M/S Chella gas agency
Consumer harassment and use of power by the owner Ms. Rajalakshmi

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is going to be a little long complaint, please bare with me. I am going to narrate what happened to me on April 11th.

As a person hailing from a middle class and with the recession hitting us badly we are all looking at ways and means of cutting our day to day costs. Hence I decided to apply for gas through M/S. Chella Agency (4, Muthalamman Koil street, Selaiyur, chennai - 600073). I got a sanction letter from Chella gas agency and I duly prepared all the needed documents and arrived at the agency at 09:30 AM on the above date mentioned. There was a big queue and there were three departments one for new connection/transfer, one for new connection application and the other for refills and enquiry. The number of customers were more but the time taken for each customer is close to 15-20 minutes in the new connection queue. I was just talking to my dad that the problems this gas agency is facing about the lack of manpower, lack of automisation of the processes etc casually. I was the third person standing and when my turn came there was another lady not standing in the queue and the owner of the agency Ms. Rajalakshmi called upon her and started processing her request. I interuppted and I informed her politely that I was standing in the queue and for that she informed its a priority letter from IOC. Point to be noted: Whatever may be the priority letter, does this override the queue also? Cant they stand in the queue just like us and get it?

I asked her about how they decide the priority and how we could also apply for it. There was no response. After that she started calling out people who had applications for transfers ignoring the queue. Point to be noted: The customers who were standing for new connections in the order were simply ignored. When I interrupted and asked her she informed for new connection the time would have been mentioned as 02:30 - 04:30 pm. When I referred the sanction letter it was mentioned 'To book refills and mechanic services, please contact us at our showroom during working hours from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm'. When I showed her, Ms. Rajalakshmi conveniently ignored my request. Then I commented since she is the owner she is doing such things. For that she told, your age is my experience and that she has invested so much money and she is running a gas agency and a person who has 'nothing' if you can talk so much then I will do what I want to do' Point to be noted: She was trying to use her power/influence that she has got. No respect for a customer. She mentioned only after all transfer is over she will consider the new connections. I waited till 12:50 patiently. All transfers got over. Again she was not willing to consider my new connection she took another customer who was standing some two people after me. She simply rejected my request and asked me to come after 02:30 as its closing time for lunch. I insisted that I was the third person and was standing in the line since 09:30 (Note: I didnt have my breakfast also that day) and she simply asked her subordinate to mark my application as 'Stove checking'. Point to be noted: Stove checking process will take another one month. At the end she told me you were passing some comments about my shop in the beginning, how dare you pass such comments and she started asking me if I understand what it means to run a agency like this. Now I understood the whole story. She just overheard when I was talking to my Dad (half-baked information) and because of her ego and power she planned/decided to harass me.

I was subjected to undue harassment, physical strain, power, influence and ill-treatment me as a middle class family. Is this the right way that our country is progresssing. If there is a valid comment from a customer why cant it be accepted and why cant the energy be put in to improve the process to reduce the hardship both sides. Instead this lady Ms. Rajalakshmi choose to subject me to hardship and she eventually got the pleasure out of my long wait (3 hours with no result).

Will someone hear this? Will always money and power win? there is no consideration for common man like us? Please do not reject this as an isolated incident. I request the concerned authorities to verify the process/procedures at the gas agency and put proper rules and regulations to stop such abuse by such wicked owners.

Thanks,

Rajeswari

Company: M/S Chella gas agency
Country: India

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