They worked at two extremes "A no questions asked policy for the customers" and "A zillion questions answered policy for the intern".
This summer, post several grilling GD/PI sessions at the campus I made it to the first ever online grocery platform of India. The interview process began with a group discussion on a few hot topics, that dominated headlines that time (statue of unity per se) and post that I was called for a personal interview and it really wasn't a piece of cake. I was grilled with questions related to intricacies of operations and marketing and given numbers to solve math puzzles there and then. Honestly, there were several instances where I ended up with an "I don't know" but even then I maintained my calm and tried to bounce back at every shot aimed at crushing my confidence. And, somehow by God's grace, they probably appreciated that and announced my name in the final selection.
Now, at b-schools, we've always had this notion of getting a good brand from the SIP and then simply chilling for those two months. Somehow internships are always associated with a few hours of clerical work and then majorly just exploring the fitness centres, cafeterias etc. but for me, that was undoubtedly and explicitly not the case.
I was a part of the national expansion team of Big basket and from day 1, I was bombarded with a chunk load of work, responsibilities and to be precise an over-optimistic target to achieve. Every single day at work, I felt like a full-time employee, solving real-time problems and implementing self suggested changes in the organisation. Even after a decade, the firm has managed to stick to its start-up culture, so, you see passionate people in cohesive teams. In fact, the level of transparency is such that even an entry-level employee can walk up to the CEO's office without thinking twice. The hierarchical structures are non-existent in Big basket and the kind of knowledge transfer that happens at the firm sets it way ahead of many other players in the same market segment.
When it comes to interns, companies do not usually take so much effort and pain in training or assigning substantial work because for such a short duration, they find any meagre contribution from a student extremely pointless and therefore, the whole internship ends with a few excel sheets in your laptop and that's about it. Now, since that is not the case with BB, even for a mere 2 months period, the company empowers you for decision making in their processes. Therefore, it expects the same kind of commitment and hard work from your end. But, trust me when I say this, it's impeccable, the whole journey at the firm prepares you for the cut throat industry.
Since their business is all about quickly adapting and transforming, you learn and you get to know the value of unlearning as well. The firm teaches you the true essence of customer satisfaction and what management really means when it comes to the hands on part of it. So, my experience at Big basket was simply amazing and I hope even you get an opportunity to work with their highly enthusiastic and result oriented team, which settles for nothing less than the Bull's eye!
As for the interview pointers, Big basketeers are a bunch of guys who work at the ground level so the mantra of "Fake it till you make it" doesn't work with them at all, hence, spoiler alert, especially for marketing people. Therefore, be honest, read up on the industry and on the back-end technicalities of an e-commerce business. And if they find you genuine in your answers, be rest assured of getting through!
In conclusion, as far as I am concerned, honestly can't wait to go back to their family again, Big basketeer forever, Signing off...