Nothing ain't perfect! We all know that, and in India, many of us are also resigned to that fact. With the vast imbalances in what a customer expects, and what is available, delivery itself is seen as a boon. It is only of late that some discerning Customers have started demanding services from their service providers.
Customer activism has been the cause of death of many brands, but unfortunately in India, companies still get away with only providing lip service in the name of Customer Care.
The Government too has come out with a national helpline http://www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in. But then, beware, quite a few of the links do not work, the phone number does not work (1-800-11-4000); or at least it did not work when I called. In any case, how can one expect the Government to be a better service provider than the service providers themselves? Even the Annual Report for 2010 (http://www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in/DataFiles/ANNUAL%20REPORT-2009-10.pdf) shows a total of only 70 thousand complaints. And, finally, there is no mention of how many of the complaints were resolved. Given the amount of publicity, and the possible number of unsatisfied consumers, this is probably a cruel joke!
Here are a a few recent examples from my experiences with some of the large service providers/companies in India. I am deliberately leaving in the names of these reputed companies because it is necessary for others to also relate with these stories, and ensure you raise your voices.
1. I have been using a reliance broadband card which was given to me on the promise of unlimited high speed access to data all across the country. I have had the following issues, which I dutifully raised to Reliance:
a) It does not provide the 3.1 MBPS speed that is promised in Metros.
b) It frequently breaks down in the middle of usage.
c) It stops functioning precisely at 10:00 p.m. at night and then restarts. So if you are in the middle of any activity, beware!
On complaining, the Sales person of reliance came posing as the Customer Service agent, and guess what! He informs me that the connection I have taken is a very old one, and that I should upgrade. So, will an upgrade guarantee better service? No way! I am told that once I exceed the limit (BTW, I was sold an 'unlimited' use package), the speeds will automatically drop.
2. A few days ago, I received a funny call on my mobile (BTW, I am on the DND, but that is another story altogether) from someone claiming to be from ICICI. And he asks if I have ever purchased a ICICI Prudential Insurance. Yes, I did, and why was he asking? Well, was I informed by the 'agent' (which, incidentally, was ICICI bank) that they would charge a commission? No, I was not. Oh! In that case, the commission of Rs.45,000 (on an insurance premium of Rs.1,50,000) would be refunded to me. For this, I would need to confirm on another call which would be made soon to me, and then keep it confidential - not even talking to my bank, ICICI Bank about it. I could claim this amount then, in either of two methods - include it back in my policy amount, or guess what? take another ICICI Insurance scheme!!
3. Axis Bank account routinely changes its access policies (as I am sure other banks also do). They keep positing an enhanced security feature on their website. I have sincerely complied with their requirements of forms to be filled up and submitted. And in spite of all of this, the website blocks me, only because internally someone within Axis Bank forgot to update the contents. The last time I faced a similar pain, I complained directly to Ms. Shikha Sharma, and surprisingly the entire issue was resolved within 24 hours! I guess that is what it takes to get things corrected.
4. My mobile service provider is Airtel. I hate getting unsolicited messages or phone calls on my mobile, and there can be nothing more irritating especially when one is in a meeting. I had set up my DND and have probably complained about this at least 30 plus times. And yet, I keep receiving unsolicited phone calls. When you complain, you are asked for the date and exact time of the call/message, and you are informed that the complaint will be resolved in 7 working days. And at the end of this time, you will invariably receive another message saying that this complain pertains to another service provider and therefore no further action can be taken!
5. Finally, the Government. It has now been made mandatory to do most transactions online. So, you need to pay taxes online, to submit returns online, and so on. That is, of course, provided that your online bank account works, your internet works, and the website itself works at the time that you want to log on!
We all desire the best of services, and while India appears to be hurtling towards the future at a stupendous growth rate, which is debateably anywhere between 7% to 9% depending upon who is talking, the gaps between what is required and what is available keeps ever widening. The only remedies that I can see are that we create collective furore as paying consumers, and build pressure on the service providers to deliver. It is best to start a collective boycott of those companies which do not deliver consistently. Spread the word, and let only the most deserving companies survive!
Companies, beware! As you grow your customer bases, be aware that we consumers will define which of you deserves to continue to benefit you and which do not. Providers: start reading the fine print. Do not take us for granted.
Customer activism has been the cause of death of many brands, but unfortunately in India, companies still get away with only providing lip service in the name of Customer Care.
The Government too has come out with a national helpline http://www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in. But then, beware, quite a few of the links do not work, the phone number does not work (1-800-11-4000); or at least it did not work when I called. In any case, how can one expect the Government to be a better service provider than the service providers themselves? Even the Annual Report for 2010 (http://www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in/DataFiles/ANNUAL%20REPORT-2009-10.pdf) shows a total of only 70 thousand complaints. And, finally, there is no mention of how many of the complaints were resolved. Given the amount of publicity, and the possible number of unsatisfied consumers, this is probably a cruel joke!
Here are a a few recent examples from my experiences with some of the large service providers/companies in India. I am deliberately leaving in the names of these reputed companies because it is necessary for others to also relate with these stories, and ensure you raise your voices.
1. I have been using a reliance broadband card which was given to me on the promise of unlimited high speed access to data all across the country. I have had the following issues, which I dutifully raised to Reliance:
a) It does not provide the 3.1 MBPS speed that is promised in Metros.
b) It frequently breaks down in the middle of usage.
c) It stops functioning precisely at 10:00 p.m. at night and then restarts. So if you are in the middle of any activity, beware!
On complaining, the Sales person of reliance came posing as the Customer Service agent, and guess what! He informs me that the connection I have taken is a very old one, and that I should upgrade. So, will an upgrade guarantee better service? No way! I am told that once I exceed the limit (BTW, I was sold an 'unlimited' use package), the speeds will automatically drop.
2. A few days ago, I received a funny call on my mobile (BTW, I am on the DND, but that is another story altogether) from someone claiming to be from ICICI. And he asks if I have ever purchased a ICICI Prudential Insurance. Yes, I did, and why was he asking? Well, was I informed by the 'agent' (which, incidentally, was ICICI bank) that they would charge a commission? No, I was not. Oh! In that case, the commission of Rs.45,000 (on an insurance premium of Rs.1,50,000) would be refunded to me. For this, I would need to confirm on another call which would be made soon to me, and then keep it confidential - not even talking to my bank, ICICI Bank about it. I could claim this amount then, in either of two methods - include it back in my policy amount, or guess what? take another ICICI Insurance scheme!!
3. Axis Bank account routinely changes its access policies (as I am sure other banks also do). They keep positing an enhanced security feature on their website. I have sincerely complied with their requirements of forms to be filled up and submitted. And in spite of all of this, the website blocks me, only because internally someone within Axis Bank forgot to update the contents. The last time I faced a similar pain, I complained directly to Ms. Shikha Sharma, and surprisingly the entire issue was resolved within 24 hours! I guess that is what it takes to get things corrected.
4. My mobile service provider is Airtel. I hate getting unsolicited messages or phone calls on my mobile, and there can be nothing more irritating especially when one is in a meeting. I had set up my DND and have probably complained about this at least 30 plus times. And yet, I keep receiving unsolicited phone calls. When you complain, you are asked for the date and exact time of the call/message, and you are informed that the complaint will be resolved in 7 working days. And at the end of this time, you will invariably receive another message saying that this complain pertains to another service provider and therefore no further action can be taken!
5. Finally, the Government. It has now been made mandatory to do most transactions online. So, you need to pay taxes online, to submit returns online, and so on. That is, of course, provided that your online bank account works, your internet works, and the website itself works at the time that you want to log on!
We all desire the best of services, and while India appears to be hurtling towards the future at a stupendous growth rate, which is debateably anywhere between 7% to 9% depending upon who is talking, the gaps between what is required and what is available keeps ever widening. The only remedies that I can see are that we create collective furore as paying consumers, and build pressure on the service providers to deliver. It is best to start a collective boycott of those companies which do not deliver consistently. Spread the word, and let only the most deserving companies survive!
Companies, beware! As you grow your customer bases, be aware that we consumers will define which of you deserves to continue to benefit you and which do not. Providers: start reading the fine print. Do not take us for granted.
