Vodafone – Happy to Help – it’s a JOKE

This is my second review for what I consider the most pathetic telecom service provider in planet Earth. I am wondering if Vodafone is going to take any action after reading this. I am sure there are thousands of reviews like this on this service provider. So let me get straight to the point.
On the 18th of November, 2008 at approximately 2000 hours IST, I called up the customer care (unfortunately I don’t remember the dick head I spoke to) to register a network coverage compliant. The service registration number for this compliant is 879299184. I received a SMS further stating the service registration number and an assurance that the same will be responded by the 29th of November, 2008 before 1800 hours IST.
Having said this I would like the readers to know the background of the issue. I stay in JP Nagar 9th Phase in a first floor apartment. The network coverage in the apartment and as a whole in the area is very bad. When I am in the house, the network goes down completely (only emergency calls allowed display could be seen) and I come out of the house to receive any calls or to make any calls and I need to walk further out of my apartment to get a good clarity for any telephone conversation.
So coming back to 18th of November when I lodged the compliant, I specifically told the customer care (Happy to help executive) that I could be reached only between 7 in the morning to 9 in the evening on a week day and on weekends my mobile might not be reachable because of the network coverage and I can be reached on my landline BSNL number.
After waiting for 11 days, today 29th of November 2008 at 1930 hours (hour and a half after the promised deadline to address my issue), I called up the customer care. The first call goes though after being on line for close to 3 minutes only to hear from this arrogant “Happy to help” executive (Laxman.S) that I need to dial a different number (Vodafone has the saddest IVR options) to know about the status of that issue. I wanted him to transfer the call to the “Happy to Help” enquiry department. He refused to do that. I wanted him to get a floor manager / supervisor to attend the issue and I was refused again. Every call centre has the possibility to transfer the calls to their supervisor if the customer is irritated. It’s not like Vodafone is using outdated equipments. I am a person who gets irritated very easily for these crappy responses. But I hold on take a deep a breath thank the “Happy to help” dickhead.
I dial 111 again and wait for Vodafone to advertise their conference facility. Looks like it’s never ending. Finally I get the enquiry department (For all you guys who might be facing this problem – Dial 111 select 1st option, select 4th option for the enquiry department) and the dick head this time around is Karan (with a smart a@# attitude). So after the initial verification I am being told that the issue has been closed. I was shocked here. I told him that I didn’t get a feedback for which Karan says “Now that you have called – This is the status and he reads me the status “ The problem stated in the mentioned area both indoor and outdoor are normal and the issue is closed. I don’t understand this. First of all indoor refers to my house and I know for sure that no one has sneaked into my house without my knowledge. And secondly who the technical department had told me that I will be called and then visit my house to check the network. I did not get a call nor did someone from Vodafone come to the house. I explained this to Karan who plainly told that “the team must have tried reaching, but you would switched off the mobile” Now what the F@#K does Karan think of me. That I lodge a complaint and then switch off my mobile? It’s disappointing that Vodafone has these executives with a “I am smarter than you” attitude. Shame on Vodafone for this!!!
How these service complaints are closed based on some false information from a person who has not done his job. Does Vodafone think that customers are jobless and not bothered about the complaints which they lodge? Does Vodafone think they can fool around like this?
I need a specific answer with regards to my compliant. I wouldn’t have complained if I didn’t have an issue. But when I do have an issue I make sure it is heard of. I will not let this incompetency from Vodafone slightly. Last time around when I had a similar problem, I had written to the nodal officer (ravi.s@vodafone.com), the mail bounced back.
This is not the first time I am writing on Vodafone & their pathetic service. See my other review on Vodafone here:
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Vodafone_-_formerly_Hutch-144202-1.html

Online Movie Rentals – Way to go!!!

Off-late we have seen couple movie rental services come to the market. New to the Indian market, these services are affordable, very convenient. Not every person could afford the luxury of time to visit cinema halls to watch the box office heats, but people do have spare time once in a while. And the convenience to select movies online and queue them up in the account according to the priority adds advantage to these services.
Post registration, a member is provided with a unique user-ID & password with which he/she selects the movies the person desires. The selected movies are then dispatched based on the availability. The subscription packages vary according to various service providers.
There is no doubt about the quality of movie prints. These are original DVD/CD prints & the movie database is growing by the moment as I write this blog. However these providers do have a long way to go when it comes to the customer service and the level of technological involvement involved. Say for a example I queue up a movie, I should get an intimation as to if the movie is right now available for delivery or not. If it’s not available, then a queue specific to the movie should be displayed. The systems though centralized should be processed on real-time basis which is lacking right now.
All said and then, the movie rental industry has received a tremendous response and so are the expectations of the subscribers.
Some of the established rental services available now are Big Flix & Seventy MM

Commuting in Bangalore

I landed in Bangalore a decade back to pursue my Post Grads in Management and used to be amazed about public transport usage and reliability aspects. But things have slowly changed (call it better or  worse) and these changes have impacted public in more than one way. 

• A simple case would be the auto-rickshaw drivers were reliable, polite and beleived that they are a part of the public transport system in Bangalore. But you witness the same auto-rickshaw drivers now - they feel they are not a part of the public transport eco-system. And the auto driver has the authority to accept / reject the offer proposed by a prospective passenger based on various criteria - Roads leading to the proposed destination, guarenteed return trips, distance (short distances are rejected outright & longer distances demands double the rate). Well these auto drivers certainly drive public crazy. Oh yes and then there are these pre-paid booths at various places in Bangalore which is actually operated by the auto-rickshaw drivers standing there. Dont even try out taking autos from these places
  
• One aspect which has certainly made a positive impact is BMTC. Yes there might be flipsides here too, but overall BMTC's taken a huge step towards developing Bangalore. Launch of Volvo services (by name Vajra), dedicated Volvo services to BIAL (Bangalore International Airport - Service goes by name Vayu Vajra), Suvrana services, Pushpak services & finally the normal busses. The launch of Volvo services as public transport is certainly great. It costs BMTC Rs 52 Per KM to operate these volvo services. Ticket prices vary from as low as Rs 10 to Rs 45 on the higher side (Banashankri to ITPL would be Rs 45). My say is this, instead of arguing with the auto-rickshaw drivers about the rate, distance, return trip gurantees its better to use BMTC Vajra. You atleast get a peace of mind in return. 

Well so there are two ways you can get around in Bangalore. If you are mentally strong enough to bear the rants of an auto driver & in turn pay him more - you can opt in for an auto rickshaw ride.

But if you want some peace of mind during your travel, then BMTC Volvo (Vajra) is for you. And for all of you people who are fairly new to Bangalore, the BMTC website would be great ready reckoner http://www.bmtcinfo.com/english/volvo.htm

And you always have the option of renting a cab services if you have the capacity to shell out some real good dough. 

Corporate screw-ups

I got screwed up by this Org, I hate this company for their pathetic service, They dont take care of the customers. These are some of the views that an agitated customer would have against some companies they deal with. 

Why do companies screw up on their services once the sale is made. I am talking about product related companies here. Have these organizations forgotten the fact that customers could help them prosper or totally ruin their operations by simple word-of-mouth opinions. 

How many of us jave gone ahead in a purchase decision after consulting with one's trusted circle? Though we dont trust opinions of an individual, we certainly consider those in the purchase decisions. 

Companies around the globe are concentrating on the "Customer delight" factor. Its a step further from the old adage "customer is king/queen". And we also see Organizations like Reliance, ABN Amro, Vodafone, Nokia focussing only on pushing their products and neglecting the part about customer service. 

I have written reviews about the attitude of these organizations towards customer service. And i have also received responses from these organizationds that they are "sorry for the trouble caused". 

My point or question here is - Should Organizations wait for their customers to tell them about their service or should they just pull up their socks and get theor act together?

Satellite Radio

I bought the World space receiver 18 months back along with 1 year subscription. I must say the programs & channels are really good. But the reason I would not recommend the product to my friends is mainly because of the services rendered by World space or rather to put it a apt way – total lack of service responsibility. I was told that with a 12 month subscription would get periodical newsletters from World space and I got this confirmed from the customer care executives also. But the sad part or rather the most pathetic part is till date (almost 18 months of being a customer) I have received only 1 newsletter which was also because I called up the customer care & gave them a piece of my mind and I was also promised that I would getting the newsletters henceforth regularly. That was the promise made 6 months back. 3 months back I received a call from World space. Only this time it was regarding renewal and that they have some fancy offer which was if I renew the subscription in that particular week for 1 year but I get the validity for 18 months. I was wondering if they could be so sensitive about reminding the customers about renewals, why they can’t remind themselves that they need to send me the newsletter. 18 months of subscription & 1 newsletter is highly intolerable. My receiver ID is 393604, Renewal receipt for Rs 1800 is 5561There has been no regular correspondence from the World space team as such. In this age of technology where the priority is given to customer delight instead of customer satisfaction, this service from World space is making me think or rather forcing me to think on going negative on World space. I feel this way is better to achieve a 2-fold objective • Educate World space about the customer inconvenience• Educate people about World space. Even if World space decides to do away with the newsletters, a soft copy in the mail box would be pleasant. I have heard enough apologies & enough “I ll take this into record”. It would really be good if World space can walk the talk.
And the nonsense does not stop here. Few days back, my radio stopped transmitting & showed a lock symbol. On research before talking to customer care i got to know that the sybscription is locked and a new password has to be entered. I got a password from the website of worldspace on entering my receiver ID, but even that did not work. And finally i spoke to an executive & got the password.
I asked this executive a simple question - How will i know the password if its not communicated. I did not expect a great reply and i was not disappointed. Sorry for the trouble is all she could say.
Next day i receive the password.
Great going

Enhance Productivity

Organizations all around the world are thinking of or rather decided to cut down on their IT expenditure Thanks to the economic depression. But is this a wise choice to do or the companies are forced to take this drastic step.
Agreeable that a company would want to cut down on their costs / overheads, but is this the only way. There are ways you can get this done. You might have to see the bigger picture & spend on something which will benefit the Org in the long run. It might take a little time to break-even, but as mentioned thinking of long run will clear this doubt.
Enterprise Softwares like ERP, CRM, BPM help companies around the Globe achieve this.
Its one thing to get the depression get onto your head, but its another thing to be wise and spend on these enterprise applications so that you dont get caught next time around.

Deciding to spend

Years into existence, the company i work with has finally decided to spend some dough towards marketing initiatives. That said it is surprising to look back and think that the company did really well in the past without any expenditure towards Marketing, let alone few spend on events here and there.
So finally we decide to spend on various marketing activities. And i am excited about this because i get to enhance the exposure times to what it is now. Right now we do some PR's (free web site syndication, Events, Lil bit of Adwords & some email campaigns)

So let me learn some good interesting activities to enhance the visibility.

If anyone who reads this care to add activities that i could do to enhance the visibility, then you are most welcome to do the same.