Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Nokia on damage control mode in India


The world's largest handset manufacturer and one of the most trusted brands in India - Nokia is finding the right tune to control its battery recall crisis. The Finnish phone maker is going on a massive damage controlling in India.

The score so far is 26. That's how many handsets Nokia has successfully launched in India this year alone. Another 14 are in the pipeline before the year ends. After all, India is Nokia is the third largest handset market globally. But the battery recall controversy may have spoil those grand plans. So, Nokia is taking no chances.

"ICA pointed out that a warranty of batteries is only 6months in India, from that point of view, some people argue we shouldn’t have issued this advisory, but we disagree, anything concerning consumers, consumer has the right to know" says D Shivakumar, MD & VP - Mobile Phones, Nokia India.

And so, last week Nokia consumers across the world got to know that Nokia has recalled 4.6 crore BL-5C batteries used in a range of its handsets. In India alone, it has to recall close to 1.5 lakh batteries! And so it launched a damage control campaign using channels like advertisement, SMS and an online helpdesk. And its even roped in its dealers manage the crisis.

"We helped customers type SMS, fill forms online and basically help them check for faulty batteries. We have been guiding customers about the recall and explaining the procedure to them," adds Rakesh Tivrekar, Nokia Priority Dealer.

All that to retain its 67 per cent share in the Indian handset market. A product recall has traditionally been a logistical nightmare for all companies - but Nokia is confident that it may be out of the crisis sooner than expected. Company officials tell us that all the defected batteries in India will be replaced by early next week.


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