SENT BY REGISTERED AD Email
Dated 3.11.09
To,
The National Sales Manager
IFB Industries Limited
Home Appliances Division, Plot No. IND5, Sector 1, East Calcutta Township
Kolkata, West Bengal India 700107
Dear Sir, Madam
Sub: Defective dishwasher and bad after sales service
I want to bring to your kind notice the mental agony I am facing due to defective equipment delivered to me who’s functioning couldn’t be rectified inspite of all efforts made during last 21 months.
I have patiently tried to cooperate as much as possible, undergoing great hardship and was always hopeful, but now I am frustrated with the quality of dish washer machine and bad after sales service, and have decided to take up the matter at the highest level and may even take legal action if the matter is not solved urgently to my satisfaction.
Facts
I have purchased dishwasher Neptune model on 6.1.08 from your distributor Arvee Enterprises, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi with the hope of getting a good reputed brand and after sales service to help my aged parents to ease out their work.
I also took extended warranty for additional 2 yrs after paying the required amount over and above the usual 2 yrs warranty given with the product.
The dishwasher started malfunctioning within 15 days of purchase and is still not working after 21 months of purchase.
During last 21 months I have made innumerable complaints at your customer care no: 18604255678 and every time I was given assurance of speedy rectification of problem.
However the complaints were attended to after delay of 5-30 days after each complaint, that to after repeated reminders at national customer care no and local service centre complaint no, although according to rules it should be attended to within 24 hrs.
Several times my complaint was left unattended and I used to receive SMS on my registered mobile tel. no. that my complaint has been resolved.
My complaint was forwarded repeatedly on my request from the customer care to several service engineers and high officials of the company at Delhi branch, but no one had time to look into my complaint, for which they are employed by the company.
I made repeated requests at customer care to provide me with all the data pertaining to my previous complaints and their follow-up during last 21 months but they have denied my right to information.
No document at the time of attending complaint is provided to me for my record, and no explanation is given to me regarding the nature of problem and the service done or details of part changed.
The parts brought for replacement are unsealed bearing no company seal and always leave me wondering if the replaced part is genuine.
No follow up call is given after complaint is attended, to judge customer satisfaction.
The service engineers mostly become unavailable on phone, or blatantly tell us that the complaint will be attended by another person even if the trouble starts the very next day of attending complaint. Moreover, I am told to register complaint again on customer care which further wastes time.
The following is a part of data available with me regarding the dates of complaints, complaint nos, people contacted from time to time.
Recent dates of complaint
8.7.08, 28.7.08, 22.8.08, 5.9.08, 17.9.08, 22.9.08, 18.10.08, 18.10.08, 18.10.08, 4.12.08, 4.6.09, 11.9.09, 15.10.09, 24.10.09, 28.10.09, 02.11.09, 03.11.09
Recent complaint nos.
1944975290, 2192314, 2210902, 2313591, 2499615, 3105483, 3480380, 3603210, 3628227,
Name of Senior managers and service engineers to whom complaits were done repeatedly
Mr. Bharat Bhushan, Mr. Alam, Mr. Dhanprakash, Mrs Kamini, Mr. Amit anand, Mrs. Monica, Mr. Rajesh Burman, Mr. Yogesh, Mr. Milan Chandola, Mr. Ajay, Mr Yograj, Ankita
I was misguided by the service engineers from time to time by putting the entire blame for repeated malfunction of the machine on us and suggesting measures involving huge expenditure.
The following are few of the many measures suggested to me.
1. The water pressure in the pipeline is insufficient.
Although the water pressure was strong enough as the water is supplied by overhead tank approx 14 feet high and 2000 lts capacity, I still responded by installing a separate pipeline and overhead tank, but later found that even then the problem was not solved.
2. I was asked to use desilter several times by different personnel attending on different days for the same complaint within a span of 7 days.
This incurred me a substantial monetary loss without any result. (Total 10 packets used)
3. I was asked to purchase a pressure pump, and magnetic flow equipment from them.
I refused, as it was an absurd idea as the company doesn’t recommend and the pressure of water was more than sufficient.
The following are the inferences drawn regarding malpractices/ deficiency of services from above facts and figures.
As is evident from above data, the following facts emerge about the quality of product and the after sales services:
1.Defective piece:
The dishwasher supplied is defective as it is hardly in working condition from the time it was brought until today.
2.Poor after sales service:
The product has malfunctioned every few days and the quality of after sales service is extremely poor and sub standard.
3.Delayed service:
The complaint is attended to after delay of 5-30 days that to after repeated requests.
4.No follow up
There is no mechanism in your company to follow up complaint and to judge customer satisfaction regarding resolution of complaint.
5.Denial of customer right to information:
The service engineers do not provide any documents pertaining to diagnosis of problem and measures taken, neither the details of work done and parts replaced.
The customer care centre failed to provide me information regarding my previous complaints and their follow-up for my record and information purpose.
6.Replaced parts substandard?
The parts brought for replacement are neither sealed nor bear company logo thereby placing a doubt about the genuineness of the part.
7.Apathy of senior officials:
Even the high officials at local branch level are not concerned about the customer problems and are mostly unavailable, irresponsible, disinterested and unresponsive.
8.Corruption:
The service centre personnel are indulging in malpractices and it seems are indulging in parallel business by suggesting several products not recommended by the company to customers like magnetic flow meter, pressure pumps.
They even try to charge customers on one pretext or another for servicing during warranty period, that to without providing bill.
9.Inefficient service engineers:
The service engineers are inefficient, work on basis of ‘hit and trial method’, indulge in temporary ‘jugaru work’ in their own language.
They are discourteous and refuse to come even when the complaint has been attended by them the previous day and remain unsolved.
My motive of making complaint to you
My motive is not only to solve my problem but also to save a brand like IFB.
This will require drastic steps to remove deficiencies as I have pointed out earlier.
To add, I still think IFB is a big brand and as a matter of fact I am using other equipments of your company -washing machine and microwave.
What I want:
Either refund the total amount with interest compensation for the deficiency in quality of product and service.
Or
Replace the machine with a new one and provide full warranty extended warranty promise for quick, efficient after sales service in future action against inefficient personnel and service centre
Dr Shashank Jain / M.P.Jain. (Retd. I.A.S)
Customer code: 1301129
A-54 FREEDOM FIGHTER ENCLAVE, NEB SARAI, NEW DELHI
Tel: 09312403074
0 comments