Social Media and Customer Service: Part 2

Very recently after a bit of shopping and late dinner, I stepped into Ben & Jerry's (an ice cream company and part of Unilever Group) outlet in Leidsplein in Amsterdam. What should have been a sweet experience turned out to be bitter after encountering a service representative at the counter. The young girl  at the counter was surprisingly rude and condescending. Either she was young and untrained or she had forgotten her customer service training.

I was very upset. Partly to rant and partly to give feedback to the organization, I chose to tweet about my experience.

Next morning, I received a reply from Ben & Jerry's NL handle asking me to DM/mail my complaint. I wrote a detailed mail to the company about my experience at the outlet. Three days passed and I didn't get a response. And I tweeted back. This time I got a response that someone will reply on mail.

Soon, I received an email. The representative thanked me for feedback and promised to "make-up" for the bad experience.

Though I was heard, apologized to and "promised to make up to it", I felt their social media customer service was not evolved. Pretty much like the customer service girl at the counter, I felt the social media representatives were untrained to handle complaints. Or probably they were not trained otherwise.

And here is why?

Two things that irritated me were the usage of "Chunky Thanks" and "(n)ice" while I was giving feedback. Here is what corporate houses that use social media have to keep in mind.

1. Respond appropriately: Earlier I had somewhat similar experience with redBus, too. Customer Service Executives handling social media complaints are probably are not trained to handle the complaints in a holistic manner. It feels as if just responding is counted as victory in social media. There is no follow through or closing the complaint. 
2. Using associations properly: While it would have been quite appropriate and positive reinforcement to use "Chunky" and "(n)ice" words if one was a happy customer. But when someone is complaining, it only acts as further irritant. Companies have to be careful to tailor their responses according to the situation. 

Maybe social media customer service is quite nascent and hence companies recruit very young and over enthusiastic kids. One doesn't usually come across immature response say in more evolved form of customer service channels such as call center or chat or email. It is probably time then for organizations to consider the channel more seriously. Or maybe corporate houses do consider it seriously and have process; my experience probably is an exception. 

PS: Ben & Jerry's did "make it up". They sent me a branded ice cream spoon! Unfortunately, I don't eat ice cream much and I am little old to be excited with the spoon. If someone wants it, I will be willing to give it away. 

Social Media and Customer Service: Part 1

Before I begin, on a very different note, please avoid any of the private bus operators if you want to travel between Mumbai and Pune or vice versa. Shivneri buses operated by the Government are very efficient. 

Coming back to what made me pen this post; my very own experience of social media 's power in bringing a corporate "down to its knees" and make it listen to a disgruntled customer. More importantly, today organizations seem more worried a cure rather than prevention. Cure here would mean that organizations are willing to act upon escalation of complaints on social media rather than building robust customer service organization and processes that can prevent escalation on social media. 

Recently, I had to travel from Pune to Mumbai, from where I was to board a train to Surat. I used redBus.in to book my ticket. Before booking I went through the Terms of Use. Do read, could be useful if you intend to use redBus to book tickets.

So, on the designated day I reached Purple Metrolinks boarding point opposite to the Pune Bus Stand on Station Road. The bus was supposed to leave at 5.30 am. I reached the stop well in advance. I waited. At around 5.40 am an outlet next to where I was supposed to board the bus opened. As I approached the outlet, I realized that it was Neeta Travels' dealer and not Purple's. I resumed my waiting there. The arms of the clock seem to be ticking faster, then. My train was at 11 am from Bandra Terminus. And I knew that it takes a minimum of four hours on the private buses and was worried that I might miss my train.

Then it became 6 and then 6.15. I started getting restless and checked with the Neeta Travel's operator. He said that Purple's service was bad and the buses were cancelled often and they were always late. I made frantic calls to Purple office and no one picked. Finally, I picked up a ticket with Neeta and left Pune at 6.40. At around 7, I got a call from someone at Purple asking me where I was! Not keen to have a conversation I just told the guy that I left by Neeta and cut the call.

Immediately, I also mailed redBus.in narrating the story that you have been painstakingly reading so far and sought a refund. That was about two months back. And then the waiting game started again, this time with redBus.

After many mail exchanges, numerous calls and waiting for about two months, I realized that if I didn't escalate the issue to higher ups, I will probably never get a refund. While I used LinkedIn to connect to the officials of the organization, I also went to Facebook and Twitter. Usually I would avoid bashing anyone on social media. I don't think that is a good practice. I would prefer using these social media forums only if I have exhausted all other channels of redressal. Two months of waiting and no response meant it was time. I left a harsh note about the customer service and their refund process on both forums.

Voila! Within an hour, I got a call, a mail and couple of messages on the forums asking for details. Two hours later refund was done. Followed by confirmation calls and a mail. And a request if I could remove my social media bashing!

As a customer, I was happy. As a marketer, saddened. While organizations are taking social media appearances and image seriously, are they missing out something?

To be continued.

Tata Sky Responds

Tata Sky gave me an additional waiver of Rs. 750. Please read this previous blog of mine.

I am not sure if it was:

1. My interaction with customer service executive who would have escalated and then management took action, or,
2. My interaction with a senior executive at Tata Sky with whom I chatted on Facebook, or,
3. My blog on the subject

I am still forming my thoughts on which form of reaching out to a brand is more effective if you want them to listen. Will take little more time for that blog.

It certainly would make sense that brands treat existing customers equally if not more than a new customer. 

New Customers or Existing? That's The Question!

I met my friend Deepak Chopra for coffee, couple of days back. A soft spoken Chartered Account, he often makes interesting observations. While discussing about a venture I was planning to be part of, he quipped, "Indian customers seek value for money. We don't buy products or service because they are low cost, we seek value. No wonder, that a Rs. 10 lac Renault Duster is selling like hot-cakes whereas Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, has failed miserably."

Recently, I decided to upgrade our SD DTH connection to HD. Tata Sky is also running a seemingly good scheme for existing customers. At Rs. 1800, an existing customer could upgrade to HD. But I decided to upgrade to Tata Sky + HD, instead.

There was an online offers page on the Tata Sky website. Upon checking I found that there were interesting offers for a new customer. In fact, I realized to my disappointment that the offer for existing customer was not "as sweet as" the one for new customers.

Here are the details.

For existing customer

Cost: Rs. 4990/-
Value: Upgrade to Tata Sky + HD

For new customer

Cost: Rs. 6440
Value: Tata Sky + HD connection, 2 months of Grand Sports package free, 2 months HD fee waived, 2 Showcase movies plus Rs. 1000 Myntra gift voucher and 15% on purchases on another online ecommerce site.

How does this pan out?

Tata Sky + HD connection = Rs. 4990 (based on what is offered to existing customers)
2 months Grand Sports package: Rs. 820
2 months HD fee waiver: Rs. 200
2 showcase movies: Rs. 100
Gift voucher: Rs. 1000

Let's discount the 15% discount coupon for now.

The total value that a new customer gets from Tata Sky is Rs. 7110. Which would mean that a new customer gets an additional "value" of Rs. approximately Rs. 670.

I reached out to the customer support but as I had guessed the customer service support is not empowered to cross the line. Most of the time, they are dignified parrots, not only at Tata Sky but also other organizations. That will be another blog.

Anyway after some failed attempts, I felt a bit cheap to have done so much of calculations and trying to haggle for a paltry sum of Rs. 670.

It was then that I remembered an interview of CK Ranganathan of Cavin Kare making an interesting observation on the success of his Chik shampoo that catapulted a small shampoo company into one of the top FMCG companies in India, today.

He pointed out that customers in India are very diligent. He said customers didn't buy his sachets because they were affordable. He said that customers would calculate the cost of sachet shampoo and compare it with the cost of bottled shampoo before buying. Meaning, just because sachet was affordable at that point, customers would not buy it if the bottled shampoo was "cheaper" (read value for the money), overall.

But that is how we as customers are, I suppose.

Coming back to my DTH connection, I reached out to a top official at Tata Sky. After a small exchange, I realized that he also failed to understand the issue. Considering that my shift to Airtel would have to wait for six months and being impatient, I upgraded to Tata Sky + HD at a "not-so-sweet-deal" given to existing customers.

When I was doing MBA, I remember reading an interview of a Marketing Guru who urged companies to keep their existing customers happier than put all efforts to acquire new ones.

But I guess it is two in the bush is better than one in hand for many brands. 

Don't Take Social Media Seriously!

I do mean it. Companies should not take social media all that seriously!

Have I lost it? Just a couple of months back, I wrote that social media makes a great impact on the image of a company and consumers can make themselves heard quicker and be assured that they'll be responded to.

So, what has changed? Nothing. Social media continues to enjoy its status of the most powerful 'CRM' tool, today. Not only has it made companies listen to customers and respond to them faster, but it has impacted them on issues which could rather be classified as not in the 'public' domain. It has made GAP and Tropicana revert to their earlier brand avataars. Brands, really great ones, buckling under virtual pressure.

And I say nonsense!

First of all, despite being an MBA with specialization in Marketing and having worked in Communications industry for more than 10 years, I haven't quite figured out why does a logo need to be changed! Of course, many reasons are given, some meaningful while others shallow. More importantly, do companies imagine that they can change the market scenario just by changing their brand identity?

Abraham Chacko, my ex-colleague and friend, during our discussion on Airtel's new identity said that the company could have used the money more effectively by innovating and offering services to attract new customers and retain its existing base. Quite a valid point! Remember good packaging doesn't necessarily mean good product.

What it could have done is a different story. What it has done and how it will affect its position is to be seen. But what I do appreciate is that Airtel didn't buckle under the severe criticism that followed after it unveiled its new identity, unlike the others.

There's a story about the architect of the legendary Taj Mahal Hotel. Apparently, he threw himself overboard  because he found that though the hotel was built as per his design, the directions were changed! Not sure if the story is true, but am sure designers of GAP and Tropicana certainly would have felt more miserable.

Companies/Brands are taking social media far too seriously for their own good. You show disrespect not only to the consultant who (probably) has the right credential but also to your own self. Remember social media is just a part of the entire universe of customer audience for you. And most of the time, these social media netizens don't have the right credentials.

I am sure many of you would have heard the story about how Steve Jobs decided upon Apple as the brand name and how the logo came about. Can you imagine what the 'brand gurus' in social media would have said? 

Thank god, Steve Jobs didn't have to face 'experts' in social media.

Employees In The Era Of Social Media

Till such a time that we discussed and gossiped in the real world, it was fine. 

Then somewhere Web 2.0 happened. All of us, who were till then laymen and consumed content, were vested with extraordinary powers to create and distribute content with far-reaching impact. It has become a strange world, since then. Free-speech has assumed new proportions.

Couple of days back, I had this conversation with a friend who works for one of the largest IT Consulting companies in the world. He told me that as part of the recruitment process, the company does scan the blogs of applicants. Now considering that I intend to be a salaried employee with no interest in the entrepreneur-adventure, does my virtual verbal diarrhea have any repercussions for my career? Considering that it is easy to be watched and tracked, does my online outbursts hurt my chances?  

I have made some positive mentions about one of my ex-employers. But completely avoid writing anything negative about any of my employer, present and past. And, clients are absolute no-no. So much so, I usually think twice before writing anything negative about a brand. 

Call me a coward, if you want, but am rather very apprehensive about being very vocal on Internet.

Earlier, I had written about Customer Service in Social Media Era. The reason for social media becoming spitting bag is that it is easy for individuals to do so. Now, who wants to go to a website and fill out forms or call a 10 digit number, only to press a few more. But more importantly, social media has become top priority  within the Customer Interaction Management industry.

I had this conversation with an extreme social (new) media enthusiast. He felt that it is absolutely fine with someone expressing his views in the public space. If I recall correct, he said that every individual is also a consumer. And that one should share their experiences with brands so that others can make an informed decision. Quite valid, I think.

It was widely reported that an employee was asked to leave after he made some reference to an institution in a blog. The employee and the employer both denied that the separation had to do anything with the post. In another case, an employee in a client servicing industry tweeted with negative reference to an organization because its staff bus was being driven rashly. While, his employer and the organization didn't have a relationship in India, they were working together globally. There was no damage in this case, thought it did ruffle some feathers and left a bad taste, I heard.

So, what is the desired behavior? Should companies monitor an employee's online avatar? Can social media acts of employees be considered exclusive of his work area behavior?  

As I mull over these points, I am reminded of this profound quote from the blockbuster Spiderman about power and responsibility. I still remain confused.

Many companies, today, have evolved behavioural guidelines for employees. While I have not seen one, myself, I think it would certainly be drafted in such a way that it covers any liability arising due to employees' net act. On a side note, have you read any Sexual Harassment policy? Gives me jitters!

And, oh yes, Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi will go down in the history for being two people who lost their jobs due to Twitter, whether directly or indirectly. Now, I am mighty scared.

Why Does Twitter or Blog Work? Curious Case of Customer Service

I love my Maruti Swift. I loved my Maruti Alto, earlier. I have been thinking of buying a bigger car, for sometime now. Chevrolet (please don't read it as Chevvy, GM doesn't like it) Aveo, Tata Manza and Fiat Linea to my liking, I have been treading cautiously over the thought. The financial condition is not in the pink of health to accelarate.

But then I know that car buying is a one-year process, so why not test drive! Over the last five months, I have called up couple of dealers in Chennai for a test drive. Surprisingly, I would get a call from these dealers for a time and date, but that's about it. At least on two weekends after complete assurance, I was left 'on-the-road'. I tweeted about it, last week, saying Fiat and Tata are probably overbooked and that is why they are not keen on offering me a test drive.

  

Tata Manza which has a presence in Twitter, immediately messaged asking me for my contact details. No later, I received a call from the same dealer whom I had contacted requesting for a time to arrange a test drive. But my happiness lasted for a short period. As it would have it, the test drive didn't happen as scheduled, yet again!

In the process I have realized that Twitter makes you heard. Though actual act is still subject to many other things.

I have also used Twitter to track and post developments for my employers. Blogs and customer complaint forums to 'listen' and act.

Is it that social media is working and traditional mediums aren't?

By the way, how does a customer reach out to companies?

• Traditional modes: Company office, Service centres, Fax (you won't believe, but I have realized with experience that this is the best way to reach to a company and get noticed), Telephone (not call centres)  
• New-age: Call centre (Toll Free Numbers), Email (standalone or through website)
• Latest-age: Twitter, Blogs, Customer Company Forums, Social Networking Sites 

If you carefully analyze the modes, you will notice that companies as much as possible have outsourced customer interaction management. Call centres especially have become the spine in the customer interaction horizontal. And blame it on outsourcing it doesn't come under direct purview of organizations. But seriously, isn't customer service core to a company. Shouldn't it be held by company. Well, that makes a topic for seprate discussion. On the other hand, traditional or latest mediums are is 'owned' by the company.

Why latest-age modes of feedback are more turning out to be more effective is not hard to figure out.  

1. Unlike call centre and email support, company's have so far not outsourced Twitter, Blog, Forum and Social Media support. But as I had pointed out in a previous blog of mine, this may not hold true if process specialists analyze and figure out how to standardize the responses. The entire BPO industry may find a new opportunity in adding these touch points under their menu card.
2.  It's public. Unlike the traditional mode, which is an interaction between just the consumer and the company, social media allows anyone with access to publish and post experiences. As my friend Karthik would say, this information can be accessed, retrieved and used by prospective consumers to make future purchase decisions.
3. And since it is handled by the company directly, it is likely to have employees who are far more capable and clued in that an outsourced customer interaction officer.

As I have also seen from close quarters, the social media is owned and monitored by the top management. Such close scrutiny may not be possible in other modes. Think if a CEO has to listen to all the nasty calls at the call centre. Or go through mails.

But, in my opinion, with so many people contributing so much on the net. It is bound to become unreliable. Search for any product or service that you may be considering on the net, I can safely assure you that you will find equal numbers of results, both supporting and decimating your consideration. Mouthshut and Complaints India, as it would be put by practitioners of Pranic Healing, emanate so much 'negative energy', it is not funny. One starts to wonder if there is not one product or service worth its price!

So do people actually use Internet to make purchase decisions?

Of course, the odd 80 mn odd Indians out of the 1 bn plus population might do it. But is it for making the purchase decision or gathering information. I take the risk in presuming that Internet usually is used to gather information. So, what's the difference? As I have noticed my own experiences, after gathering information it is always the word(-of-mouth) of my friend or an acquittance which is the final nail in the coffin, if I may say so.

Isn't it funny that Geoffery A Moore (oh no, not again) in Crossing the Chasm talks so much about referencing as the key to success! So where does the company begin. Looks like it's basics. Keep your existing customers happy first and continue to woo others. Now, isn't that what has been preached since time immemorial.

Customer Service Or Great Product

Sundaram Motors Petrol Bunk at Whites Road in Chennai has always been regarded as the bunk that delivers pure fuel. Well, I believe it is an open secret that 'all' petrol bunks usually make an additional margin by mixing petrol with 'cheaper additives'. As we know it is a regulated market, the bunks usually make very little margins per liter over a lock-in of expensive realty.

Many would have heard of Manjunath, the IIM Graduate who was murdered by bunk owners indulged in such unscrupulous practice. Pity! But that makes a completely different topic for discussion.

Back to Sundaram Motors. Well there is always a huge line at the bunk. While earlier it were those who wanted to preserve their engines, today, I think it is simply because processes haven't kept pace with the changes in technology and the customer-focused initiatives of the oil marketing companies. One has to park the vehicle in line, walk down to a counter, make the payment and bring the bill to fill in their tanks!

With every fuel marketing company having their own quality and quantity assurance program, the competitive advantage gap of ‘pure fuel’ may have been a lot narrowed. The petrol bunk, in general, have started taking customer experience very seriously. Right from billing to a check up of your vehicle. Almost everything is offered to you. Filling, billing and collections happen at one point.

Now as for the customer, what does he do? Does he go through a bit of inconvenience to get the best product or he doesn't mind a 'slightly compromised' product for better customer service. My guess, from a bit of understanding of how I act and people around behave, we prefer comfort. Yes, we do desire for the best but often do not go the extra mile, if we have to, to make purchase. A look at the opportunity cost clearly tilts the favor for us to make compromised purchase decisions, most of the time.

What is more interesting to note about Sundaram Motors petrol bunk is that they have strict operating time. They have a proper one hour lunch break! If you go on a national holiday, be surprised to find it closed. I somehow get a feeling that Revenues may not on top of the mind for the Sundaram Motors. Surprises me!

Does this mean that the bunk will close down? No. On the contrary, it will always be crowded. If not for loyal customers, then for the legacy customer unfriendly processes.

Customer Service: Learnings from the barbershop

It is probably because of my father's Air Force life that habituated me to visit barbershop regularly.

Today, after my daily game of tennis, I visited my barber (hair stylists, as they are referred to nowadays). I, usually, pay a paltry sum of Rs. 50 plus a decent tip of Rs. 10.

As I went in today, the barber asked if I had walked or visited the gym as my T-shirt was wet with sweat.

After instructing him that I needed a short haircut, I left it to the capable hands of the man and his tools to do the art work on my scalp. When the job was finished, I was satisfied and was going to happily give him the usual tip. But then he stopped me, asking me to relax in the seat. For the next 5 minutes, he drummed, pressed, and massaged my head. Phew, I was ready to go for a sleep. Refreshing! Oh no, I was not planning to increase the tip, though certainly tempted.

I thought it was over but then he brought a dry towel, placed it on my shoulders. Next 10 minutes were a period of relief. Relief from the tension that had built in into my shoulder and back muscles due to tennis. I so much wanted to let Mr. Barber continue but, alas, I was getting late for office.

Without hesitation, I pulled out Rs. 30 along with the hair cutting charges of Rs. 50. More than 50% of the actual cost of “actual” service rendered. Both Mr. Barber and I were smiling. I was because of the service. He probably because of the tip and making a customer satisfied.

I thought to myself, on a normal day, I would have stopped with the haircut. On a normal day, Mr. Barber would have stopped probably after the head massage. But the anticipation of what customer might require, though unstated, changed the experience.

Services Marketing: Lessons from Sathyam Theater

If there is one thing that can be added to the necessities list for Tamilians, are movies. It is a common knowledge that India churns out the largest number of flicks in the world. Hindi, Telugu and Tamil are the top three contributors.

Many film stars are worshipped like demi-gods (in some cases, temples have been built for stars, especially female actors). Almost all the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu state have had an association with Kollywood.

Wikipedia quotes that there are about 2,800 cinema-halls located in Tamil Nadu. Sathyam tops the list with about 2380 seats.

I have been in Chennai for about 17 years now and have watched movies in some leading theaters in the city. Until about a couple of years back, all theatres were pretty much similar. Theatres were large, may or may not be multiplexes. Devi complex was by far the most famous; Albert was known for its cleanliness (once upon a time), and Sathyam, also, existed. I haven’t watched many movies in Ega or Sangam or other complexes.

I am not sure who is responsible, but Sathyam complex today has become the best theatre in town. In my opinion, it is a visionary and has set the benchmark. The makeover of Sathyam is a perfect Services Marketing case study.

As I said, there was a time when almost all the theatres were similar. There would be huge lines for queues; standing in the queue itself was nothing short of torture. Black-ticketing was rampant. Probably for the first coat of paint, all theatres were in a state of neglect. Toilets’ stench would fight with Director’s efforts for a share of your senses. During interval there would be a huge rush (which is not uncommon for anything in India) for snacks. In the name of snacks, there would be uninviting popcorn priced exorbitantly but served in miniscule portions. The seating would give you pain in the wrong place, insects/rats would be your companion. The sound systems were slightly better than the blaring outputs in Amman temples during Marghazhi month.

Then slowly things changed for many theatres, changed a lot for Sathyam. And in my opinion, Sathyam’s makeover presents a great case study. The focus on 6Ps of Services Marketing presents the directions.

As many would know the four Ps of marketing are – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Some include Packaging. Services’ Marketing has three additional Ps. And these are – People, Physical Evidence and Process.

Let us start from the basics.

1. Product: The basic product that theatres sell is entertainment or movie. Cinema Theatres don’t have much control on the kind of movie produced but definitely have a say in the kind of movies played. Most cinema theatres had rigid schedules which made them reap extraordinary profits when a movie was hit or take a big hit if movie fails at the box office. Sathyam broke this tradition and played more movies and limited the screenings. It created more choices for customers. This way, they also reduced their risk of showing a flop movie for longer duration. Sathyam is also a visionary in adoption of technology. Whether it was in the areas of sound or projection, Sathyam adopts the latest.
2. Price: I must say that Sathyam is not inexpensive but it is not unaffordable, too. I would not like to discuss much about pricing. It might dilute the topic.



3. Place: Sathyam always had an advantage in being centrally located. But it was never a differentiator. Devi, Anand (now defunct), Ega, Sangam…are/were also quite centrally located. What Sathyam has been able to do with the space is notable. It has made approach to the theatre better by ensuring a large car park. Not only that but it also well regulated by professionals. Will discuss people little later. Sathyam is maintained like a five-star deluxe hotel. Please check out the toilets! Car parking, two wheeler parking, entrance, ticket counters, ambience inside, Sathyam resembles an excellent mall. Parking was a problem. On weekends, there is a huge rush to screens and since it is an up market theatre, the crowd usually swings in by four wheelers. Entering into theatre at one point of time was nothing less than struggle. But that is where the proactive intervention from the management comes in. Sathyam has introduced free parking at an annex slightly away from theatre. One can park his/her car and get dropped in an AC mini-bus. I must say, this is customer orientation par excellence.



4. Promotion: The biggest promoter of Sathyam has been the product itself. It has created the best environment for moviegoers. I must here mention that it was the first to bring Internet ticketing. It killed the black-ticket. In marketing, the best form of promotion is Word-of-Mouth and that is what exactly Sathyam has achieved.
5. People: If the facility is maintained no less than a star hotel, the employees conduct themselves like professionals in the airline industry. Smartly dressed, the employees are proactive and ready to assist customers. And at every touch point, parking lots, ticket counters, snack bar, ushers…




6. Physical evidence: Every touch point presents a physical evidence of the customer orientation. It is the best example for an organization which is focused on customers. Internet booking apart, a separate WINDOW ticket to collect tickets booked by Internet. Free car parking is another example. Magic-Hat, the crèche, is another example.
7. Process: The operations is organized and oriented to ensure that I have a good experience. You have to experience it to believe it.

Sathyam is slowly displaying signs of an organization which has consolidated itself as the best theatre in the city and diversifying into adjacent areas. It has recently opened a Blur, a gaming parlor, and ID, an idli-dosa outlet. Mike Besse has been presented for a long time now.

Usually malls accommodate multiplexes. In Sathyam’s case, a theater is adapting into a mall. Whatever be the course, as long as customer orientation is at the core, there is no stopping Sathyam.

Disclaimer:

1. Sathyam has not paid me to write this piece
2. It has never doled out free tickets to me
3. I have never been treated by them with lovely desserts, pop corns or Coke

But I may be open to all the above going forward. Kidding!

Ecstasy picture sourced from http://havenofullstops.blogspot.com/2007/11/connoisseurs-abodes-in-madras.html