How will HSN.com stack up against Amazon and the likes?

I am an Amazon prime member and have been their customer for over 8 years. Amazing service, Super fast shipping and the online ordering experience is slick and efficient. Now why do I say that on the HSN site?

A few months ago I wanted to order a teeter hangup and HSN had the best deal on them. I created an account and provided all my information including my credit card information and went through the checkout process. All cool so far. Now when i placed the order, the website said 'unable to process the order'!! I checked all the details everything seemed right. Credit card was good, Amazon was sending me tons of stuff on the same credit card!

So, I called the number on the site. After 15 minutes I was informed that I had a 'Bad Address!!". It took me a while to figure out what that means. It means someone ordered something from this address and did not pay for it. I bought this house 2 years ago. So now I am stuck with a 'Bad Address'! The customer representative on the phone told me that they are going to escalate this. It takes 7-10 business days!!! That was a few months ago! I also forgot about it. Teeter is not really a 'Need' item for me!! 

Fast forward to now. HSN still has the best deal on teeters and I still feel I should get one. So I go back this time thinking the 'Bad address' problem is probably fixed by now. So I tried ordering again online! and you guessed it 'unable to porcess the order'!

So I call the number again. But I am better prepared this time. I know I have the 'Bad address'!! So I call and tell the lady that I have a bad address and it is not fixed yet! She was a sweetheart! She really wanted to fix this. Infact I would say that all the 3 people I have spoken to were very nice and gracious. They just were not equipped to solve the issue. Sharon worked hard at my problem. She could not locate my account!! I gave her my email address, my first name and last name! No luck!! She could not locate it with my credit card number either. And the interesting thing is that all this information is there on the HSN.com site. So I guessed they are not linked and are separate systems. She then escalated to the leadership and after 20 minutes and a lot of thanks for my patience I was transferred to the HSN.com representative who had to be given the same information all over again. I told her that this is a 'Bad Address' problem! Even she could not locate my account. And now after 35 minutes, I just hung up the phone with no order placed yet! She says it will take 7-10 business days. They are under federal guidelines on this.

Teeter is not really something I want to have to fight for so much. I can order this from Amazon for a few bucks more. I can choose not to have it at all. As I think aloud, who is really the loser here?? Is it not HSN? and will they be able to  keep up with the Amazons of the world!! I think NOT!! At least in my teeter depraved mind right now!!!

What is wrong with the crew at Continental Airlines?

I have travelled over 100K miles last year with Continental airlines, mostly to India. Because of that I am a Platinum member. It is a direct flight to India and I find it real convenient.

However, I have never felt that my business has been appreciated by this airline. If I had been in any other part of the world that kind of loyalty with the airline would have got me special treatment. But not with Continental. Don't get me wrong, I have access to their president's lounge and their other programs like the occasional upgrade, their elite access line etc. However, once on the plane I am used to being treated like cattle by the crew. I am scared to touch the attendant button because it only gets a glowering attendant wondering how dare I do that. I would rather get up and go to the back of the plane to get myself that water or coffee. If I take that extra minute to decide veg or non-veg or if I was sleeping when the cart went by and I feel hungry a little later, or if I want a coffee (when it is not the time for me to have coffee!!) I am scared what the reaction might be. Approaching the attendant at any time is the toughest thing on the plane to do. Last year on one of my trips to India when I asked for water after my turn to get the drink was over, the stewardess ignored me till I had to repeat it three times. At that point I was told that I was yelling and she walked over to the intercom and said something about a disruptive passenger. Oh, I complained once I was on the ground and had the basic rights of a human being again and I did get a mail of apology from the airline and 2500 miles credit to make up for it!!! I really think there is something wrong somewhere.

When I look at Continental's 'Customer first' policy on their site it reads a follows

"Our goal is to make every flight a safe and pleasant experience for our customers. These commitments are specifically designed to reduce the possibility that we might not reach that objective every time you fly with us and will allow us to deal promptly with any service failure. We are implementing and reinforcing company-wide training programs and systems enhancements to confirm that Continental employees are meeting these commitments, and we are measuring how well we perform."

So obviously the management has its heart at the right place. Then, what is the problem?

I have mulled this over the last year and 8 trips that I took to India, it is my belief that the crew hates flying to India and hates the kind of people that they have to serve on the flight. How else can you explain the glowering and irritated behavior from the moment you step on the plane. I have never felt welcome getting on the flight. I landed yesterday back from Delhi and the entire plane was complaining about the attendants and their behavior. Why don't they care? Why is Continental Airline not recognizing this as a serious problem? They should know that I will move my business to some other airline the moment I can find a direct flight to India. I am praying and hoping that Jet Airways from India can get a direct flight between Newark and Delhi. Oh! what service I get on that airline or for that matter Singapore Airlines. It is the most amazing experience being on these airlines. I have a few suggestions for Continental,

1. Poll the crew and identify what's bothering them
2. Select crew that wants to fly that sector
3. Singapore airlines had started including Indian origin crew members to India to culturally sensitize the other crew members and it does work.

I am happy to be their consultant in fixing this. Because I beileve it just needs orientation for the crew and an understanding of the crew's concerns.

I hope someone from the continental management reads this and fixes the problem. Because the last thing I want is some one from the public relations giving me a credit of another 2500 miles for the appreciation of my articulation of the problem at Continental!!

क्या पता क्या खबर

आदमी कौन गधा कौन, क्या पता क्या खबर
फर्क सिर्फ इतना कि एक पर है खुदा की नज़र,
एक ढो रहा है और एक ढा रहा है गज़ब
एक पा रहा है और एक खो रहा है अजब
देखिये जब तक ख़ुदा मेहरबान तो गधा पहलवान
ज़रा नज़र नीचे रख के चल दीप
ख़ुदा की नज़र कब बदले, क्या पता क्या ख़बर

- दीप थपलियाल

Reporting Live from Delhi - Sept 23, 2010

I am in Delhi right now (10 minutes from the CWG village) and here is the live on the ground report.. the nation hangs its head in shame.. the politicians completely miss the point.. Bhanot says we have different hygiene standards (so it is okay to have filthy toilets).. Kalamadi is missing in action.. sheila dikshit is delusional.. her justification for the falling bridge not being a serious matter was that it was not meant for players, only for the general public... today 1000 cleaning workers descended to clean the place for the sept 23 deadline (on sept 23).. I have no doubt that they will clean it tonight.. the players come into the village on October 1... maybe kalmadi/bhanot are testing the limits of JIT.. nature is testing the limits as well.. the roads in nearby noida are flooded.. yamuna is flowing above the danger mark (silver lining - yamuna was cleaned by mather nature.. the water has reached Taj Mahal).. water has come into the basements for the CWG village towers.. OC (Organizing comm) says they will not clean it as it is DDA's problem..dengue is in the air.. ayodhya verdict comes out tomorrow.. metro is not available to the common man till CWG is over..roads have been divided into half - one half only for CWG players and officials.. the shooting at the jama masjid is a fresh wound.. what is the PMO doing?.. a single treadmill hired (not bought) for 45 days has the price tag of 9.75L.. after 20,000 crores , CVC confirmed at least 4000Cr. has disappeared (unaccounted for).. Kalmadi says he will resign only if Sonia asks him to.. my head hung in shame reporting live from Delhi..

If Toyota has such problems, one shudders to imagine what others are sitting on...

One of the best car makers in a generation is under seize. Talk to anybody today and they will swear by the gold standard that Toyota has maintained on Quality. As a family we have used Toyotas for decades. Impeccable quality. Cars that seemingly can run for ever. Best in class. Yet they suddenly seem to have so many problems.

Couple of things attract attention. First, why is the Government so intricately involved in this investigation. Is the GM stake coming into play here. Typically such a thing is addressed by the legal system (Class action suits)/ free market economy (dropped sales) etc. Yet in this case the Fed investigation happened first.

Secondly, If the situation is so bad why is the consumer still flocking to buy the product. The other day I heard on the radio that the Toyota dealerships are experiencing increased activity as there seems to be a lot of bargain hunters. I am not surprised. The consumer knows they still are the best cars.

Personally I think this is an opening of the Pandora's box for the Car industry. Imagine if Toyota has such problems what the other car companies are sitting on. Imagine if the Governments across the world get involved in investigations. The American car companies are heavily dependent in Asia and other growing economies. Could they face similar stuff? One shudders..

कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं

प्यार के दीप जलाने वाले कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं ,
अपनी जान से जाने वाले कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं ,

हिज्र के गहरे ज़ख्म मिले तो मुझ को ये एहसास हुआ,
पागल को समझाने वाले कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं,

जान से प्यारे लोगों से भी कुछ कुछ पर्दा लाजिम है,
सारी बात बताने वाले कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं,

ख्वाबों में भी उनसे मिलन के सपने देखते रहते हैं,
नींदों में मुस्काने वाले कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं,

इस झूटी नगरी में हमने येही हमेशा देखा है,
सच्ची बात बताने वाले कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं,

प्यार जिन्हें हो जाये उनको चैन भला कब मिलता है?
सब्र कर अश्क बहाने वाले कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं

उसके इश्क में भीग के सुनलो हम को ये एहसास हुआ,
दिल की बात में आने वाले कुछ कुछ पागल होते हैं

याद दिलाती होली

याद दिलाती होली
वो पिछली सारी होली।

वो बचपन की होली
वो गुब्बारों की होली।
वो गुजियों की होली
वो ठहाकों की होली।

वो यारों की ऊँची बोली
वो भाँग से भीगी होली।
वो नचइयों की टोली।

याद दिलाती होली
वो पिछली सारी होली।

वो पानी में रंग
वो 'होली है' कहने का मीठा सा ढंग।
वो चमकीला गुलाल
वो गोरे गाल।

याद दिलाती होली
वो पिछली सारी होली।

प्यार का वो मेल
मलालों को धकेल,
एक नई शुरुआत कराता
रंगों का ये खेल।

याद दिलाती होली
वो पिछली सारी होली।

- दीप थपलियाल