Does mandatory continual professional development/education really lead to lifelong learning?

I am a voracious reader and while most of that goes into fiction, a good chunk also goes into reading non fiction. In fact, my passion for finance is largely due to my vicariously living through various books and finance fiction novels of Stephen Fry etc. Having switched gears to commerce later than most people, one of the main reasons I could catch up was having read extensively, and therefore often knowing more than my peers. Even during the admission interviews for IIM Ahmedabad & IIM Bangalore, and beyond, I could impress the interviewers with my knowledge beyond 'bean counting'/'mere CA curriculum knowledge'. largely because I'd read multiple books, blogs, magazines, textbooks etc. Anyways, this post is not hagiographic so enough of my story and back to the topic! 

Be it the institute of chartered accountants, management accountants, chartered secretaries, CFAs, FRMs, doctors, actuaries and so on, every established profession imposes certain mandatory knowledge updation hours for their members. This is often more stringent for members in public practice, than for those in employment. Usually, self declarations are allowed and even the mode of fulfilling hours are flexible, with options available to professionals to achieve their target in the least possible monetary investment and time. However, i have the following issues with this process

1) Why impose different requirements for those in public practice and those in service? The competency requirements from both should not differ, and in fact those in service may be more 'specialized' and 'frogs in the well' than their counterparts in public practice. Hence, there is no rationale distinction for this, except that members in service often retain their membership with much cajoling, so making more requirements for them may drive more of them away from retaining their membership-and which organization does not need fee paying members? Members in practice have their bread and butter contingent on their profession bestowed certificate of practice, but those in service do not have those constraints. 

2) Process driven to ensure more attendance in institute organized seminars-Even though professional institute organized programs are inexpensive(around Rs 1000-2000 per day for ICAI/ICSI/ICWAI), professionals often do not want to devote an entire day to content they would rather read in a hour or two.

3) Inflexible enough to suit needs-Even though bodies do allow for 'unstructured professional development' in terms of crosswords, reading, peer group discussions; there is still a long way to go.  

4) Compliance driven process does not foster willing compliance-I have seen professionals send their interns/other employees to attend programs and fill attendance slips on their behalf. This is because 

5) Commercial interests often result in regulatory capture-When private sector is allowed to deliver programs with CPD credits as done in UK/USA etc, those private sector bodies have an incentive to lobby for more stringent CPD requirements for their programs/speciality. 

6) Little focus on organization sponsorship that ensures peer learning, networking and applying what you learn One reason why executive education programs are so popular, is their organization context, which helps executives to learn from their peers in other functions, while immediately applying their learnings on the job often in the timespan between sessions. This organization driven sponsorship is quite helpful, but often in a misconceived wish to subsidize individual members, organization sponsored fees are often higher than self sponsored one(the ICSI Mumbai scheme at CCRT being a notable exception which allows bulk corporate members) since they are felt to have deep pockets! Yet, this approach is short sighted. 

In this information overload era where we are plugged into the digital world of laptop-smartphone-TV-tablet, it is difficult to make time for self development amidst challenging careers. Indeed, mastering subjects one has not learnt at all formally earlier(imagine the plight of chartered accountants who learnt IFRS from scratch when it was introduced!) often takes much more time than say 40hrs/year, and devoting the bare minimum mandated time might give one the illusion of comfort, while actually one may be falling behind technically and technologically compared to the next few batch(es) of professionals educated under updated curriculums/delivery mechanisms. 

The MBA bubble bursting in India?

Around two years ago, I had blogged on whether the MBA placements would see a permanent downturn or not. While that post was aimed at the Tier I Bschools, it seems the general scenario has worsened since then. The original post is at  http://iimaexperiences.blogspot.in/2012/02/iim-placements-2012-summer-of.html

Since then, the debate has heated up locally http://www.firstpost.com/business/slowdown-bites-spend-rs-9-lakh-on-an-mba-earn-only-rs-4-lakh-981611.html and globally ( http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/11/08/mba-remorse-business-school/) . While placements do seem better at IIMs, that is at the cost of Tier II/III/IV Bschools which struggle to place even 50% of their batch. In this context, the welcome address to the IIM Ranchi Batch of 2013-15 http://iimranchi.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Directors_speech.pdf was interesting, in the sense that it highlighted the declining MBA prospects, and implicitly conveyed the message that 'Don't be complacent'.

While the traditional 'MBA only' fields of investment banking and management consulting are picking up in recruitment, that does not offset the increased batch size, and competition from 1year MBA students in India and abroad, especially the Ivy league types who now try for jobs in India.

So bottomline to those deciding whether to go for or pursue MBA in 2014-16, think thrice.

Knowledge workers in the service sector-some musings

Its been 15 months since I joined Airtel, since then I've been lucky to work in a company which is (nearly equal parts) an utility, consumer goods, services and products company. Also, Airtel's outsourcing the 'core' operations of network and IT made it to global Bschool case studies-for example http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=33647 In recent times, the top leadership rejig may lead one to think that Airtel is now a consumer products company. After all, with the CEO, CFO, CMO etc from HUL(Indian arm of Unilever and a CXO factory), one may be forgiven for thinking thats the case. However, things can't be more different. For example, a channel manager in FMCG must manage physical inventory/branding/availability without customization, while his telecom counterpart manages zero inventory, and can often customize the recharge plan etc. This is just the tip of the ice berg, but this post is on service sector in general, not just Airtel, so I return to the topic.

I was reading a research paper on TRIZ in service sector(http://www.realinnovation.com/archives/2003/12/d/04.pdf) where it explained that Service development is differentiated from physical product development because of the unique characteristics of service products, such as customer participation, simultaneity, heterogeneity, intangibility and perishability, etc

1. tighter coupling between marketing and operations aspects. Service Operations integrates customer experience management involving customer service, operations, marketing etc
2. Since end product is intangible, the soft skills matter a lot in front end roles, so this percolates into the (otherwise) non client facing roles too like finance.
3. Inventory does not exist in service sector-so this is both a boon(less logistics hassle) and also a nightmare(manpower utilization)

Also, knowledge work does not happen only in services sector, even the service/support functions in manufacturing/agriculture can add a lot of value, however since there are unique issues in the service sector, thought to comment on them in the blog

 

ICICI Bank is khayal unka, not khayal aapka-why I shifted my main banking to HDFC

Next January(i.e Jan 2014), I will be an ICICI customer for 7 years. It was my first bank account, and for many years, the only. But next month onwards, my salary account will shift to HDFC, I will convert my demat account into basic demat services account with zero AMC, and use ICICIdirect trading platform only as a last resort. Why is this? Many reasons, but mostly to do with their not recognizing customer relationships across products, and pathetic product knowledge/customer service.

1) When I went to open a PF account at ICICI Bank Mulund(West) branch in Sep13, they subtly refused to open it for me, saying I could do that via internet banking. They were incorrect, since I could only do that by submitting a physical form. And then a 19year old salesperson spends 15minutes unsuccessfully selling me on an ULIP plan(surprise :D) instead of a plain vanilla term plan.

2) Even at ICICI branch Cyber City, whenever I visit the branch in person, they try to cross sell me into taking investment products rather than addressing my needs.

3) When I converted my single banking account into a joint account, the associated trading account was automatically deactivated without intimation to me. And apparently, a manual request to close the account was submitted in June 2012, while the fact is I had never done that. Repeated calls to customer care by myself and two branches(Sion/Bhandup) resulted in a solution that I should submit a form to relink trading account and banking account. The ICICIDirect Sion branch was OUT of stock of forms-which they could have printed from the net-a clear sign of them NOT wanting to do any extra work, while the Bhandup branch reluctantly  accepted the form, and tried to sell me an advance brokerage product for 15yrs. My form has gone missing now, and while customer care raised a ticket, d note that my so-called relationship manager did not help at all, and the branch landline number given by customer care is defunct4)I had to virtually plead with the customer care of ICICIDirect to raise a ticket

4) When I tried to get a personal loan recently, ICICI refused since I was not residing at the same address for more than a year, and this norm was not relaxable even for customers with long relationships. So much for stickiness!

I decided that I will NOT boost a bank's CASA ratio, when it so evidently can do without my business in its broking, retail assets and other areas,HDFC has been very responsive when I had customer care issues, but ICICI Bank phonebanking has been awesome and its overall technology platform, but people wise leaves much to be desired. I know its a rant but there was so much to say, so felt like saying that,.

Why principles of pricing/price discrimination do not work at barber saloons

Whenever I visit a barber's(or to be more politically correct. hairdresser!) saloon and pay the same rate on a Sunday morning as on a weekday afternoon, I wonder about what if the barber was to apply management principles of pricing to do the following:-

1. There would be price discrimination by time(charge more on Sundays/evenings)
2. Each person would be charged differently as per ability to pay-the migrant on daily wages would pay less than the CEO
3. There would be a membership with credits, to encourage repeated visits to that saloon, and other perks like loyalty program, and benefits like appointments through apps to minimize waiting

          However we have the benefit of observing a corporate chain of saloons i.e Javed Habib, and I notice this does not happen. Why is this so? Firstly, price discrimination by time i.e applying congestion pricing[charging more during high peak hours] would need customer assent, and is more difficult to stomach than merely raising the average price. Secondly, the customer DOES incur some waiting time(indirect costs) while having haircuts done during peak hours, so it is in his interest to come during off peak hours.

Ability to pay is factored in since saloon rent/wages are factored in the costing. And those who care about these costs would frequent a roadside barber or less expensive saloon. So it does not matter, and is not required i.e price discrimination as per ability to pay.

Since people usually frequent the same saloon/barber, loyalty program would entail unnecessary complexity and expenditure-something like why electronic micropayments is not taking off in India, when there is a much easier option i.e cash/notes/ which will anyways be there, why add complexity.

 

 

Lenskart.com-the next flipkart of eyecare?

I ordered my new pair of spectacles online from www.lenskart.com after the old one broke. It had lived its life of 3yrs and getting a new one is difficult logistically since I get only weekends free and hardly any opticians shop near where I stay, so finally decided to give online shopping a try, and I was not disappointed. My review below of lenskart, but this post is more on the business model,
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Lenskart-com-review-tulortuqrr

What do I mean by 'flipkart of eyecare'? Well, flipkart to me means speed, reliability(no cancelled orders), polite and prompt customer service and (till recently) deeply discounted rates passing on cost savings. All these seem true for lenskart.com as well. 

For some background, I read articles about them and founder Peeyish Bansal in Business Today and Economic Times. He is not a first time entrepreneur, in fact he had set up e-commerce ventures earlier in the USA and India in education and eyewear i.e searchmycampus.com) and Flyrr.com. However, due to logistics issues and economic conditions, his focus shifted away from them to Lenskart.In November 2010, he set up Lenskart.com, starting with contact lenses. In February 2011, he included eye-glasses and in March, sunglasses as well.  As per an Apr12 article in Business Today, Lenskart now gets about 45,000 visitors every day, of whom about 400-500 spend an average Rs 1,200 on ordering contact lenses, spectacles and eye accessories, and an expected FY12 topline of Rs 15-20 crore.

Lessons I could glean for this success[I call it success from the customer front, not so sure about the profitability but considering this is his 2nd venture, it should be profitable]

1. Second time venture, so lessons learnt:-Logistics/customer service probably excellent due to this. Advertising on Facebook is also a good way to tap customers. 
2. Tapping into an imperfect unorganized sector:-Like how www.redbus.com found its niche in bus travel, they found theirs in eyewear, which saw entry of retail chains like Reliance and Titan only recently. As per ET article, optical shops typically sell frames even at 100-200% margins and an average person has no idea what a frame actually costs. “A frame that’s priced at Rs 5,000-6,000 in a store actually costs only Rs 2,000. Also, rates vary as per area, unlike e-commerce, so thats a perfect way to make the market efficient.
3. Huge scope yet information asymmetry:- Almost one-third of our population has a vision correction problem and off these, only 25% use any kind of eyewear. The market in India is worth around $2 billion, growing at 25-30%. People usually trust their optician to prescribe something within their budget, but that is far from ideal. Online purchasing makes it transparent with his buying guide, risk free returns, and 'Try on your face'. Also, with use of smartphones and laptops increasing eye-strain, the market potential only goes up
4. Savvy HR policy:- As per Business Today article. LensKart, for instance, has strict rules against poaching. Candidates are employed only if they have not changed jobs frequently in the recent past, and are not offered more than a 15 to 20 per cent hike over their existing salary. This ensures they do not pay too much for talent which quits soon. 
5. Excellent customer service:-Be it instant chat on website, SMS asking whether satisfied or not, prepaid returns label for BlueDart and returns form, procedures are very streamlined.
6. Great logistics They handle it in-house via EComExpress, which is quite responsive too, they accepted my request to deliver at residence quite easily, and followed up professionally. 
7. Great offline ideas like 'Home Try-On', tieup with opticians etc, so they do not ignore the offline sector as well or the importance of physical customer connect.
8. Spreading common costs like logistics across multiple verticials:- Bansal has launched three more websites, each of which, like Lenskart, aims to become the category leader on the net. While Watchkart and Bagskart were launched last year, Jewelskart went online in January. Valyoo’s investor seems to approve of the strategy. IDG Ventures MD TC Meenakshisundaram says that Valyoo focuses on creating category leaders in product segments where supply chain inefficiencies lead to high costs. Also, synergies arise from giving customers a coupon book to use for the other websites as well, I got coupons 'worth' Rs 2,000 with my eyeglasses.
9. Getting domain names efficiently:-LensKart/WatchKart/BagsKart/JewelKart all convey their name at a glance, and probably save plenty of advertising dollars. 

Will be interesting to see how they progress. 

How to review an Excel spreadsheet aka spreadsheet auditing

Anyone who has installed a spreadsheet software like Excel/Open Office can create a spreadsheet. but reviewing one is much more challenging. One needs technical expertise on the subject matter, but also an ability to review/audit the spreadsheet, which depends on diligence/knowledge of Excel audit tools etc. Having searched this topic for a hour today, I give below my insights on the same based on referenced links, and my own experience. Surprisingly, there is little focussed training on this, both in professional firms or in organizations where it is presumed that people will pick it up on the job.

1. Keep data/constants separately, at one place for ease in updation, and document the assumptions/link to source file. 
2. Build in checks(like period y-o-y changes), constraints etc to ensure arithmetic accuracy, sanity check on reasonableness etc.
3. Use relative references and constant file naming conventions/file structure conventions, so that updating links possible using 'Edit Links' option. 
4. If any manual changes made to formula cells, shade that cell for identification or else identify it separately. Otherwise, excel has an option to identify cell not simillar to its surrounding cells, that may help you identify cells where formulas have been edited different to that copied across range.
5. Ensure the Excel is ready for printing, and for copying in presentation. This means, in addition to segregating data from algorithms, placing meaningful column and row labels in each portion of the spreadsheet, and not just what the preparer understands.
6. Develop "Summary'/'Analytical Tab'  to synthesize the results of all key assumptions and analytical results, concurrent with the ongoing analysis, so that only key findings and results will be presented or communicate

A visit to CCD, Cyber City(DLF Phase III Gurgaon)

At 11pm, when you feel the urge for a hot bite and drink, making it yourself is not the best option for a bachelor(ok even married men would hesitate at waking up their wives for this, but then they would probably be housetrained for basic cooking :D). When I walked 5min to the nearest foodcourt, CCD caught my eye and surprisingly it was still open! Following were my observations-btw what drew me in was the value for money Samosa+Chai/Coffee for Rs 49(+taxes=Rs 58), comparable to what I'd pay in the much less comfortable food court.

• It is open from 8am-4am(!!!) even longer than McD which is from 9am-1am. Am not sure whether the counter person meant  8pm-4am, actually that would kinda make more sense. There was just a single person on duty there. 
• Comfortable cushioned couches instead of the normal chairs I saw in other CCDs
• A TV playing Movies OK channel 'Maine Tujhe Pyar Kiya'!
• A wall advertisement by www.yebhi.com having QR codes of products which users could scan to get directed offers. Personally, I felt that was pretty cool
• Promotional pamphlets by Samsung for its Galaxy S4, and by Vodafone for its trial 3G pack of 500MB for just Rs 49. Both being yuppy brands, advertising in CCD is a good idea
• The usual merchandise of coffee, cups, strainers etc for those inclined to purchase
• CCD times-an in house publication.

In all, a comfortable place to hang out and apt for the luxuriant ambience of Cyber City. 

Some insights on the radio taxi industry

If you have to reach any place in time and/or in style, then taxis far outbeat autos. Besides the comfort(4 wheeler vs 3 wheeler, AC vs ordinary) in cabs, another advantage is their being waterproof, heatproof and having transparent meters and fares vis-a-vis autorickshaws. Having used radio cabs extensively in Bangalore and NCR(less often in Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad), some comments on the same

1. These fares have an upper regulated limit depending on the city. Many newcomers undercut these tariffs but may not be reliable on timing or availability(may cancel at the last minute)
2. The industry works on a model where both cab driver and customer pay. The two models are
1. Drivers drive company owned cabs paying Rs 1000-1500 per shift, and bearing the fuel charges. In turn, they can keep their entire earnings, and get the reservation fee share for the extra distance driven to pickup a fare
2. Drivers owning their own cabs pay a monthly subscription fee to the cab company, and usually a per pickup success fee. Tying up with one company is not enough, so often a single owner has 2-3 company tieups to ensure greater cab utilization. 
3. If you are not going for a long distance/airport drop off, then the cab may cancel if they get a better deal elsewhere. Of course, in organized reputed firms like Easy Cabs/Ola Cabs(I will NOT count Meru since it cancelled on me twice, once for an airport trip), drivers are fined if they do not reach 
4. There are many cab services in NCR which offer headline fares at Rs 10/km. What are the extras are-which make Meru/EasyCabs look cheaper for short distances
1. Min Billing anywhere from Rs 100-200 per trip
2. Airconditioning charges extra usually Rs 20-25
3. Luggage charges extra beyond X  bags
4. Call Centre reservation charges(since often NO online reservation)
5. How not to get conned/and save money
1. Book online where possible, to save on the convenience charge. Create an account to save frequently used destinations. 
2. Insist on a receipt for toll/tax, often the driver has a monthly pass but will still try and extract charges from you
3. Use the Google Navigator on to guide the driver in case of confusion on route, else on the per km model, any detours are at YOUR expense
4. Use the mobile apps where available-they offer discounts(like Ola Cabs 10%) and enable easy tracking of your cabs(i.e Ola Cabs)
5. Keep adequate change with you for the cab, often the cab will pretend that the credit card machine does not work OR will extract the bill even before you can take out your card. Tell the driver you want to pay by card, and if he plays tactics, complain to the company. It won't help for that trip, but will deter future pranks
6. How to choose a radio taxi firm
1. Give patronage to one which services ALL your needs including night time trips/short distances, not just the long trips. That is why Easy Cabs gets my vote vs Meru
2. Prefer one which allows online tracking of the cab to avoid tension of phoning call centre and tracking the cab progress

My experience at Jaipur Literature Festival 2013

The first time I heard about the Jaipur Lit Fest was during my years on the IIM Ahmedabad campus, when a few friends decided to attend. Due to personal commitments at those times, I could not attend but when the 2013 version came and I was at Gurgaon, I decided to attend it on Republic Day. So when the nation was celebrating(or rather indifferent to!) Republic day, me and many other literature lovers were enjoying the various sessions on offer. So without much ado, I recount my experience and some tips for getting the most out of the fest

1. The venue(Hotel Diggi Palace) is very close to SMS Hospital(which all autos/buses know). So rather than spend on a cab and pollute the environment/lighten your wallet, consider taking a city bus or a share auto. That should just cost you Rs 10 each way. 
2. There is no restriction on taking food/drinks inside the venue. Considering that items are slightly on the upper side, consider taking basic snacks/munchies with you, or have a good breakfast(the awesome poha/parathas/dal bhati) outside and then attend
3. Registration is free(basic version) or paid(this year Rs 2500 where you get hamper from sponsor, free food and attending the music concert). Even valuing the free food at Rs 600, concert at Rs 400, that means you pay Rs 1500 for the hamper and the pleasure of being a patron of the litfest. Considering you get no other privileges like preferred seating, thats your choice. The name tag for paid registrations has your name, which might help for those of you focussed on networking.Make sure to pre register else if crowds too much, they may close the spot registration.
4. The souvenir booklet(this year Rs 100) containing bios and detailed description of talk outline, is totally worth it. Otherwise, you spend lots of time Googling the authors to guess what they may be speaking about and stuff like that
5. Its better to go as a group not only due to the carnival atmosphere, but also to ensure you get seating even when return from lunch/snack breaks. Here, like in any other Indian ethos, the concept of blocking seats exists. While I protested and got my way, you may not be thickskinned enough to do it when alone. So keep that in mind
6. This year, the bookshop sold books by all attending authors. So if you want to make the author happy(but don't want to/have time to, order online), purchase a book at the litfest and Queue up for the post talk signing. 
7. The sessions are usually 2+ authors(generally 3-4), literary critics, journalists or other renowned literature personalities, with a moderator. The format is a panel discussion like what you see on TV, except that its better moderated, and has (usually) better quality audience questions. So if you are expected deep insights, forget it, but if you are ok with many short insights from various people, you are at the right place. 

Overall, it was not arty/elitist, and a pleasure to attend. But if you don;t like the program topic, better find an alternate else it may get very boring

Interstate bus travel in India-some hard won lessons tips

Over the past 5 months, I've had some interstate bus travel, by public and private operators, so thought I would summarize my experience below(mainly in terms of time, comfort dependent on class of travel etc)

 

From	To	Distance(Kms)	Time taken(hrs)	Average Speed	Month	Travel
Bangalore	Coorg	244	8	31	Dec-12	Pvt chartered bus
Bangalore	Chennai	340	4.5	76	Dec-12	KSRTC
Gurgaon	Jaipur	245	5.5	45	Jan-13	RSRTC
Bangalore	Hyderabad	500	8	63	Sep-12	Pvt operator

 Though the Southern states are usually believed to have better roads, the Bangalore-Coorg trip took very long because of winding traffic packed small roads within Coorg, and also because the bus has a speed limiter which stopped it from making up time on National highways! But even otherwise, the roads were quite pathetic on that stretch. Bangalore-Chennai and Bangalore-Hyderabad roads require no introduction, they are very very good. But when it comes to Delhi-Jaipur stretch(mostly on NH-8), then things become strange. There are two main operators, RSRTC(Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation) and HSRTC(Haryana State Road Transport Corporation). I succumbed to availability bias(RSRTC e-ticketing) while booking the tickets, but was had a bad experience in terms of speed, bus comfort and stops selection(expensive overpriced places). Later, a veteran traveller said that HSRTC buses are not only more frequent, but also reach you faster. Also, unlike in the South, private buses are actually cheaper than public transport, atleast in Rajasthan. Some lessons

1. Unlike private operators, state transport buses may not have dedicated customer care/contact numbers where English/Hindi is spoken. So if you do not speak the language or are not familiar with the stops, then god save you!
2. Since public transport buses should easily get full due to (presumably) cheaper rates and reliable timing, unsold seats are a warning of deeper issues(quality, timing etc), which I ignored in RSRTC
3. For long distance, Volvo is better, not only in terms of comfort, but also it is faster, and since likely to be full from starting, lesser unscheduled delays while conductors try to pack the bus
4. No substitute for speaking to veteran travellers on the route, who can not only advice the best bus, but also likely issues(blankets/water etc) for you. 
5. Don't bank on the DVD/seat lights working, not even for good operators-or they may not keep it on 24*7. Hence, do get your earphones etc along. And go for a bus with a charging point, that people vouch for that works! Else kiss your half day good bye
6. The service can be astonishingly good(conductor stops where you want) depending on the state(Karnataka is the best imo, its Airavat class services), and many speak English/Hindi, so don't shy away from Govt owned transport due to language factor, provided you have asked about it.
7. On the plus side, nearly all allow e-ticketing/SMS tickets nowadays, along with web based booking and inexpensive cancellation charges.

 In all, considering difficulty in getting train tickets and comparable travel times on the said routes, inter state bus travel should never be ruled out!

Good experience at Bangalore Book Festival 2012

As a Mumbaikar who loves books, the nearest I'd come to book exhibitions/festivals was the annual strand sale, but even that was a single retailer. Hence, when I noticed the ad of the Bangalore book festival at Palace Grounds, Mekhri Circle; I jumped at the chance to attend one, especially given its timing at the fag end of my stay here in Bangalore.  The fair's description as reported in the Hindu stated that This year, over a million books and 50 renowned writers will converge at the festival, which will boast 307 stalls, lakhs of book titles and books in all languages, promised the organisers, at a press conference held here on Thursday. This list includes about 90 Kannada publishers, 150 English publishers, other regional language publishers, developers of book apps and e-books, book portals and online book sellers. By the time I'd come, all the writers had come and gone, and the number of stalls had drastically fallen, but still it was a good experience.

1. Entry fee @ Rs 20(as I'm not a student or teacher) was reasonable
2. F&B arrangements were decent inside(only veg though) and conveniently located
3. The prime spaces were taken by online portals/children's books-a lead indicator of the things to come? I've felt before that the most profitable portions of the publishing industry would be online book retailers(due to lesser real estate/stocking costs) and children's books(as otherwise rational parents want only the 'best' for their kids, and are unlikely to use pirated/ebook versions). 
4. Several Indian publishers like Jaico, Pustak Mahal, Orient-Longman, National Book Trust were present, but surprisingly, Rupa was not there. Very few foreign publishers present though
5. Several niche publishers were there like those focussing on tantra, Hindu literature, Ramkrishnan Mission, Islamic books, leftist literature, which gave a good overview on stuff not usually found in book stores. Even browsing them stimulates the mind.
6. Some magazine publishers like OPEN, Week, Network18 were present. I picked up a 1 year subscription to OPEN magazine for Rs 649, versus the market price of Rs 1045. Given the stellar content of the magazine(and a cover price of Rs 35, versus the effective per copy price of Rs 13 for being couriered to my office), its worth it.
7. Many stalls were of retailers, who played the price/bargain game like 1 book Rs 50/99, Rs 100 for 3books and so on. So much so, that the organizers were repeatedly playing announcements requesting the stalls to remove the prominently displayed price tags!! Given that we Indians are suckers for bargains, its not surprising that this strategy worked!I picked up a Shobha De book for Rs 100(Super Star India), and an old Readers Digest adbridged classics set for Rs 49(this was my best bargain from the entire thing). I also picked up some books from the National Book Trust.
8. Some stalls however, were not related to books at all, for example a stall of educational software for MS Office, Coding etc, devotional music and so on.
9. An interesting feature was the number of stalls focussing on book lending libraries, as well as sites like homeship18. They were prominently there.

Overall, the book fair did meet the criteria of serendipity(http://andy161.blogspot.in/2012/11/why-i-window-shop-in-physical.html) while the deep discounting did help convert some selections into buys. Would certainly attend another one if held next year.

Why I window-shop in physical bookstores but buy online

As Gary Becker and Richard Posner put it Amazon’s book-recommendation program is primitive, and is no substitute for browsing in a well-stocked bookstore.  And even if the book recomendation alogorithm is refined(like the famous Netflix one) taking into account previous purchasing/browsing history, social media, recommendations etc, it removes the element of serendipity. If I want to check out books and look for new ideas/mental models, then a bookstore is the best place to start. Also, I may see titles that may just be right for a friend/relative.

Also, browsing through the pages of a book is rarely possible online, even Amazon gives hardly 10% of the book. On the other hand, Amazon etc have excellent reviews, which often give away the gist of the book itself and state both positive negative points. Hence, on the quality assessment/preview front, online probably wins.

One also cannot compare the prices-paying list price online, often import parity prices despite the increasing Indian editions these days, versus locating the lowest cost book often at discounts upto 40% through sites like www.kbooksearch.com or www.isbn.in. From the cost angle therefore, online is not comparable.

Evidence also states that people hardly read most books they purchase. Hence, to prevent information overload/buying books you are not likely to read, a cooling off period and searching for online reviews/alternatives is a good thing before making a decision to buy something you saw offline.

Still, having stated why I do it, it would be fair to give examples where physical book stores may actually work and prosper.

1. http://www.forbes.com/sites/philjohnson/2012/05/10/the-man-who-took-on-amazon-and-saved-a-bookstore/  This gives the example of an independent bookstore which installed the Expresso 'print on demand' book printer, and pays fanatical attention to customer service with an unrivaled staff of passionate and educated booksellers. 
2. http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/13/3238391/singularity-and-co-sci-fi-bookstore-dumbo-brooklyn  This book gives information about the rare book market, for which online buying may be more expensive, and the book may not be there next time you return. This is a good business model for those who can tie up supplies.
3. Impulse purchases books like those in airport/railway/bus stations, for which no alternative is available
4. Stores supported with coffee/food cafes, music/related merchandise etc. The Landmark chain of bookstores owned by the Trend Group(part of Indian conglomerate Tata Group) is a prime example. This is because it creates an entire experience complete with sofas/bean bags etc, for which customers feel the urge to pay

The shoddy experiences with Goibibo and Redbus

I had earlier praised Redbus on this blog(http://andy161.blogspot.in/2012/03/10-reasons-why-i-book-bus-tickets.html), and that is why I write this post, to give the other perspective. Earlier last month, when I needed to book tickets to Hyderabad, I sought to use the ICICI 10% discount code for the tickets. For some weird reason, it was not working. When I called up customer care, they sought to put the blame on my browser/cache, advised me to refresh and try etc. When even that did not work, they claimed that I was no longer eligible for that offer. When I still went ahead and booked the tickets w/o the coupon code, they even refused a goodwill waiver, stating that I had already used another lesser value discount code. When I challenged them about another ticket, then they stated the real reason that they would not apply discount codes to tickets once booked. Fair enough, but why give a misleading response and try deflecting blame? From the fact that they took down the ICICI offer code the next day, it seems that they had realized the technical issue or else had let it expire without renewal(likelier reason). While I have no issue with their technology, this experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

But their competitor GoIbibo was no better. Even their coupon code worked with great difficulty and repeated efforts. Their customer care was little knowledgeable about the website, and did not call back about failed payments/unconfirmed bookings status. This was for both bus and flight tickets. And to top it all, their search platform is quite cumbersome. So without discounts to compensate for that, who in their right mind would use it over a Redbus or a cleartrip?

Is it fair to treat prepaid customers badly?

A customer who is acquired at zero costs, costs you nearly nothing to service, pays you money in advance and yet who receives minimal customer service. Most businesses would salivate at such a customer. But why do telecom companies focus on their postpaid customers(who take min 1-2months to recover their channel partner commission, who pay late/have credit period, who need expensive payments/collections mechanism etc)? One reason is that postpaid customers, as the conventional wisdom goes, have higher ARPUs than their prepaid peers, and are likely to stay longer on the network.  However, they also cost the telco more for bill delivery, credit costs and customer service. In an era where these costs are almost fully variable, one can tangibly accurately estimate the relative profitability of prepaid and postpaid customers. Just imagine, a prepaid customers costs you nothing to acquire(in direct cost terms), pays his own channel commission(that Rs 1-3 channel fee) and gives you valuable float. He IS rewarded with better tariffs(usually) but that’s owning to competition and not from any benevolence of the telecom operators.

Particulars	Prepaid	Postpaid
Tariffs	L	H
ARPU	L	H
Loyalty	L	H
Customer Service Quality	L	H
Credit Risk to Airtel	L(zero)	H
Customer Acquisition Cost	L(zero)	H
Tariff flexibility	H(RCV)	L(few plans)
Customer payment costs	L(they pay it)	H(Airtel bears it)
Risk of outgoing calls barred due to zero balance	H	L
Bill shock risk	L(balance post every txn)	H(unless daily alerts opted)
MNP Risk	L(may just change SIM)	H(are likely to be pursued by other operators)
Loyalty likely due to	Personal choice	Corporate relationships
Bill Delivery Costs	L(zero)	H(mandatory)
Free Itemized Bill on Email ID	No(same Rs 50 charge)	Yes

You can be a data scientist for big data just using Excel and Access

Just google 'Big Data' and watch the explosion of results. Some herald it as the next big thing, others peddle their consulting services/software/systems as the magic recipe for companies to mine gold from their (till now) ignored legacy data sets. However, as I've realized from a customer service project during the past few weeks, spreadsheets can do the trick equally well, provided you follow a few basic ground rules

1. Understand the underlying data, its fields/formats and the limitations. This may need visiting the field/POS/scanners/call centres to get a feel for the source data, but can do wonders in understanding what can be relied upon and what can't. After all, all the number crunching in the world even using 500 columns is useless if the underlying data is not reliable
2. Frame hypotheses(even though they may seem 'obvious') and look for data to validate and disprove them. For example, if you think that customers recently added on the network will face more issues with their bill delivery, then choose data fields that can help you validate that hypothesis. A few fields well chosen can really reduce the time used for import/export of data. 
3. Use subject matter experts to review the findings and offer their views. often, if a finding challenges their conventional wisdom, they can offer alternate reasons for the same. 
4. Creatively think of dimensions like time, space, temperature to analyze data sets. Often, these physical variables are ignored but are available in the system. Using the existing data is far cheaper than trying to get it from scratch. 
5. Data mining for social networks, stock trading data and other massive data volumes would obviously need some automation via neural networks, crawlers, AI etc. But for everything else, one can use spreadsheets to squeeze out that last drop of insight from existing data sets
6. Understand the import/export features of spreadsheet/database software like Excel/MS Access etc. If  your data set with some tweaking can fall in that range(like below 1million odd rows etc), then using those standardized tools may be faster and efficient. Also, no need to call expensive data conversion experts, you can do the job yourself(for example importing .txt files to Excel)
7. Don't be afraid to google any trouble areas. Often, excellent solutions available online(for instance, how to export more than 65,436 rows from MS Access to Excel-the online solutions include exporting w/o formatting, or using OCDBC)

Bottomline:- Don't be awed by big data sets. Use pivot tables etc to summarize the data and get a feel for it, then slice and dice it the way you can using Excel/Access. Often, those quick wins may win you a justification for a bigger data mining project