VIEWS AND INTERVIEWS

Q&A: Talking to Sharath Bhat – a freelance advertising writer who
handles web content for AIRDA (Part II)

October 2013

Sharath Bhat is a freelance advertising writer from Bangalore. He is interested in Creativity & Innovation, Content Management & Blogging, Technology & Computers. He is also fascinated by the limitless expanse of the internet, where you can share ideas across time zones – in a world without boundaries.

Sharath also handles the content for AIRDA’s websites and other components of our online presence. We’re chatting with him here, purely on the basis of the number of interviews he has done for the Q&A column on our website.

Talking to Sharath Bhat, for the second segment of this interview >

Q: What are people’s thoughts on customer orientation?

A: What customers find reassuring among AIRDA resorts is the 10-day cooling period – allowing them the breathing space to review a purchase decision. This of course comes with the option of changing your mind, with some very valid reasons.

I’ve also been told by customers that they like the idea of a common Code of Ethics shared by AIRDA member resorts. AIRDA’s Code of Ethics aims to protect the interests of the consumer on the one hand, and the developer on the other – the two sides of a coin that together drive the industry’s value proposition.

Q: What issues do customers bring up as concern areas?

A: Prime season bookings seem to be a common concern among customers. From what I can see, this is tricky - everyone wants a slice of the most desirable vacation seasons in the year. While common logic would say “first come, first served,” I guess it’s important for the resort to provide guidelines on how you can obtain the slot you’re looking for - with a little bit of advance planning. Maybe it takes more than advance planning, but some sort of guideline would certainly help in this case.

Q: Is there feedback that comes in as suggestions for improvement?

A: Let me try and list these out as pointers, because they are not really major issues, but useful things to put on your consider list >

• Vegetarians would like a wider range of dishes on the menu. I know this is debatable, but I did come across people saying that resorts usually have a smaller listing on their menus for vegetarian food.
• Now this can be useful. At least two people suggested that resorts can have a Lost & Found section. One lady mentioned that her husband had left his favourite watch behind, and it took some effort and follow up to retrieve it.
• Guests over 60 look forward to more than just putting their feet up, or dozing off in the afternoons. Parents accompanying younger members of the resort, often find that they are at a loose end. This age group in particular, is looking for an activity calendar that could include plantation visits, temple trails and things like that.
• Some of the kids I spoke to eagerly look for more in terms of activities, than indoor games and play-safe zones. I do hope resorts look at this as constructive feedback and include these suggestions in their list for project improvements.
• Here’s a suggestion from pet lovers: Please have some kind of facility for small, easily manageable pets. While the suggestion is tricky to implement, I have included it to assure pet lovers that their suggestion has indeed been shared. From my own point of view, this could be difficult to enable, because other guests at the resort may not be pet friendly.

At the end of the day, I guess there’s merit in listening to the customer’s side of the story. He can be the prime source for information, inspiration and an insight into a world that is fast changing - in terms needs and aspirations.

That in simple words is our looking glass for the future.

(This interview is the concluding segment in the two part series. The first part can be found here.)