Comments on: Airtel (Dis)service http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html Raves, Rants & Rambles Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:52:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Michael http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14173 Michael Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:06:25 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14173 Wow, Atul, that seems to be a person who takes her job seriously and who is competent at her task! In contradiction to your hope, I hope she is getting promoted, so she can inspire and guide a whole team - or better, the whole company - towards this level of competence. and ... considering your experience... maybe cloning in humans would not be such a bad thing... Best Michael Wow, Atul, that seems to be a person who takes her job seriously and who is competent at her task!

In contradiction to your hope, I hope she is getting promoted, so she can inspire and guide a whole team - or better, the whole company - towards this level of competence.

and … considering your experience… maybe cloning in humans would not be such a bad thing…

Best

Michael

]]> By: Atul Chitnis http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14168 Atul Chitnis Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:26:51 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14168 Michael: It's not always bad. I just fought an apparantly losing battle with my bank (ICICI) and Airtel, trying to pay my bill. Just as I was about to commit what I would have called justifiable homicide, I decided to call Airtel one more time, and vent. What I got was an extremely sweet lady who understood the problem, solved my payment problem by sending me to visabillpay.in, then booked a complaint to airtel and icici about the issue I have had, then personally called the next level up to make sure that the complaint has registered and is being addressed, then called me back and confirmed that airtel had received the payment, and gave me the refence numbers for the complaint for both icici and airtel. Wow! And I didn't even get her name, which means that I can't send in a recommendation for what I would call the sweetest and most pleasant customer service person I have ever dealt with. incredibly patient, never aggravating, and very very helpful. I hope they never promote her, so that more people can get to deal with her rather than the kind of ^%$$@@@ we have been dealing with. Atul Michael:

It’s not always bad. I just fought an apparantly losing battle with my bank (ICICI) and Airtel, trying to pay my bill. Just as I was about to commit what I would have called justifiable homicide, I decided to call Airtel one more time, and vent.

What I got was an extremely sweet lady who understood the problem, solved my payment problem by sending me to visabillpay.in, then booked a complaint to airtel and icici about the issue I have had, then personally called the next level up to make sure that the complaint has registered and is being addressed, then called me back and confirmed that airtel had received the payment, and gave me the refence numbers for the complaint for both icici and airtel.

Wow!

And I didn’t even get her name, which means that I can’t send in a recommendation for what I would call the sweetest and most pleasant customer service person I have ever dealt with. incredibly patient, never aggravating, and very very helpful.

I hope they never promote her, so that more people can get to deal with her rather than the kind of ^%$$@@@ we have been dealing with.

Atul

]]> By: Michael http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14166 Michael Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:55:27 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14166 Hello Kishore Yes, true, service is weak in almost every sector - I was just getting aggravated with telecom because I am utterly dependent on it and so I let off some steam when I found this thread dealing with this very issue... Please take my apologies for my harsh words. I once learned, that as a foreigner one should not critisize a host country...But then it drives me absolutely nuts that I have to face this ever same issues and have to waste so much of my time, energy (and money) on basics that it is getting very hard to focus on objectives. Unfortunately this applies to government-, banking- and servicing institutions in general and does not stop at telecom. :-(( I guess this attitude is a relict from past times, when India was a clear sellers market and one had to be grateful to be able to receive a good or a service. But times have changed and minds need to change as well, otherwise this country will go into self destruction mode. Inflow of financing might stop one day due to whatever reason and if India has not learnt to self sustain its economy (and that also means valuing its consumer base) by that time - well, then goodbye... So in the end it is not really just the question of investing into soft skills, but also of building attitude and this might be a sociological issue rather than a corporate one. I do not have any recipe but it would be a good starting point to publicly discuss the implications of such a fast economic growth and how it impacts culture and environment. India really has the potential to become a very decent marketplace, but only if people cooperate and do not take advantage of each other. Might sound a bit philosophical, I know, but I have learnt from Indian traditions that caring for each other is a high held value and unfortunately I see this thrown away quickly in modern times on the quest for fast and maximised earnings. My plea to the people of this great nation would be: don't try to imitate western standards, but CREATE proprietary Indian standards! You have the potential to make it better than it has been done elsewhere... Already on the edge of going overboard, I conclude at this point. Wishing you all the best with your blog and many happy readers! take care Michael Hello Kishore

Yes, true, service is weak in almost every sector - I was just getting aggravated with telecom because I am utterly dependent on it and so I let off some steam when I found this thread dealing with this very issue…

Please take my apologies for my harsh words. I once learned, that as a foreigner one should not critisize a host country…But then it drives me absolutely nuts that I have to face this ever same issues and have to waste so much of my time, energy (and money) on basics that it is getting very hard to focus on objectives. Unfortunately this applies to government-, banking- and servicing institutions in general and does not stop at telecom. :-((

I guess this attitude is a relict from past times, when India was a clear sellers market and one had to be grateful to be able to receive a good or a service. But times have changed and minds need to change as well, otherwise this country will go into self destruction mode. Inflow of financing might stop one day due to whatever reason and if India has not learnt to self sustain its economy (and that also means valuing its consumer base) by that time - well, then goodbye…

So in the end it is not really just the question of investing into soft skills, but also of building attitude and this might be a sociological issue rather than a corporate one.

I do not have any recipe but it would be a good starting point to publicly discuss the implications of such a fast economic growth and how it impacts culture and environment. India really has the potential to become a very decent marketplace, but only if people cooperate and do not take advantage of each other. Might sound a bit philosophical, I know, but I have learnt from Indian traditions that caring for each other is a high held value and unfortunately I see this thrown away quickly in modern times on the quest for fast and maximised earnings. My plea to the people of this great nation would be: don’t try to imitate western standards, but CREATE proprietary Indian standards! You have the potential to make it better than it has been done elsewhere…

Already on the edge of going overboard, I conclude at this point. Wishing you all the best with your blog and many happy readers!

take care

Michael

]]> By: Kishore http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14165 Kishore Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:39:15 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14165 Hi! Michael, Service is bad in most areas, Telecom is just one that we use so much that they do get the brunt of our complaints. But I do agree with you, training in soft-skills and HR would be more beneficial than just investing more in technology! We can only hope, that it starts getting better. There was a time we only had BSNL/MTNL and literally had to grovel to get services at least that has changed. Cheers...Kishore -- Hi! Michael,

Service is bad in most areas, Telecom is just one that we use so much that they do get the brunt of our complaints. But I do agree with you, training in soft-skills and HR would be more beneficial than just investing more in technology!

We can only hope, that it starts getting better. There was a time we only had BSNL/MTNL and literally had to grovel to get services at least that has changed.

Cheers…Kishore
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]]> By: Michael http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14164 Michael Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:30:29 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14164 Hi, I am a foreigner trying to establish a business in India. Frankly speaking - the effort I have to put in to get something like an internet or phone connection up and running is already quite something compared to other spots on the globe... But if I need some after sales support - well let me put it this way: It seems every company has a number to decorate their sales flyers. They call it "customer care", "customer service" and the such. But to me it seems, they have no idea, what a CUSTOMER is and they don't CARE about a CUSTOMER at all. People, you are getting let down and ripped off permanently. I made my experience with Reliance, Airtel, BSNL, TATA. Never in my life I heard so many lies and got such a shitty service - they are all the same. The guys in the call centers don't care a shit (well they only care about their Rupees for sitting in their time), their bosses don't care about a shit (they just care about being the boss of somebody) and if you go up the ladder it's not changing, until you reach the top, where they only think about new schemes (scams) and new ways to squeeze the rupees out of the people. My god, it's one thing to go on a shopping spree with all this FDI money and buy the latest technology, but please invest a little into Human Resources Development as well, so somebady can take care of the value creation chain (no, not money creation chain, I mean!) after implementation. Sorry to say: India is not an economic miracle - it is an economic nightmare. Hi, I am a foreigner trying to establish a business in India. Frankly speaking - the effort I have to put in to get something like an internet or phone connection up and running is already quite something compared to other spots on the globe… But if I need some after sales support - well let me put it this way: It seems every company has a number to decorate their sales flyers. They call it “customer care”, “customer service” and the such. But to me it seems, they have no idea, what a CUSTOMER is and they don’t CARE about a CUSTOMER at all. People, you are getting let down and ripped off permanently. I made my experience with Reliance, Airtel, BSNL, TATA. Never in my life I heard so many lies and got such a shitty service - they are all the same. The guys in the call centers don’t care a shit (well they only care about their Rupees for sitting in their time), their bosses don’t care about a shit (they just care about being the boss of somebody) and if you go up the ladder it’s not changing, until you reach the top, where they only think about new schemes (scams) and new ways to squeeze the rupees out of the people. My god, it’s one thing to go on a shopping spree with all this FDI money and buy the latest technology, but please invest a little into Human Resources Development as well, so somebady can take care of the value creation chain (no, not money creation chain, I mean!) after implementation. Sorry to say: India is not an economic miracle - it is an economic nightmare.

]]> By: anand http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14160 anand Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:21:26 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-14160 hi, the customer services are so poor that they promise to get an issue resolved but they dont have the courtesy to even sms even more even after quoting the complaint number they say the complaint is not registered . on speaking sternly and asking to put on line with the senior official you get a word on getting the issue resloved. more than 720 rs was deducted from my account hi, the customer services are so poor that they promise to get an issue resolved but they dont have the courtesy to even sms even more even after quoting the complaint number they say the complaint is not registered . on speaking sternly and asking to put on line with the senior official you get a word on getting the issue resloved. more than 720 rs was deducted from my account

]]> By: Kishore http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-9789 Kishore Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:42:04 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-9789 Nitin, I agree its slow. I recently switched to a phone that supports EDGE and speeds are noticeably better. I manage to check mail, read a few RSS feeds, get google maps and some minor surfing. But yes its terribly expensive at Rs.499/month for mobile office. Cheers...Kishore -- Nitin, I agree its slow. I recently switched to a phone that supports EDGE and speeds are noticeably better. I manage to check mail, read a few RSS feeds, get google maps and some minor surfing. But yes its terribly expensive at Rs.499/month for mobile office.

Cheers…Kishore
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]]> By: Nitin http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-9786 Nitin Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:06:53 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-9786 AirTel gprs (Nop, live, mo) sucks, its damn slow!! And they are charging 15rs/day for slow internet AirTel gprs (Nop, live, mo) sucks, its damn slow!! And they are charging 15rs/day for slow internet

]]> By: Mahi http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-7636 Mahi Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:12:53 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-7636 I have put my number Post paid number in safe custody, with in a span of 2 months I wanted to activate my number, but I spoke to customer case & found that my number is deactivated & send to prepaid to some other customer. I tried sending many mails for past 20 days, but no replies or no call & no status updates from Airtel. I have been promised that it will get activated on in next 2 days, like that it has extended for 20 days, but no news till now. I keep on sending mails but no response. Airtel is at its poorest service. Be cautious of putting numbers in safe custody with Airtel. It is hazardous to got for Safe Custody. It is similar to closing the connection. Airtel promises Rs. 100/= per bill if it is not resolved in time. But they have not kept the words for more than 5-6 times. I have raised some 5 complaints regarding this. But none of the Airtel Customer service people have courtesy to call me back & give me the in formations. As per the TRAI Rules, even a number if deactivated, that particular number should not be used for 3 months. Even Airtel is not following TRAI rules. Be cautious with Airtel Services & false promises. I have put my number Post paid number in safe custody, with in a span of 2 months I wanted to activate my number, but I spoke to customer case & found that my number is deactivated & send to prepaid to some other customer. I tried sending many mails for past 20 days, but no replies or no call & no status updates from Airtel. I have been promised that it will get activated on
in next 2 days, like that it has extended for 20 days, but no news till now. I keep on sending mails but no response. Airtel is at its poorest service.

Be cautious of putting numbers in safe custody with Airtel. It is hazardous to got for Safe Custody. It is similar to closing the connection.

Airtel promises Rs. 100/= per bill if it is not resolved in time. But they have not kept the words for more than 5-6 times. I have raised some 5 complaints regarding this. But none of the Airtel Customer service people have courtesy to call me back & give me the in formations.

As per the TRAI Rules, even a number if deactivated, that particular number should not be used for 3 months. Even Airtel is not following TRAI rules.

Be cautious with Airtel Services & false promises.

]]> By: Rajesh http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-1969 Rajesh Sat, 07 Jul 2007 09:08:28 +0000 http://kishorebhargava.com/general/airtel-disservice.html#comment-1969 I am decided about changing my service too finally after being with them for years - something that i didn't want to do as it risks the fact that 1000s of people have that number but am tired finally - my low blood pressure shoots up every time i talk to them. R I am decided about changing my service too finally after being with them for years - something that i didn’t want to do as it risks the fact that 1000s of people have that number but am tired finally - my low blood pressure shoots up every time i talk to them.

R

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