JUST PICTURE this. You have just landed at the Delhi airport and have a meeting to attend with one of your clients in the next one hour. You take out your smartphone, tap an app and book a taxi. You locate the exact position of the available cars on the app?s in-built map and get a confirmation that one of them is on its way to you. Because you can rate every ride, the driver has the obligation to keep the car spanking clean and offer you the best of services. There?s no need to carry any cash. Once you register your credit card, the fare is automatically charged. The trip isn?t metered, but you can see a fare estimate in advance once you mention the pick-up and destination points.

The service?s fleet of vehicles includes a host of luxury cars. Depending on the nearest available vehicle, you may even get a ride in a Mercedes Benz or a BMW. Don?t want to spend too much? Split fares with the person you?re meeting; or the co-passengers you?re sharing the ride with. Want to tell your client your ETA (estimated time of arrival)? You have the option of automatically sending an alert to the person waiting for you.

Uber, founded in 2010 in San Francisco and backed by well-known venture capitalists such as Google Ventures, Amazon?s Jeff Bezos, Menlo Ventures and Goldman Sachs, is revolutionising the way people look at cab services. Unlike a conventional call-taxi service, Uber acts as an aggregator online service that connects taxi owners with potential clients. Also, there is no need to dial any number, wait for an executive to receive your call, or book the vehicle hours in advance.

The key here is specialisation, convenience and a hassle-free, one-stop shopping experience, and companies such as Uber are going all out to provide just that with their on-demand services and other innovative solutions. Or, as Allen Penn, head, Asia-Pacific operations, Uber, would like to put it, the idea is to give customers a zen-like ?ah? moment.

Take another venture, The Vault, for instance. The Mumbai-based boutique and concierge serves as a one-stop shop for the appreciation and education of fine spirits curated and handpicked from around the world. From hitherto elusive scotch brands such as Kilchoman, Arran and Glendronach to tequilas such as Calle 23 and Tequila Ocho, The Vault claims to give consumers access to a boutique collection of whiskies, cognacs, rums, tequilas, vodkas and other spirits that are hard to find elsewhere in the country.

Besides retailing spirits, The Vault?s service, launched on November last year, also helps customers with alcohol information, bottle gift selection and menu pairing for events and parties. Can?t visit the boutique? Get it all delivered to your doorstep within 24 hours of placing the order. The online delivery is, however, limited to Mumbai as of now.

The Vault conducts spirits tasting sessions and retails the famous Glencairn lead-free whisky glasses. Keshav Prakash, director, The Vault, says: ?We represent over 15 very unique craft distillers. Our concierge, a first of its kind in the country, curates the buying for customers. We also offer home appreciation experiences and, very soon, we will offer home bar management services too,? he adds.

To help with the selection of brands and other experiential activities, Prakash has enlisted a panel of industry experts. For whisky, there?s Charles MacLean, who has 10 books on the amber spirit to his credit, while Dave Broom, spirits writer and contributor to Whisky Magazine, shares his experience on rum and cognac. Tomas Estes, one of the two Tequila ambassadors for the Mexican government worldwide, is another expert on the panel.

Like The Vault, Living Liquidz, a sophisticated chain of wine boutiques, retails over 800 different types of brands and covers every region of the world that is renowned for its unique flavour. Its home delivery system currently claims less than 30 minutes to land at your doorstep with their range of spirits, beer and wines, among others. And if you happen to covet a wine that they don?t have with them, they will source it for you. They also conduct wine tasting sessions as well as offer professional bartending services too.

While specialised services are not new abroad, they are slowly but stealthily gaining currency in India. Prakash of The Vault says there is incredible scope for experiences based around such concepts. ?The pool of affluent is getting larger and younger and so is

the quality of demand. This is

an excellent time to be launching novel experiences.?

The demand for that experience is very high around the world, says Penn of Uber, especially when it comes to delivering a reliable, safe and stylish ride in minutes.

?Given the comparable lack of alternatives in India, it perhaps resonates even more highly here. We?ve seen each city in India grow faster than the one prior?and the demand continues to skyrocket,? he adds.

The key to any company?s success is its ?service?, says Moksh Sani of Living Liquidz. ?This is one word I believe in. This includes the look and feel of our stores, online services, door delivery, return back policy, bar tending needs and venue booking, among others. We have maintained our uniqueness from time to time,? he adds.

However, all these services come at a small premium. In Delhi, the base fare for Uber is R70. Users are charged R20 per kilometre and R2 per minute. The minimum fare is R200 and are uniform across cars. In Mumbai, the base fare is R100 and users are charged R17 per kilometre and

R2 per minute. Currently available only in five cities right now?Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore?Uber is seeing a pan-India growth rate of 25-30% month-on-month.

The Vault follows a similar premium selling proposition. A 700ml bottle of Machir Bay, for instance, available through The Vault at R8,800, is priced at 39.45 pounds (around R3,924) on the popular UK-based online retailer, TheWhiskyExchange.com.

Penn of Uber says rapid urbanisation and cities expanding outwards and an unmet demand for reliable, convenient and safe transportation options made them look into India. ?We have more cities in India than any country outside the US, after just nine months. Each city has grown faster than the one before it and, in fact, Mumbai is the fastest growing city we?ve seen in Asia,? he adds.

When it comes to target audience, Uber has it all from business professionals to bar-goers taking a ride home after a night of cocktails to folks booking a ride for elderly parents.

?We are open to anybody who looks for reliability, convenience and safety and is willing to pay a small premium for it. Broadly, it?s people who see value in a reliable, hassle-free and seamless travel experience,? adds Penn.

The Vault?s clientele includes aficionados, corporates and hotels, bars and lounges. Though the services are available only in Mumbai now, they have plans to extend to other metros soon.

Living Liquidz, however, is not a in a hurry for expansion. Sani explains: ?We are a small family-run business and we don?t set goals in terms of numbers.?

Currently, Living Liquidz has 45 stores across Mumbai and is planning to launch an app in a month?s time through which people can learn about alcohol, stores and mixes, among others.