Dear Friends :
Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Find purpose, the means shall follow." I believe that what follows purpose is not just the means, but also the method.
Nearly everyone I meet has asked me "Why is your company called MouthShut.com?" To which I reply, "You see, the original name was to be MouthShut-No-More, but that was too long, so we stuck with MouthShut."
That is the truth. MouthShut.com was founded on the principle that the Indian consumer had been forced to stay quiet for far too long. If you are old enough to have gone shopping even in the early 1990s you probably remember how sternly the shopkeeper stared at you. No one cared about serving you, much less about what you thought. If you hadn't been treated right and felt offended, you could take the frustration home and make achaar out of it.
When we founded MouthShut.com, we wanted to empower ourselves, the Indian consumer - MouthShut-No-More or simply, MouthShut. We believe it's a win-win situation. The consumer has gotten the attention and commands more respect. But equally as important, companies are becoming better by listening to their customers.
All this started less than eight years ago. On the way to doing it, we had to piggy back on the Internet, watch the birth and growth of Web 2.0, and most importantly, witness the transformation of the Indian marketplace. We are humbled that you, dear member, have helped us do all this and more.
While we urge all companies to listen to their customers, we truly believe that charity begins at home. So we have been listening to you. More than any company out there, we believe we are nothing without our members. Here, you are the pivot. All hail the MouthShut.com Member!
And based in no small measure on your feedback, I am pleased to introduce some features that will thrill you even more.
First, you can talk more about yourself. An overhaul of the Member Profile Section now allows you to share more about your unique self with the world. Make more friends, win more fans and admirers, and have more fun.
Next - many of you reminded us that some days you don't want to talk about products or companies...some days you just want to share your thoughts. You needed a DIARY to jot down all your feelings. Well, it's here. Go ahead and express yourself. What's bothering you? What do you think is wrong with the world? What's happening in your neighborhood? What's your great city up to? Anything India needs to hear as it establishes itself in the new world? In a nutshell, anything and everything under the sun comes within 'My Diary'.
Oh and of course, you asked a way to show your emotions to other members. How do we show gratitude and shower affection on our friends? We get them gifts, of course. Well then, I am pleased to announce that effective immediately, you may redeem your MouthShut.com points for Virtual Gifts that you may then shower upon other MouthShut.com members. This idea was just waiting to happen. We are pleased to be amongst the first to introduce it and already it is winning wide recognition.
Two more things: A photo is indeed worth a thousand words. So we have expanded a Photo Gallery which allows you to upload all your photos and share it with your friends around the world. Photos are another way to tell your story. Load them up!
And of course, to help customer-focused companies in India, we now offer the ability to get online and talk to their customers. It's called Corporate Blog - now you can know what's next in your favorite company by logging on here and reading what the company's leadership has to say. Companies that participate in MouthShut.com's Corporate Blog program have a distinct C next to their names. If you do business with Makemytrip.com, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts, and HDFC, I urge you to write and congratulate them on being pro-active about your opinions. More importantly, tune in to see what they are up to, how they are growing and building more responsive companies. As for the rest, let's keep knocking till they open their doors.
All this started with a lot of enthusiasm. If it had anything, it had a lot of affection and empathy for the consumer. And look how far we have come. We have been given millions of members like you. Your caring, your passion, your stand on products and services, your refusal to accept anything but the best - all inspire me every day. I promise you that the innovation, the ability to do more on MouthShut.com and the power to make deeper, more effective and more meaningful change, shall continue on MouthShut.com. The future will be grander than anything we have seen thus far. I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Dial-The-CEO™
April, 2001 was when we pioneered another concept - Dial-the-CEO™. It lets you call me directly and let me know what I can do to make MouthShut.com better. It's you holding your CEO accountable. No censors, no sweet-talking. Just plain direct MouthShut.com style frank talk, except on phone.
I am pleased to announce that we are now going to hold the seventeenth Dial-the-CEO™ program on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 during the following hours:
4:00 PM - 6:30 PM IST
I can be contacted at +91-22-2600-6788.
I look forward to hearing from you during the
Dial-the-CEO™ hours. Alternatively you can write to me over email or by sending an M2M from my profile page.
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