JOIN USWhat is this Ola? Everyone’s talking about it. When I was in the US and was introduced to your friends, one particular youngster of Spanish descent said, “Ola.” Is it not Spanish for ‘hello’?” My 82-year-old father sat me down and interrogated me.
I briefed him that Ola is an online cab service aggregator, which does not own a single cab; with his orthodox mind, he put up a quizzical look. “They run a business without owning anything? Will this even sustain? IT is the backbone, and it’s their business model? Anyway, buy me a smartphone so that I can book an Ola. I cannot afford to look old when I am with friends!”
It was my turn to wear the perplexed look.
A smartphone means nothing if it does not have the downloaded app. I ensured that the OlaCabs app was downloaded as I handed over the smartphone to my dad, who was now beaming with joy — not because it was a new phone but because it had the app.
Next morning, my father called me and said, “This phone is not smart enough; it’s not helping me to book an Ola cab!”
And I replied, “Don’t blame your phone; you must be doing something wrong.”
“But I want a cab at my doorstep within the next 10 minutes.”
“But pappa...” the line went dead.
I had to get into my smartphone to book him a cab. ‘Ging... ging’ My phone’s scream for low battery. I called my wife and passed on the baton to her. My wife confirmed via SMS that an Ola cab was booked. Now the time was for a formal feedback from the ‘experiencer’. Later that evening, my father exclaimed, “Sose (daughter-in-law) did a good job. The cab driver was punctual and took me to my destination on time. It was a clean cab and the charges were nominal.”
A new day with another request: “There’s real problem with this phone. I can’t explain now. Book me an Ola, urgent.” The line went dead. I was in the office in the middle of a meeting and had no choice but to send an SMS to my wife: Book Ola for pappa, and don’t call him.
She knew a cab reached his place, and felt relieved. It was short-lived since she heard this from my father later: “What sort of a taxi did you book?! The car was not clean; the driver was unwilling to pick up my friends; a very unfriendly driver!” The dinner table conversation with my better half was mostly silence after she explained the situation. Another day, there was yet another request for ordering an Ola, and this time, my wife was meticulous in her planning. It was a free upgrade.
“The experience was sublime,” were my father’s words.
Just as my wife felt elated for a job well done, her phone rang. “I’m giving the phone to an uncle here. He wants an Ola at 5 sharp this evening at his doorstep.” The uncle did not know the destination address but wanted to get there on time! As the line got disconnected, my wife clutched her head and remarked, “I am an aggregator of an aggregator. Ola needs to incentivise me, and this can be a good sub-business model engaging the homemakers.”
Hello, Ola, hope you are listening.