I was away from MS for quite some time now. For anyone who still remembers me, and by any chance wanted to read a review by me again, I would request him / her to thank Airtel for that. Had it not been their pathetic management and their forgettable interaction with me over the last month or so, I would have still been hibernating.
So, I asked them for a bill plan change last month for my post paid connection. Well that is it. I had connection, in my name, but with a corporate plan with my previous organization. The bill plan change was a CUG plan with my new organization. Its normal to expect a submission of my company ID card, salary slips etc copies. So far so good. I did all that without wasting time.
I walked up to the Airtel representative that is located in my company’s premises(as they provide corporate deals / discounts) and asked him about how I could get the desired change done. He was a tall guy with brains that a sheep could could challenge, probably hailing from UP/Bihar countryside. All he could tell me was to call up a mobile number and ask. I did so to get a policy answer to write a mail to 121@airtelindia.com for my plan change. I am still wondering why the 2 guys here are employed with Airtel.
I started writing to the email above to get the plan changed. Airtel is prompt in an auto acknowledgement promising a response in the next 48 hours. I am glad they do not run hospitals. The actual reply came in less than 48 hours. I was asked to submit a few docs in soft copy, clear my unbilled amount so that they may "initiate further action". I did as I was asked. However, I have enough experience of life to realise that things can not be that smooth. Read on.
Airtel responded confirming that my plan would change effective 2nd March 2009(my next cycle), on 9th February 2009. This could have been the end of the story, but somehow, Airtel hadn’t had a piece of my mind for years now and they were missing it.
The plan change should have been into effect from yesterday. I checked up with their customer care and was really uncared for, I felt. I was told that, as per their records, the bill plan change had been denied because I still do not ahve a "parent ID" under my company’s name. Now this lead to the following questions:
How was I given a confirmation by the company when their records contradict that now?
Why was I never informed about the denial, in case it happened?
I spoke to the customer care person and all he could tell me that the record at his end was updated only yesterday. There are some times you feel like having a machine gun in your hands to clear the world of incompetent people. I felt that were true.
I asked him to hand over the cal to his manager as my anger was beyond him. All his seniors were busy(I think there were others like me too!). He promised me a call back in 24 hours. Again, thank God they don’t run hospitals. that was unacceptable to me and I forced a call back within 4 hours. It did not happen, as expected. I called back, just to know that my previous complaint was recorded 2 hours after it happened. However, I managed to scare the representative this time to get a call back in 15 minutes.
It was again the same story. He asked me to explain my problem to him(This reminded me of my Samsung experience). Somehow I could explain the issue to him. I was told that he does not have access to the database where the confirmation mail sent to me earlier could be seen, so if I could forward it back to him, he could see it. Another evidence of broken systems at the country’s biggest communications company.
The poor guy had no excuses this time. He pleaded me to provide him another 24 hours to make the change activbe, as he still needed an approval within Airtel! I wonder what the nincompoops earlier did when they confirmed. Yet another example of brokes systems and communication process with teh country’s largest communications service provider.
I am yet to see if this gets through or I would need to break a few bones to get it done. Tomorrow would be fun!
I know that I am not the only one who’s been through all this. Airtel was quite an unprofessional organisation in the first couple of years of 21st century, but they did manage to get their act together and come up as a good organisation till the last year or so when they have stooped to their original levels. It think recession ahs hit them too. They are busy hiring "cheaper" staff, who by default would not understand processes laid down in the company’s manuals. perhaps they should write their manuals in Bhojpuri, Awadhi etc for better understanding. No offence meant, but I realised that English and Hindi are foreign languages to their staff. I couldn’t speak any other. Thier DSA’s would have been Rickshaw pullers had Airtel not be benevolent to them.
Sunil Mittal - Does anyone in your quality stripped organisation have the courage to talk to me?
.and the best part is: I threatened the representative that I would terminate my 9 year old Airtel connection. In return, he asked me "In that case, may I suggest you to take a pre-paid connection?".
Where is that machine gun? Can I have that?