Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, has garnered huge praise online for his elaborate response to a post asking him to “fix ground level issues” with the brand before “showing sky high shallow aspirations”.
The post on X (formerly Twitter) criticising Anand Mahindra came when the automaker had just unveiled its two new electric vehicles, the new BE 6e and XEV 9e.
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What was the criticism against Mahindra about?
The user Sushant Mehta’s post, which has now been deleted, said that “every single product of yours (Mahindra’s) is for those who don’t study and research” and added that “media is full with complaints”.
He went on to criticise the new models’ designs, stating they would be an “eyesore in a couple of months ” and adding that he has “no idea if your (Mahindra’s) design team or you yourself (Anand Mahindra) have such bad taste.”
Mehta wanted to highlight ground-level issues such as “issues of existing cars,” service centres, spare parts issues, and employee behaviour.
However, he also clarified that the criticism was all because he hoped and wished that “Mahindra and Tata can be (the) new Maruti and Hyundai for (the) world,” but that he was only disappointed so far.
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What was Anand Mahindra’s response?
Anand Mahindra responded by sharing a screenshot of the now deleted post, saying “you’re right, Sushant. We have a long way to go.”
However, he also added, “but please consider how far we have come,” and went on to elaborate how a global consultancy firm strongly advised Mahindra to exit the car business, stating they had “no chance” at a time when Anand Mahindra had joined the company in 1991 when India’s economy had just been opened up to foreign players.
“Three decades later, we are still around and competing fiercely,” he wrote. “We have used all the surrounding cynicism, scepticism—and even rudeness, as in your post—to fuel our hunger to succeed.”
Anand Mahindra further went on to say that the company still has “miles to go” and that “there is no room for any complacency and continuous improvement will continue to be our (Mahindra’s) mantra.”
He finished his post by saying, “thank you for feeding the fire in our bellies….”
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How did Mehta react and why did he delete his original post?
Mehta himself has since, reposted Anand Mahindra’s response and wrote in another post saying “He (Anand Mahindra) actually wants to fuel himself and his staff for the reasons I (Mehta) posted. They know their shortcomings and want to get better and best.”
He also dismissed the possibility of it being a marketing effort, stating “he (Anand Mahindra) doesn’t need such tactics for reach.”
Mehta deleted the original post, claiming he got a call from Mahindra’s marketing team asking him if he owned one or not, which he further went on to criticise as being “unprofessional,” when he would have preferred a direct message on the platform.
He said that the team got his number from booking details since he was in fact, a Mahindra owner.