To celebrate 5 years of the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Maruti organised a car parade for creating a new Guinness record--the idea was to have 555 Swifts in a parade to beat a previous record by Renault, according to announcements made before the parade began. (
[COLOR=#0000ff]http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/81907-maruti-swift-trying-set-guinness-record.html[/COLOR])
I attended the Mumbai edition (this event was also held in Delhi & Chennai) and it was complete CHAOS once the event began and I also suspect a scam (more on that later).
The event started well (I got there around 8) and it took us about 30 mins to get the car in. On the way, numbers were marked on the car and we were also handed a goodie bag with a tee/cap, etc. Once parked, all cars were checked briefly (brake lights, etc) and stickers were put on the cars with numbers. We also signed registration forms and were given CLEAR, WRITTEN instructions that this wasn't a race and that no overtaking was permitted.
Around 10 am, after waiting for a long time in the heat, me and another friend found the lot was almost full but the last car number was in the 390s...far short of the 550 mark, though the announcer was screaming from 8 am that there were more that 500 Swifts. We got back to our cars and in a few minutes the parade began....
Actually, that's where Maruti lost the plot--there must have been one pilot car at the start (though I didn't see any--I was number 147) and soon everyone was overtaking, racing--it was CRAZY! And absolutely no one to monitor anything. Soon, there were gridlocks all over and the few autorickhaws, other cars in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) at the time got stuck in the mess.
I found the lack of co-ordination and control and the resultant chaos surprising--when coming in I had seen quite a few demo cars (I assume they were to be used as pilot cars) and at least 10 new motorbikes (again, assumed they were to be used in managing the parade). But not ONE was to be seen anywhere during the parade.
We went around BKC (quite frankly, it seemed aimless because there was no pilot car anywhere, the route wasn't marked--except at the first two turns). So, folks went all over and soon there was chaos. There was a major gridlock near the ground and my friend who had gone ahead told me to simply park the car outside because no cars were being allowed back in. He said people were taking the certificate and leaving.
We had handed over one coupon when leaving the ground and had to hand over another at the end, with one more coupon for 10 litres of petrol that Maruti had promised to everyone who participated.
I parked outside and when I reached the gate, the order of the morning seemed light years away. At the main tent, things were close to fistfights as people were falling over each other to get the vouchers for petrol and some movie tickets. I saw some of the booths break under the weight of the crowd. Me and my friend stood there bewildered till some one said certificates were being distributed.
When I got to the table, it wasn't a distribution but a FREE FOR ALL. There were no organisers around and people were just all over--I tried finding my certificate, but soon realised it was wiser to withdraw than risk physical injury and loss of valuables in the melee, just for one certificate.
By then the chaos at the counters distributing the petrol vouchers had against the coupons turned worse and people were abusing the organisers, etc, etc. I saw some had literally stolen some of the equipment (or prizes) at the games. There was one guy with a mike from the event management firm, who said that we could give the free petrol voucher and that they would send it to us later, but people were abusing him, furious at the mess and the way they were treated and demanding that someone from Maruti come, but no one from Maruti was around.
Me and my friend decided it wasn't worth fighting and abusing over 10 litres of petrol and handed over our coupons. As we were walking out we saw a queue (and chaos) where a counter had been opened for distribution. On the way out I saw some cops and they were told about the mess inside and that fights were breaking out.
What really disappointed me is the way Maruti treated us. We had come on a Sunday morning to be part of a world record attempt. But Maruti only seemed interested in getting the event started; once it started (and I assume the record was ratified), Maruti just disappeared from the scene. I could see angry customers and participants asking for Maruti reps, but there was no one around the event management company simply packed up. Before the event, two senior Maruti executives spoke (one was the regional head in Mumbai), but they had ALL disappeared even before the event ended! Pathetic show and lousy leadership!!
Another disappointment was with fellow participants. Despite written instructions, everybody was overtaking, etc. Agreed, Maruti should have planned better and pilot cars and monitoring, but to break rules at the first opportunity--is there any hope for our nation if we can't even do a small thing like this without trying to get ahead and squeeze someone else out?
I don't know if I'll get the 10 litres petrol voucher (they handed over vouchers to some and to others like me they said they would send it later...how will they know the difference?) and feel like a fool for having spent money and wasted time in this effort.
Also, I wonder if the entire record thing was a scam, because as mentioned earlier when I checked a few minutes before the parade started there were only around 390 cars in the ground and many others were still outside. Also, with no directions and markers, who is to know how many cars actually were part of the parade/completed the route? Plus, no one was there to take the coupon supposed to be handed over at the end of the parade--I still have mine with me!!!! Is Guinness really checking this scam????
One record Maruti did set today--hundreds of Swift owners were very disappointed and angry and that is SURELY A RECORD FOR PISSING OFF CUSTOMERS in just one event!
I'm NEVER going for any Maruti event again! There's no point in being loyal and caring about a brand when the company doesn't care at all and just sees customers as people to be used and discarded.
-Ivor