This book was actually waiting to be written. The prompt was provided by a number of encounters I had while I tried to resolve my complaints with some of the well-known companies. They included a high profile bank, a major automobile company, a top notch insurance firm belonging to a group known for its high degree of ‘business ethics’ and a housing bank. The details of these stories, which may well be called the ‘trigger stories’, are included in the book along with three other cases of first-hand experience.
The stories, by themselves are quite commonplace, reflecting usual mix of apathy, evasiveness,effort to out-smart the customer and wriggle out of a bad situation. I experienceda sponge-like behaviour while dealing with the people handling my complaints. I would plead and shout for resolution of the problem. Customer care associates would listen, and absorb with all the patience and feigned politeness, but I would see no meaningful action.
However, when I finally reached or gate-crashed in to the office of a senior enough manager the first reaction I encountered was that of a denial, virtually saying: ‘This cannot happen in our company.’ But once the problem was understood it was solved with utmost speed.
I realised that the people at the helm of affairs at each of these four organisations enjoy a personal credibility and respect of the highest order. It is difficult to imagine that they would even remotely want any of the company’s customers to be short-changed. And yet, there was a gulf between what was promised by the company management and what was being delivered at the operating level. Many questions arose in my mind: Why does this happen even in well-meaning companies? How different cultures get to reside in different parts of a company? Where does the disconnect take place? Why do mission statements begin to turn into mere posters? Why does such cultural schizophrenia occur in an organisation? I decided to explore and to find answers to these intriguing questions.
That is how this book was conceived. I knew that only adequate empirical research could provide the right answers.