Mediplus Pharmacy

I have been shopping with Medi plus for the past 3 years. Initially they were offering 5% discount for people below 60 on prescription drugs.. Later 10% was offered unilaterally for all customers. The basic advantage of purchasing with Medi plus is not only for discounts, but to ensure that medicine are not fake or duplicates. I hope they keep up their quality standards by sourcing from the original manufacturers. The recent trend of marketing their own product under their brand name is disturbing. On these products they are offering 15% discount. Will they be able to keep a strict vigil on the quality, since these outsourced product will offering if not 50% margin or more profit to the company.  

 "Medicines are delicate items. If not produced under proper conditions they will not work effectively. If not stored at the right temperatures they will loose their potency. Unfortunately, it has been found that as many as 30% of the drugs produced in India could be fake or substandard. To make matters worse over 75% of unbranded medical shops do not use air conditioning, despite the Drugs and Cosmetics Act mandating the storage of medicines under 25°C. Why put your health at risk?

 Why is this so important? With approximately 20,000 drug manufacturers in India, telling the difference between a good company and a substandard one becomes difficult for consumers. To cut costs, unethical manufacturers produce drugs in plants which do not meet approved standards, reduce the amount of active ingredient in a medicine, and add ingredients which should not be in a drug to begin with. The resulting lack of purity and efficacy in a medicine can cause serious health risks to a consumer.

Unfortunately, in many instances these substandard medicines are sold with the full knowledge of the retailer. Seeking to make a little more profit, the retailer accepts these medicines and passes them on to unsuspecting consumers. The retailer may even pay doctors for referring patients who have been prescribed these questionable medicines." source Mediplus website. 

There are more than 600 Mediplus outlets located across south India according to their website. The claim that all their stores are AC is a misnomer, since most of them have AC but it is never operated, may be a cost saving drive is undertaken. The location of the stores is quite aptly selected. Stocking of the popular range of medicines is undertaken without flaw, but some medicines they run out of stock, which they arrange to procure from nearby branches of theirs. This service is very useful. The promise of home delivery is mostly not honoured due to staff shortage. In fact i had given 19 K worth of medicine order and they gave excuses to deliver the medicines @ home. We had to collect it from their counter. This was a shocker to us, but my friend needed the one year supplies very badly since he was travelling abroad. We compromised on their default. I am surprised that the company did not acknowledge this record billing of 19 K to us as a customer. ( R. Pandurang )  Yesterday when i went to purchase Nonil they curtly replied that they don t have stock of the product nor it is listed in their dossier or catalouge.  This was surprising, what i would have expected from them is to arrange for supply of alternative, at least the suggestion, which they did not give. It obviously shows that they are careless in discharging their duty.  In fact many a times i found the salesmen canvassing extra quantity of the same medicine or OTC product to increase billing to achieve their targets.

The staff are mostly well behaved and enthusiastic in promoting sales. Majority of the times computerised billing is effected so that we are not cheated. Sometimes they adopt manual billing, which should be avoided since price calculation can go awry against us. But last time around my friend got the benefit of 350 bucks on manual billing. The salesmen was taken to task i believe. Overall i would definitely recommend Mediplus for buying medicine with a Caevet, which is applicable to all purchases in general.

Epilouge :  Of late i have noticed that despite advance information Mediplus is unable to procure a particular brand of medicine, there seems to be something wrong in replenishment or order system.  The staff seems to be casual in indenting and follow up.

Reliance Reliable ?

The big dilemma when you recruit is whether to stick to merit or go for recommended candidate. On the hindsight my decision to recruit AB purely on his merit and all round capability proved to be the right decision. I chose to recruit AB ( not to be mistaken for Amitabh Bachhan Lol ) for his sheer integrity and versatile character. After advertising for a vacancy one tends to get lot of prospective candidates particularly if a company happens to be Kurl-on which is a market leader. One dynamic lady too applied for the post, but she made a mistake of calling up my boss and putting pressure on me indirectly to recruit. I refused to bog down to peer pressure and i am happy i made the right choice and selected AB for the vacant post..........oops sorry guys for the digression, but it is relevant to this review on Reliance landline connection.


One fine August day i received a call from one acquaintance stating that Reliance Landline is the best, i said why not send your rep i will go for it. I was wary of BSNL at that point of time, and i was happy with their broad band experience. On 16/8/2006 I filled in the forms and gave the cheque in favour of B.V.Telecom for Rs 1350 for landline connection from Reliance. I complied with all the formalities for getting the connection for my office, with id proof, residential address proof, PAN card, etc.
I was promised landline connection within 3 days, but after a week i received a call stating that my connection has been refused since i don t possess a gas connection. This was height of ridiculous statement that i have come across. Landline refused for want of gas connection for an office. I accepted the decision of Reliance representative gracefully and requested for refund of my hard earned money which was already encashed by the distributor.
The horror story began, i ran from pillar to post to get my refund. The distributor switched his address twice from his original location. All the Reliance representatives started refusing attending to phone calls after checking out the number being displayed. They must have obviously marked my name as idiot or danger.
Next option to me was to communicate to their customercare, who responded with request to furnish them details of deposit paid etc. All their customercare executives were only promising resolution, but promises were never meant to be kept. Meanwhile i went in search of the acquaintance who had recommended, she too had vanished from her job. Now i started doubting whether Reliance is really reliable ?


I went to Reliance world at Cunningham road and expressed my problem encountered with refund. They just feigned ignorance despite being their regular customer for broadband. Here too i noticed lot of manipulation on pre-paid purchase of broad band time, wherein employees pocketed the surplus on bulk scheme. However since it was centrally located i used the connection regularly day in day out. I was happy with the broadband speed.
The easiest thing was now to approach the consumer court to get redressal, but that is not what a hardcore marketing professional would do. It is perseverance which pays. I started regularly sending reminders, but hopes started diminishing day by day. Time flew now it was nearing 4 years.
One fine day i came to know our AB was working for Reliance group company in Mumbai, i just casually referred the problem to him. He asked me to send me all the correspondence and details to his e-mail id, which i gleefully obliged. He forwarded the same to his contact at Rel com. Behold there was a call from Sa. She said she wanted all the details and bank statement etc. I furnished the same. Again there was a lull.


One fine day she said my problem is resolved, oh my goodness at last my hard earned money is getting refunded i thought. But they refused to pay me by means of a cheque ? i gave them an alternative why not debit the draft or pay order charges and send me draft to my address. She said it is not possible. I was compelled to go to their office and collect the cash ? I had to express my dissatisfaction that after nearly four years you are settling the amount that too without interest. I have to spend my valuable time and money to travel all the way to other extreme corner to collect my legitimate due. Minus Rs 150 bucks fuel expense Lol. She said that the distributor is sacked, which i take it with a pinch of salt. All the concerned have quit the company etc. What surprised me was her statement that i made a mistake of giving cheque in the name of the franchisee. At that point of time only franchisee were authorised to collect deposit, which i had questioned later. Anyways she hand over a cover with cash for Rs 1350/- to bring the refund issue to its logical conclusion.


Anyways ALL IZZ WELL that ends well, it is now for you all to judge whether Reliance is Reliable or not.

Kent RO water purifier

Earlier we used to buy Bisleri in 20 litre can costing Rs 50/-.  In june 2007 we decided to go for KENT RO, and called for the salesperson.  He landed next day at our doorstep.  We were impressed by his detailing and demo on the quality of our borewell water.  The impurity level was around 170 and we decided that we would go for RO, but the price was quite exhorbitant @ Rs 15500/- for Kent Grand.  I bargained and got a hefty discount from the Kent Incharge.

Next day he landed with the product and installed at my residence, and did not even bother to collect the payment.  Meanwhile my sister with her three kids landed from Paris, and they were treated with KENT RO purified water.  They are used to good water abroad and Kent RO passed the test without upsetting their tummies.  When it came to payment i was little cautious, i told them i would like to make payment directly in the name of the company, KENT RO SYSTEMS, Noida.  It was my experience that in most cases the distributor or dealer will not be fully committed to providing service.  My precaution paid off since there was a dispute between the company and distributor.  The distributor refused to send his service personnel for mandatory service after six months.  He was giving some excuse or the other, than i sent a sms stating that I am filing a police complaint against the MD of the company.  The distributor suddenly realised the gravity of the situation and than rushed the service person to attend to the problem.  It was basically cleaning the sedimentary filter.  The company is supposed to provide two free service at interval of six months.  The second service was never honoured.

Now after usage of the product for 2 1/2 years,  the time has come for change of the carbon filter, sedimentary filter and a small filter according to the service personnel.  I was promised that I will be charged max Rs 500/- for changing all the spares and service.  But to my surprise i find that the cost has escaled to Rs 1050.  Changing of the filters is basically a simple job, which should be taught to each and every consumer at the time of purchase, levying a service charge of Rs 250/- for service is a put off.

I have experienced that any product costing more than Rs 12 K should offer minimum 3 years warranty so that the customer recovers the cost of investment.  For example SONY H3 camera is offering 3 years warranty.  I got my flash and Lens mechanism changed under warranty.  Similarly we had extended warranty scheme from Whirlpool for Rs 1600/- for 3 years along with 2 years warranty.  The refridgerator too is covered under 7 years extended warranty scheme for Rs 1300/-  Thus any reputed mfg should offer value for money in terms of longevity of the product.

The current models are now manufactured with water level indicator, computer controlled operation for filter change and UV fail alarm which is pretty useful alert.  Unfortunately we don t have this in our old model.  The built in SMPS has taken care of the voltage fluctuations which is prevalent to a large extent nowerdays.

One complaint is that the company has not passed on the excise duty relief which was passed in the budget, the company should have announced boldly the price cut.  I hope the company implements 3 to 5 years extended warranty scheme without fail at reasonable cost.  We would definitely like to recommend the product provided if the company implements the suggestion.  We are satisfied with product ulitility.  If the company does not implement the suggestions it is better we revert to buying Bisleri cans rather than buying another water purifier.  At least it will help in employment generation in India.

Epilouge : The after sales and service of  Kent is a suspect.  The change of  carbon filter, motor, sedimentary filter etc is quite high.  It could be as much as Rs 5000/- for every two years depending on the consumption of water.  Instead it would be prudent to go for a Bisleri can of 20 litres instead of  depending on after sales.  If one takes into consideration cost benefit analysis, i would go for Bisleri mineral water in 20 litres can which is regularly supplied by your neighbourhood kirana wala at Rs 60 per can.  For us it would be maximum Rs 300 per month, which would mean Rs 3600 per annum.  Just multiply by 4 it would mean 14400/- whereas in RO technology one has to invest additionally Rs 3000/- for changing the filters once in two years.  Please do your calculation according to your consumption.  I am struck with Kent and waiting for it break down in another year or so requiring replacement Lolz.

Blogging community in trouble ?

Cyberworld was one of the invisible pillars of democracy signifying freedom of speech and expression without fear of appraisal from the Govt agencies.  The move to muzzle the freedom of the blogging community through the IT ACT 2008 amendment calls for penalty of upto  Rs 3 crores or imprisonment upto to three years.


The due diligence specifies that the intermediaries should not display upload, modify or publish any information that is harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, blasphemous, objectionable, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, libellous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, disparaging, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable, relating to money laundering or gambling.


IF the law is passed there will be no whistle blowers, RTI activists, or seekers of punishment to wrong doers active on the forum.  Will the likes of  TWITTER, FACEBOOK, ORKUT, survive the draconian law proposed to be introduced.  Gone will be days of opening up your mind on these forums.  The blogging community will become another impotent tool being subject to intense due diligence by the law enforcement agencies.


I am afraid that the need for regulation should arise from the blogging community itself.  There should be an automous body like PRESS CLUB OF INDIA or BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA, which will decide upon the censuring, regulating content rather than being penalised by law agencies.  Reporting of in appropriate content should be referred to such independent body.  The body should be able to judge from the merits of the post.  The aim of the blogging community should able freely express against any wrong doing by whomsover without fear of reprisal.  Immunity should be provided against legal hassles.  An opportunity should be provided for the blogger in case of erroneous judgement, that he should either withdraw the post or apologise for the indiscretion or wrong judgement.  I invite suggestions from fellow and concerned bloggers to express their views on the the proposed draconian law against the bloggers.  


Note :  Headlines in economic times dated 9/3/2011 Bloggers call content regulation " a gag on Freedom "

Bloggers Call Content Regulation a Gag on Freedom 

Amended Indian IT Act which seeks legal position of intermediaries at the heart of controversy 

SRIVIDYA IYER BANGALORE 

A proposed government move to regulate content on blogs has ignited a firestorm of protest from the blogging community which is accusing the government of restricting free speech and acting like the guardians of a police state.At the heart of the issue is the Indian IT Act which was amended in 2008 to incorporate the much-needed changes to clarify the legal position of intermediaries or those who provide web-hosting services,internet service providers and online auction sites.However,the term intermediaries,for some reason,was also broadened to include blogs,though they neither provide the same kind of services like the ISPs nor have large-scale commercial interests.The law stated that the government should clarify the rules under which the intermediaries should function and the list of prohibitions applicable to them.The list was published sometime last month and comments were invited from members of the public,bloggers and other members of the intermediaries group.Intermediaries include web hosting providers which would include companies like Amazon,cyber-cafes,payment sites like Paypal,online auction sites,internet service providers like BSNL,Airtel etc.Blogs also fall in this category as networked service providers.The due diligence specifies that the intermediaries should not display,upload,modify or publish any information that is harmful,threatening,abusive,harassing,blasphemous,objectionable,defamatory,vulgar,obscene,pornographic,paedophilic,libellous,invasive of anothers privacy,hateful,disparaging,racially,ethnically or otherwise objectionable,relating to money laundering or gambling.Its a fundamentally flawed exercise.One has to keep in mind the nuanced role of bloggers.The government needs to understand the power of the blogging community, said Pavan Duggal,senior advocate,Supreme Court and cyber law expert.The blogosphere has to align themselves to the changes in the norm, he said.

 

A Star on Indian Roads too

Suzuki in India seems to be best option in terms of economy and performance. The fact that 2/3rd of your cost is borne by maintainence of the vehicle is highlighted in the website for cautioning thebuyers. Under this circumstance one has to be careful in choosing a vehicle depending on ones needs. We were in a delimma whether to go in for a car which had recently been recalled for defect in one of the oil seal or gasket. Secondly the waiting period on Wagon R, Swift, Echo, put me off totally. I am always convinced that if one has to wait than he will get a shoddy deal.

After test riding various options, i found A Star stood out for its design, it looked close to a formula car, no wonder it is the highest exported car from India. The alimunium body gives one a creep that it is easily prone to denting. This vehicle also is Euro 5 complaint which is a huge plus, which is not highlighted in their advts. The ABS version is quite risky for city drive, but can be life saving in long drives. We compromised on VXI since we did not want the risk of getting bumped from the back by a biker with powerful brake.
The initial haggling over the exchange of old vehicle for which we got only 65 k was a downer. But the greatest shock lay before us to get the RTO clearance for transfer. Guys never migrate your vehicle to another state and try to sell your vehicle, you will get a shocker, with additional taxes. You may never get back your refund from the previous state. It is surprising none of the car dealers or mfg educate their customers on this aspect.


After this our experience to check on the features, we were slightly misguided by some trainee that A Star VXI had defogger and fog lamp, which was misleading. Next when we confirmed the booking, we wanted the best offer, in terms of freebies. This was not properly explained so we checked out with Garuda who confirmed a host of freebies. So we came back to our dealer and he had to offer the same to match with the competitor after gr8 reluctance. Transperancy regarding freebies need to be ensured by the principal i suppose.


K Series Engine : This engine seems to be powerful, we can flog it to the maximum. I found that in second gear it is little sluggish. Third gear is powerful. Overdrive is a beauty but we rarely get to use it in city like Bangalore.


Milege : The milege with AC is anywhere between 10 to 12 kms per litre, with AC on and off we can get 13 kms, on highway one can expect upto 19.7 kms as against the claim of 21 kms. But it will depend on the load. Next time around with four passengers we got a milege of 17 km without AC. I am convinced that milege depends on the load factor.


Extended Warranty : 2 additional years of warranty is a great feature. Guys one should subscribe to this feature since one can burn a hole in their pocket since higher end cars will involve higher cost of spares.


Customer Meet : Recently i attended the customer meet, for educating the customer. This seemed to gr8 way of linking with the customer.


Pick up and Drop : Lady owners will be given special additional facility of the vehicle being picked from their residence for servicing. Males are eligible provided they pay up. Drop facility within 5 kms is gr8 idea. So guys buy your vehicle with 5 km range.


AC : The cooling effect of the AC is gr8. Heater too works absolutely fine, particularly when you get wet in the rain. It acts as a blower which is a boon. So you can just walk in the rain and yet get dried with a powerful heater.


Audio : This is part of the original fitting which is gr8, plus antenna is fitted for FM radio. The speakers are quite powerful.


The negatives are :


While reversing one has to be careful, Brakes are off when you switch off in signals, Fog light is not part of OEM, Defogger cannot be fitted later in VXI, Airbags is not part of VXI model. Milege of 21 km is only under ideal test condition. It also depends on the purity and quantity received at your bunk.

Overall i would rate A Star as a good vehicle, with a Caveat, that buyer has to be clear on his or her requirement. If one is looking for a cute car with an average milege with AC on, than A STAR is the right car. It s tubeless tyre is a real surprise package, i was able to drive the vehicle even though it was punctured after 24 hours. It is so easy to get the puncture repaired a tubeless tyre, but nitrogen air is not available everywhere. RNS is equipped one of the best servicing facilities. For me A STAR is a real bargain because of exchange bonus of 25 k and 25 k discount. This review is written after 8 months of purchase so guys i have tried a honest review, because you can t judge service or performance in a month or two. The contours of seating is absolute beauty, one has to just sit and feel the absolute pleasure of driving a STAR on road.

UPDATE : Engine Oil, Wheel Alingnment and balancing was undertaken at 7000 kms, which should have been a free service, but i had to pay for it. Further after 12000 kms i had to undertake wheel alingnment. I had requested the management that the customer should not spend a single np upto 20,000 kms or upto 1 year of age.