everyone does the work they are supposed to do effectively we can force changes.
-Roli
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December 10th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Very valid issue. More so at a time when our money is losing value by the minute!
If one studies the history of what is popularly misquoted as “consumerism”, in developed countries, one finds the following:
1. European / US customers also had to bear a lot with unfulfilled brand promises, for long,
2. It was never direct govt. intervention (except a handful of countries) that cured this problem. Well, by cured I’d mean rectified to a large extent,
3. Rather in most cases a few very disgruntled consumers whipped up huge emotions among public, became spokepersons of “wronged” consumer communities etc.
4. In quite a few such cases, TV played a strong role (yes, for well defined financial reasons) too, helping the movement spread,
5. The next step “was” taken up by the admin/govt, where billions of dollars in many such law-suits were (and still is) paid by the marketer/manufacturer at fault.
Even India requires such a movement.
Till the time marketers/manufacturers do not face possibility of such punitive action, they will simply build-in a cost head to address returns/defects.
It’s that simple
February 15th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Hello.
I’m new there
Nice forum!
June 26th, 2009 at 5:56 am
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July 30th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I just got home from an amazing run in the gorgeouks sunshine outside on a chillaxious Friday and I was once again reminded of how beautiful and easy our lives are.
We spend so much time complaining and bickering about basically non-existent problems and sometimes we forget how awesome it is to be here. Sure, tragedies do exist (check out the drunk driving thread for some sad examples), but generally life is easy. If those young adults who were killed by drunk drivers were able to speak from the grave, the first thing they’d say is that life is short, so enjoy it. They really are proof of how short it can be.
Some personal examples of my life being beautifunl:
-Just spend a week in Canmore helping paint my friend’s million dollar home, while mountain biking, drinking, and getting free room and board. And I even got paid for it!
-Lost my wallet three times so far. Everytime it has been returned. One time I lost it in Edmonton with $70 cash inside, and when it was returned the cash was still in it! (minor miracle, especially in Edmonton!)
-Lost my passport in NZ while on a crazy adventurqe. Got my new passport in the mail the day before my flight back to Canada!
-The economy is finally starting to turn around. So far this week I’ve saved about $200 in travel expenses thanks to the rising Canadian dollar!
-Going to Spain in September for $116 thanks to cmyden and his amazinug travel deal!
-And we can all agree that the Flames getting Bouwmeester for nothing is something we as a group can celebrate! utbqpu