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By Rajkamal Rao
Go back to India Live!
Indian merchants are not exactly people you want to credit with (no pun intended) to give you credit for purchases that go bad. Commerce in India is still largely a cash matter. As soon as money exchanges hands, you are committed to the product or service you bought. And should you ever want a refund, the processes are set up to be so cumbersome so as to discourage even entertaining the thought of seeking one.
We were surprised that modern India has overcome this plague, at least as it relates to E-commerce. In fact, some refund policies are even more friendly than those in the United States. I know America lovers won't believe me - but here are three examples:
1. Refund of a KSRTC bus ticket. We bought a bus ticket online at http://www.ksrtc.in for INR 538 for travel on Nov 15, 2012 using State Bank of India's Netbanking. Within a day of departure we canceled the ticket and incurred the full 50% penalty. The cancellation process was a breeze - took two clicks after log in - and we had the money refunded to our bank two days later.
2. Refund of a VRL bus ticket. This story is amazing - and a wake-up call to US airlines! On the above trip, the return leg was purchased with a private bus operator - one of the largest in the country - at http://www.vrllogistics.in - because KRSTC was sold out.
When we tried to cancel the ticket, we learned that VRL would not process online refunds; we had to print the ticket and go to the nearest VRL booking office. The booking clerk verified our drivers' license and paid us cash from his cash register! Minus the INR 65 cancellation fees, of course.
Try doing this in the US. Buy a ticket by credit card at a major airline, go to the airline ticket counter and try having the refund processed in cash. Or even back to your card. As Dana Carvey would say, imitating the first President Bush, "Not going to happen!"
3. Refund of a gas stove purchase. We ordered the Advanta Designer cooktop - Sparkle 4 Burner for INR 4,490 on July 14, 2012 from www.homeshop18.com. On July 30, we learned that the shipment arrived in Bangalore, but the courier told us that the product was damaged and would therefore not be delivered to us. We came away impressed that someone in the supply chain was owning up to the product's integrity.
It took a few days to track exactly where our cooktop was - it was actually in transit back to the shipper - but as soon as the company figured this out, they offered to replace it with another item. We politely refused. The company then returned 100% of our payment direct to our bank - no questions asked. And we got several SMS messages throughout the process to keep us updated.
Go back to India Live!
Indian merchants are not exactly people you want to credit with (no pun intended) to give you credit for purchases that go bad. Commerce in India is still largely a cash matter. As soon as money exchanges hands, you are committed to the product or service you bought. And should you ever want a refund, the processes are set up to be so cumbersome so as to discourage even entertaining the thought of seeking one.
We were surprised that modern India has overcome this plague, at least as it relates to E-commerce. In fact, some refund policies are even more friendly than those in the United States. I know America lovers won't believe me - but here are three examples:
1. Refund of a KSRTC bus ticket. We bought a bus ticket online at http://www.ksrtc.in for INR 538 for travel on Nov 15, 2012 using State Bank of India's Netbanking. Within a day of departure we canceled the ticket and incurred the full 50% penalty. The cancellation process was a breeze - took two clicks after log in - and we had the money refunded to our bank two days later.
2. Refund of a VRL bus ticket. This story is amazing - and a wake-up call to US airlines! On the above trip, the return leg was purchased with a private bus operator - one of the largest in the country - at http://www.vrllogistics.in - because KRSTC was sold out.
When we tried to cancel the ticket, we learned that VRL would not process online refunds; we had to print the ticket and go to the nearest VRL booking office. The booking clerk verified our drivers' license and paid us cash from his cash register! Minus the INR 65 cancellation fees, of course.
Try doing this in the US. Buy a ticket by credit card at a major airline, go to the airline ticket counter and try having the refund processed in cash. Or even back to your card. As Dana Carvey would say, imitating the first President Bush, "Not going to happen!"
3. Refund of a gas stove purchase. We ordered the Advanta Designer cooktop - Sparkle 4 Burner for INR 4,490 on July 14, 2012 from www.homeshop18.com. On July 30, we learned that the shipment arrived in Bangalore, but the courier told us that the product was damaged and would therefore not be delivered to us. We came away impressed that someone in the supply chain was owning up to the product's integrity.
It took a few days to track exactly where our cooktop was - it was actually in transit back to the shipper - but as soon as the company figured this out, they offered to replace it with another item. We politely refused. The company then returned 100% of our payment direct to our bank - no questions asked. And we got several SMS messages throughout the process to keep us updated.
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