'My name is Vineet Pugalia from Chennai. My residence is just less than half-a kilometer from the BSNL area office. I have been a BSNL subscriber for more than 2 decades now and that’s the reason in spite of my glitches with it; it still opts to continue with BSNL in spite of so many better service providers.
In recent times I have been facing a host of problems with BSNL and in connection to this I have also written to the higher officials at BSNL; however still I haven't received a single response from their end. My complaint is evident in the mail I have written to one of the higher officials (below):
Dear Sir/Madam,
I’m Vineet Pugalia S/o: Mr. Kanhaiya Lal Pugalia, who is a subscriber of your landline & broadband service for last 2 decades. As stated above this mail of mine is to bring to your notice some of my grievances and also to share with you some of my bitter experiences with BSNL. Before, I proceed further I request you to pardon me if any where through my mail, you feel offended.
From the point ‘a’ on the subject line I’m sure you must have guessed what my grievance is about. Let me brief you about the sequence of problems that I have faced when it comes to services offered by BSNL. They are:
My telephone line was dead/nonfunctional for the period of about 15 days in the month of May i.e. starting from the very 1st week of May. In order to restore my line back the first step I took was to lodge a complaint with BSNL official automated tele service i.e. 1500 and as consequence I was granted a Docket Number to track the status & progress of my complaint. However, even after a couple of days when the problem was not resolved I tried to check the status of my complaint by dialing 1500; to my hardship this number ceased to work (it rings – some one picks the phone – but does not answer; this happened for nearly about 10 times; beyond which I lost my patience and stopped trying). Owning to this I went in person to my area BSNL office (Kelly’s Branch) and informed them of my situation. The gentleman over there attended me very patiently and made note of my number and assured me the problem would be resolved within 24hrs. To my plight even after 3 days the problem was not resolved. You may find it hard to believe; I never received even a single call from BSNL informing me the cause or the status of the complaint. I wonder if at all any authorities monitor the complaints registered with the automated tele service? Also, I wonder if the responsibility of the public relation officer in the front desk of the BSNL office is to only receive the complaints and not pass it on the concerned authorities. This is just the phase one of my problem, to introduce you to the later half:
On the 14th May ’08 (until when my phone was still DEAD) I had filed an application in the BSNL office (Kelly’s branch) requesting them to shift my Landline and Broadband connection to my new residential address. The person on the front desk told me that the procedure would take about a couple of days. However, as expected a week passed away and I did not hear from the BSNL authorities. So, I visited the BSNL office again and enquired the status of my request. To which the front desk official responded very harshly as though it was a crime to learn or question on the status of our complaints. However, he assured that the line would be transferred by evening the same day. To which I agreed and without a word I left being convinced that this time for sure my request would be served promptly (though the actual mentioned time has elapsed). However, I was proved wrong and the line was not restored until even 2 days; which caused me to check with the authorities again. And, over there I learnt that they had by missed to hand over my application to the divisional officer who is responsible to allocate the line to my new address and I was asked to meet him in person and inform him of the issue (I would like to know is it a part of my job to make complaints/request and also resolve them?). Still, as I was the prey here and wanted my job to complete as I had lost hope in the way the BSNL office functions; so with a positive gesture I met the divisional area in charge, who assured me that the line to my new address would be granted within 24hrs. In spite of the sequence of my problems I was left with no choice than to accept his words. To my great surprise the line was granted to my new house within a day. The next formality in the pipeline was to choose a new number; since my exchange was changed. After, I choose my new number within 24hrs my phone was up and working. The above paragraph speaks about the phase two of my grievances. The next phase is as follows:
When I submitted my application for a line shift I very clearly and precisely stated that the shift involves landline phone and broadband connection also. The front desk officer also made note of this requirement on the top of my application. However, when my landline was migrated the broadband connection was not enabled. To which I registered a complaint with the automated tele-service and as a conventional practice I was allocated a Docket number to track my complaint. And, as a conventional practice with BSNL the problem was not resolved even after 2 to 3 days, neither did we receive any communication from BSNL. Owning to which I attended the BSNL office to know the status of my problem and without any embarrassment the front desk official bluntly informed that my complaint has been closed due to some unknown reason and I have to lodge a fresh complaint. (Imagine, if I never went to the BSNL office for a year; I would have never known that my Docket number has ceased to be valid even without being attended). As per the officer’s suggestion I lodged a fresh complaint on 1500 and was assigned a new Docket number. And, it is nearly about a week the problem is not being attended yet. My wife and I have made numerous visits to the BSNL office (Kelly’s) in the last one week (almost 2 visits daily) in regard with this problem; however no proper response has been received from the front desk officials. Also, the in charge A.E’s and the other senior officials to whom we have been directed (one-after the other) have only made empty promises and our problem still lies unattended and at the mercy of the BSNL administration.
Sir, what is most painful here is:
I have lost a lot of my precious time just to enquire the status of my problem; just because some one who is in charge of attending customer complaints has simply not done his/her job.
Though the BSNL Landline and Broadband rentals are very competitive; however will I be spared from not paying the bill for the period for which I have not been able to avail the service?
Though we have so many initiatives like: automated tele service, area offices, etc. still what is the accountability? Now, in my situation is there any one single person who can be held accountable? If yes, please bring into my notice.
The list may be endless…
Sir, I would like to let you know that I belong to a middle-class family and have to earn for my daily bread. I just cannot afford a single day off from my office; which would completely turn disastrous to my monthly budget. In spite, of which when I can take out time and enquire the status of my problem and also pay for the service when not in use; why don’t the officials who are in charge take responsibility to resolve their mistakes? In regard to this and the tremendous mental agony caused to me and my family; I request you to investigate this matter and get in written an apology note from all the people responsible for the above mentioned problem.
I request you to please excuse me; if any where I have offended your organization at a personal level. I'm writing you this mail only with the hope that some action would be done to ensure that the job is done and also some initiatives are taken to improve the customer relationship & transparency in the way things function.
My landline number: 26402085.
Please feel free to contact me at any time at: 9962033969.
Thanks in advance for your support.
Warm Regards,
Vineet Pugalia.
(This mail was sent on 11/06, to which I received a reply on 12/06 which stated:)
Dear sir,
Your email is receiving attention.. Please wait for further reply.
With regards,
PG CELL
However, its still 4 days up and I haven't heard even from a single authority. Its really sad to know that the countries largest and biggest Telecom company mal-functions, when the rest of the telecom players are fighting tough with each other to grab their pie by offering the best prices, services, etc as the main manifesto.
I'm not sure how much this forum would help me, since I'm already really distressed and lost all hope in this world to seek recovery in this issue.
regards.
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