[octane1002]

Originally Posted by mayankk

What is this "Thomas cook" way??............

Exactly my thoughts mayankk in my earlier posts ( this is no voluntary service)! You put it across more cogently

[rajatmakar]

I have the experience of using the CHD 501 service. I have used it for hotel bookings on 4 occasions.

The advantages I found are :-
a) Great flexibility to decide night halt based on the day's progress
b) Peace of mind that the hotel will meet my 3 basic needs - Safe for my family, clean washroom and safe parking.

I have had my fair share of scoldings. But I can live with it. The benefits from the immense experience and knowledge I got from HVK far outweighs this inconvenience.

Regards,
Rajat

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by arjithin

I purchased few items from the hivayking store . Very limited merchandise available there.
Overall rating : Poor

My only interaction with HVK in any form was due to a purchase from his store. I ordered for a 5 ton tow rope from his store in December 2016. After few months I even offered to pick it up from Mumbai as I was there for a few days but it did not help. Finally, after many mails and messages, I got the tow rope after 8 months of ordering

[Trojan]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Is he charging money for a service rendered?
Yes?
Its a business. Period. That is all anyone needs to know rather than "understand" the greatness and other things.

Well put Mayankk!

I have followed many similar discussions on Facebook as well, what I just can't fathom is why can't an individual express his views and feedback on the service he paid for?
At all times such personal experiences are trolled, in response members start glorifying their personal out of the world experiences. Unnecessary sarcasm, borderline vigilantism is totally pointless and uncalled for.

Off-topic but this reminds me a of a similar episode which erupted when a member posted a negative video about a Maruti service center. Many members started posting their wonderful and superlative experiences at the same center. C'mon people what are we trying to do here, defend a wrongdoing by going through past glory?

A not so satisfactory experience could have been dealt with in a very simple manner and none of this would get plastered anywhere.
But instead the defensive attitude is causing more and more damage and blowing up things out of proportion.

As a suggestion going by the last few pages, there should be a clear disclaimer that only 'experienced HVKians' should think about using this service or may do so at their own risk.

[Abbas]

I am a member of the FB group and follow his posts regularly. Time and again he has mentioned that its a voluntary service.

After all the positive and negative feedback, I finally used HVK`s 501 hotel plan in July 2016 during my Kerala trip.

I was a first timer with this service and both at Mysore and Waynadu, i was booked at a very good hotel and was completely satisfied. Whatsapp instructions were precise and whatsapp location of the hotel was accurate.

The thing is you have to be clear about your travel plan and be precise in what you want from him. If you are confused, it makes him confused. And to top it with he has so many people calling him for guidance makes matter worst.

Be informed before buying the travel packs, his terms and conditions are clearly mentioned.

I am no Bakht of HVK, but i am a satisfied forum member. Wouldn`t call myself a customer because i didn't think of it as a commercial thing in the first place.

[bikerzindia]

Well well well. Let me try and pitch in my two paisas here. Paisa as we are Indians.

Let me make it clear during my 29 States and 5 UTs run, I had not pinged him many times but whenever I did, I did get a response back sometimes in 10 minutes and sometimes after 5 hours.

I had not paid a single paisa to him nor had taken any membership but I don't know why that maverick replied to every facebook post & whatsapp I sent him every single time.

I still have not taken his membership & I don't know if I would be taking but if anyone asks me I would tell them to keep their expectations low and the results will be beyond expectation. I just bought a book and stickers from his store just 3 days back.

The other day I read a message shared on Facebook wall of a friend
A person went to eat chaats and the chaatwala was blaring some idiotic music.
The customer: Please change the music it is so pathetic.
The chaatwala: Sir did you like the taste of the chaat?
The customer replied in affirmative.
Silence..
The customer paid for the chaats and went home.

Here is a scenario similar to what HVK forum is or his membership programs are

I take a club membership (Like the Malleshwaram, Vijaynagar, Sadashivnagar clubs in Bangalore etc not the fairly new ones where customers are treated like God). The club has a few rules set by the club management (In this case it is HV Kumar).

Even after paying huge membership fee, the member has to follow certain rules ( No Shorts, No Lungis, No chappals etc etc whatever). Now be it whoever, he has to follow the rules. The food availability there is moderate, the service nothing great (in many places) but still we keep going there for fun times and a little relaxation. Do we do it? Would we cancel our membership and go blaring around saying that club is pathetic and don't go there when we still keep going there?

Let's get to if it is wrong or right a little later.

The point is we go to HVK for information and we get that precise information for travel without hassles. If any traveler is in trouble he does everything possible with his team members whom he has not hired nor pays salary (as per my knowledge) and pulls them out of the situation. There are a few times he has pulled out friends of members of his facebook forum or maybe friends of guys whom he knows or has met.
Did he have to do it? No.
Did he do it? Yes.

I agree that HVK could have been better with his communications and in no way do I support rudeness but for all my communication I have had with him he was never rude. If he did not like something I said, he just let it pass.

Every human has a bad day and maybe for HVK & Arjith these days were more than one. But in the end Arjith has rated good, very good for things that he went to HVK for.

No offense for anyone and I have just shared my little knowledge and understanding. Arjith has all the right to express his experience & he has done it in all fairness.

All we need to do is look from another point of view.

Please note: I bought a Kawasaki Versys paying 8 lakhs and it got screwed even after giving them 3 chances to repair, they have not been able to do and the attitude the company employees showed to me was pathetic so I have taken them to Consumer Court. Had I purchased a 50,000-70,000 bike and that would have the same issues, I would have moved on. I am a person who keeps realistic expectations and gets happy if it excels more than my expectation.
(Moderators please feel free to delete the last part if inappropriate in this thread.)

[GeeTee TSI]

I admit being puzzled and at times, slightly hurt at what does come across as curt replies. Makes one think 'what did I do wrong!' While I can take to being chided on missing instructions (like straying away from prescribed route and trusting Google maps instead), it should be reassuring at the start of a trip than leaving a bad taste.

Coming to the core attributes of convenient hotel booking enroute and on-the-go, I found HVK-CHD a blessing during the two occasions I used the service and am not really aware of an equivalent alternative. To have a knowledgeable veteran for guidance as opposed to software, faceless helplines or bots also probably means responses unlike a 'bot'.

[Steeroid]

Its a service for a token payment of Rs.xxx that covers expenses, from what I have understood so far.

The time spent by people on this thread is worth several multiples of that amount, if one was to consider what people are actually paid. Think about it.

Is their service perfect? No.

Would I call HVK at 12 midnight if I am stuck somewhere or at 5.30 am if I started off on what seems like the wrong route? - Yes, have done it and have received to-the-point advice on each and every query.

That last bit is invaluable - I cannot put a price on that. Therein lies the real value of the service he provides - it is not a conventional service with terms, conditions and SLAs, but boy does it deliver when you need it the most!

[pjbiju]

I first got in touch with HVK after getting to know him through Team-Bhp. I also eventually became a member of the Facebook forum. Currently I am not active in Facebook and therefore have no idea about what is happening over there.

I have not purchased any package from him since I did not have a need for that so far. However, I have interacted with him many times over email (I got into Whatsapp very recently) with route queries on my travels to Indore, Kerala etc. This was much before he started with his Facebook group and services. I have always got prompt replies from him (where he was doing it all for free) through email and SMS. I have talked to him also may be once or twice. I used to send him road updates whenever I traveled on any route, so that he could use that information to help someone else in need. I have referred him to some of my friends who also always got his prompt support through email and other modes.

I had always seen him going out of his way to help me. I just wanted to share my personal experience that I have had with him in the context of this thread. I have not been traveling much recently, otherwise had always thought that I would want to use his CHD services someday.

[kirren07]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

That last bit is invaluable - I cannot put a price on that. Therein lies the real value of the service he provides - it is not a conventional service with terms, conditions and SLAs, but boy does it deliver when you need it the most!

Totally agree. You can't put a price to what HVK has to offer. I will use the service again, knowing very well that responses I get will be curt, and sometimes rude, but most of the times very useful. Because, what I need is sound advice when I'm out on the road dealing with unknown territory.

[Trojan]

Everyone has a bad day, but that one day is a reality. It can't be deleted by countless other good days.
But the bad feeling can be easily converted by the person himself, doesn't take much.

This is exactly what is missing here, instead of acknowledging the fact that something didn't exactly go as per plan, we are defending and defending.

Of course he is an extremely knowledgeable person and has helped countless number of individuals. If we have to look back over the years, it is clearly seen that till the time it was a forum based contact - on case to case basis, known people, contacts, friends etc. all was well.
This kind of forum works, as there are zero expectations. People help each other voluntarily and there are no strings attached. This usually develops over time as people get to know each other better and a relationship results.

Compare that to a chargeable service, where there are no relations at least for a first timer. Everything is expected to work as mentioned - because of monetary linkage - expectations!

Now we are trying to mix the above 2 totally different aspects into one, and that won't work.

His issue is bandwidth and it won't end unless he invests in staff and makes it a proper venture.
No organization has 100% satisfied customers but here we want to believe and make everyone believe that everyone should be satisfied because the person is so and so.

I called him in the middle of the night and he answered and helped me out, well maybe you both know each other for long.
How many people are traveling every day/night. Imagine if all were to call him up every night asking for help.
Can a person answer all and help all? Maybe for a day, a week or a month, not beyond that.
Help given at such instances is invaluable from a receivers point of view - but what about from the providers point of view.

I can take care of 100 great friends to help them out. But what after that and WHY?
If someone is expecting me to answer a call at odd hours and expect help, then I should be compensated suitably for such service - nothing works free.

Keeping the amount at 951, made it accessible to a huge audience, an audience not well versed with him or with his mode of operations, this is the first and final breaking point.
High demand, lack of infrastructure, no permanent staff has burnt it out.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by bikerzindia

A person went to eat chaats and the chaatwala was blaring some idiotic music.
The customer: Please change the music it is so pathetic.
The chaatwala: Sir did you like the taste of the chaat?
The customer replied in affirmative.
Silence..
The customer paid for the chaats and went home.

This reminds me of a classic Seinfeld episode which involves the cast going to buy some soup. Seinfeld fans know how it ends

Anyway, Assuming that all businesses treat customers as a king is futile, as is expecting them to abide by some ideal code of conduct. This works when the nature of business and the services rendered are fungible and there is perfect competition. In the real life, it is not always so. I remember when I got my ICE installed, I was told that the quality of his work was matched only by the enormousness of his ego, and to not to argue with his claims, regardless of any inaccuracies.
In the real world, with supply demand gaps, there are Businesses & non profits - this includes tuners, ice installers, auto forums & groups which impose unreasonable (to the user) restrictions and rules to manage their service delivery. If you want it badly - put up with the service delivery gaps, or they are welcome to take their businesses elsewhere.

As always, It helps to do your research before entering into such a transaction, and keep expectations super low.

[selfdrive]

Someone mentioned in one of the earlier posts here, that perhaps there needs to be some investment in IT or a team. The way I see it, the problem usually lies in the process. IT is usually only a tool to translate that process into a smartly working and traceable one (or otherwise, that depends how it is implemented!)

There is no question here about the knowledge of HVK or his intentions to help. However, it does seem to be a issue of prioritisation and value creation.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

The BIG ONE! BLR to Delhi! I emailed him 23rd September 12:41pm. I had a reply at 1:13 pm. With a full Excel sheet detailing the entire journey and giving me multiple options with respect to the route.
I replied with a few doubts at 1:26 pm and he replied at 11:05 pm.

In our poor dreary IT life, we have what we call prioritisation of requests. Normally we respond to the most urgent ones first or to those paying more!
But we do not respond to low priority requests if we have high priority requests outstanding.

In this case, it is upto the person himself to decide what way he would like to evolve his business. Nobody questions the value; then why not have different pricing options? The more urgent ones could be responded in person, quicker. The others either by template or later in person.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

This is the clincher: HVK could have sent us GPS coordinates and we would have reached. But for whatever reason, he decided to meet us personally, .... He must have WASTED at least 2-3 hours on us!

I never availed of his services; I don't drive too far away from my office/ home for that. On the rare occasion a colleague or friend needs help, I have gone way out of my route to do that. It is not expected, and I know that I will wreck my schedule, but I end up doing that. It does affect the other tasks for the rest of the day. After helping out that person, I sometimes end up with the feeling that I could have avoided doing that in my own interests.

The question is, if he does this even once a day; maybe he could have utilised it to answer some other people or run his business. I am no one to judge or recommend what he should do; only stating that such decisions have a domino effect on other tasks for the day.

Originally Posted by rajatmakar

I have had my fair share of scoldings. But I can live with it. The benefits from the immense experience and knowledge I got from HVK far outweighs this inconvenience.

Scoldings? Really? School flashback anyone?

Originally Posted by bikerzindia

I had not paid a single paisa to him nor had taken any membership but I don't know why that maverick replied to every facebook post & whatsapp I sent him every single time.

A few years ago, I did order a few things off the HVK site. It could have been a tshirt or stickers; I dont recall the product. What I still remember is that the package delivered to me had my address written by hand. By HVK.

I was so confused how such a busy person would be able to take time out to do such a mundane task. If he does not employ anyone to do it, he could have probably printed it out and charged it as an extra to me; as a customer I would not mind.

From your post, I do not understand why he would help a stranger for free when it is his business. If the horse is friendly to the hay, what would he eat (literal translation alert )

Originally Posted by bikerzindia

A person went to eat chaats and the chaatwala was blaring some idiotic music....
The customer paid for the chaats and went home.

That is the deal there. People are willing to pay for the overall experience, not for the food only. Else, why would such expensively decorated places with ordinary food do good business?

A business venture succeeds not only on intent or filling up a gap in the market, but has to be sustained by customer service, feedback and building the brand by 'word of mouth'. Blaming the customers will not help, neither will ganging up/ trolling them. This is what any business consultant will tell us. In the age of social media, businesses spend a lot to build positive brand image. Here, the customer interactions are creating a negative image of the service. Other IT industry terms such as net promoter score or customer engagement scores come to mind.

The contrarian view is this is not a business at all. In which case, there should be no charge at all. Or perhaps I am missing the wood for the trees. If the vast knowledge of the man remains unused, it would be a massive loss.

[bikerzindia]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

From your post, I do not understand why he would help a stranger for free when it is his business. If the horse is friendly to the hay, what would he eat (literal translation alert )

That is the deal there. People are willing to pay for the overall experience, not for the food only. Else, why would such expensively decorated places with ordinary food do good business?

The contrarian view is this is not a business at all. In which case, there should be no charge at all. Or perhaps I am missing the wood for the trees. If the vast knowledge of the man remains unused, it would be a massive loss.

Even I mentioned above that even I am wondering why he bothered to guide me with the routes when I did not buy his product or his club membership. That's why I called him a maverick.

People get overall experience when they pay for the experience. If I go to a star hotel or a specialty restaurant, I would expect ambiance, great food, courteous service , hospitality etc but if I go to eat in a fast food hotels (like the sagar chains in Karnataka etc then I expect just clean & tasty food, if I get hospitality then I would be happy but did I go there expecting it? NO. I am in no way justifying that such responses are right, they defiantly are not.

With regard to it being business or facility I do not know what he plans to make it. But one thing for sure, there is a facility he is providing which is incurring expense and the amount he is charging according to me is just enough to cover the expense so if I am going there as a membership buyer or recommending anyone to be a member then I am obviously going to tell expect to get for what you pay.

If he is selling peanuts for the price of peanuts & he has made it clear that he is selling peanuts then whoever buys it expecting it to be cashewnuts & then saying why is he not selling cashewnuts, what can we say about them?

He for sure is not a philanthropist.

Originally Posted by Trojan

Everyone has a bad day, but that one day is a reality. It can't be deleted by countless other good days.
But the bad feeling can be easily converted by the person himself, doesn't take much.

This is exactly what is missing here, instead of acknowledging the fact that something didn't exactly go as per plan, we are defending and defending.

His issue is bandwidth and it won't end unless he invests in staff and makes it a proper venture.
No organization has 100% satisfied customers but here we want to believe and make everyone believe that everyone should be satisfied because the person is so and so.

Keeping the amount at 951, made it accessible to a huge audience, an audience not well versed with him or with his mode of operations, this is the first and final breaking point.
High demand, lack of infrastructure, no permanent staff has burnt it out.

Nobody here is justifying that rudeness is compensated by his knowledge. It is just that HVK is not like this on any normal day and people say he is the most down to earth person(I have not met him yet & I do not make perceptions on what people say, I make my own after meeting & interacting with them) I have only had limited conversation with him where I could make that he is straight & to the point & a no nonsense person. Well I am guessing he has put up the app only to make it more reachable else he would have still used the same old Excel sheet & hand drawn maps (I mean Old school) No offense.

I do not know how much he has invested nor do I know where he wants to take this app to but the reality is that it has just about 1,000-1,200 downloads. In this even if we take 25 % (Which I am sure on a very higher side) have taken his other services paying the most ie Rs. 1252/- it would be a no brainer to know what returns he would have got or if at all he is making any money. But am sure he is not planning to make this a Multi Million Dollar business.

Originally Posted by greenhorn

This reminds me of a classic Seinfeld episode which involves the cast going to buy some soup. Seinfeld fans know how it ends

As always, It helps to do your research before entering into such a transaction, and keep expectations super low.

Thanks I had never seen this clip. For those who haven't seen, here it is

https://youtu.be/svSGKJFSl-8

Always be ready to get what you paid for. In Kannada there is a saying "Kasige takka Kajjaya"- Quality & quantity of Sweet as per the price paid.

For heaven's sake someone please set expectations right. If you go to a busy thelewala to eat vada pav or Pani puri, don't expect him to even look at your face and be courteous, if you don't get good pani puri or vada pav, complain but don't complain just because he did not offer you chair to sit or smile at you or speak to you etc. (Nobody is big or small & I am neither justifying rudeness nor promoting it)

[nilanjanray]

Disclaimer: HVK is a friend.

I have always had a fantastic experience with him, and have written about that in some of my travelogues. E.g. during a Bangalore - Kumaon roadtrip, we met up in Thane, and he treated me and my brother and friend to dinner.

During a Ladakh trip (I flew down), he helped me get a hotel at one day's notice. And then since I was planning to go to Nubra Valley, he arranged for a lift with other guys - wonderful souls - and I traveled up and down for free.

Do note that I do a lot of research myself, and as a roadtripper I realise that it is not always possible to know local details or the latest condition re a less traveled route. And sometimes certain places can be disappointing e.g. some hotel. I don't have too much of expectations, and often rely on my own judgement regarding routes or places, even if HVK recommended something else.

I do agree that for a paid service, maybe it makes sense to charge more and get some like minded freelancers to help out, reducing load and improving communication responsiveness. Without technology/automation or manual help, it is very very difficult for one person to respond to so many people. So, yes, perhaps the offerings need to be segmented, and the model redesigned.