Global brands in globalization of emerging economies

India is the hot focus of many brands. Last year we had so many brands come in, in all genres of life like food, lifestyle, services, etc. Each year we keep on adding to the brands and the hungama that happens around it.
All international brands claim that they translate the best consumer experience for you from across the globe. But the truth is that brands still haven't been able to do it.

Do Indian brands service better? I remember when Hyundai first entered India while everybody loved the car, the service and availability of spare parts was still an issue to ponder. Maruti beat all the other players on account of best service and its accessibility & availability in the remotest areas in the country.

I am not here to generalize or make statements but the fact is that most of my experiences with global brands have made me believe and translate my beliefs into words. A recent experience that shook me and only strengthened my belief was Mac. Donald's. Promises smiles, fun a great family experience moving away from the platform of great yummy food as that has become a hygiene factor for them. Everybody probably knows what Mac food tastes like. But my smiles at Mac soon vanished when I found a living worm in my burger. I complained at the outlet, wrote to their customer service email address, but nobody heard me or even bothered to write back.

I was so disappointed that it just completely shook me and I narrated my experience to atleast 10 other friends. What amazed me was obviously the hygiene level that a chain of this magnitude operates at and secondly that they didn't even have the audacity to write back. Do they believe that Indians who want a burger for 20 Rs have no right to demand for quality products?

There are a lot of other brands that haven't particularly impressed me in their customer service one of them is the world's favourite Mac. A Mac customer is so passionate that he anyways knows his product and brand well but the store staff can still be atleast a little bit useful instead of being arrogant and having minimal product knowledge. All the customer expects him to do is share his passion

I’m sure all of us can think of lots of instances when we felt that global brands service standards vary from city to city, country to country and continent to continent. I would like to leave you with a question:

Is it because it's India that it doesn't matter?

Technorati Profile