It was not a crisis. However, often, the responses from people on such days can reflect a lot about their attitude and approach to life. It can demonstrate their approach to life, self-confidence, understanding of the situation and decision-making capabilities. Disruption of cooking gas supply on Monday for a lakh-plus in Mumbai was one such incident.
We first learned of it overhearing the conversation between two neighbours on our floor. Our reaction was: there goes my morning tea. The call to the Mahanagar Gas helpline welcomed us with a pre-recorded message. It updated us that the fault was because of some construction activity and that we can expect the service reinstated by 6pm.
Initial Reaction
We first thanked Mahanagar Gas for the message. Two, we realised it was a major fault covering a large area. Three, we had no alternate energy source. So, the possibility of buying an induction plate was discussed and discarded. You don’t plan for such disruption, like you don’t purchase an investor in Mumbai. One will re-evaluate options if such a disruption of service happens frequently. Someone wise suggested why don’t we get on a fruit diet for a day. The suggestion was shot down.
Indian Entrepreneur
The tea stall run by a Bihari near the society realised the opportunity early. Anticipating enhanced demand, he arranged for extra milk, glasses, plastic pouches (for carrying milk), paper cups and thermos. By 8:30am, he had taken permission and was delivering tea door-to-door. He was even taking orders for delivering later in the day, collecting thermos to deliver again and readily sharing his number for later orders. Additionally, he collected Upma and idli orders- which were to be served by his neighbouring stall. An exemplary demonstration of the Indian business mind.
The Office Worker
Many officegoers were planning a lunch outing or what to order from – as there was no tiffin. Students carried dry snacks or money to eat at the school canteen.
In the evening, a few happy students reported on how the school canteen had made arrangements for packed snacks, and a few were unhappy as the canteen had run out of stuff.
Different Perspective
The area under supply cut still is dominated by families where women are homemakers. They were now looking forward to dinner outings in the evening. Husbands sounded less committed to the idea and promised to go if the supply was not reinstated by 6pm. A calculated move.
I overheard ladies rescheduling their vegetable and fruit purchases to the evening for better rates. The vegetable vendor confirmed their thinking was correct.
My daughter, who works with an MNC, was sure Mahanagar Gas had buffered delays and that the supply would start by 4-4.30pm. Her logic is that giving the bad news and surprise with early recovery is better than extending the timeline. She was proved right.
Failed Kitchen Setup
Few kitchens failed to encash the opportunity. They ran out of ingredients, gas, or both early in the afternoon and thus stopped taking orders. Many anticipating demand made arrangements and restricted menus for quick delivery.
Disappointing Big Brand
A leading brand of pizza disappointed us. Their service went from bad to worse. Soon, they were taking way longer to deliver than promised. They were taking orders directly through Zomato and Swiggy. The result was massive chaos and delays. Every delivery boy had to listen to irritated customer complaints. Remember, whatever the value of the order may be, we Indians are demanding customers.
They could have closed one of the streams or started showing a longer delivery time. Maybe the store in charge was not empowered. Perhaps the SOP required an early indent for ingredients and was in short supply. However, it all ended with a bad customer experience- a far worse situation than not taking orders or closing the shop.
Net-net
How you react to a situation defines what kind of a person or leader you are. These opportunities, like moment marketing, need a quick decision by empowered employees or entrepreneur owners.
PostScript
In many families, the evening ended with a movie and/or dining out. One could see the Monday evening shows doing better business on BookMyShow. The restaurants in the mall and in the market had people waiting on a Monday. In fact, streetfood stalls were doing great business. In fact, the home delivery of food spiked… families would not leave an opportunity like this.