Queue - or the waiting in the line - Well, i am not trying to explain the Operations Research queuing theory here. Instead touching upon the the few lighter moments, experiences and some thoughts
Well, it's a fast world and no one like waiting in a queue. They would rather be doing something else and be productive. Earlier days, it was common to find people catching up on books & newspapers while waiting in the line. Now cell phone has caught up so much that many service counters want you to turn off / hang up cell phone conversations while they help you!
Early during my career, I used to spend time waiting for my appointment in the reception lounges at my supplier/customer locations. Browsing thru job advertisements in newspapers/business / IT magazines was my favorite time pass. I would quickly write down any interesting posts and then apply for it. One such post took me to a quick interview trip to Chennai. Who said waiting is boring, I've had some good friends while waiting for my job interviews. Those 10-15 mins conversations with the fellow interviewees have given me so many leads. I suppose waiting in the line comes with the culture, to some extent.
In the USA, people have abundant patience to wait forever in the line and don't always show their frustation. Welcome to India, the sheer population will inevitably lead to long queues wherever the services are in great demand. This is true mostly with the utilities payment, railway/ bus ticket booking. Thanks to e-ticketing and ebills - things have improved drastically and reduced the waiting time in the queues. Unlike USA, In India it is usual to find people watching(staring) at others, while waiting. While too much of staring may be objectionable, occasional glances are okay!
I would say waiting in the line is more easy and entertaining in India than the USA. I've categorized queues in to following categories:
a) Serpentine - like a snake originating from the counter and all the way to the road!: This happens mostly in places where the waiting is not foreseen/seasonal / occasional.
b)Box type - This one's present in the US too - especially airports. Here the waiting is foreseen and organized in the orderly way. There is a temporary / fixed barricade so there is no confusion and jumping ahead.
c)"Magnet" Queue: This is very popular in India. The queue runs along the wall of the building and there are queue masters stationed to counter any gatecrushing or jumping ahead. This makes it more orderely and worthy for those who came in early. This is quite common in utility payments and some movie theaters
d)"Multiplication" Queues: Simply means one person in the queue is suddenly joined by his family / friends!. This irritates the people behind but they cannot complain unless there is scarcity of services like limited tickets or whatever - Very common in stadiums, movie theaters.
e)Phantom type: Or proxy waiting - Yes sometimes it's possible to pay someone to wait on your behalf and later take their place. This is valid in events / services where there is high interest or huge demand like important cricket matches.
f)Premium queue: Adding this one after seeing comments from my friend Mahesh. This is like an advance booking for a slot in the queue - like booking visa appointment at US Consulates in India. Tirupathi temple - Which assigns serial numbers to people who opt for free darshan, so the people can go off the queue and spend time else where and rejoin at the allotted time. Then
the temple also offers less wait time options on the paid tickets.
g)Special Entry: Very much valid in India - VIP, VVIPs and influential folks never spend time waiting in the line!. Doors open automatically for such people!
The list goes on and on...how do you spend your time waiting in line?
Apr 24, 2008
Mar 27, 2008
And he flew…………………..This post contributed by Mahesh
I collected the travel details and before I could confirm the booking I called Satish to share the details. We both were working together with a company in Hyderabad and we were about to join another company in Mumbai (together). Between the jobs we had couple of weeks to spend in our home town namma Bengaluru (Bangalore).
During those days INR 5000 + tax was the air ticket cost to Mumbai. And there were only three airlines India Airlines, Sahara and Jet. There were some Air India late night flights which were bit cheaper by 40% to 50%. Since that was my only second and Satish’s first visit to Mumbai, I preferred the day flight.
Looking at the cost, Satish had a different opinion about travel plans. In stead he proposed the travel by train. He also spent about 30 min on phone to give gyan on the importance of Money. Being impatient and being used to new lifestyle, I was NOT ready to travel by train and back in my mind I was thinking of flying alone. After 30 min of phone conversation, Satish was able to convince me to go with him by Kurla Express which starts from Bangalore everyday at noon and reaches Mumbai the next day by noon. And finally we booked two tickets to Mumbai and I guess Satish’s father only booked the tickets.
Then there was a big twist in the story. A week before the travel date, Satish called me from a travel agent’s office to inform that due to sudden developments at a work front in the new company, he has to fly immediate….. and he flew………………….
Now after almost 10 years, I really got an opportunity to express my Anger in his own blogspot :-)
During those days INR 5000 + tax was the air ticket cost to Mumbai. And there were only three airlines India Airlines, Sahara and Jet. There were some Air India late night flights which were bit cheaper by 40% to 50%. Since that was my only second and Satish’s first visit to Mumbai, I preferred the day flight.
Looking at the cost, Satish had a different opinion about travel plans. In stead he proposed the travel by train. He also spent about 30 min on phone to give gyan on the importance of Money. Being impatient and being used to new lifestyle, I was NOT ready to travel by train and back in my mind I was thinking of flying alone. After 30 min of phone conversation, Satish was able to convince me to go with him by Kurla Express which starts from Bangalore everyday at noon and reaches Mumbai the next day by noon. And finally we booked two tickets to Mumbai and I guess Satish’s father only booked the tickets.
Then there was a big twist in the story. A week before the travel date, Satish called me from a travel agent’s office to inform that due to sudden developments at a work front in the new company, he has to fly immediate….. and he flew………………….
Now after almost 10 years, I really got an opportunity to express my Anger in his own blogspot :-)
Mar 26, 2008
ಕನ್ನಡ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್
ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಬರೆಯೋದು ಇದೇ ಮೊದಲ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ. ಇದು ಸಫಲ ವಾದರೆ ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಬರೆಯುವ ಪ್ಲಾನ್ ಇದೆ.
Mar 25, 2008
Get More for lesser price
The way current economy is heading, that must be what customers are telling themselves as they enter the retail stores
Background: Watched an hour long program regarding WalMart in CNBC and was quite impressed by its history and the legendary Sam Walton. Sam Walton, I believe got to work very early in the morning and so the execs who worked with him. The same legacy is being followed and current day execs also make it quite early to work. Some of the things I liked: The vision of Sam Walton and and his approach to problem solving by involving his colleagues, which also included hourly employees.
Last weekend when I visited WalMart, CNBC story was still fresh in my memory and started comparing the retail industry (in general) and its unique challenges compared to the conventional industries;
a)Retail : Open to the general public -regulars and non-regulars. The challenge is to have an attractive / cost-effective setup. The other industries, example: Manufacturing has a regular set of workers who come in daily and don't expect lot of changes.
b) Merchandise: Retailers should stock seasonal stuff, offer discounts during the major festivals, events, etc. Placement and availability of the merchandise is one of the key factors.
c)Competition: The store is wide open for competitors to walk-in and evaluate the premises and the prices. Manufacturing companies have fewer visitors (except employees) and many processes are confidential
d)Operational excellence: This is the key to achieve higher sales. Some stores are highly efficient in addressing customer questions, providing help and answering questions. One such example: BabiesRUs -
There will be definitely a lot more comparisons ..but will conclude here to qualify for a short blog!
Background: Watched an hour long program regarding WalMart in CNBC and was quite impressed by its history and the legendary Sam Walton. Sam Walton, I believe got to work very early in the morning and so the execs who worked with him. The same legacy is being followed and current day execs also make it quite early to work. Some of the things I liked: The vision of Sam Walton and and his approach to problem solving by involving his colleagues, which also included hourly employees.
Last weekend when I visited WalMart, CNBC story was still fresh in my memory and started comparing the retail industry (in general) and its unique challenges compared to the conventional industries;
a)Retail : Open to the general public -regulars and non-regulars. The challenge is to have an attractive / cost-effective setup. The other industries, example: Manufacturing has a regular set of workers who come in daily and don't expect lot of changes.
b) Merchandise: Retailers should stock seasonal stuff, offer discounts during the major festivals, events, etc. Placement and availability of the merchandise is one of the key factors.
c)Competition: The store is wide open for competitors to walk-in and evaluate the premises and the prices. Manufacturing companies have fewer visitors (except employees) and many processes are confidential
d)Operational excellence: This is the key to achieve higher sales. Some stores are highly efficient in addressing customer questions, providing help and answering questions. One such example: BabiesRUs -
There will be definitely a lot more comparisons ..but will conclude here to qualify for a short blog!
Mar 6, 2008
Kaadu Kudure
That's a kannada word, literally translates to forest horse! or wild horse. Well, here is the LINK to watch the song in Youtube. The movie, Kaadukudare was released when we were children and I vaguely remember watching this in the movie theatre. This song especially was a superhit during those days. It was quite a popular dance number too and the one of the most sought after songs in any orchestra those days. The song is shot with very little amount of light ....may be this is a art movie as per my own interpretation. I was always curious about Indian "Art Movies"....Doordarshan (the state owned television channel) played a lot of such movies. Many things common with the art movies;
a) Very limited use of lights ...may be cost cutting measure
b) Few songs or none
c) Strong on the theme, story and no masala ...or commercial frills like flashy dresses
d) Usually cast unpopular or upcoming actors than the existing ones
e) Very poor financial returns. I think there was even a subsidy available from the state to make such movies.
f) Not much fan following and does not reside in public memory for a long time.
Offcourse there are exceptions to the above and these are my own interpretations. I know of famous movie makers and directors who have excelled in art movies and later made classic movies in their lives.
Whatever, thanks to Youtube and the person who uploaded this song. I was tired looking for it in the kannada music portals... Neevu Haadu Keli, Enjoy Madi... ( Hear the song and Enjoy)
a) Very limited use of lights ...may be cost cutting measure
b) Few songs or none
c) Strong on the theme, story and no masala ...or commercial frills like flashy dresses
d) Usually cast unpopular or upcoming actors than the existing ones
e) Very poor financial returns. I think there was even a subsidy available from the state to make such movies.
f) Not much fan following and does not reside in public memory for a long time.
Offcourse there are exceptions to the above and these are my own interpretations. I know of famous movie makers and directors who have excelled in art movies and later made classic movies in their lives.
Whatever, thanks to Youtube and the person who uploaded this song. I was tired looking for it in the kannada music portals... Neevu Haadu Keli, Enjoy Madi... ( Hear the song and Enjoy)
Feb 12, 2008
Visit India
The long awaited India trip went like a whirlwind and before I could realize, the 3 weeks were over. Account for 3 weeks; The onward and return journey -4 days, US Visa interview at chennai: 2 days. Sick: About 1.5 weeks - both me and my daughter together had health issues, 1 day to my office to collect visa papers, 2 days to fix my apartment door lock! - There you go: very few days left. In that majority of the day time would go away in the traffic jam or the commute between the places. But in all, it was a hectic trip. One satisfaction is that of spending some quality time with family and few friends. There were numerous unfulfilled visits to friends and family, unreturned phone calls.
Bangalore in my eyes:
1. Many services are now available at a phone call . You can order food, groceries, mineral water, cab, ironing, plumbing and electrician services, value added services like telemedicine(call your family doctor). Almost everyone has a cell phone and the "missed calls" are the most effective way of communicating with the known people..
2. The prices of consumer goods and eating at restaurants has become very expensive since the last 2.5 years. In one of the Andhra restaurants, carrier meals ( take out lunch or dinner) for 4 people costs Rs.89 while an appetizer like Gobi Manchurian costs Rs.69!
3. Lots of new hospitals and educational institutions. Number of engineering colleges in Bangalore might exceed number of schools in some of the states in the US!
4. Retail revolution: This was predicted back in 2000, that India will witness a major revolution in the retail segment. Malls are there in almost all the upscale residential and commercial areas. I was surprised to see many stores in the fresh produce segment. Though small in size compared to their US counterparts, malls and department chain stores are attracting the current young generation. Most of the malls have huge floating population and the food courts are jampacked with people.
5. Commute: No doubt, commute time has increased multi fold, thanks to the short sightedness of the successive governments. The improved bus service is just inadequate to catch up with the growing human and vehicular population. However some of the major highways like the Bangalore-Mysore road have been turned around and one can reach Mysore in about couple of hours. I will not be surprised if some one starts off a helicopter service for commuting within Bangalore.
6. Airports: The existing Bangalore airport looks more like a typical bus terminal in any Indian city. Thanks to the booming (or now slowing?) IT market, emergence of new airliners - According to a report there are about 150 take offs and landings in one day!... I remember in the early 1980s, there used to be hardly 10 or 15 flights a days - 4 flights to Mumbai(2 outbound and 2 inbound), 2 to Delhi, 2 to Chennai and few more...The visitors also contribute majorly to the chaos. From what I have seen in my own eyes, a local bangalorean set to fly overseas will be seen off by at least 2-3 visitors and there is no upper limit! - I have seen groups of over 30 people sometimes!. I think it is time the government must intervene and stop visitors to the airport :) ( to reduce the proportinate amount of traffic)... Or they can even think of converting the major bus terminals in to airport pickup points!
7. Cars..
Till few years back, one had to go overseas to see the internationally renowned cars. Now all these cars have set strong foot in India and there is no looking back. Expensive cars are now visible almost everywhere. Maruti 800, Santro, Zen are considered to be entry level cars.
There are some more..keeping them for the next post..
Bangalore in my eyes:
1. Many services are now available at a phone call . You can order food, groceries, mineral water, cab, ironing, plumbing and electrician services, value added services like telemedicine(call your family doctor). Almost everyone has a cell phone and the "missed calls" are the most effective way of communicating with the known people..
2. The prices of consumer goods and eating at restaurants has become very expensive since the last 2.5 years. In one of the Andhra restaurants, carrier meals ( take out lunch or dinner) for 4 people costs Rs.89 while an appetizer like Gobi Manchurian costs Rs.69!
3. Lots of new hospitals and educational institutions. Number of engineering colleges in Bangalore might exceed number of schools in some of the states in the US!
4. Retail revolution: This was predicted back in 2000, that India will witness a major revolution in the retail segment. Malls are there in almost all the upscale residential and commercial areas. I was surprised to see many stores in the fresh produce segment. Though small in size compared to their US counterparts, malls and department chain stores are attracting the current young generation. Most of the malls have huge floating population and the food courts are jampacked with people.
5. Commute: No doubt, commute time has increased multi fold, thanks to the short sightedness of the successive governments. The improved bus service is just inadequate to catch up with the growing human and vehicular population. However some of the major highways like the Bangalore-Mysore road have been turned around and one can reach Mysore in about couple of hours. I will not be surprised if some one starts off a helicopter service for commuting within Bangalore.
6. Airports: The existing Bangalore airport looks more like a typical bus terminal in any Indian city. Thanks to the booming (or now slowing?) IT market, emergence of new airliners - According to a report there are about 150 take offs and landings in one day!... I remember in the early 1980s, there used to be hardly 10 or 15 flights a days - 4 flights to Mumbai(2 outbound and 2 inbound), 2 to Delhi, 2 to Chennai and few more...The visitors also contribute majorly to the chaos. From what I have seen in my own eyes, a local bangalorean set to fly overseas will be seen off by at least 2-3 visitors and there is no upper limit! - I have seen groups of over 30 people sometimes!. I think it is time the government must intervene and stop visitors to the airport :) ( to reduce the proportinate amount of traffic)... Or they can even think of converting the major bus terminals in to airport pickup points!
7. Cars..
Till few years back, one had to go overseas to see the internationally renowned cars. Now all these cars have set strong foot in India and there is no looking back. Expensive cars are now visible almost everywhere. Maruti 800, Santro, Zen are considered to be entry level cars.
There are some more..keeping them for the next post..
Jan 7, 2008
A unique Store
One store caught my attention while I was walking around in the near by mall. The name was very unique, "Art of Shaving". This instantly reminded me of Sri Sri Ravishankar's Art of Living....
Curious, I peeped in and could tell it's an upmarket store with lots of shaving products and accessories stacked in the shelves. Also interesting is their services offered. The Royal Shave comes at $55 only!.There were other services priced lesser than that. What I appreciate is the innovative thinking of the person(s) who started this kind of business. I really wonder what a royal shave would be.... After coming home I found out from their website that it's quite a big chain and they are present in quite a few locations across USA. They also offer lot of reading stuff on their website.
Curious, I peeped in and could tell it's an upmarket store with lots of shaving products and accessories stacked in the shelves. Also interesting is their services offered. The Royal Shave comes at $55 only!.There were other services priced lesser than that. What I appreciate is the innovative thinking of the person(s) who started this kind of business. I really wonder what a royal shave would be.... After coming home I found out from their website that it's quite a big chain and they are present in quite a few locations across USA. They also offer lot of reading stuff on their website.
Dec 30, 2007
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year
For those of you checking this blog on the new year's eve, Wish you & your folks a very happy and fulfulling new year. A year is just 365 days, 24 hours - Enjoy every moment of it..
As usual, we have a 10 days winter break. Last 2 years we did not go anywhere and this time. We did not want to break the tradition this time. It's just another 2 more days to go and we have spent all the time at Seattle itself. Except few outings to the local stores and downtown, we are pretty much at home. This holidays was different from last one, my daughter is here to play with this time!. We've had a wonderful family time coupled with meeting my local friends who came over to spend some time with us. Known for my sudden and unplanned trips, few friends called to enquire if we are still at Seattle. My daughter has added few more activities to her list. She now knows where her tongue, head and nose are!. In all, it's been a wonderful relaxing holiday - looking forward to get back to work soon and head out to another holiday break (shh....suspense, you will know shortly)
Over the holidays, few more things accomplished: Sorted some of the paper work and getting rid of old / wanted papers(still in work).
How's your "happy holidays" going?
As usual, we have a 10 days winter break. Last 2 years we did not go anywhere and this time. We did not want to break the tradition this time. It's just another 2 more days to go and we have spent all the time at Seattle itself. Except few outings to the local stores and downtown, we are pretty much at home. This holidays was different from last one, my daughter is here to play with this time!. We've had a wonderful family time coupled with meeting my local friends who came over to spend some time with us. Known for my sudden and unplanned trips, few friends called to enquire if we are still at Seattle. My daughter has added few more activities to her list. She now knows where her tongue, head and nose are!. In all, it's been a wonderful relaxing holiday - looking forward to get back to work soon and head out to another holiday break (shh....suspense, you will know shortly)
Over the holidays, few more things accomplished: Sorted some of the paper work and getting rid of old / wanted papers(still in work).
How's your "happy holidays" going?
Dec 16, 2007
Music director Pairs of Indian Cinema
I was watching an old kannada movie Kittu-Puttu and the songs were simply superb and I looked up who the music director was. It was the famous Rajan-Nagendra who composed those melodious numbers. For those who are not familiar to Kannada cinema, Rajan-Nagendra is not one person, they are in fact 2 people and they are brothers!. It is quite common in Indian cinema to find such a 2 person team in the music director seat. I am not sure how many such duos exist(ed) in kannada movies but there are a lot in the hindi movies. Just to name a few: Laxmikant-pyrelal, kalyanji-Anandji, Jatin-Lalit, etc. There might be few more additions to the list, I have not kept myself updated on the latest entrants...
Following link provides more information on Rajan-Nagendra. In the earlier days, radio was only popular electronic media and hearing movie songs was one of the favorites for many people. Just before a song is played, they would announce names of the lyricist, music director and the play back singers. Some of the melodious songs were repeated for a long period. Probably, this repeated mention made the music directors get mileage and made them popular. Current day vibrant FM stations are more interactive, play songs on request but do not always provide the information about the people who created that music. However, the good music directors are still in great demand. As melodious numbers are key to any indian movie's success, the popular music directors are in great demand. Their names are now prominently printed on the movie posters and gain significant attention in the premieres, and pre / post release press conferences.
More to come: Indian movie related posts...
Following link provides more information on Rajan-Nagendra. In the earlier days, radio was only popular electronic media and hearing movie songs was one of the favorites for many people. Just before a song is played, they would announce names of the lyricist, music director and the play back singers. Some of the melodious songs were repeated for a long period. Probably, this repeated mention made the music directors get mileage and made them popular. Current day vibrant FM stations are more interactive, play songs on request but do not always provide the information about the people who created that music. However, the good music directors are still in great demand. As melodious numbers are key to any indian movie's success, the popular music directors are in great demand. Their names are now prominently printed on the movie posters and gain significant attention in the premieres, and pre / post release press conferences.
More to come: Indian movie related posts...
Dec 6, 2007
My days as a production engineer
One of my posts regarding the early morning commute to work brought back the memories of the days when I was the production engineer
Here are the things I liked with that company;
a)One uniform dress code for all employees including the CEO
b)Once a year allowance to buy new uniform(with free dress material), new pair of shoes, nope no receipt required
c)Daily stand up meetings the managers had with their supervisors discussing the production, rejection and other matters. Display boards in each production area offering production and rejection rates. CEO, in his early morning walk around the plant would stop occasionally at such boards and ask the nearest engineer or manager to explain the numbers!. Managers spent significant time in reporting such metrics and preparing for any surprise questions.
d)Excellent food & snacks at rock bottom prices - Just Rs.1 per day (It is approx. 2 cents (USD) in the present conversion rate!) which included unlimited breakfast, lunch, coffee / tea./snacks during the two breaks. During summer, fresh fruit juices were an additional choice during the break period
e)Yearly gift to the employees – Usually a household item like designer cutlery, refrigerator, etc. The management and the employees chose the gift jointly and this was well appreciated.
f)Drop by car option for managers and engineers during the night shift, provided to those whose homes were far away from the bus stop and for those who missed the bus due to some pressing work.
g)A well-organized family day visit to the manufacturing premises during the Ayudha Pooja day. Welcome package included a full breakfast, sweet box for all the visitors
Some or all of the above might sound ordinary compared to the current scenario where some IT companies take good care of its employees. The point to note is the willingness of such manufacturing companies to provide these things in spite of relatively low profit margins
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