Crookbond Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 irctc themselves. It gets printed on your ticket too. But I do not know, whether they keep it, or give to the bank. As, it looks like they do it to make it up for the payment-gateway fees. I think it's the payment gateway fees and bank takes some cut of it too. A lot of things about IRCTC doesn't make sense like carrying a hard/soft copy of tickets.
akshayxyz Posted June 20, 2012 Author Posted June 20, 2012 At least in case of IRCTC' date=' we don't have to go to booking counter twice, [b']but for movies we have to go to counter again even if we have booked tickets online. You can book ticket anytime and only case in which you can get lucky is tatkal scheme. Seats under tatkal quota are filled up in half an hour. Yea, this too. Lately, most of the time PVR's vending machines are not working. BTW, I noticed in PVR Bangalore (forum), they removed the Europa counter. That must have saved some space, office equipment/stationary, and two salesman jobs.
ganeshran Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 WTF! Who gave that logic? If I come by public transport, do I get discount? Or do I pay extra because I came by chauffeur driven car - which was relatively more convenient than public-transport / self-driven vehicle. I am already paying for my convenience - computer/laptop, internet bill, time spent searching/booking tickets. Taking a risk by advance booking - no cancellation policy...and so on. If anyone gets benefited, it is them - if less customers buy from the window. This saves salesman guy's manhours. Also, if more and more people buy from internet, they will get more worth of money spent in maintaining website. It is typical baniya mentality, they are simply charging us for their server/maintenance, website-development cost. When there is both offline and online booking available. Indian businesses still see the online mode as an extra service they offer to their users so they dont have to reach the venue early and stand in line for the tickets. IRCTC also charges a service charge (IIRC 20 bucks) to allow people to book rail tickets online. The extra cost is for the payment gateway charges, maintenance of website etc. The ecommerce market in India is still in its nascent stages and a lot of people are wary of buying from the net. Till a large percentage of people start buying online, businesses wont be able to reduce sales staff and still see the website cost as an expenditure rather than an investment.
Crookbond Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 Bank also charges extra from the passengers who book ticket online. :dontknow: YES - in my understanding.
DomainK Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 Could be a way to recover money spent in e-commerce set up development and maintenance.
ganeshran Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 At least in case of IRCTC, we don't have to go to booking counter twice, but for movies we have to go to counter again even if we have booked tickets online. You can book ticket anytime and only case in which you can get lucky is tatkal scheme. Seats under tatkal quota are filled up in half an hour. In Noida's PVR you can present the e-tickets at the gate and dont have to stand in line again. There was tele-booking available at spice a long time back, where they gave you a code and you had to stand again in the counter and get the tickets after paying for them. The only advantage was that you are assured of the availability before going to the theater.
The Outsider Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 Vendors get charged a certain percentage by the credit card companies for each transaction. Also, isn't it convenient that you can book your movie ticket sitting in your living room and be assured of a seat rather than spend an hour in the morning to book a ticket for an evening show? Isn't it also convenient that you don't have to spend an hour in the Railway reservation center or pay a travel agent some Rs. 100-150 premium?
DomainK Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 When there is both offline and online booking available. Indian businesses still see the online mode as an extra service they offer to their users so they dont have to reach the venue early and stand in line for the tickets. IRCTC also charges a service charge (IIRC 20 bucks) to allow people to book rail tickets online. The extra cost is for the payment gateway charges, maintenance of website etc. The ecommerce market in India is still in its nascent stages and a lot of people are wary of buying from the net. Till a large percentage of people start buying online, businesses wont be able to reduce sales staff and still see the website cost as an expenditure rather than an investment. Can be said about certain people, but if an online travel portal, which is supposed to be savvy, is also thinking the same way, there is something else to it.
Crookbond Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 Vendors get charged a certain percentage by the credit card companies for each transaction. Also, isn't it convenient that you can book your movie ticket sitting in your living room and be assured of a seat rather than spend an hour in the morning to book a ticket for an evening show? Isn't it also convenient that you don't have to spend an hour in the Railway reservation center or pay a travel agent some Rs. 100-150 premium? And some vendors charge a 2.5-3% cut over it too. Very silly. It's convenient for both me and the movie theatre. With respect to the agent, IRCTC itself an agent. Depends on how you look at , it seems.
ganeshran Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 Can be said about certain people' date=' but if an online travel portal, which is supposed to be savvy, is also thinking the same way, there is something else to it.[/quote'] If its a purely online business model which is charging a convenience fee, then it is likely just to make more money out of the customer by charging it under a different head. Businesses like MakeMyTrip (I think) and Flipkart save a lot of money because they dont have to maintain a retail presence.
Crookbond Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 Can be said about certain people' date=' but if an online travel portal, which is supposed to be savvy, is also thinking the same way, there is something else to it.[/quote'] The e-commerce market is not "small" as one would want you to believe. The penetration is slow but the market is as large and growing at a rapid rate unlike anywhere else in the world.
The Outsider Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 And some vendors charge a 2.5-3% cut over it too. Very silly. It's convenient for both me and the movie ticket. With respect to the agent, IRCTC itself an agent. Depends on how you look at , it seems. Yeah, but a much cheaper agent. Most travel agents would charge at least Rs. 100. FWIW, many cinemas, plays and sporting events in the US also take a service charge in the range of $1-$2. Cinemas here are generally never full, so I don't spend the extra buck or two booking online but for sporting events and plays it makes sense to pay the extra amount to avoid two trips and be assured of a seat.
Crookbond Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 Yeah, but a much cheaper agent. Most travel agents would charge at least Rs. 100. FWIW, many cinemas, plays and sporting events in the US also take a service charge in the range of $1-$2. Cinemas here are generally never full, so I don't spend the extra buck or two booking online but for sporting events and plays it makes sense to pay the extra amount to avoid two trips and be assured of a seat. I actually don't have a beef with IRCTC as it's the payment gateways who are charging the money. However, when it comes to PVR the rationale (which is never given in public & assuming if it's what Ganesh says) sounds a little bit flawed. As I said earlier, the convenience isn't just for the customer it's for the movie theatre as well. So, it's a win-win. Why make a business out of a situation where the situation helps both you and the customer? Baniya mentality as Akshay would want to put it.
The Outsider Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 I actually don't have a beef with IRCTC as it's the payment gateways who are charging the money. However' date=' when it comes to PVR the rationale (which is never given in public & assuming if it's what Ganesh says) sounds a little bit flawed. As I said earlier, the convenience isn't just for the customer it's for the movie theatre as well. So, it's a win-win. Why make a business out of a situation where the situation helps both you and the customer? [i']Baniya mentality as Akshay would want to put it. But who is it more convenient for? From my guess it's the customer rather than the theater. Yeah, they can probably dispense of some operating cost but they still have to maintain the same basic infrastructure to service the clientele who buys tickets there and still need to have someone who can give the tickets to customers who purchased online. Whereas, it's a lot more convenient for the customer - I don't have to drive half and hour each way in the morning traffic, take time off from work, all to purchase a movie ticket. And if you are sure that the movie won't be full just go there directly in the evening and avoid the charge.
akshayxyz Posted June 20, 2012 Author Posted June 20, 2012 When there is both offline and online booking available. Indian businesses still see the online mode as an extra service they offer to their users so they dont have to reach the venue early and stand in line for the tickets. IRCTC also charges a service charge (IIRC 20 bucks) to allow people to book rail tickets online. The extra cost is for the payment gateway charges, maintenance of website etc. The ecommerce market in India is still in its nascent stages and a lot of people are wary of buying from the net. Till a large percentage of people start buying online, businesses wont be able to reduce sales staff and still see the website cost as an expenditure rather than an investment. I know the commerce side of it. I am looking for how they would justify the 'fairness' of this practice. As I already mentioned, they also gain from providing online selling- it is not just the customer who is benefiting. And as I said, customers already end up paying for this convenience through various channels/taxes etc. Even for IRCTC, if you have ever stood in the queue on railway platforms, you would know how much time it saves them, even with the customer coming with pre-filled form. So many customers discuss the train options at the window itself.
akshayxyz Posted June 20, 2012 Author Posted June 20, 2012 Vendors get charged a certain percentage by the credit card companies for each transaction. Also, isn't it convenient that you can book your movie ticket sitting in your living room and be assured of a seat rather than spend an hour in the morning to book a ticket for an evening show? Isn't it also convenient that you don't have to spend an hour in the Railway reservation center or pay a travel agent some Rs. 100-150 premium? There is no argument about the economics part of the convenience. Which is why I pay 20Rs, instead of paying for the fuel and time to get the same ticket. Allow me to repeat, we already pay for the convenience through various channels. Then why another 'tax'. As I said, my question was about 'fairness' of the practice - since the business itself gets benefited by providing online sales. Or perhaps they should just name it to something more tolerable. By tagging it as 'convenience fee' it feels like being cheated.
ganeshran Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 I actually don't have a beef with IRCTC as it's the payment gateways who are charging the money. However' date=' when it comes to PVR the rationale (which is never given in public & assuming if it's what Ganesh says) sounds a little bit flawed. As I said earlier, the convenience isn't just for the customer it's for the movie theatre as well. So, it's a win-win. Why make a business out of a situation where the situation helps both you and the customer? [i']Baniya mentality as Akshay would want to put it. There is actually no difference between IRCTC and PVR. Both of them charge more than what the payment gateways charge them to process each transaction. The rest of the money goes into developing and maintaining their website. The convenience for the movie theater comes into picture only if the percentage of people buying online is high enough for them to cut salesperson and booking counters. If less than say 5% of people buy tickets online, then maintaining the online infrastructure is only an addtiional cost for the theatre. Meru handles this differently by providing an incentive to more users to start using the online facility so eventually they can service the same number of customers with lesser telephone reps. PVR and IRCTC pass the cost on to the customer and will probably cut it in future only when more people start using the website.
Crookbond Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 But who is it more convenient for? From my guess it's the customer rather than the theater. Yeah, they can probably dispense of some operating cost but they still have to maintain the same basic infrastructure to service the clientele who buys tickets there and still need to have someone who can give the tickets to customers who purchased online. Whereas, it's a lot more convenient for the customer - I don't have to drive half and hour each way in the morning traffic, take time off from work, all to purchase a movie ticket. And if you are sure that the movie won't be full just go there directly in the evening and avoid the charge. It's the way you look at it - as I said earlier. It's pretty difficult to quantify exactly who is it difficult for. One factor you are discounting is the "time". Due to online bookings queues are reduced and it helps people book their tickets (in person) faster. The theatre may think of even cutting their labor force. Now, that makes for a win-win deal. It's convenient for the customer AND the business. It's not about the theatre being full or not - the convenience fee is not just convenient to the customer but also the business.
akshayxyz Posted June 20, 2012 Author Posted June 20, 2012 If its a purely online business model which is charging a convenience fee, then it is likely just to make more money out of the customer by charging it under a different head. Businesses like MakeMyTrip (I think) and Flipkart save a lot of money because they dont have to maintain a retail presence. And yet Cleartrip started charging Rs 100!!! for convenience fee. 20 was still fine, but when you start charging man-marzi ka amount, then you have to question the ethics side of it. On the other hand, FLipkart uses these savings to provide better pricing. In fact best pricing.
Crookbond Posted June 20, 2012 Posted June 20, 2012 To top it all, it's not as if these businesses are not cutting through. They are making very decent money which is why these "cheap shots" are deplorable.
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