The adage customer [read consumer] is the King is wishful thinking in Indian context. Instead, there is enough justification to argue that customer [consumer] is the Kingmaker. There are several reasons for this. I shall deal with seven of them.
One, Indian consumer market is still under-developed despite the much touted globalization. This has many manifestations such as adulteration, arbitrary pricing, absence of any authentic mention of price on many products, absence of dates of packaging products and of dates before which products are best used, and so on.
Two, the arbitrariness in the claim by many sellers (in bills and products), that goods once sold will not be taken back. Among my encounters and experiences in the context of this, I am mentioning two for the greater common good!
(a) When I was about to fix a newly bought wall-clock, I realised that it was not working. The shop from which I bought it is a branch of a larger one with a number of other outlets.
When the shop-in-charge said ’’refund is not allowed’’ and refused to return my money, I asked him to accept the clock without refund and give me a receipt to that effect. This he did.
Using the receipt I telephoned the proprietor of the establishment, introduced myself, apprised him of what happened, and gave him 24 hours time to refund the money or face legal action and adverse publicity. He said he will call me back in half an hour. This he did, and said, he has instructed the shop to refund my money, adding that if I still wish to have a clock I could have it from the same shop.
(b) I was taken for a ride by a Development Officer of the LIC. He completed all the formalities in my presence and collected the cheque, and told me not to bother about the medical certificate.
Later he asked me to go with him to a doctor stating that the doctor maintains a register for the certificates (fake ones!) he issues, and without my signature the LIC will not pay him his fee (for faking!) I refused, insisting that I do not want a fake certificate, and I do not want fake doctors to prosper at public expense through the LIC.
The next day I phoned the regional manager of the LIC and apprised him of what happened. He advised me to fax him the details immediately and assured me that my payment will be returned within two days, adding that if I still wish to have a policy he can arrange for it directly.
Readers may rate the LIC regional manager as highly recommended and because of him give the LIC five star rating. But there is more to his do-goodness.
There were reasons for him to take me seriously, but I shall not go into personal details. What is germane to the issue here is, as I remember to have read somewhere, one should use one’s name to his best advantage (like the case of the Best Foot First or Forward!). In the both the above cases I did so.
Three, thrusting the Sales Tax on buyers, whereas, ideally it should be paid by the sellers, inasmuch as it is not Purchase Tax. I succeeded in stopping this with a builder in 18 cases (including mine and including refund to one person), and he might have “lost” about Rs. 7 to 8 lakhs in the process.
Here again, it was name, and knowledge about the working of the market in relation to the builder as buyer (of
construction material) and the government, which helped me. For doing this, I collected detailed official information from another and a more reliable real estate firm. My success was probably an isolated instance. For, Sales tax is still a vexatious issue in many parts of India.
Four, the poverty and ignorance of a large number of
consumers who, more often than not, depend on the corrupt, incompetent, irresponsible, and infamous Public
Distribution System in many States. We have any number of persons in our country who still use the salt of
Gandhi’s Dandi March vintage, and not the much
needed iodized salt. The reason: Partly ignorance, partly lack of what was in the olden days the little lucky nickel at the required time.
Five, it is usual in India that on the eve of the States’ and the Centre’s Budget Sessions, or when a price hike on certain commodities is expected, we face artificial shortage, due to hoarding and black-marketing with the same commodities resurfacing later at increased price.
Six, though there are ongoing campaigns about consumer
awareness, particularly through NGOs, these are mostly city-centred, and have yet to gather momentum in villages.
Seven, and most important, most States have District and State Consumer Redress Forums constituted as per the
provisions of the Centre’s Consumer Protection Act. These Forums deal with cases concerning many goods and services, including of government departments, especially centring on deficiency in service. Some of them are edifying in their
work.
However, if experience is any indication, over the years several of these Forums have been reduced to appendages of the government. As a result, in a number of cases they take a lot more time than originally stipulated and anticipated in the Act.
When the sellers increasingly realise that these Forums are ineffective and take inordinately long time to redress
consumer grievances, they take the buyers’ threats and challenges lightly, and proceed with their malpractices with the dismissive, come-what-may.
To conclude, so long as our consumer markets remain what they are, lack the sophistication and professionalism of those in the West, so long as poverty and illiteracy remain major social scourges, so long as consumer awareness campaigns are not robust and rigorous in scope and sweep, and so long as the Consumer Protection Act does not serve its stipulated objectives with speed and efficiency, consumer in India will not be the King, but tragically and ironically, the Kingmaker!