#124:From my unlocked diaries: Is customer always the King …?

Those in the sales profession often swear by this word – ‘Customer is the King, even if they look like beggars!’

This may not always be true, once you hear about these two incidents.?Perhaps both these incidents are complete outliers, but are strikingly similar and something for us to mull over and learn from it …

In the year 1920, it was a Rolls Royce, and earlier this week - it was a Mahindra Bolero; both these brands made news, for all the wrong reasons.?Separated by a century, these two incidents have something in common; ?it made both these car makers to ‘rise’ & take notice.?For Rolls Royce it was a King, and for Mahindra it was a humble farmer who made that happen!

You must be wondering what I am talking about??

Well, I am talking about an incident early this week at a Mahindra & Mahindra (M & M) car showroom in the town of Tumkur (about 70 kms from Bengaluru).??

A local farmer by name Kempegowda walked into a M & M showroom enquiring about Mahindra Bolero pick up vehicle. Apparently the reaction from the salesman at the showroom (to the way perhaps Kempegowda was dressed) was one of ridicule.?It did not stop there.?The salesman seemed to have got irritated by the customer and apparently made a snide remark saying - ‘people don’t have 10 rupees in their pocket, but want to buy a vehicle worth INR 10 lacs’.

The salesman then asked Kempegowda to just leave the showroom, as he felt Kempegowda did not ‘look like’ someone who can afford a Mahindra Bolero. ?

Insulted by the salesman, Kempegowda felt humiliated.?In the next 1 hour he contacted few of his friends and managed to collect INR 10 lacs, and returned back to the showroom.?What happened later went viral on social media and Television.?

Kempegowda put the cash on table and demanded that the showroom deliver the Mahindra Bolero - immediately.?That’s when the Mahindra could not ‘rise’ to this unexpected counter challenge by Kempegowda.?The showroom then said they need about 3 days to deliver, which in turn got Kempegowda and his friends angry.?The situation quickly turned ugly and the police had to intervene to calm tempers.?

Later Anand Mahindra, the chairman of M & M took to Twitter and assured to look into the incident and take appropriate action, including sensitizing companies front line staff regarding how to treat customers.?Was this response by M & M chairman good enough… ? Time will tell …

This incident is very similar to what happened in 1920 when Jai Singh, Maharaja of Alwar (in the state of Rajasthan) walked into a Rolls Royce showroom in the most prestigious Mayfair Street in central London.?Since Maharaja Jai Singh was dressed in an ordinary, casual clothes, the salesman in the room just shooed him away.?Insulted, Jai Singh goes back to the hotel room, gets dressed in a Maharaja’s attire, comes back to the same showroom and purchases all the 6 Rolls Royce that was kept in the showroom!

A few months later, this is what appeared in the local newspapers back in India… !?

This picture of the Rolls Royce soon got widely circulated in some London newspapers. That made Rolls Royce rise and take notice.?Here was a great car brand - Rolls Royce being crushed literally,?or rather made to bite the dust by a very angry customer – Maharaja Jai Singh.?

Very soon the top officials of Rolls Royce from London came to India to meet the king and requested the King to release the brand from the task that the king had assigned it to!?After a lot of pleading and tendering an apology by Rolls Royce, the king finally relented.

Kempegowda from Tumkur may not be a Maharaja - with a kingdom, but he was surely a customer, who had to be treated - like a king.??Instead the M & M salesman made a judgement, merely going by the way the customer was dressed or spoke.?

First impression is the best impression, no doubt.?But in the world of selling there is an immense need to set aside the ‘looks bias’ that many of us have. ?In today’s age of viral social media, such incidents, ?though small could potentially cause instant brand damage.?Bigger & global the brand, the higher is the potential for a negative response from customers, public and competitors.?

Will Mr. Anand Mahindra (AM) apologise to Kempegowda, or perhaps gift him a Bolero, or just allow this to die down, just like another social media storm??But for now, the initial response from the AM has been one of caution, which in my sense has done more damage than good so far.?How M & M will ‘Rise’ and handle this sensitive public relationship incident will be watched closely.?

Will Mahindra truly ‘Rise’??Next few weeks will tell …

Even the founder of Bengaluru, the real ‘Kempegowda’ never got so much brand promotion, as compared to this Kempegowda from Tumkur!?Sales folks in car show rooms across India will now be on tenterhooks, waiting for another ‘Kempegowda’ walking through the door!!?All because – the customer is ... now the King!!!?

Balu

January 28, 2022

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