Manning Technology: Umair Naeem
Monday, May 12, 2008 7:15
When we talk about technology augmenting day to day life and making things easier and more convenient for people from various walks of life, the ball often falls onto technology itself for being unreliable, particularly in a country like Pakistan where state of the art facilities are rare. This can often be a very unfair statement, as it is the very facilitators of the technology who are responsible for ensuring its effectiveness in doing what it was supposed to be doing.
What often happens is that technology and facilities are in place, but the people who are supposed to be manning them and people who are supposed to maintain them end up being the unreliable ones. On a recent trip to Lahore, I had the misfortune of trying to connect to a Wireless internet network at the Karachi Airport. A few minutes of trying, and I looked for someone to help me out, but none of the airport personnel knew what was going on. I gave up, as my flight was about to board. On the way back, I found myself waiting at the Islamabad Airport, and spotted the free Wateen Internet Kiosks. There were two on one side, and two on the centre of the hall. From the two on the side, one was being used, while the other was free, so I tried to access my email from it, but lo and behold, there was no connection. Of the other two kiosks, one was off and the other was not working as well. Out of 4 possible kiosks, only one was working.
Whether Wateen is to blame, or the Airport authorities, it hardly matters. What matters is that technology should be a smooth and easy to use facility, not something that you would end up tearing your hair out over. And this is the responsibility of those who have put up the technology in question and those who are supposed to maintain it.
Let’s move to another example. Colgate Palmolive has a number for Consumer Affairs, on the back of its products (most specifically detergents), and when recently I needed some information regarding its products, I figured I’d give their consumer affairs a try. Unfortunately when I called, no one answered, and that’s been the case for the past few days. It’s truly insane when you have put out a number and you have no one manning it. Unilever’s Raabta Service is much better in this regard, even though their operators need to ensure that they have more detailed information regarding their products.
I have mentioned time and time again before about how important I feel it is to have Consumer Awareness in order for big businesses to feel continually responsible for the services that they offer. The encouraging thing is that Pakistan is moving towards that direction, but until and unless we, as consumers do not stand up for what we is our right, we shall remain static.
This week’s Rant goes out to the wonderfully original people behind the Mobilink Jazz Ad Campaigns. Did I mention how creative I think they are? Of course they must be! How else can they come up with a another Jazzy Tableau Theme with a song and dance routine with guys and girls jumping around and singing about how wonderful Jazz is? And of course, the height of creativity, having Wasim Akram join in and sing as well. It’s truly brilliant! How can it fail?! It has people singing and dancing about Jazz?!
It’s time like these that its true when people say there’s no creativity in Pakistan. I still don’t think that’s the case, but the ‘creative’ are certainly proving their point. What’s more ironic is that I thought the Mobilink ‘Join Us’ campaign was actually nice. Anyway, till next time, stay safe and Believe.
