TheRodinhoods

Dear God, Do you understand your Mobile Bill?

I swear (on GOD), that I can just about manage to run a Company, keep investors happy, drive cars on both sides of roads and even identify a western classical musical piece, but I just cannot understand my mobile bill.

Consider this simple chart:

In Mumbai (Maharashtra), if you want to get a post-paid connection, these are some of the options: (haven’t considered some of the latest entrants):

 

Operator Noof schemes

 

Total Items on the ‘Confusion Menu’
Tata Indicom 11 11
Airtel 19 30
Vodafone 13 43
ITunes 16 59
BSNL 8 67
Idea 9 76
Aircel 8 84
MTNL 15 99
Reliance GSM 11 110
Tata Docomo 6 116

 

So, let’s assume that you go to a gas station driving your car, harried, late for a meeting and ask the pump attendant to “fill her up”. “Sure!”, he says and gives 116 options to choose from (what I call the item on the confusion menu in the table above). “Sir!”, he says, please tell me if you want “super 149 or saver 99 or gold 599 or Lifetime of ……” (brand names of the 116 choices)

Depending on how your day has gone, you will either:

  1. Shut the car, walk out, thank God for the sunshine and hail a cab. Hell to the world… and cars and 116 types of gas choices…
  2. Blow your fuse and create some healthy  blood pressure for yourself… hell, we have to die some day anyway..
  3. Tell him “Boss! – Fill in whatever you want – I have to quit in 5 minutes”
  4. Be a moron and say “Acha (ok), let me ‘study’ the plans”. So you park your car on the side, take the 116 print outs of the options and then spend 8 hours studying what you need to buy… (Remember you are a moron).

Telecom Companies BET that you are the Choice 3 person ( Charge what you have to but get on with it types) and that’s how they thrive!

Why creating confusion is the best way for profit maximization:

Have you studied your mobile bill carefully? Can you really claim that you know EXACTLY what is being charged for what? The different ‘schemes’ of sms, Internet gprs, talk time, roaming local, roaming international blah blue blee…?

Creating unpronounceable and incomprehensible cost plans make you weak – they make you drop your guard and say the golden words ‘whatever’.

How this works:

The SOLUTION

The confusing Indian Mobile Tariffs!

Confusion has always been the creator of ill amassed wealth and profits.  Information is the enemy of confusion and brings order, competition and massive efficiency.

The same applies to the Indian Telecom industry. The players need to quit confusing 500 million consumers and deliver the truthful value to them.

You may also like,  ‘Alok’s driver plays obscene film songs on his mobile and why Alok pays for it‘

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 Originally posted on May 24, 2011 on rodinhood.com