Brigade Gateway Project Delay

Dear Mr. Viswa Prathap Desu,

I would like to respond to your mail on behalf of Brigade Gateway Owners with whom I share common pain and sufferings.

I am a small person who booked the Brigade Metropolis apartment when there was only dust at the site, layout plans were still on the drawing table, there was a single security guard on the site managing vacant land and there was no visibility on ROI of this apartment. My dad was shocked to know that I had booked an apartment of 45 Lakhs, an apartment whose layout plan was still on the drawing board.

I booked with Brigade because I heard it's one of the "top builder" in Bangalore and after 3 years I have understood the bitter facts of "top builder"? In year 2005, I recommended Metropolis apartment to my friend in US who had never visited Bangalore forget about visiting the site. He booked an apartment within a week just because he had confidence on me and you will be surprised to know that my friend has still not visited the site and Bangalore. Now I feel guilty that I recommended Metropolis to a close friend without researching on past projects of Brigade.

Most of my office colleagues have been laid off and every Friday afternoon my wife calls in office to check if the worst fear came true. When my friends gets pink slip, I starts thinking of backup plan. If I had the apartment at least I would have been getting the rent which would had covered my EMI or in the worst case I had a shelter. Now I've been forced to take 2 weeks vacation and I feel handicapped. If I had possession of the apartment then I would had gone to India and had used this time to get registration, interiors and electrical equipment installed. But now I'll waste those precious vacation venting my anger on Brigade and ranting it in different forums and blogs.

I find close resemblance of your irresponsible statement "Project delays are unfortunately part of the construction and real estate industry" to Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil statement "Aisa nahi hai. Itne bade shahar mein chhota hadsa ho jata hai. To total failure nahi hai. (It is not like that. In big cities like this, small incidents do happen. It's is not a total failure)".

RR Patil was a politician but you are from the corporate world and I expected a matured response from the top executive of Brigade.

Honestly speaking, I don't mind even if the projects are delayed for an year provided you compensate us appropriately. You must read this post to find out what should be the ideal compensation for an year delay. We have been hit badly by this delay and what's your impact? Peanuts.

All those awards and certificates are good for hanging in Brigade headquarters or in marketing brochures. Prospective buyers are least interested in those certificates and you have failed to understand their thoughts. I may not be marketing pundit like you but to let you know that most Prospective buyers research on different forums, blogs and go by friends & relatives recommendations before making a huge investment. Now you may ask didn't you researched enough? I was a fool and booked this apartment in a haste and unfortunately there was not enough information available on different forums. But with explosion of digital media in last few years you may find it really tough to fool my other friends and neighbors.

What does top builder means? Is it just the number of projects which you have executed or the market value in the share market? Top builder cannot be defined just by some numerical value.
You also need to account customer service, your commitment to milestones, weightage of your words. You may say that rating agencies have taken into account all those parameters. You are right Sir. If I'm asked asked to choose a PM between Lalu, Raj, Mayawati and Mamta what choice do I have? I may choose a lesser evil.

I like your advertising message "Upgrade to Brigade". Did you ever seriously debated on a White Board why buyers should "Upgrade to Brigade"? If you talk of enclave then there are lot of builders who are offering these concept? If you talk about Quality then I find every builder on the street has some quality certification.

Now if your unique selling point was a) Quality customer service b) Closeness to customers c) Commitment to milestones d) Weightage of your words then I can assure you Sir that buyers would had differentiated class from the mass and would had Upgraded to Brigade otherwise they think it's just another marketing gimmick.

Sugar coated soothing words were fine for initial months of delay but now it has crossed the limits. There has been a delay for an year. Bubble has burst and owners are in no mood to empathize. You need to act fast and tough in the best interest of customers. I'm sorry to say that I'll not be recommending your apartments to my friends and relatives and I'm sure there might be 1000's of owners with the same opinion.

I would be glad to hear your response someday if you happen to read this post.

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3- Response from Desu to Brigade Gateway Owner

"We are pained to see your comments. I am sure one cannot judge a company based on a particular project delay. Project delays are unfortunately part of the construction and real estate industry, not that I am justifying the same, but just stating the same.

Forbes is an International magazine of repute, which you may know. They have judged us as one of the 'Best Under Billion Dollar' Cos (amongst 200 nos) and we are the only Indian real estate co. to feature in this list..We are also amongst the top ten real estate developers in India - as judged by 'Construction World' magazine.

We are endeavouring to give a good product as has been proved by our other projects in the past which have become landmarks. While we empathize with you, we would also urge you to recommend this project to your friends/relatives. No doubt, Brigade Gateway is slated to be a landmark project in Bangalore."

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2- Comments from Owners to Desu
(Frustration mail for the delay.... )
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1- Letter to Brigade Gateway Owners from Brigade
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Dear Brigade Family,
Greetings from the Brigade Group!
We are proud to share with you significant milestones, Brigade has reached now:· Only Real Estate company to be featured "200 Best under a Billion Dollar" Forbes List for Asia Pacific Region.Ranked as one of India's "Top Ten Property Developers "by the Construction World Magazine. ISO Certified for Quality, Environment, Health & Safety by Bureau Veritas.

We are pleased to show case our projects, Brigade Gateway @ Malleswaram- Rajajinagar and Brigade Courtyard @ HMT Main Road. Currently we have some limited period special offers running as part of the bookings.

Brigade Gateway: - A Lifestyle enclave spread across 40 acres with 1200+ Luxurious apartments with amenities like Brigade School,Columbia Asia Hospital, Orion Mall, Galaxy Club, North Star, Office Tower, Sheraton Bangalore - (Five Star Hotel) and a beautiful man made lake spread across 2 acres.

Brigade Courtyard:- The project is developed on a 3 ½ acre land which is part of HMT township. About 60% the property is reserved as open area. The project is designed with a refreshing concept of terrace areas being attached with almost every apartment. Just 4 apartments to a floor; 4 floor to a wing, 2 & 3 bedroom luxury apartments, paved pedestrian avenue, multi level clubhouse, water features, landscaping and children's play area.

Referring your friends and relatives can enable you to earn a special referral incentive of upto Rs.2,37,000/ - * if in Brigade Gateway and upto Rs.61,000/- * if in Brigade Courtyard on a confirmed booking.

You would agree ,this is the best time to buy , best offers coming your way....and a best choice to make, "Upgrade to Brigade". You could visit our website www, brigadegroup. com for our updated info. Please feel free to contact the undersigned for any assistance.
Thanking you and assuring you our best services.
for Brigade Enterprises Ltd.,Viswa Prathap Desu

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