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International MBA Program

Ethan Wang's Internship Web Journal

Ethan Wang
IMBA Class of 2007
InPhonic in Mangalore, India
ethan_wang@moore.sc.edu

4th Journal Entry – July 2006:  

 

  Touring the Taj Mahal 
During my time here in India, I have been fortunate enough to gain invaluable experiences both from work and play. I never imagined I would be in India in the first place, where the people are gracious and the culture is rich and vibrant. Now that I am here, I am pleasantly surprised about all of the travel I have done. During the two-week exchange in early July where I went to Mumbai to visit InPhonic's other vendor, Respondez, my colleague Rick Rowland showed me Mumbai at its best. We wandered the streets of Calaba, dined on the beach, enjoyed the trendy bar scene, partied in celebrated discos, and shopped at the distinguished tailor store, Kachins, where we had suits and shirts tailored to fit just perfectly. Since Rick is about to get married to a lovely Indian-American girl in Jaipur early next year, he has been making the rounds visiting all the distant relatives. I was able to tag along and glimpse a bit of the intricate and delicate way of life within their Indian family system. During one weekend, Rick and I even flew to Delhi to visit his other family members. While we were there, we toured the Red Fort in Old Delhi and trekked out to Agra to witness the amazing Taj Mahal.

 

  Sunset in Goa 

Following the end of my exchange in Mumbai, Rick returned to Mangalore with me and began his two-week exchange at Mphasis. During his time here, we made a weekend trip to Goa and cruised around for a couple days on rented scooters. We got to visit various churches, temples, and we relaxed on the beach and lounged at neat cafes. On another weekend, we flew to Bangalore and visited more family members. Once again, we had an amazing time, thanks to the warm welcome we received from his new family. The young cousins took us to classy bars, posh discos, and wined and dined us. I even participated in their family picnic at a resort. Before we left Bangalore, one of the cousins, Manoj, arranged a prime viewing spot of the World Cup Finals between Italy and France at the Windsor Manor Sheraton Grand. It was an exciting game enjoyed among great company.

 

 Mountain View of Munnar 
This past week, I took a few days off from work and traveled throughout Kerala in Southern India. Kerala is also dubbed, "Gods Own Country," and it was no surprise to me once I glimpsed what this beautiful state has to offer.

 

Waterfall in Munnar 
I first took a train to Cochin and visited the old fort. The next day, I took a bus and journeyed to the mountains of Munnar where lush tea plantations were spread out like carpet across hundreds of

acres. I loved the view of the valley where I was so high up that clouds were hanging below my view. The waterfalls were also bountiful throughout various parts of the mountains. The air was especially fresh and welcoming after getting used to the dusty and polluted air from the large metropolises of Mumbai and Bangalore.

After senses were revived, I took a bus down to Kottyam and transferred onto a train and journeyed all the way down to the southern tip of India. There, I got off at Kerala's capital, Trivandrum, and traveled to Kovalam where the white sandy beaches and delicious seafood rival those of Goa. The next day, I visited the temples, palace, and zoo in Trivindrum and spent the night enjoying a South Indian flick in the theater.

 

Me in front of the Napasim Museum, Trwandreem  
I continued my adventure by taking a bus
 

Lighthouse Beach in Kovalam 
to Quilon, where then I transferred onto a houseboat and shared the old simple lifestyles of Keralis on the backwaters; well, for eight hours anyway. As the boat drifted from canals to rivers to lakes, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the beauty and serenity. The luxuriant palm trees lined the shores, while exotic birds hunted for fish in the backwater. Fishermen manned their boats and repaired their nets. Wives beat their laundry on the rocks and children played on the shores and waved enthusiastically at the foreigners on the boats passing by. Once I reached Alleppey, I transferred again onto a train that took me back to Cochin and transferred yet again onto an overnight train that eventually took me back to Mangalore.

Here are some photos of this trip down South. Enjoy!

3rd Journal Entry - June 2006:

 

The unit managers and me at a wedding celebration

 

Supervising on the Mphasis floor

My main role as a management consultant is to review the partnership between InPhonic and their Indian partner, Mphasis, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company in Mangalore, India.The BPO is responsible for a call center operation consisting of 120 customer service agents.One of my main tasks is to identify inefficiencies of the operation and recommend solutions to address these issues.In addition, I will also act as a cultural ambassador that serves to bridge the U.S. – India culture gap. 

InPhonic, founded in 1997, is a leading provider of wireless voice and data communication solutions to enterprises, online businesses, national retailers and end-users. The company creates and manages online platforms which allow its customers to enable their end-users, including employees, members and customers, to purchase wireless devices and services.InPhonic is the largest seller of wireless phones, plans and activation services on the Web. The company's core business, Wirefly.com, provides consumers with a one-stop online shop to compare wireless plans from service providers such as Verizon Wireless, Cingular, T-mobile, and Sprint Nextel. Customers can choose a plan, buy and activate a phone and have it delivered. The promise is for better prices and fewer headaches than going directly through the carrier.InPhonic also sells communication software and services to enterprises and end-users. The communication software and services enable enterprises to enhance productivity, manage costs and create new revenue opportunities. Since June 2000, InPhonic has entered into agreements with more than 300 customers; key accounts include Amazon, Disney Mobile, America Online, Best Buy, Big Planet, eUniverse, Freeze, Yahoo, MSN, OfficeMax, and Quixtar.

The call center operation consist of various departments including credit and activations, customer service, quality assurance, sales, retention and saves, email/chat, training, and operational management. I have been rotating among these departments to learn their processes and recommend solutions to address any inefficiency. Part of the internship includes a two week exchange with Respondez, another BPO operation in Mumbai to review and adopt best practices policies. I collaborate with the senior management from InPhonic as well as senior management from both Mphasis and Respondez in order to improve InPhonic's overall processes and operations.

The projects I have tackled thus far during this internship assignment include:

2nd Journal Entry - May 2006:

 

My co-workers and me 
I flew out of Dulles International on the 19 th of April with Josh Steiner, a trainer/operation specialist from InPhonic. Josh is responsible for training a new batch of agents on the Nextel activation process during his 2 week assignment in Mangalore. Since he was just in Mangalore a few months prior to this trip, he would be able to help me transition into this new culture. The two of us got lucky and were bumped up to first class from business class on British Airways going to Heathrow, England. We had a four hour layover at Heathrow and Josh spent that time briefing me on his previous experience in India as well as the issues and challenges InPhonic faces with a majority of its customer service operations in India.

The flight from Heathrow to Mumbai took another 9 hours and we arrived in Mumbai close to midnight. Since we had an eight hour layover, the company booked us a room at the Utell Orchid Hotel nearby the airport. The hotel had complimentary transport to and from the airport so Josh and I are able to get to the hotel and check in without problems. We were exhausted and hungry from the travel and proceeded to grab a quick bite from the hotel restaurant before going to bed for a few hours until out next flight at 9 a.m. to Mangalore.

By the time we got to the Mumbai airport in the morning, we were told by one of Jet Airways check-in agents that we had to wait a few minutes before she could check us in. That few minutes turned into a few more minutes, and a few more minutes after that. Over an hour later, we were told by another agent that the flight was over booked and that we had to wait for the next flight out to Mangalore.  As a result, we waited another 5 hours.  Josh and I graciously accepted an upgrade to first class on the upcoming flight, entry to the VIP lounge, priority check-in for our bags, and on top of that, a full refund for our flights to Mangalore.  I am sure David (our boss), would not mind the $600 savings for InPhonic.

The flight to Mangalore from Mumbai took only about an hour and half.  We taxied onto the only runway of the airport and to my surprise, there was only one other airplane in sight waiting to take off.  I have seen small airports before, but this one definitely has been the smallest I have encountered thus far.

 

Waiters & me at Indian Coffee House 

A driver from Mphasis, the call center where we would go and train the agents, awaited us out by the arrival terminal with our names scribbled on a sheet of paper.  He didn't speak much English but was very polite.  It took about 40 minutes to get to our apartment in the center of the town.  Along the way, I enjoyed the downhill winding roads lined with lush, tropical scenery filled with rice patties and coconut trees. 

Our company flat has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, an oversized veranda, modern kitchen appliances, a washer, A/C in each room, TV, hot/cold water, and DSL.  It was more than what I had hoped for.  On top of the modern amenities, we also have a maid that comes by everyday to clean the flat and wash our clothes.  In addition, we have a driver on-call that would take us to wherever we need to go.  Sounds nice, right?  Well, it took only a couple days for us to realize that we would have to deal with consistent water shortages, power blackouts, and habituated tardiness of our driver.

We dropped off our bags, relaxed for a couple of hours, washed and changed and went to work sharp at 7p.m.  Because the call center supports U.S. customers, I would work nights from 6:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., which is the equivalent of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The travels required to get here, including layovers, totaled more than 30 hours.  I was a bit disoriented with the time and found it amazing how everyone I met was so energetic late into the night and early morning.

The first meeting was more out of formality than practicality.  I met the head of process here in Mangalore, operations manager, and the rest of the unit managers here on site.  I also met a few call agents here and there, and wondered how and when I would remember all of these peoples names (126 agents), in Hindi! 

 

"Small" 5 ft. Python captured on the Mphasis campus.
While I got acquainted with the Mphasis campus, one of the agents told me that they caught a python today!  Apparently, the pest problems I have encountered in the states (cockroaches and ants) are in no way comparable to their pest problems here.  In fact, I have learned that they have caught a total of 46 pythons and 2 cobras within the past 6 month.  Mphasis actually has a security guard that is fully trained on how to handle these giant snakes.

By 5 a.m., Josh and I got back to the flat and I proceeded to crash for the next 15 hours.

1st Journal Entry - April 10, 2006:

 

 Weekend in D.C. 
After visiting Italy, Germany, Romania, and Moldova for the past 5 weeks, I am excited to begin my internship.   During these first ten days, I have gone through training in Reston, VA, which is pretty much right next to DC.   The company put me up in a Marriott suite in Falls Church, VA and offered me a rental car during my stay here before I departed for Mangalore, India.

 

Just in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival
I have a very unique position within the company, and I am excited about my upcoming tasks.   I have been hired by InPhonic, a publicly traded telecom company specializing in wireless communication, as an intern in the customer service/operations department.  David Beadles, Director of Customer Service/Operations, fellow Moore School Alumni, hired me to go to India to oversee one of the two call centers InPhonic works with to service its customer relations operations.  My role is two-fold.  On one hand, I am going into India as a management consultant, working with MphasiS the business process outsource (BPO) provider in order to enhance its efficiencies.  On the other hand, I serve as the cultural ambassador to our Indian call agents to help them understand the American consumer attitudes/behaviors/nuances, so that they may connect with the customers and better service their accounts.

After my arrival to InPhonic, I was surprised to find myself having very high visibility within the company.  Not only have I gotten to know the customer service/operations team during my short 10 days in Reston, I have also found myself learning about the company's origin, its growing pains after its initial public offering (IPO), and the challenges and opportunities facing the company going forward from Xavier Passey, Director of Business Analysis, Corey Eng, Senior Vice President of Operations, and Rick Calder, President and COO.

It is obvious the management team at InPhonic is passionate about what they do.  They also value my experiences and believe I could contribute to their strategy in enhancing their customer service operations.  David Beadles offered me this position because he trusted that my previous Peace Corps experience would allow me to integrate easily into a new culture and help bridge the cultural gaps between India and the U.S.  He also believes that my sales and customer service experiences with various major financial institutions in the U.S. will come in handy when I train the agents on how to handle various customer service related issues.  David has given me free reign in how I choose to tackle the challenges I will face throughout my internship.  At the same time, he has reminded me that besides contributing to work, I also should take this opportunity to appreciate all that India has to offer and have fun!