Service centres and helplines: Xiaomi strives to change image of budget smartphones in India

Chinese electronics major Xiaomi has only now made its first foray into the highly lucrative Indian market, which also happens to be one of the most complex markets in the world.   With the Mi 3 your first Xiaomi experience will be just what the company is known for, but Indian buyers are no strangers to the **high-specs, low-price combination** that Xiaomi is offering. In fact, for over two years, the likes of Micromax, Karbonn, Lava have been doing just the same and earning rich rewards. It’s catapulted Micromax in particular into the global limelight, securing them deals with **Microsoft** and **Google** . But Xiaomi seems to have come to the market **with all guns blazing** **.** In addition to the Mi 3, the company also announced the pricing of the **Redmi 1S and Redmi Note, priced at Rs 6,999 and Rs 9,999 respectively.**   Not only is the price proposition great, Xiaomi has also committed to setting up a after-sales service network, and a 24-hour hotline for its customers through the Web and telephone. These sort of measures are rarely seen when new brands enter the Indian market.   The company announced that it will be establishing 36 service centres in 20 cities (New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Coimbator, Thane, Trivandrum, Noida, Bhubaneshwar, Faridabad, Nagpur, Indore, Jaipur) in the country. HCL, TVS and Ensure are the primary after-sales service partners as announced by the company on stage. In fact, much of the latter half of the presentation was dedicated to this part, which is a big deal, if you are an Indian looking at low-cost phones.      In addition, two exclusive Mi storefronts are also planned, which may be expanded to other locations as the brand gains some traction. These stores, Xiaomi claims, have a turnaround time of just two hours, which means users can drop off their phones and possibly pick it up the same day. The company has also set up a dedicate hotline for MI customers which will function all seven days a week, while online help is available through a chat service on MI.com.   Rarely do we see such extensive customer care and after sales service plans from a company hoping to make it in India. Usually, the story is about the specs and the low price point. Make no mistake, that’s also the case here, but Xiaomi has gone beyond just lip service by revealing specific details in this regard. It’s a great move from a company that has made all the right noises as it gets ready for India.