SUBSCRIBER UNDER MONOPOLY CUSTOMER UNDER COMPETITION

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SUBSCRIBER UNDER MONOPOLYCUSTOMER UNDER
COMPETITION

• By
• DR T.H. CHOWDARY
• INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR
• GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
• DIRECTOR CENTER FOR TELECOM
• MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES
• CHAIRMAN PRAGNA BHARATI (Intellect India )
• thc_at_satyam.com
• Talk _at_ Global Practices, Hyderabad 7th Nov 2003

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Monopsony Monopoly Competition

• Monopoly One supplier, many consumers
• Monopsony Many suppliers, one consumer
• Competition Many suppliers, many consumers
• Oligopoly A few suppliers in concert,
• many
  consumers

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Consumer in Monopoly

• You can choose any colour provided it is black
• Henry Ford
• There is no compulsion to have a telephone . If
  you are not satisfied, you can surrender
• - The late C.M.Stephen,
  Minister for Communications,
• Government of India

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Consumer under Competition

• Consumer Choice
• Competition with regard to what ?
• Price ? Quality? Response Care?

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Subscriber Customer

• A subscriber is one who pays up in advance and
  prays for service
• Eg Indian telecom user before the year
  2000
• (pays deposits rentals in advance prays
  for dial tone, right number, no cross-connection,
  no call drop no excess bill) .
• Customer is a buyer who passes by a Sindhi cloth
  shop, is solicited to come in, greeted with
  great pleasure by the salesgirl who shows him
  scores of sarees even while he is saying he is
  not interested and also offers a coca cola and
  then says please come again and he walks off
  without buying any and the sales girl keeps
  smiling . 

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CUSTOMER

• A CUSTOMER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT VISITOR ON OUR
  PREMISES
• HE IS NOT DEPENDENT ON US
• WE ARE DEPENDENT ON HIM
• HE IS NOT AN INTERRUPTION ON OUR WORK
• HE IS THE PURPOSE OF IT
• HE IS NOT AN OUTSIDER
• HE IS THE PART OF IT
• WE ARE NOT DOING A FAVOUR BY SERVING HIM
• HE IS DOING A FAVOUR BY GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY
  TO DO SO.
•   -
  MAHATMA GANDHI

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How Regulator can help customers?

• THERE IS AN ENORMOUS POTENTIAL FOR REGULATORS
  TO HELP THE CUSTOMER THROUGH INCENTIVE
  ARRANGEMENTS, COMPENSATION FOR POOR SERVICE,
  DISPUTES RESOLUTION PROCEDURES AND THE
  ESTABLISHMENT OF MORE EVEN CONTRACTUAL
  RELATIONSHIPS TO ALTER THE BALANCE OF ADVANTAGES
  AS BETWEEN THE CUSTOMER AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
  MONOPOLISTIC SUPPLIERS.
• - 
  SIR BRYAN CARSBERG
• The 1st DG OF TEL (UK)

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Citizens Charter (1/2)

• DOT / BSNL Government of Andhra Pradesh
• Bank of Maharashtra
• We did not put the notice
• The Management put it ask them
• Who says we forget our promises?
• We made them in 1951,56,71
• Even the day before yesterday
• Now also, I am making the same promise.

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Citizens Charter (2/2)

• Ralph Nader, the Consumer Crusader
• Unsafe at any speed
• about the American Automobile
• Unsure in any need
• The Indian Telephone before 1998

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Telcos in the US

• Are giving signing-up bonuses
• Consumers are having free service
• (despite credit checks)
• Auto companies in India are doing this ? (Loyalty
  Bonus)

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Gain to connect Ratio

• Cost of gaining customer
• Cost of Retaining a Customer

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Customer Care

• Listening (not merely hearing)
• Prompt remedy / redress / repairs
• Does your Ambassador wear dirty shoes?
• Check / call back
• Make sure - Remedy / redressal happened
• Refunds VSNL Incident
• Write-off on Report

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Customer Confidence

• Will supplier stay in business
• Repeat order
• Accessibility
• Honouring warranty / guarantee
• Replacements ( while in repair)

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Data Acquisition / Mining

• Purchase habits / records
• Payments
• Profiling
• Contact Dialogue Soliciting

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Lessons / Message

• Competition is making Consumer the king
• Compete on Quality not always on price
• Market share Bottom-line
• Corporate personality Brand Loyalty (Godrej,
  Frig)
• Keep connect to gain ratio near to one
• Retain customer Gain their loyalty

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DHANYAWADTHANK YOU