Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Value of Reward

How long will it take for you to earn 100 bucks? Considering an average salary of Rs. 90000 per month it should be around 3000 rupees per day and assuming that person works for 10 hours a day it works out to be 300 rupees per hour or 5 rupees per minute. With that calculation it should take around 20 minutes to earn 100 rupees. Just 20 minutes! Easy? Yes? But Spar hyper store, part of the lifestyle group at Bangalore thinks it otherwise.


On my first visit to the Spar hyper store I was given a membership card and told that on every purchase points shall accumulate. I never cared to ask details about how these points accumulate and what do I do with the points, till yesterday when I went to the store again sans my membership card that I forgot back home. I had shopped for good 6000 rupees and when the billing clerk asked me whether I had a membership card or not, I told him that I did not, however asked whether my points can still be added if I tell my contact details that must be fed in their system. He directed me to their Customer Service desk. After asking whether my points can be added, out of curiosity I asked how do I accumulate these points and what do I get by accumulating them (just to check whether all the pain that I took to add yesterday’s points were worth or not). He told me that every 100 rupee purchase amounts to one point and if I accumulate 143 points then I get a 100 rupees voucher. More simply the equation means I have to shop for Rs. 14300/- to get a Rs. 100 voucher (yes 14300/- rupees!). Then once I accumulate those many points I have to bring my Driving license, my voter ID card and my pan card to claim my 100 rupees voucher ( wow! I did not need these many documents to file my tax returns even). At the end of the conversation, I was thinking who wants the voucher!

Today I overheard someone saying ‘Belated Happy Diwali Wishes’. I was thinking in my head that Diwali is over for more than a week. What is the use of this wish? How would the recipient feel? Mere hollow formality?

In short moral of the story is any reward or appreciation cannot be either a lip-service or delayed so much that that appreciation or reward loses its significance.

Organizations must remember that appreciation delayed and degraded is appreciation denied!

4 comments:

Harshit said...

I find these reward points very demeaning for an average consumer. I would never waste all my time, energy and money in collecting and redeeming such points which never seem to reach the redeemable limit or some worth redeemable value. Its a failed process of engaging the consumers.
Its pleasure reading your posts sir. Good to be back in learning more from you.
Thanks
Harshit Agarwal (Faculty - SRMSCET Bareilly)

Dr. Debashish Sengupta said...

Couldn't agree with you any less. Thanks.

Cheers,
Debashish

Devpriya Dey said...

ON TIME Reward & Recognitions given increases organisational commitment in an employee. Infact this fact has its base from the Herzberg's Motivation Theory. Not only the R&R practices, it can as minor as CONFIRMATION of an employee after the completion of probationary period.For a supervisor or a HR it is just an other employee's confirmation but for that employee it is the NEXT STEP in his/her career. Generally delaying in such activities tend to dis-engage an employee.

Dr. Debashish Sengupta said...

Well said Dev. Thanks

Debashish