Gati - They consider!

Hyderabad is the place for food. Period. I have not seen so many restaurants serving so many cuisines in such less spans of distance! In old Hyderabad, there are hordes of biryani and muglai joints, while in the new city (outside the walls of the fort), its just all types of food. E.v.e.r.y s.i.n.g.l.e t.y.p.e!

And I was in Hyderabad during Ramzan. Which means there's awesome food everywhere. And there's the mind blowing haleem. Haleem is a preparation of lamb which is cut in very tiny peices and cooked in ghee for really, really long (sometimes overnight). And what better an item to bring back for my man than food. So I logged on to www.pistahouse.in which is the website of one of the oldest bakery in Hyderabad which serves Haleem only during Ramzan. They courier haleem to 8 cities in India and so i sent one across to Bombay.

This is where my story starts. Pista House is using Gati's service to courier the haleem. I ordered and paid online and got a confirmation email with an order number. The next day I wanted to check on my order and called Gati's toll free number. Here's the conversation:

Phone rings.
Gati Guy 1: "Hello, Gati...blah blah."
Alpana: "Hi...i ordered for haleem yesterday. I wanted to check on my order."
Gati Guy 1: "Did you get an email with an order number?"
Alpana: "Yes. I got one email with..."
Gati Guy 1: "Did you get the second email?"
Alpana: "Uhh...no. Am i supposed to get a second email?"
Gati Guy 1: "Mam, if you didn't get the second email, then your order is not confirmed!"
Alpana: "What??? So I'll have to order again??"
Gati Guy 1: "No mam, today we have stopped taking more orders as the offer."
Alpana: "But i made the payment!"
Gati Guy 1: "Sorry mam, the order has not gone through if you have not got the second email."

So i hang up and i wonder if the site can help me. No help. You can't track haleem orders. I decide I'm gonna try calling and speaking to someone else who might give me better news.

Phone rings.
Gati Chick 1: "Hello, Gati...blah blah."
Alpana: "Hi...i ordered for haleem yesterday. I wanted to check on my order."
Gati Chick 1: "Ok mam, when did you order for it?"
Alpana: "Yesterday at around 5 pm."
Gati Chick 1: "Then it will reach today, mam."
Alpana: "But i want to confirm this. I have an order number."
Gati Chick 1: "That will not help, mam. We don't have them on the system."
Alpana: "What? Then whats the use of sending me an order number? And how does the system not have order numbers that it generated??"
Gati Chick 1: "Sorry mam. but did you reply to the email?"
Alpana: "Reply to which email?"
Gati Chick 1: "The confirmation email. You have to reply to that."
Alpana: "Why?"
Gati Chick 1: "If you don't reply, your order is not confirmed."
Alpana: "How was I supposed to know this??"
Gati Chick 1: "No mam, its written on the email."
Alpana: "Uhh...no! The email gives me order details, address details and has a note saying Order Confirmation is subject to Payment confirmation."
Gati Chick 1: "Yes mam, that means you have to reply."
Alpana: "What?? No it means my order is confirmed if the payment gets through!"
Gati Chick 1: "No mam, it means that you have to reply."
Alpana: "Listen! I know enough English to know that it does not mean that!"
Gati Chick 1: "But mam..."
Alpana: "I'm sure my order number can be found in some system of yours and I want you to find out whether my order is confirmed and on its way."
Gati Chick 1: "Let me check, mam."

So i wait while she keeps me on hold for 5 whole minutes.
Gati Chick 1: "Mam, we can find the order number in the system through the backend. But it'll take 10 minutes."
Alpana: "I don't think it'll take 10 minutes. I'll wait."
Gati Chick 1: "No mam, you can't wait 10 minutes no but!
Alpana: "So when I call back, i wanna talk to you. I dont wanna repeat all this to someone else."
Gati Chick 1: "Of course, you can call and ask for Vijay."
Alpana: "Vijay?"
Gati Chick 1: "Yes, Vijay."
Alpana: "Your name is Vijay?" (well, id never heard of a chick named Vijay!)
Gati Chick 1: "He he he he...no he's the backend guy."
Alpana: "Ok. I'll call back."

So for 10 minutes, I do some timepass and then call back.

Phone rings.
Gati Chick 2: "Hello, Gati...blah blah."
Alpana: "Hi. I ordered for haleem yesterday. My order number is xxxxx. I want to speak with Vijay."
Gati Chick 2: "Certainly, mam. What's your name and order number?"
Alpana: "Alpana. xxxxx."
Gati Chick 2: "Please hold the line."

Phone on hold for half a minute.
Gati Chick 2: "Vijay's phone is coming busy. You can tell me your problem."
Alpana: "I want to check my order. It was confirmed by email, but there seems to be some confusion."
Gati Chick 2: "Did you reply to that email?"
Alpana: "No!!!! It was an order confirmation! Why should I reply to an order confirmation???"
Gati Chick 2: "But mam, if you don't reply, then it will not be delivered."
Alpana: "I don't wanna discuss this again! I didn't reply. Therefore, i want you to tell me what is the status and what is my next step."
Gati Chick 2: "Ok mam. I'll check."

On hold again.
Gati Chick 2: "Mam, your order is on its way. It'll reach by 10:00 pm today."
Alpana: "Really?" (I actually couldn't believe it!)
Gati Chick 2: "Yes mam."
Alpana: "So now stop telling people to reply! We don't need to reply!"
Gati Chick 2: "No mam. You need to. They considered. So they sent it."

THEY CONSIDERED.

How considerate. I didnt reply to a system generated email. Poor system. Must have felt so bad. But they considered. How absolutely amazing Gati is.

Come to think of it, this should be their tag line. GATI - WE CONSIDER.