Ushering a revolution of investor and consumer rights

Moneycontrol completes a decade. And, while it has been a one-stop-shop for investment related information to millions of investors of this country, there is another crucial, yet silent role it has played - ushering in a revolution of investor and consumer rights. By becoming a platform for investors to air their grievances against entities they pay for services rendered. And more often than not, these entities including leading corporates care little or nothing, for the very people they derive their business from.

Many years ago, a few hundred boarders of moneycontrol, wrote in with their grievances on a leading trading portal. The portal was respected, backed by a credible organisation, but somewhere found its growth too difficult to handle, leading to trades not being put through on time. Investors kept writing to this portal, and finally chose moneycontrol as their medium to voice their concerns. After initial denial, the entity went back to the drawing board, cleaned up its act, and is now back again in a much more effective way.

The lesson: Happy consumers are good for business. A lesson, sadly, many corporates in this country fail to understand. And pay mere lip service to consumer satisfaction.

Has your vision penetrated to the grass root level?

Five years ago, when we launched a television version of moneycontrol's grievance platform, I invited a leading banker to answer grievances of consumers of its bank. The person was reluctant. He did not want to face the ire of consumers, but we managed to convince him to appear on the show. One of the consumers was a 70-year old man from a small town. He began outlining his problem. The amount involved was Rs 100! To him, the amount was large enough. Needless to say, he was angry. Once he aired the grievance, the banker responded saying their records showed he was in the right. The bank was reversing Rs 100 back into his account. And apologised! The old man was silent for 30 seconds, and in a voice choking with gratitude, thanked the banker, and said a bank that can send a senior person like him to listen to a consumer, must be the best bank and he would keep banking with it.

When I came out of the studio, I told my reluctant banker friend: "You spend crores of rupees in advertising every year telling the world how consumer-centric you are. What this consumer has said today on television is perhaps the best endorsement you could have got for your brand. And it cost you Rs 100!" He nodded. But unfortunately, never came back on the show again.

What amazed me is the reluctance of most Indian corporates to treat consumer redressal as a profit centre and not like something that is a necessary evil. Most CEOs I have met have genuinely shown an interest in making sure their organisation solves problems. They have ensured systems are put in place. And the system can work when it wants to. Every grievance sent by my team to any company (and at last count 2 lakh grievances had been sent) gets a response within 48 hours. Which means the system can work. It exists. And yet, why so many unhappy consumers?

The answer: CEOs are unable to push their vision down to their employees who deal with consumers, because a consumer would only knock on someone else's door for help when he has not been heard. And that is the sad reality.

Knowledgeable consumers!
The silver lining is the Indian consumer is awakening. They are not hesitating to fight for their rights. A rich farmer from a village in Punjab once wrote in. He had a problem with a shoe he bought worth Rs 700. When I spoke to him, he said he owns a Mercedes Benz. But this fight was not about Rs 700. It was about his rights. We get hundreds of such mails everyday. Consumer courts are being flooded with petitions. Why? Because the Indian consumer has said enough is enough.

And if Indian companies do not realise this truth, they would do so at their own peril. In a world of competition, the consumer is indeed the king. The trouble has been the Indian consumer was all along a meek, ill informed king. Not any more. And platforms like moneycontrol have played a crucial role in bring about this change; a change that will eventually lead to happier consumers and therefore happier and more successful businesses.

I wish moneycontrol and its users the very best for the next decade. Investors keep raising your voice because the work is only half done!

 
The author, Vivek Law is the National Editor of CNBC-TV18.