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Time of India
25-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MarTech+ #3: The Broken State of Customer Service
Dear Reader, Brands in India are struggling to keep up with customer expectations. According to a study by ServiceNow, Indians spent 15 billion hours just waiting to make a service complaint or resolve an issue over the past 12 months. That's the equivalent of India collectively sitting on hold for more than 1.7 million years. But what's really broken? The Bottleneck Let's say a contact centre has 200 agents and receives 20,000 calls per day. To keep the average handling time at 10 minutes per call, they'd need to double their workforce, fast. But most brands won't do it. Cost concerns, tight margins, and scale make it nearly impossible. And yet, the demand keeps growing. India is expected to have 427 million online shoppers by 2027. Which means, more questions, more problems… and potentially, more unhappy customers. Traditional Models Showing Cracks The BPO industry in India is valued at $280 billion and employs over 3 million people. For decades, it has set the bar for what good customer service should look like. But in today's context, fragmented systems, rising expectations, and digital-first consumers, it's starting to feel outdated. And it shows. Industries like telecom, e-commerce, banking, groceries, government services and healthcare, the ones that matter most in our daily lives, are the ones most frequently called out for poor service. Two Big Shifts Are Happening Some brands are putting experience first. They're rethinking product design, logistics, and most importantly, how they serve their customers. For them, service isn't a cost centre, it's part of the brand experience. Tech is finally stepping up. Most service breakdowns stem from what experts call the 'Messy Middle', a tangle of disconnected systems and inefficient workflows. The result? Agents log into 3.4 systems on average to handle a single query. That's slow. Frustrating. And expensive. In fact, ServiceNow estimates that these inefficiencies cost India a staggering $55 billion in lost productivity each year. Enter AI. And It's Not Just Hype. 66% of Indian consumers believe Gen AI will soon outperform traditional customer service.62% say they've resolved issues through self-service.55% now trust AI-driven support like chatbots more than before. From handling basic queries to resolving tickets instantly, AI is helping brands shift from reactive to proactive support. But here's the catch: AI is only as good as the platform it runs on. Without unified data, integrated workflows, and automation, it's just another tech patch on a broken system. What the Expert Says So, in this week's edition of MarTech+ we dive into how four brands are transforming customer service operations for the better. Pepperfry's Complaint-Resolution Playbook Pepperfry handles complaints like mini projects, with strict timelines and cross-functional visibility. 'Our standard resolution cycle runs on a Day 1 to Day 5 playbook,' said Alok Varman, head of supply chain, Pepperfry. 'We do an inspection on Day 3 and resolve by Day 5, either a replacement, repair, or spare part.' As soon as a customer raises a concern, support agents ask for photographic documentation and create a visible ticket across the system. Agents are trained to follow detailed standard operating procedures but also empowered to act. 'Our team doesn't wait for approvals. They can offer loyalty points, refunds, or even initiate a replacement if it makes sense,' Varman said. 'The idea is not to argue, we acknowledge fast and close the loop faster.' At the point of delivery, Pepperfry built quality checks into the experience. Every delivery crew is required to unbox the item in front of the customer and report visible defects immediately. 'The DHL helpline is activated right then. The delivery staff hands the phone to the customer. There's no back and forth, we escalate at the doorstep,' Varman explained. If a product still passed through with a hidden flaw, the assembly technician provided a second line of defence by reporting any issues during installation. Each complaint became part of a long-term feedback loop: photographic evidence was matched with dispatch-day images, root causes were tagged, and the issue fed directly into updates for processes, supplier guidance, and quarterly training. Finally, Pepperfry flagged accounts of customers who had previously experienced issues. 'Their next order goes through additional quality checks,' Varman added. 'We want them to feel like we remembered.' This proactive, data-led approach ensured that customers were not just heard, they were quickly helped without being passed between departments or made to chase. 'At the end of the day,' said Varman, 'we're not just delivering a product, we're delivering an experience.' CaratLane's Approach to Customer Escalations CaratLane built its complaint-handling strategy on three key principles: respond instantly, resolve fully, and recover with empathy. 'In our category, if you miss an occasion, the value of the product is lost,' said Atul Sinha, COO, CaratLane. 'It's not about money, it's about the emotional moment.' At the core of this approach is CaratLane's Internal Escalations Team, a dedicated five-member unit empowered to act without delays. 'They are the only set of people other than the MD or CEO who are authorised to do whatever it takes,' Sinha said. That includes booking flights, upgrading jewellery, or dispatching replacements, without approvals or time-consuming handoffs This team exists to protect moments that matter. For instance, if an engagement ring delivery was delayed, the escalation team might offer a higher-value piece, hand-delivered within hours. 'The moment the customer realised the company was accepting its fault and doing everything it could to solve the problem, everything changed,' Sinha added. Speed is non-negotiable. CaratLane resolves escalations in an average of two hours, and its First Call Resolution rate exceeds 80%, meaning most problems are solved in the initial interaction. 'We track this metric actively. If I couldn't resolve it on the first call, I hadn't really solved the problem,' Sinha noted. Above all, Net Promoter Score (NPS) serves as a barometer for success, CaratLane maintains an NPS above 90%, reviewed monthly at the leadership level. This signals not just satisfaction but genuine customer advocacy, even in the face of last-minute issues. By combining authority with accountability, and swift action with emotional intelligence, CaratLane ensures that a service slip never becomes a brand exit. As Sinha put it, 'Customers got frustrated, but what mattered was how we showed up when something went wrong.' Eureka Forbes Taps AI to Reinvent Direct Sales at Scale Eureka Forbes partnered with SquadStack to unlock a high-performance direct sales engine, achieving a 30% uplift in AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) conversions, improved lead connectivity, and a scalable, quality-assured outreach model. The challenge was significant: over 55 lakh leads per month, low connectivity, high agent attrition, and limited insight into customer preferences. Previous systems struggled to keep pace with fluctuating volumes and complex buyer journeys. SquadStack deployed fully-managed telecalling operations layered with AI-powered quality control and knowledge management. Agent ramp-up times dropped sharply, while connectivity jumped to 90%, up 50% from earlier baselines. Omnichannel engagement, via calls, SMS, and WhatsApp, ensured better reach and lead recovery, including for cart drop-offs. Advanced dashboards and 23-parameter AI audits enabled consistent coaching and performance improvement at scale. Eureka Forbes used these insights to not only improve agent outcomes but also to shape product and service design. Within two months, SquadStack exceeded all conversion benchmarks, creating a repeatable, data-led direct sales model for Eureka Forbes, one that combined speed, scale, and personalised customer experiences. Meesho's GenAI Voice Bot: Transforming Customer Support for Bharat Meesho reimagined its customer service for India's next 500 million shoppers by building a multilingual, GenAI-powered voice bot that now handles over 60,000 calls a day. Designed for Tier 2 and beyond, this system resolves 95% of customer queries without human intervention, dramatically improving support outcomes while reducing costs. The system integrates natural language processing (NLP), automatic speech recognition (ASR), and text-to-speech (TTS) to deliver fluent, contextual, and human-like interactions in both Hindi and English, with regional languages like Tamil, Marathi, and Bengali next in line. 'Our multilingual, GenAI-powered voice bot exemplifies our commitment to inclusive e-commerce,' said Debdoot Mukherjee, chief data scientist and head of AI, Meesho. Unlike traditional bots, Meesho's platform understands intent, handles interruptions intelligently, and adapts tone. The team is also exploring emotion recognition to tailor conversations based on user sentiment. Internally, the voice bot has freed up human agents to focus on more complex issues, cutting average handle time by 50% and per-call costs by 75%. Every conversation feeds into Meesho's analytics loop, improving everything from product design to cart abandonment flows. 'We believe Agentic AI will transform e-commerce, making it smarter, more intuitive, and deeply aligned with user needs,' Mukherjee added. With this AI-first, language-inclusive service layer, Meesho isn't just automating calls, it's making digital retail truly conversational for millions of first-time internet users. Over to You Is your customer service still stuck in the messy middle? Or have you started building AI-led experiences that actually feel human? What's working, what's breaking and what's your bold bet for CX in 2025? Tag @ETBrandEquity on LinkedIn with your take. We're listening. Stories you might have missed Automation Anywhere sees rising demand for agentic process automation in India, says COO Mini 'AI missions' sprout in states boosting adoption and innovation China on the cusp of seeing over 100 DeepSeeks, ex top official says Amazon, Microsoft use AI to generate 25% of their code The AI Illusion: Why CXOs must rethink trust in the machine About Us Each week, we unpack the technology trends shaping marketing, without the jargon. Expect sharp insights, real-world brand moves, and smart signals to help you stay ahead. If you think technology is transforming marketing and want to understand its impact at the consumer level, this newsletter is built for you. Stay tuned for the next edition of the MarTech+ newsletter, rolling out every Wednesday. - Team ETBrandEquity
Entrepreneur
03-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Pepperfry Raises INR 43.3 Cr to Fuel Growth and Expansion
The fresh funding round was led by General Electric Pension Trust, alongside existing investors Norwest Venture Partners and Panthera Growth Partners. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Omnichannel furniture retailer Pepperfry has raised INR 43.3 crore (approximately USD 5.1 million) in a fresh funding round led by General Electric Pension Trust, alongside existing investors Norwest Venture Partners and Panthera Growth Partners. According to filings sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), General Electric Pension Trust invested the largest sum of INR 21.5 crore, followed by INR 8.52 crore from Norwest Venture Partners and INR 6.45 crore from Panthera. The Pepperfry board approved the issuance of 5,59,463 compulsory convertible preference shares at INR 775 each, raising funds on a private placement basis. The company stated the funds will be deployed "for the growth, expansion and general corporate activities of the Company." Founded in January 2012 by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, Pepperfry has become one of India's most recognised names in the online and offline furniture space. Headquartered in Mumbai, the company operates as a marketplace offering a wide selection of furniture and home décor products—ranging from sofas and beds to lighting, appliances, carpets, and outdoor essentials. Pepperfry uses an omnichannel strategy, combining a robust e-commerce platform with over 200 Studio Pepperfry experience centers across 100+ cities. It also works on a franchise model and collaborates with major brands like Godrej, Springfit, and Spacewood, listing more than 10,000 products on its platform. Valued at INR 3,120 crore (USD 367 million) post-allotment, Pepperfry competes with key players like Urban Ladder, and WoodenStreet. The company generates revenue primarily through commissions on product sales. This latest funding round comes amid efforts to tighten financial controls. Despite a 30.6% drop in FY24 revenue to INR 188.98 crore, Pepperfry managed to cut losses by 37%, down to INR 117.4 crore from INR 187.6 crore in the previous year. In a leadership update, co-founder Ashish Shah was elevated to CEO in 2023, and Madhusudan Bihani was appointed CFO a year later. "We remain committed to redefining the furniture-buying experience in India," said Shah, "and this investment gives us the fuel to accelerate our mission."
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Furniture retailer Pepperfry raises Rs 43 crore from existing investors
Omnichannel furniture and home goods company Pepperfry has raised Rs 43.3 crore from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, General Electric Pension Trust, Growth Equity Opportunity Fund, and Panthera Growth Partners, among others. General Electric Pension Trust led the round with an investment of Rs 21.5 crore, followed by Norwest Venture Partners with Rs 8.5 crore and Panthera with Rs 6.4 crore. The remainder was contributed by other investors, according to the company's filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The company issued around 5.6 lakh compulsorily convertible preference shares with a face value of Rs 775 each on a private placement basis. In its last funding round, the Mumbai-based company had raised $23 million in 2022 from the same group of investors. Prior to that, it had secured $45 million in debt funding in 2021. News website Entrackr first reported the latest development. Pepperfry had postponed its planned initial public offering (IPO) last year after engaging with bankers, as it was focusing on growth and profitability, cofounder Ashish Shah had told ET in an earlier interaction. The company, founded in 2012, had converted into a public entity in 2022 as part of its IPO preparations, which aimed to raise $250–300 million. In FY24, Pepperfry reported a 30.6 per cent year-on-year decline in operating revenue to Rs 188.9 crore. However, it narrowed its losses by 37.4 per cent to Rs 117.4 crore, from Rs 187.6 crore in the previous year. The company competes with ecommerce platforms such as Amazon India and Flipkart, as well as Reliance-owned Urban Ladder, and generates most of its revenue through commissions on product sales. Pepperfry has also been expanding its home décor segment and has onboarded multiple direct-to-consumer brands to strengthen its portfolio.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Furniture retailer Pepperfry raises Rs 43 crore from existing investors
Omnichannel furniture and home goods company Pepperfry has raised Rs 43.3 crore from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, General Electric Pension Trust, Growth Equity Opportunity Fund, and Panthera Growth Partners, among others. General Electric Pension Trust led the round with an investment of Rs 21.5 crore, followed by Norwest Venture Partners with Rs 8.5 crore and Panthera with Rs 6.4 crore. The remainder was contributed by other investors, according to the company's filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The company issued around 5.6 lakh compulsorily convertible preference shares with a face value of Rs 775 each on a private placement basis. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now In its last funding round, the Mumbai-based company had raised $23 million in 2022 from the same group of investors. Prior to that, it had secured $45 million in debt funding in 2021. News website Entrackr first reported the latest development. Live Events Pepperfry had postponed its planned initial public offering (IPO) last year after engaging with bankers, as it was focusing on growth and profitability, cofounder Ashish Shah had told ET in an earlier interaction. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories The company, founded in 2012, had converted into a public entity in 2022 as part of its IPO preparations, which aimed to raise $250–300 million. In FY24, Pepperfry reported a 30.6% year-on-year decline in operating revenue to Rs 188.9 crore. However, it narrowed its losses by 37.4% to Rs 117.4 crore, from Rs 187.6 crore in the previous year. The company competes with ecommerce platforms such as Amazon India and Flipkart, as well as Reliance-owned Urban Ladder, and generates most of its revenue through commissions on product sales. Pepperfry has also been expanding its home décor segment and has onboarded multiple direct-to-consumer brands to strengthen its portfolio.
