I've been trying to figure the root cause of why India is so poorly managed. What is poorly managed? Well the government bureaucracy, and pretty much all businesses, but I'm specifically referring to hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies, which are all way down at the bottom of the 'Customer Service' scale when compared with other countries is Asia. So why is this?
Here's my theory. In almost all other countries in SE Asia, women run things. In Hindu India, the women do not work in restaurants, hotels, or travel agencies. Actually, I'm not sure Hindu women work in any areas that deal with the public, and I think most don't work at all. In the rest of SE Asia, women do all the work, while men sit around and drink beer. This is especially true in Vietnam, which is the economic powerhouse in SE Asia. Another example is in Buddhist regions of Nepal where the Hotels and Guesthouses are run by the older woman matriarch of the family. She is totally in charge and keeps a close eye on everything to ensure things are done properly. Guesthouses are very well managed, with friendly and excellent service. In India, everything is managed and run by young men. They all seem to be between 15 and 25 years old, and I call them the "young punks". The better-off ones have motorbikes, and roam around in gangs, and all have an "attitude". And these "young punks" are in charge of serving, cleaning, booking bus and train tickets, and managing hotels. What could go wrong?
Well I have a couple of example of what can go wrong. In my hotel, there is one manager who is about 25, educated and is a really nice guy. He has about 6 helpers between the ages of 15 and 21. The helpers speak little English, and just stand around until the manager tells them what to do. I watched them cleaning the hotel, but as soon as the manager leaves the area, they all stop working and just sit around smoking and listening to music on their mobile phones. They post a 'lookout', and as soon as the manager returns they all get up and start working again. I'm starting to understand why everything is so dirty in Indian Hotels. Hotel reviews for India have comments like… "…well is was kind of clean, by Indian standards",
I've noticed the similar weird performances in restaurants. Today I ordered a beer and pizza in a rooftop restaurant in Jaisalmer. I was the only customer, and when I ordered, the entire staff of 5 "young punks" all gathered around to take my order. They then all proceeded into the tiny kitchen to prepare the pizza. Two of them came out with my beer, but neither of them had a bottle opener, so they called a 3rd one over to open the beer. Now that's Indian efficiency and service. Of course the beer was warm, as they hadn't bothered to check which ones where cold in their fridge. The pizza was delivered by a "young punk" who looked about 15, who then proceeded to sit down at my table and engage me in conversation while I ate. I had my phone on the table, which he picked up and started playing with. He then picked up my Guidebook and started looking through it. Of course the rest of them all just sat at an adjacent table and stared at me the whole time. I'm sure they have no training and no idea what it takes to run a restaurant. Reviews for restaurants say things like.. "not bad service, by Indian standards".
Another example is when I booked a plane ticket with Air India. I couldn't find their office, so I popped into the very modern and meticulously clean Thai Air office to ask directions. Thai Air had no lineups, had a doorman, and the agents all smiled, bowed, and where very happy to tell me that the Air India office was just down a nearby side street. When at the Air India office, I thought I must be in the wrong building. It looked abandoned. When I pushed open the unmarked door to their office, I was greeted by a crowd of 20 people all crammed into a tiny and very dirty room. And get this… there was only one Air India agent, sitting behind a tiny little ancient computer. He just sat they and ignored everyone in the room. It took me over an hour just to get him to confirm my flight, which I'm pretty sure he never actually did. I think he was playing solitaire on the tiny computer screen, and he just waved me away as if I was a dog on street.
Well this is how things run in India. Everyone is very curious, and some try to do their best, but really they have no idea what they're doing. Rudeness is not a trait that is discouraged. It's certainly interesting, frustrating at time, but I seem to be learning how to get things done.
Photos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/i44JSnADYX6jWnmi8
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