Pandemic Celebrates its Second Birthday - Article Published in The Hans India today (02-01-2022)

 

1^st January 2020 was when WHO announced the arrival of the new Corona Virus popularly called Covid 19. Initially dismissed as a joke or simple flu, there were boasts that the hot Indian climate would sound the death knell for the perky virus. One of the chief ministers said (on record) that it was a simple flu and that paracetamol would take care of it.

But the death dance of the Covid pandemic goes on and on, unabated and the death toll keeps climbing. The numbers are staggering: nearly 29 crores have been infected and 54.5 lakhs have succumbed to the deadly disease.

USA leads the tally with 8.5 lakhs deaths, followed by Brazil 6.2 lakhs, India 4.8 lakhs and Russia 3.1 lakh, Mexico 3,0 lakhs and Peru with 2.0 lakh deaths are the other countries with more than 2,00,000 deaths.  Truly a pandemic that ravaged the world!

The lessons learned so far:

1)      Any technological advancement comes with a curse! The speed of travel that meant easy commute also meant that the virus had spread the world at a lightning spread. Any amount of restrictions or lockdowns have at best a limiting factor but could not really stop the virus from spreading.

2)      No country or region has been spared. Every country, poor or rich, irrespective of caste, creed, race, religion, or region, has reported the virus and is still fighting it.

3)   Initially thought of as a virus that will die a quick death, Coronavirus is mutating and thriving. Two years into the pandemic the end is still not in sight.

4)      Some sectors have been affected very badly especially travel, tourism, air travel, realty (real estate) and education have been dealt a severe blow.

5)   Film industry has been brought to its feet and with the theaters shut, ticket prices issue, and with 50% occupancy the film distribution is in utter chaos and if it was not for the OTT coming to the rescue the film industry would have been wiped out. Movie watching would be restricted and already OTT seems to be getting an upper hand as far as reaching the customers is concerned.

6)      The house rental sector is in the doldrums and there are scores of apartments, commercial areas, and houses vacant as the I.T companies have extended work from home facility. This has resulted in IT employees moving to their hometowns and operating from their residences.

7)      The plight of the IT workers who work from home is terrible. They put in long hours of work (in excess of 10 hours), can’t socialize, have huge health-related issues (like obesity and lack of exercise). Families are falling apart as both husband and wife operate in the same house along with their children and too much interaction is leading to friction.

8)      The worst affected are the children. They are forced to stay at home, attend lectures on mobile phones, can’t interact with their friends, and can’t play outside their homes. Houses are becoming prisons! This has resulted in violent behavior, mood swings, reduced attention spans, and consequently the children’s performance in the examination had plummeted down and the failure percentages are going up all the time.

All in all, the two years of the Covid pandemic have been a disaster, and let us hope that we don’t have to witness its 3rd Birthday on the 1^st of January 2023! 

Oh God Save Us - The Marketers are Coming!

Corona Virus is ruling the world and it is T.O.M (Top of the Mind) in  everyone's  conversation.  People are flexing their regional, country-specific chauvinistic muscles claiming superiority.

They are claiming that some countries will not get the virus because of food habits, skin colour, high temperature etc. Still, many others are claiming wonder cures without any authentication from any reliable sources including the medical fraternity.

As usual, the business community has jumped into the fray. One saree manufacturer is selling Coran Virus sarees. It is not clear if the wearer has to wear the saree before getting the virus or after getting the infection or after testing positive or after getting treatment. Photo Courtesy Dr.Krishna Veni Lankapotu Madam.

So very confusing. The second manufacturer is even better. He is selling Corona Virus-free sofas. So how do I not get Corna Viris simply by sitting on the Sofa? GOK! (God only knows)! Photo Courtesy, Siddhartha Reddy Avija.

Initially, the rumours were that eating meat was dangerous and the sale of chicken, fish and meat nose-dived. The government and the concerned ministers had to eat chicken in public to allay the fears. Slowly the sale of meat and chicken started coming back to normalcy.

Sneha Chicken hits back, It says "Chicken boosts immunity to fight against Corona. IF YOU CAN'T FIGHT THEM, JOIN THEM. It almost appears like a Rajanikanth movie. Only the chicken has to say "Enna rascala' addressing the Corona Virus and the virus would simply be blown away. Picture courtesy Aditya Sunkara.

Oh, almighty save us from these people!

Sometimes being simple is the most challenging thing in the world - Customer Delight at Starbucks and at a restaurant

.Most people in marketing think that CRM and customer delight is very academic and involves technology and a lot of planning. Given below are two incidents where technology was not involved at all. The service providers provided customer delight because they believed that the job they were doing was not for money or recognition. They loved their job and wanted their customers to enjoy the moment.

The first incident happened when we visited USA in 2008. Padma and I were shopping at Walmart for our daily staples. The Walmart that we went to in Rosewood, Pleasanton was huge. It would be the size of two football fields. We had a pleasant but tiring shopping experience, and our shopping cart was full. We took a pit stop at the Starbucks in Walmart itself.

We ordered coffee and were waiting. The Barista was within our vicinity. Suddenly Padma piped in, "Did you get bread? We have no bread at home". Seeing my crestfallen face, Padma gave out an exasperated sigh. "I knew it. Why don't you go and get it?"

The bull (Taurean) in me reared up its head. "No," I said and dug in. The bull had found its resting place.

Padma had a hard glitter in her eyes (Afterall, she is a Capricorn and the goat too can be stubborn). "Your wish" she shrugged her shoulders "you are the one" she twisted the sword deep into the torso "You and the children are fond of bread. I can always eat rice and be contented".

Hearing all this was the pretty barista. She walked up to us and set down our coffee. She enquired "you missed buying bread?" I nodded my head, slightly irritated. She said, "Enjoy your coffee" and disappeared inside. Within seconds she was out, and she was wearing inline skates. She took two dollars from me and off she went like a silver bullet.

She was back within two minutes and in her hand was a fresh loaf of bread. Without a word, she gave us the bread and went back to her serving station. We were so stunned that we could not even thank her for the service. She took a little more pain so that her customers loved the Starbucks experience. Even though the incident happened over twelve years ago, it is etched in my memory as if it had just happened last week.

The second incident happened to my facebook friend, Rebecca Forster, the famous novelist. Rebecca was partying on 31st December night at Hay 19, Redondo Beach, a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California,

They were at a neighbourhood pub/restaurant. Rebecca and her friends ordered food and our their darling waitress says "it's four hours till we ring in the new year".

Rebecca's group has a hearty laugh and tell her that they are too old to stay up until midnight and the waitress goes away. Rebecca and party had a great meal promptly at nine o'clock the waitress comes charging out of the kitchen blowing her horn and yelling "Happy New Year". Since it was New Year in New York, she decided to bestow it upon Rebecca and friends and in California. Rebecca writes "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? HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE". Wow, Rebecca, she made your day, and you made our day. Happy new year!