My no is 9810800650. I used to be a satisfied Airtel pre-paid cust, but
that is perhaps because i never had to deal with airtel's cust service!
After using this number for abt 4 yrs or so, I committed a crime; I got
this number converted to a post pay under Airtel's corporate plan for HCL
employees.
So this is how the story begins.
I was asked by the DSA guy to submit my docs that included abt 6 different
docs (including my salary slip for some reason) and a cheque for one
year's advance rental. No probs so far, i gave him my documents a cheque
for Rs 699. He gave me the sim a day after, and then began my misery.
First of all, the incompetency in Airtel is at such an astounding high, it
took them over a week to get the sim activated. I though, ok, let it be. A
month later, i got an sms from airtel stating that i havn't submitted my
docs, and my services would be restricted if i don't submit them by so n
so date. OK... first blow... i called up cust service, maybe for the first
time, some guy who could hardly construct a sentence, answered the call,
couldn't understand a shit of what i was saying, so he put the call on
hold and then released the call. Nevermind, i called up again, just to
talk to a greater lunatic, who, in some alien dialect (i am not sure of
the language, maybe it was English..!) told me that my docs are not
registered with the company and i need to go to the "nearest airtel
outlet" to submit them again. OK... i guess beggars (thats what companies
like Airtel think of its custs) are not choosers, i went to the airtel
outlet in sec-18 NOIDA, and submitted my docs again. No worries, i thought
that was it. However, the morons at Airtel had other plans.
I got a similar sms informing me that my services are restricted as i
havnt submitted my docs! I was like w.t.f... Called up cust service,
again, gave them the request number the guy from airtel outlet had given
me, and guess what the exec told me that the number is not recognized by
the system, and there is no way by which they can retrieve any information
by "any complaint number". Moreover this time the exec told me an entirely
different story (i strongly believe that either cust care execs at airtel
are not at all trained, and if they are, they are trained by trainers from
different planets!!!). The lady told me that in case of missing documents,
custs cant produce the docs at any outlet, they are required to fax them
to a certain number. ok... Anyway, she gave me the number, and i faxed the
documents, now please take a note that all this while my services are
restricted. Anyway, she also promised that the services will be restored
in about 24-48 hours of the receipt of the fax. Two days passed, nothing
happened. Called up cust care again, spoke to some "supposed manager" who
said that he has marked a complaint, and he gave me a complaint number in
the same format as the outlet guy. I told mr. manager that this number is
of no good (as told to me by the previous exec), but he assured me and
stuff, so once again i was like... ok... anyway... fortunately my
services were restored after that and i thought, fine, now it is finally
over. But i guess, with a company like airtel to deal with, i was too
early on my decision. A few days later, i received my monthly bill, and
guess what, the freaks at airtel had added 699 to my outstanding instead
of my payments. I called up HDFC to check whether the cheque has been
cleared or not. They told me the cheque has been cleared. They gave me all
the details associated, such as, cheque number, transaction ID, airtel's
bank a/c name, date, time, etc. Anyway, with all the details i called up
Airtel cust service, again...! The guy told me that airtel is once again
limped to an extent that they cant verify anything with the cheque
transaction details i was providing and told me that i need to send a
"cheque clearance certificate" to airtel to get the payment updated.
Called up my bank to place a request for the certificate, however they
told me that it would be mailed to my office address (HCL).
By this time i had left HCL, and had started working with media. So i had
to go to my bank's main branch in Janakpuri, from NOIDA (if you know what
i mean) to get the address changed. Anyway, i received the certificate in
about a weeks time and (as told by Airtel exec) faxed it. As usual nothing
happened! I had already made the payment of the remaining amount besides
this 699. Now one fine day, when i was on roaming, to be precise in
Aligarh, i started receiving reminder calls to make the payment (everytime
from a different number). A little tired to elaborate all the 9 calls i
had received. Anyway, after about 4 days and a collective one hour forty
seven minutes on the phone, the day had come for me to come back Delhi
(dont worry, despite recurring requests and elaborations to 9 different
asses working for airtel, i was still getting these reminder call). So,
once i was back, i called up cust service, yet again! And again and again!
Finally i got the privilege to speak to a sane homo sapien in Airtel. The
guy took the cheque number and other details, put the call on hold for a
while, when he got back he told me that Airtel, has credited my cheque
wrongly towards the acc of a diff cust and he has placed a request to make
the necessary amendments in the account, and the payment will be updated
in 24-48 hrs. It dint, ofcourse, however maybe i was lucky this time, that
the payment got updated in about 5 days. Wonderful.
Now i have a series of questions and some problems as well. Lets get
started with the questions:
1. If you analyze the whole case, you would find that when my new sim was
activated, Airtel neither had my documents, nor the cheque. How the
four-letter-word could they activate the sim...???
2. When the company policies require the customer to fax the documents
under such scenario, why was i told to submit the documents at "the
nearest Airtel outlet"...???
3. When processing missing doc request was something beyond his scope of
support, why did the guy at the Aritel outlet accept the documents...???
4. Why are customers not given complaint/request numbers even when they
demand...???
5. Why in the next cust care exec always incapable of processing these
request numbers even when they are given...???
6. If its a case of the company's incompetency, such as the case of a
wrongly ledgered cheque, why should the cust bear the consequences...???
7. Even when i told every exec that the outstanding amount is in dispute
and also, that i am in roaming, why the reminder calls did not stop...???
8. When it was a clear case of wrong ledger entry, why was all the
previous execs NOT able to find that out...??? How come only one learned
person in a bunch of lunatics claiming to be the leading telco of the
country...???
9. Why there is no supervisor/manager available anytime...??? That is just
not possible. A plain bluff by cust executives!
10. Why the company makes false promises, the 24-48 hour crap...???
Now the problem... Well for the last few days i am trying to get in touch
with cust service, yet again! This time, these primary school drop-outs
from airtel have used some algorithm with my bill even Aryabhatta would
fail to understand. Its been three days since i am trying, i am calling
121 and 9810198101, with no success so far. The call gets connected
everytime fine, but when i finally make my way through the crappy IVR to
the prompt that asks me to wait while being transferred, either the wait
music is followed by "All lines are busy" or if i am lucky, i get to
listen to the phone ringing, followed by silence (maybe some freaky exec
with the system on mute... incompetent cowards!), and then the call gets
disconnected. Now, from today, when i finally press '9' after reaching the
part where the IVR asks to press '9' to speak to cust care exec, i get the
prompt to type 'Airtel' and send it to 121. And know what a fool i am, i
did THAT as well! Just to realise that it does nothing besides the service
menu offered by *121#.
'Pathetic' is the word that best describes Airtel as a company. Dying to
see the day when number portability would be a reality, and i can assure
you i'd be the first one to use the service. The company has got to be
"good enough" to deal with, being "big enough" is actually NOT a big deal!
Now, if all this goin to the right person (about which i am rather
doubtful), i would like to mention that I have all the recordings of the
calls i have made/attempted to Airtel cust service, and i am looking for
an apology letter, a compensation, and a resolution for my ongoing
problem; failing to which, well, you might hear it everyday but i mean it,
i'd have to call the court under AFI (actual financial loss), RTI (right
to information), mental harassment and personal disgrace among a few other
categories suggested by my lawyer.
Hope to see a butterfly effect...!
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