Yeah, yeah, I know, the title is the clichéd start to a joke, like "An Irishman, an Italian and a Greek walk into a bar....". But I couldn't resist, because it's so apropos to what I'm about to relate.
I needed a small appliance, so I went to one of the popular appliance stores. On the ground floor, I am greeted by about ten salespeople. When I mention what I am looking for, they direct me to the first floor(2nd floor in American English), and the ten salespeople go back to watching a game show on the big-screen TVs that they are supposed to be selling. Someday, Indian retailers will learn that it's better to keep big-ticket items in back, rather than out front. People making big-ticket purchases know what they are looking for, and they have cash. What you want to do is place impulse items along their path to the big purchases. You simply don't let them make their large purchases at the front of the store and walk out without seeing any of your other merchandise. Anyway, on the first floor, there are two salespersons, both dressed in salwar kameez outfits. I tell them I am going to browse. The taller of the two tails me, and it strikes me that she is pretty tall for a girl, and a bit butch-looking. Turns out she's transgender, but that is neither here nor there. I do give credit to the store, though, for hiring her, since there is considerable prejudice in India against transgenders and therefore few legitimate employment opportunities.
I ask her about different features, but unfortunately, it appears that they are not particularly well trained in answering technical questions on the products. Again, that is neither here nor there, since I knew what I was looking for. I pick one appliance that fits my requirements, and I am informed- not for the first time in my Indian shopping experiences- that they have no more stock of that model, and they weren't sure when they would get another. So after another ten minutes or so, I settle on another, a bit pricier but with similar features. Then we get to my checkout, which is what the title of this post applies to.
My salesperson takes me to a long counter, behind which are five people- four men and a lady- sitting all in a row as you would find in your typical municipal office here. I felt like I was about to be interviewed by a committee. She tells this lady what I want to buy, and the lady types stuff into her terminal and produces a printout. She hands this printout to the person to her right, who then processes my payment and returns the printout with my receipt to the aforementioned lady. The lady then stamps the printout and sends it over to a guy two places to her left. He looks at it, types some stuff into his terminal, stamps the printout and returns it to the lady. The lady then gives it to the guy on her immediate left, who takes about ten minutes typing stuff in and apparently waiting for a response from some other source. I am asked to take a seat, which I do.
Finally, the printout comes back, the lady stamps it one more time and hands it to the salesperson who in turn hands it to me, and I note that each stamp is of a different color. My simple checkout of one item involved-besides the fifteen or more minutes it took- the salesperson plus four of the five people at the checkout counter, plus the guard who needed to check my receipt against the "free gifts"(toothbrush holder, refrigerator deodorizer and washing-machine de-scaler) I was given, and I wasn't even carrying the item I had just bought, which was promised for delivery the next day. I couldn't help thinking about the confusion that must prevail on a busy day, such as a Divali sale, or a Republic Day sale, with people lining up and having to mill about while their receipts play musical chairs.
I can see only one reason why such inefficiency is still feasible, and that is that the cost of labor is still too low to encourage streamlining. At the moment, it is still possible to sell appliances and electronics to the Indian public without too much(or even any) technical knowledge, but that hopefully will change and these stores might have to hire- and better compensate- trained and knowledgeable staff. Perhaps increased staffing costs would nudge them into streamlining the checkout process. That aside, is it too much to ask that the customer have a pleasant shopping experience and not be subjected to unnecessary inconvenience even if you can afford to stuff the store with employees? The appliance was delivered the next day as promised, but the chap who was supposed to unpack it, "demo" the device and- more importantly- activate the warranty has not shown up in the two days since. Par for punctuality here. Perhaps he's standing in a line someplace waiting to get papers stamped in rainbow colors.
Okay, so how many Indians does it take to check out an appliance purchase? Five, in this instance. Plus one to hold my hat. Just kidding! But I bet they would have provided someone to do that too, from all the employees just hanging about.
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