Tag Archive for 'mall'

Trust.

trust_to_pay

This is a small but momentous development for India: Our society is becoming more trustworthy (alternative, cynical take: labor costs for “policing” have been factored in this).

This could only happen in the developed world I thought.

The Power of an Idea

This is a brilliant idea. Simple concept: While you shop in a mall, your car gets cleaned. These photographs have been taken in the Ambiance Mall, Gurgaon. They have also put an gender upliftment spin on this.

car_wash_ambiance_mall

car_wash_ambiance_mall_2

car_wash_ambiance_mall_3

A lot can happen over coffee…

So says the slogan of Cafe Coffee day.

But then a friend of mine chimed in (see image below):

With appologies to Cafe Coffee Day.

Taking Asavari’s suggestion, here is version 2 of the picture…

Today’s pain. Tomorrow’s pain.

Smart-alec quote near one of gurgaon malls where lots of construction is taking place.

Process Improvement…Indian Style

All Indian systems, unfortunately, are built on the no trust principle. This applies to shopping too. You need to deposit everything you have at a counter before entering a shopping store. This can be extremely tedious if you are just carrying a water bottle (you have to deposit that too) or a shopping bag from another store.

But things are changing. Last weekend I went to the Inorbit Mall in Malad. I had a water bottle with me. I was expecting the gaurd to ask me to deposit it as I entered the Spencer Hypermall. Instead, he put a small sticker on it! No long lines to reclaim my water bottle. That was cool!

Aquafina Sticker

Similar thing happened when I was entering HyperCity (also in Malad). I had purchased a couple of books at Crossword. I went to the counter to hand in my bag. I was expecting them to give me a token (to pick up the bag later when I exited). Instead they did something smart: They sealed the bag with one of the plastic locks (see photo).

Plastic Lock on Plastic Bag

What incentives do the shopkeepers have? They don’t have to worry about forgotten items and need less space and staff to keep track of deposited items. There is also a small tribe of people who will say “oh! F**k it, I’m not going to deposit this…I really don’t need to go to this store.” These two innovations will bring these customers into the store.