The Consumer Experience

The topic of the third Duke-initiated entry is "The Consumer Experience," and luckily, I've been able to see a number of shopping options in and around Hyderabad in the last few weeks.  Here are some observations and images of the shopping options in India, from the most simple carts and kiosks to the upscale, A/C'd, multi-storied shopping centers.

Fruits and veggies via roadside cart

The fruits here are both tropical and abundant - very tempting but potentially dangerous if not of the self-peel variety.  Each day along the streets, you can find grapes, papaya, guava, pineapple, pomegranate, bananas, etc.  The veggies are amazing too. Huge, brightly colored eggplant, cauliflower ("gobi"), beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes adorn the carts.  The only barrier to me becoming a completely loyal customer of this type of enterprise is that the goods lose the "freshness appeal" when you see the incredible amount of dust, exhaust, and dirt surrounding the carts.  Although I'm sure the food is healthy and safe (or I'm hoping, if not totally sure), I can't quite bring myself to venture into roadside fruit territory beyond the banana.  Perhaps by the end of the trip...?

Chat ("ch-aught") stands

Calling these contraptions anything other than "fried junk food carts" would be inaccurate.  All sorts of veggies and carbs are deep fried (my guess is at least five times each) then tossed into the cart and sold to the hungry passerby. Though I've frequented 

these vendors in a number of in African countries, I've yet to tackle street food in India, as the "Delhi Belly" stories have been a little too intense.  The calorie count can't be pretty either, as evidenced by any picture of me post-Africa trips!

Small, independent "everything you need (or don't) shops"

If you're in need of small packets of shampoo, magazines or newspapers, sweet treats, or phone cards, you're bound to find them (and many more random things) in these roadside bodega-like shops.  The villages seem to have more of these mom-and-pops, but they are present throughout Hyderabad (a significant metropolis on the sub-continent) as well.  These establishments might have items similar to your well-stocked gas station in the states, but most of the goods are behind a counter, crowded together (not much placement strategy here), and sold for prices that are, for the most part, negotiable.  I'd recommend looking closely at the expiration date on anything perishable and dusting off the items before use/consumption!  These shops tend to be one rung up the shop development ladder from the carts in that they are immobile (usually at least a few walls are involved).

Free standing stores (as in, located in buildings with doors!)

There sheer number of stores here is shocking to me.  There are alleyways of stores in the centuries-old "Charminar" where entire streets are filled with identical (to the uninformed shopper, anyway) stores and product offerings.  I was recently told that the streets of Charminar are "an example of pure competition."  However, beyond this small area of the city, there are stores that seem to duplicate one another everywhere!  I've not been able to figure out how one store differentiates itself from the other, but maybe when you're part of an economy with 1.2 billion people, you don't have to worry about excess capacity or coming up with a unique value proposition...

A lot of the free-standing stores seem to be chains (predominantly local or regional though).  For instance, the J.R. Bakery was our "go to" location for bottled water and 

train-trip food in Kerala, and the chain's definitely perfected the art of creating a consistent customer experience in all of its cafes.  

Today, I shopped with some of the other exchange women and experienced unreal customer service at an Indian clothing store.  The manager was wanting to chat once he realized I am studying 

at ISB and from the U.S. The stores, also part of a chain, recruit 

unskilled men and women from villages around Hyderabad, employ them in the city at one of the multiple stores, provide uniforms, health insurance (an unusual perk here), and extensive training in customer service to these young villagers.  They were picking out dozens of shirts, dresses, and wraps for each of us (to match our sizes, skin, eyes, etc.) and tailoring on the spot. It was seriously impressive, though a bit overwhelming at times.  

The mall (ugh!)

So, to expose my biases from the start, I hate mall-shopping anywhere...so my negative impressions of the City Center in Hyderabad have nothing to do with the stores, atmosphere, or people here.  I was surprised to see a McDonalds, a Kentucky Fried Chicken, a Levi's, and a Pepe Jeans in Hyderabad at this five-story mall in the upscale Banjara Hills neighborhood (and I have to admit, I couldn't resist a Diet Coke from McDonalds!)  The mall's one redeeming quality it's A/C on this 95 degree day (A/C's a rarity here), but the loud music, the food-court atmosphere, the marked prices (bargaining becomes a bit of a hobby here), and the overabundance of ex-pats made my first trip to City Center my last!