Monday, April 20, 2009
A very quick update from Leh in the Ladakh region of Kashmir, India
So far it has been hard to find an internet connection where I can sit and focus for 10 minutes without intererruption, but wanted to quickly post my whereabouts, and that I have been jottign down several topics in my journal which will each deserve their own post, so these may come in a flood shortly. I also hope to figure out how to upload photos. Thanks again for your patience!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Buying a bus ticket and a hard drive in Madras
As one friend pointed out to me the nickname "Mad-rush", the city now called "Chennai" was a very short, yet despite jet lag and travel fatigue quite suitable first stop on the RLT.
First, we stayed at a friend's place and woke to find him online, already there for 2 hours, and about to be there for another 2 hours, trying to buy a bus ticket. My guess is that this might be a somewhat exceptional case, and would be unlikely but not impossible in the US. What it alerted me to was that "customer service" had a little bit more room for improvement in the Indian transportation sector, as I discovered yesterday when no one answered the phones of the state-owned internet service provider (since it was a Hindu holiday), and am discovering now when trying to plan a route by train up to Pune, and perhaps Bangalore or Delhi.
The more interesting case was spending over 3 hours trying to buy a hard drive. First of all, one can't just hop on the subway a block from the Apple store in India; one generally has a hair-raising ride in a small car weaving through traffic at a constant 40km per hour, where old ladies and autorickshaws trying to cross are surprisingly not killed, and then park on what might be thought of as an unpaved portion of a sidewalk. Then the real fun begins:
Me: "Good afternoon, I'd like to buy a hard drive please".
Lady at the front desk: "Certainly sir, someone will be right with you"
(5 minutes pass)
Me: "Hi, just wondering, could you please tell me about how long will it be?"
L: "I think he may have gone on break, I'll try calling him now" (she calls and chats) "He will be here right away".
Me: "Thank you"
(5 minutes later, the tech arrives)
Me: "Oh, hi, I'd like to buy a hard drive please"
T: "Certainly sir, just 2 minutes please"
(15 minutes pass)
Me (to the Lady at the front desk): "Just wondering, could I please get his attention and let him know we are in a hurry?"
(L looks back and waves, T comes back into the room with another lady who looks like another tech).
T: "Sir, we have a 250GB available for Rs. 11,000 (about $205)"
Me: "Do you have anything larger or less expensive?"
T: "Yes of course, we also have a 500GB for Rs. 6,000 (about $120)"
Me: "Wait, so you're telling me the much bigger hard drive is much less expensive?! Why's that?"
T: "Oh, the 500GB does not have firewire, USB only".
Me: "That's OK, I don't need firewire if it has USB 2.0. Could I please...".
T: "Sorry, just one minute sir"
(10 minutes pass, then he and the tech lady return)
Me: "Hi, could I please buy that 500GB hard drive for Rs. 6,000?"
(My friend's debit card somehow does not work, so he runs to an ATM to get cash. There is no ATM within walking distance, so he must get in his car, cross the beeline trafic, spend a few minutes to drive less than 1km, then come back to park. The ATM only has 100-rupee notes today, so it takes 6 withdrawals to get all the bills.)
Me and my friend: "Here is the Rs. 6,000"
(we hand over Rs. 1,000 at a time so that he can count the bills, once he has them, we take the hard drive and start to leave).
T: "Just one minute sir, let me get you your receipt"
(He goes into the back room, 10 minutes pass, then he comes out with three pieces of paper, one which is the receipt with stamp, and one of those short-side-insert envelopes).
Actually, it was quite fun.
First, we stayed at a friend's place and woke to find him online, already there for 2 hours, and about to be there for another 2 hours, trying to buy a bus ticket. My guess is that this might be a somewhat exceptional case, and would be unlikely but not impossible in the US. What it alerted me to was that "customer service" had a little bit more room for improvement in the Indian transportation sector, as I discovered yesterday when no one answered the phones of the state-owned internet service provider (since it was a Hindu holiday), and am discovering now when trying to plan a route by train up to Pune, and perhaps Bangalore or Delhi.
The more interesting case was spending over 3 hours trying to buy a hard drive. First of all, one can't just hop on the subway a block from the Apple store in India; one generally has a hair-raising ride in a small car weaving through traffic at a constant 40km per hour, where old ladies and autorickshaws trying to cross are surprisingly not killed, and then park on what might be thought of as an unpaved portion of a sidewalk. Then the real fun begins:
Me: "Good afternoon, I'd like to buy a hard drive please".
Lady at the front desk: "Certainly sir, someone will be right with you"
(5 minutes pass)
Me: "Hi, just wondering, could you please tell me about how long will it be?"
L: "I think he may have gone on break, I'll try calling him now" (she calls and chats) "He will be here right away".
Me: "Thank you"
(5 minutes later, the tech arrives)
Me: "Oh, hi, I'd like to buy a hard drive please"
T: "Certainly sir, just 2 minutes please"
(15 minutes pass)
Me (to the Lady at the front desk): "Just wondering, could I please get his attention and let him know we are in a hurry?"
(L looks back and waves, T comes back into the room with another lady who looks like another tech).
T: "Sir, we have a 250GB available for Rs. 11,000 (about $205)"
Me: "Do you have anything larger or less expensive?"
T: "Yes of course, we also have a 500GB for Rs. 6,000 (about $120)"
Me: "Wait, so you're telling me the much bigger hard drive is much less expensive?! Why's that?"
T: "Oh, the 500GB does not have firewire, USB only".
Me: "That's OK, I don't need firewire if it has USB 2.0. Could I please...".
T: "Sorry, just one minute sir"
(10 minutes pass, then he and the tech lady return)
Me: "Hi, could I please buy that 500GB hard drive for Rs. 6,000?"
(My friend's debit card somehow does not work, so he runs to an ATM to get cash. There is no ATM within walking distance, so he must get in his car, cross the beeline trafic, spend a few minutes to drive less than 1km, then come back to park. The ATM only has 100-rupee notes today, so it takes 6 withdrawals to get all the bills.)
Me and my friend: "Here is the Rs. 6,000"
(we hand over Rs. 1,000 at a time so that he can count the bills, once he has them, we take the hard drive and start to leave).
T: "Just one minute sir, let me get you your receipt"
(He goes into the back room, 10 minutes pass, then he comes out with three pieces of paper, one which is the receipt with stamp, and one of those short-side-insert envelopes).
Actually, it was quite fun.
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