We paid a visit to a few mobile stores in Connaught Place (the centre of Delhi) in the afternoon today. We were looking out for the Sony Ericsson W960i, which we had heard was in the market, even though the company had not uttered a peep about it. Both places told us that they did not currently have the phone but it would be “arriving tomorrow.” We asked about a few other models – some were available, while others were “out of stock,” but would be coming later in the evening of perhaps tomorrow.
What struck both of us was the fact that none of the dealers admitted that the phone was not released or was not in the market. I bet that if we had asked for a model that had not been released in India – say the Palm Centro – the answer would have been “We don’t have it right now, but it should be coming shortly. Maybe this very evening.” I asked a few of my friends and they admitted that most stores seem to follow this practice – it’s almost as if admitting that you do not have a phone is a crime. Whether this stems from ignorance or is a matter of store policy, we do not know. Our advice, however, is simple: if the salesperson says that a phone is out of stock and will come in later, don’t waste your time holding your breath for it. It might not have come to the country, leave alone the store.
Of course, not all stores are like this, but unfortunately, the “out of stock, will be coming tomorrow” phenomenon seems the rule rather than the exception in Indian mobile stores.
No comments:
Post a Comment