Reliability: Truth in Service, Even Under Fire

We have already discussed Responsiveness and Empathy. Today we will discuss Reliability.

Reliability: Reliability can be described as the correctness of the service that is being delivered. Nothing is more annoying than ordering AMUL milk and receiving AMUL curd. Yes, the quick commerce site may take it back. Yes, they may even refund instantly. But the irritation has already happened. The customer’s time has been wasted. The moment has been disturbed.

Reliability is not about correction. It is about getting it right the first time. An incident happened in the USA and let us see how a salesperson handled it. A well-known shoe company faced a very irate customer. She was visibly upset and venting her anger at the hapless shoe salesman.

 “I bought this pair of shoes from your store and they are not fitting me!” she kept repeating. The salesman calmly measured her foot size again, took the shoes, and disappeared into the store.

The floor manager had to endure the customer’s frustration during those long 20 minutes. Finally, the salesman returned. Apologizing profusely, he handed her a new pair of shoes. She tried them on. They fit perfectly. She left the store — still grumbling, still dissatisfied.

The floor manager, irritated, confronted the salesman: “What took you 20 minutes? I had to listen to her complaints all that time!”

The salesman’s reply stunned him. “Sir, in our store we only sell shoes in even sizes — 34, 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44. The customer’s foot size was 37. I immediately realized she did not buy this pair from our store. She must have bought it elsewhere but blamed us. I took the shoe to our nearest branch that sells odd-number sizes, got it exchanged, and brought it back.”

That is Reliability. The salesman acted beyond his formal responsibility. He protected the brand. He solved the problem. He did the right thing — even though the customer did not leave smiling. Reliability is not about applause. It is about integrity.

 Reliability in Everyday Marketing Consider another simple example. If a restaurant serves mushrooms, it may be wiser to list them under the non-veg section rather than the veg section. Many customers even today perceive mushrooms as non-veg (animal-based) rather than plant-based. Let the customer decide.

Reliability means:

• Accuracy in classification
• Correctness in delivery
• Consistency in execution

It is about reducing cognitive dissonance for the customer.

Linking Back to RATER

In the RATER framework:

• Responsiveness is speed.
• Empathy is warmth.
• Reliability is correctness.

Without reliability, responsiveness becomes damage control. You may respond quickly — but if you keep making mistakes, customers will eventually stop forgiving.

A Thought for Marketers: In an age of instant refunds and quick replacements, we have started glorifying recovery. But the real competitive advantage lies in prevention.

Reliability builds trust. Trust builds repeat business.  Repeat business builds brands. Sometimes, doing the simple thing correctly is the hardest thing in the world. And that is why Reliability matters.

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Sometimes Being Simple Is the Hardest Thing in the World - RATER concept - Responsiveness and Empathy explained!

 

Customer Delight at Starbucks and a Neighbourhood Restaurant. Most people in marketing think that CRM and customer delight are very academic. They believe it involves technology, dashboards, AI, loyalty cards, data mining and a lot of strategic planning. True. 

But sometimes, customer delight is simply about being human. In the SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, service quality is measured across five dimensions, captured beautifully in the acronym RATER:

R – Reliability

A – Assurance

T – Tangibles

E – Empathy

R – Responsiveness

Today, let me speak about just two of these dimensions: Responsiveness which is the  willingness and readiness to help customers promptly. 

Empathy that is providing caring, individualized attention to customers. No software. No analytics Just a heart to a heart connection.

Responsiveness at Starbucks: This incident happened when Padma and I visited the United States in 2008. We were shopping at Walmart for our daily staples. The Walmart in Rosewood, Pleasanton was enormous, easily the size of two football fields.

After a pleasant but tiring shopping experience, our cart overflowing, we decided to take a pit stop at the Starbucks inside Walmart. We ordered coffee and were waiting. The barista was within earshot.

Suddenly Padma piped in, “Did you get bread? We have no bread at home.” Seeing my crestfallen face, she gave an exasperated sigh. “I knew it. Why don’t you go and get it?”

The bull (Tauren) in me reared up. “No,” I said firmly and dug in. The bull had found its resting place.

Padma’s eyes glittered (after all, she is a Capricorn — and the goat too can be stubborn). “Your wish,” she shrugged. “You are the one… You and the children are fond of bread. I can always eat rice and be contented.”

The sword had been twisted. The pretty barista heard the entire exchange. She walked up and placed our coffee before us. “You missed buying bread?” she asked gently. I nodded, slightly irritated. She smiled. “Enjoy your coffee.” And disappeared.

Within seconds she was back wearing inline skates. She took two dollars from me and zoomed off like a silver bullet. In less than two minutes, she returned — holding a fresh loaf of bread. Without drama. Without expectation. Without seeking applause.

She handed it over and went back to her station. We were so stunned we could barely thank her. That, my friends, is Responsiveness. Not policy. Not training manuals. Not CRM dashboards. Just a willingness to act immediately for the customer’s benefit. Even though the incident happened eighteen years ago, it is etched in my memory as if it happened last week.

Empathy at a Neighbourhood Restaurant:  The second incident happened to my Facebook friend, Rebecca Forster, the famous novelist. Rebecca was partying on New Year’s Eve at a neighbourhood pub — Hay 19, Redondo Beach, California. Her group ordered food, and their cheerful waitress said, “It’s four hours till we ring in the New Year!” 

Rebecca and her friends laughed and told her they were too old to stay up until midnight. They enjoyed a great meal. Promptly at nine o’clock, the waitress came charging out of the kitchen, blowing a horn and shouting: “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” 

Since it was already midnight in New York, she decided to bring New Year’s celebrations early to her California guests. Rebecca later wrote: “It was hilarious. She was so cute and made our night. Good food, drink and a fabulous waitress. It’s the little things in life that matter, isn’t it?”

That is Empathy. The ability to step into the customer’s world. To understand their context. To personalise the experience. She did not need permission from corporate headquarters. She needed only sensitivity. 

In the RATER framework of SERVQUAL: Responsiveness is about speed and willingness to help, and Empathy is about warmth and individual attention.

Technology can support service. But only people can create memories. Even after 18 years, I remember the Starbucks bread. Rebecca remembers the early New Year celebration. Service excellence is not always about scale. Sometimes it is about skating across two football fields for a loaf of bread. Sometimes it is about blowing a horn three hours early. It is the little things in life that matter. And in services marketing, the little things are often the biggest differentiators.

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When Cadbury Competes with Cadbury. Side-by-Side but head-On!!

Even in an era of déjà vu and digital fatigue, some advertisements and campaigns can still be clutter-breakers. Today I saw the latest Cadbury side-by-side hoardings, and they immediately caught the eye, albeit maybe for the wrong reasons. Both brands belong to Cadbury.

Like the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity, as long as it is publicity. This one certainly makes the point and in a very forceful way.

1. Is this competitive advertising? Yes… and maybe not. In real terms, competitive advertising is when one company’s brand pitches itself against another company’s brand say Bajaj motorcycles vs Hero Honda motorcycles. But what do we call it when the same company’s brands compete against each other? Technically, we can still call it competitive advertising. But should it be done? In my view, it should not be. The reasoning follows.

2. Segmentation is subtle, so subtle that customers may not even know both brands belong to the same company. HUL has many competing brands like Hamam, Lux, Cinthol, Dove in the shelfs and they all act as flanking brands, but this strategy is largely unknown to the customers. They think that the brands from different companies.

Similarly, TITAN offers a diverse portfolio of watch brands catering to different segments, including Titan (flagship), Raga (women's), Fastrack (youth), Sonata (affordable), and premium/luxury options like Xylys, Nebula (solid gold), and Edge (slim). Other specialized brands include Zoop, Titan Smart, and SF. Most customers would be shocked to know that they all belong to the TITAN stable!

Let us hypothetically assume that Colgate were to develop a wonderful toothpaste for pets like dogs and cats. It would not name it Colgate Cutie Toothpaste. Even if the formulation were different, many human customers would not like to share their toothpaste brand with a dog toothpaste.

The same argument holds good for Manikchand Atta or Nirma Toothpaste. We would soon feel drugged just thinking of Manikchand rotis and brushing our teeth with detergent if it were Nirma toothpaste. Brands are mental associations, and they are extremely difficult to break.

3. Would this lead to cannibalisation of sales from one product to another? Would Silk take sales away from Cadbury Five Star or vice-versa? Either scenario is not ideal. Logistics and distribution issues might arise, leading to friction between the respective brand managers.

4. What Cadbury is probably hoping for is incremental sales for both brands. That both brands would benefit and sell more. I honestly don’t know on what analytics this assumption is based.

5. Is this part of a well-planned strategy or just smart-alecky behaviour? Any promotion has to be subtle—not so much in the face. Positioning is the battle for the mind. Cadbury Silk operates at an emotional level, while Cadbury Five Star plays at a very practical level. The two seem to clash.

6. In fact, Cadbury Five Star’s communication almost appears to mock Silk’s positioning—“Why get mushy?”, how far will you go to escape this mush, Nah I am fine here seem to be lampooning or even making fun of Cadbury Silk’s creative campaigns.

7. Five Star is virtually asking customers not to buy Silk (a higher-priced offering) and settle for a lower-priced one. And Valentine’s Day, the biggest occasion of the year for at least one customer segment—is when you ask them not to celebrate? I genuinely don’t understand the logic here.

8. And then there’s this whole idea of “doing nothing.” Since when did doing nothing become so relevant? Doesn’t doing nothing also mean not partaking in any commercial product, like Cadbury Five Star itself? Or are we using “doing nothing” purely for commercial gain? I am getting confused with this entire line of thinking.

9. Finally, what exactly is the segmentation here? Cadbury Silk customers - Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Cadbury Five Star - Gen X and Millennials. But can generations really be so cold-bloodedly separated? What if they overlap and create brand identity confusion? I don’t know—and I would love to be a fly on the wall in Cadbury’s creative room when such discussions take place.

10. At the end of the day, customers don’t care. Marketing pundits can go to hell. If they like the ad, if buzz is created, and if the sales graph moves, then it’s all good. We can crow till the birds come home to nest—but it does not matter. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.

Art inspires life or life inspires art - The Ashwin Uber 25 Rs for 3 Kilometres Ad

The argument goes on and on, but the cause–effect relationship is not clearly known. In my view, the knife cuts both ways — that is, both are true.

Take, for example, movies and advertisements. Many argue that movies inspire people to act in a particular way, and many times movie makers have claimed that it is the incidents that happen in real life that give them inspiration.

 A case in point is Hyderabad, the capital of the Telangana state. It is a Thums Up guzzler. There is a predominant leadership for the brand that is unmatched anywhere else in India. Why? There is a popular belief that after partaking an oily, mutton- or chicken-filled biryani, a Thums Up will magically wash away the ill effects of oil intake and aid in digestion. Is this true? Doctors disagree and say that a cold drink after a biryani harms more than it does any good.

But the belief is steadfast — and the Coca-Cola Company does not mind it one bit. Hence, it was not a surprise that Coca-Cola did an advertising campaign where Shah Rukh Khan very proudly says: “Miyaan, biryani ke Baad soft drink Nahi… Toofani (Thums Up) Peete hain.” Meaning, after a biryani, one does not drink a soft drink he has a Toofani (Thums Up).

Similarly, I have always wondered about the concept of using one’s own bike or car in a country where ride-hailing apps are a dime a dozen, the rates are competitive, and they arrive in a jiffy. I have been a big fan of public transport and ride-hailing apps, and in fact, I call myself an MMTS (Multi-Modal Transport System) guy.

I find metro train travelling very convenient, and not having a personal vehicle forces me to walk and keeps me healthy. I have been using ride-hailing apps and find that most of them are convenient, reasonably priced, and can be used whenever we want. Unlike owning a car, they are not a dead investment when they are not being used.

Yes, human beings are status conscious. I am not very bothered about what others think of me. In a way, it is: “I live my life as I like it.” That is why the Uber ad featuring Ashwin and Dhoni (or is it a Dhoni look-alike?) resonated with me.

The ad features a suave  and obviously a well-educated South Indian  Ravichandran Ashwin, who is on an Uber motorcycle, asking a Dhoni look-alike who is admiring his new bike:

“What is the cost of this motorcycle?” A taken-aback Dhoni look-alike answers: ₹25 lakhs. Ashwin, with a smug expression, responds: “These Haya Vayas are all a waste. Why don’t you use Uber Bike? It is only ₹25 for 3 kilometres.”

I did some quick math. Should one buy a superbike/car or use ride hailing apps. 

Uber Bike vs Owning a Superbike / Car (Suzuki Hayabusa)

Background: Ramesh, a professional working in an Indian metro city, travels daily 40 kilometres for work and errands. He is considering whether to continue using Uber Bike or fulfil his aspiration of buying a Suzuki Hayabusa on EMI. The decision is analysed purely from a cost perspective.

Option A: Uber Bike Usage 

Daily cost                                            : Rs 400 (at Rs 10/km)
Working days per month                     : 25
Months per year                                  : 12

Monthly cost                                       : Rs 400 × 25 = Rs 10,000
Annual cost                                         : Rs10,000 × 12 = Rs 1,20,000

Total annual Uber Bike expense         : Rs1,20,000

Option B: Owning a Suzuki Hayabusa/car

On-road price                                    : Rs 20,00,000

Down payment                                    : Rs 2,00,000
Loan amount                                       : Rs 18,00,000
Loan tenure                                         : 5 years
Interest rate                                         : ~8.5%

Monthly EMI                                      : approx. Rs 39,000
Annual EMI cost                                 : Rs 4,68,000

Running Costs

Petrol price                                          : Rs 110 per litre
Mileage                                               : 25 km/litre
Annual usage                                      : 5,000 km

Fuel cost per km                                 : Rs 4.40
Annual fuel cost                                  : Rs 22,000 

Maintenance & Ownership Costs

Insurance                                             : Rs 25,000
Servicing & maintenance                    : Rs 20,000
Tyres & wear                                      :  Rs15,000
Miscellaneous                                      : Rs 10,000

Total maintenance cost                       : Rs 70,000

Total Annual Cost – Hayabusa

EMI                                                     : Rs 4,68,000
Fuel                                                     : Rs 22,000
Maintenance                                        : Rs 70,000

Total annual cost                                 : Rs5,60,000

If one adds a driver for a car @ Rs 25,000 per month, that adds another Rs 3,00,000 per year.

Comparison Summary

Uber Bike annual cost                                     : Rs 1,20,000
Hayabusa / Car annual cost (with driver)       : Rs 8,60,000

Difference                                                       : Rs 7,40,000 per year

Mind-boggling, isn’t it? One can save roughly Rs 7.5 lakh per year, and this amount can be invested  maybe in mutual funds, gold, or even real estate. It can be used as a down payment to buy a flat.

Even from a plain savings point of view, Rs 7,50,000 per year would amount to ₹75,00,000 in ten years — an amount with which one can decently purchase a flat in Hyderabad.

Learning Business Strategy from the Streets: A Real-World Lesson in Pricing

Relearning in life comes from practical observation and learning. Take the case in point: Chinese food, which is tremendously popular in Hyderabad. In our colony, a single plate of Veg Manchuria costs around Rs 60–70 at roadside shacks, and even in small roadside restaurants it costs around  Rs 80–100. Along with a normal roti or rumali roti, a plate should be Rs 150 - 180, and it will go up to  Rs 200 with mineral water and tax.

No surprise that most eaters throng roadside shacks and not the restaurants. To learn how business is run, one needs to go to the KPHB shops near the KPHB metro station in Hyderabad. This area is a popular hangout for students, employees, and has heavy footfall.

Here, the prices are jaw-dropping. A single plate of Manchuria is sold at  Rs 30 and a double at  Rs 40. Manchuria with rumali roti is sold at  Rs 50. Chicken Manchuria with rumali roti is  priced Rs 80 and at the same place another stall sells it at  Rs 74! Chicken Manchuria is either  Rs 60 or  Rs 55. Chicken Pakodi is Rs 45 only.

This is penetration pricing at its best, high volumes, low margins, but they earn decent income per day. And all the joints are side by side, yet they remain amicable. I don’t find anyone fighting with anyone else. They all seem to have loyal customers who come for the taste not necessarily for the slightly lower cost that the next shack is offering. 

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