When the No. 2 is really trying harder - A Romantic Realist

When the No. 2 is really trying harder

Raju Narisetti - Sunday, December 14, 2008 11:34 AM

Readers of Romantic Realist might remember he is partial to Jet Airways despite all the over-the-top allure of relative upstart Kingfisher Airlines. But here is a vivid example of how being No. 2 to Naresh Goyal's Jet, Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher does try harder and is much more acutely aware of the need to go the extra mile:

Exhibit 1

4.07 am: An email with a cute digital image of colorful balloons rising against a blue sky landed in my inbox from birthdaygreetings@updates.jetairways.com, saying:

Sub: Happy Birthday from JetPrivilege 

Dear Mr Narisetti,

Wishing you a wonderful year ahead!

Yours sincerely,

JetPrivilege Team

Exhibit 2

10:17 am: This time the email is from kingclub@flykingfisher.com and has images that I can't see at all in Lotus Notes, the worst email software you can ever imagine that Mint is stuck with. The email's text says:

Sub: Birthday Wishes from KingClub 

Dear Mr. Raju Narisetti,

Our best wishes to you for a very Happy Birthday. As a gesture of appreciation on this special occasion, we are pleased to inform you that 100 King Miles* will be credited to your King Club account.

May you enjoy the good times today, and through all the years ahead.

Yours sincerely,

The King Club Team

*Your King Miles will be credited to your account within 2 weeks.

So two airlines with two similar databases (birthday information of heavy spenders in terms of business travel) and automated systems shooting off emails but Jet doing it first and still somewhat mechanically while Kingfisher's email, coming a few hours later, has added a relatively miniscule (100 free miles are peanuts in the scheme of things) twist that goes on to ping the emotional zone in a customer's heart/mind. 

Reminds me of a bit of the Avis Avis We Try Hardervs Hertz "We Try Harder" saga, now some 46 years old (Read this still fascinating saga at Building Brands).

For now, Jet and Kingfisher may be buddies as each one tries to survive the sudden downtown that has come just as they were rapidly expanding. But Mr. Goyal Naresh Goyalshould make no mistake about the fact that Mr Mallya's airline will do all it can--shorter flight attendant skirts included--to continue to cast Jet as the dowdy old carrier. Vijay Mallya on Kingfisher

I hope for Jet's sake Mr Goyal and Co won't take their eyes off the need to continue to up the customer ante, especially with frequent travellers such as yours truly who don't want to switch but just might if only one side continues to surprise (and delight) them in small and big ways like Kingfisher has set out to do.

 
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7 Comment

From Sandip

December 14, 2008 2:24 PM
my problem with KF is that they try a bit too hard. to me, they come across as a more upmarket version of what Sahara tried to be in its early days. their anxiety to be an indian clone of Virgin is embarassingly obvious. i still remain a Jet loyalist - their class and quiet efficiency of the staff - both on ground and in-flight is difficult to match. i think at the end of the day in a service industry systems and professionalism carry the day. you can't replace it either by 'personal selection' of cabin crew or personalised marketing gimmicks. for me the real "customer delight" comes from unfailing quality everytime - just like MINT, if i may add :-) anyway - belated birthday greetings to the RR !! www.ghoses.blogspot.com

From Sen

December 15, 2008 10:40 AM
Yes, the number 2s actually work much harder :) Jet has been sending the same birthday greetings since I can remember. Jet also started the 1st gifts to children-on-board, when they launched. Followed by child-meals, Jain meals & diet meals. Many of those initiatives, apart from the subtle & at times teutonic efficiency, helped Jet acquire the #1 rank, significantly quicker. KF, like most of Mr. Mallya's new ventures, tread an extremely thin line between professional-service & titillation. Both on ground and mile-high. Unfortunately, apart from the freebie pouch, swinging hips & your Birthday miles, I cannot recall any "innovation" from KF! While you may have never travelled by Spice or Indigo, many do, including yours truly. Both the airlines have remained "extremely" professional, subtle and effective in handling my requirements as a passenger. No, their ladies / men are hardly as suave as that of Jet, the food & newspapers are generally not free and the staff would face same difficulty in getting in to a beauty pageant a-la Rani in Bunty Aur Bubbly. BUT, at their lower ranks, they seem to be working way harder! It was ironic that Madonna, of all people became a household name with a single called "Like a Virgin". KF may not be so lucky after all.

From neelam

December 15, 2008 11:46 AM
I agree with you regarding the little extras that make the difference. However, a frequent flyer should expect much more than a trivial 100 miles extra-a gesture should be more generous and not insult a hi-fly traveler like yourself. The problem with the Avis v/s Hertz comparison is that after a few decades,Avis still continues "to try harder.!" Hopefully Kingfisher won't take that long.

From Raju Narisetti

December 15, 2008 1:13 PM

Sandip/Sen/Neelam--Only reason I am a platinum privelege member of Jet is because I have stuck with them and only use Kingfisher when their flight schedules are clearly better. But there has been a clear deterioration in Jet's service levels onboard and the point I was making was they can't afford to when Kingfisher continues to try harder with small gestures that make people feel like they aren't necessarily a frequent flyer number. I don't expect a flight attendant to offer to wipe my glasses for me but it is a small gesture on KF business class that does help it standout each time. Neelam--Avis' marketshare of US car rentals jumped from 11% (1962) to 35% in 1966...on the back of that campaign. I have no idea what relative marketshares are today but a third is a pretty good permanent No. 2 position to have I suspect. I hope in all the cost cutting and supposedly teaming up with Kingfisher, Jet doesn't go the way of AT&T in the US.

From neelam

December 15, 2008 8:56 PM
Service definitely counts Raju- particularly in India where we are used to levels that far surpass those in the U.S and also an embedded culture DNA on value add. As far as teamimg up of the intense rivals goes, what is abuzz in the industry is that the alliance never took off and the two are back to being throat-cutting, cost-cutting rivals again. P.S- Wouldn't mind that bit about wiping my glasses though! Believe a known Western airline offers it to its prized customers.

From Sen

December 16, 2008 10:24 AM
Raju / Neelam: The moot point here lies way beyond airlines. Being a high-involvement service (by default, as one cannot really do much on-board or at the departure lounge), fliers naturally get to dissect every aspect of an airline, more than say a train or even a bus. Having said that, let's also not forget how the Indian Railways (agreed it's a monopoly) has improved, almost in every aspect. It has been more-or-less a silent movement thanks largely to absence of marketing prowess & quasi-social mindset. IRCTC started on-line booking much before the airlines started! Given the skew in their TG, that's a big surprise! As a matter of fact, a very large business, of touts who could get you on any train, at a premium, has almost vanished. That's no mean feat. What I want to say is, Jet or KF, Spice or Indigo, Vodafone or Airtel, Dish or Tata Sky, irrespective, require to pre-empt user needs, rather than just follow international practices blindly. However, that is not an easy job, as they would require people (at the top) who really understands the Indian consumer & know exactly which buttons to push. Unfortunately, we do not see many such people nowadays. In fact I can safely admit that most of the senior managers in many leading "consumer-facing" organisations "hate" to be IN the market! Tehy are generally good at MIS & board-rooms though! India IS about numbers & volumes. When we truly address that, with a dash of sincerity & a dipping of wisdom, we can really make CKP's BOP come alive. Nescafe, anyone?

From John Elliott

December 20, 2008 6:50 PM
I also fly Jet by choice - partly because of my frequent traveller card but also because I feel comfortable. But the food is depressingly awful - no better than Indian Airlines in the '80s when I was the FT corr here. A couple of weeks ago I had the same dreary tasteless chicken- sort-of-curry, black (actually light browny) dal; and rice three times - twice when I flew to and from Mumbai on two consecutive days, and once later in their business class! And we were late every time on six flights - once by two hours. Contrast that with Kingfisher when I made a rare business class trip to and from Mumbai, both times about 5pm. The snacks were amazing - my choices of a turkey sandwich going and smoked salmon coming back were superb – some-one was obviously trying, which Jet has stopped doing. Yet I will still fly Jet to London next week rather than BA. And, by the way, the Goel-Mallya-Praful Patel love-in is outrageous - see my blog on them at the Hindustan Times conference recently http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2008/11/23/%e2%80%9cbed-and-bhai%e2%80%9d-rules-india%e2%80%99s-aviation/ john elliott

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