I have a theory about the “average customer facing Joe’s” indifference to customers. A lot of big-chain outlets – thanks to the labor policies in India – often source workers from an intermediary. This keeps them from incentivizing the performers since these workers are not the part of the core organization. And while they can fire the non-performers, they are usually absorbed back by the same intermediary and placed elsewhere. Semi-skilled/skilled labor after all, is in short supply. This causes the checks balances of rewards and punishments to go awry, and we as customers bear the brunt of it.

A couple of books that I recently came across, throw some more light on these (and similar) issues – a.) In spite of the Gods by Edward Luce and b.) Escape from the benevolent zookeepers by S. Aiyar (a compilation of his Swaminomics column in the Times Of India) are wonderful reads.

While agree that the picture is not all that rosy, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it hopeless (yet!). The big chain owners just need to empathize with the customer a little. Its not rocket science after all! And honestly, I think the average Indian customer – thanks to years of not having much choice – is not all that demanding. Just get the basics right, treat the customer with respect and the rest will follow.