I recently shifted to Pune after 8 years in Navi Mumbai, so I was a bit apprehensive about choosing an ISP here in Pune. I was used to DVois’s high speed, generally reliable service, and so the first thing I searched for after coming here was for a DVOis connection. I was disappointed to know that they didn’t provide service in my area. I needed a high speed, unlimited-usage internet connection, and I was ready to pay a reasonable price for it. Idea, Airtel had plans, but none of which matched my requirements. So I settled for the next best thing, Tikona, after reading favorable reviews here on mouthshut.com. Big mistake.
Here’s what went wrong:
The network worked smoothly for the first four days, and I was happy to have made a reasonable choice. I have to work with teams in USA, so it means conference calls after 7p.m, sometimes extending to 10-11 p.m. I could easily take these calls, with little to no lag in the network.
The fifth day, it all started going horribly wrong. I have a 4Mbps plans, but I could barely get 0.05Mbps. I called their customer support(They have a toll-free number which is toll-free only if you call from a landline. Else it is not.) and was told that my problem would be solved in 4 hrs. The next morning, I started getting decent speeds again(2-3 Mbps).
The following Monday evening, I returned back to take those calls, but to my rage, I couldn’t. No prizes for guessing why.
This story has been continuing for the past two and a half weeks. I reach home, check my internet speed, find it sub-par, call their customer service number, waste 20 rupees in which some poor guy has to repeatedly lie to me that the problem will be resolved in the next four hours, and then, being unable to do anything, I go back to sleep. I finally had it yesterday, and asked them to disconnect their connection, following which they made my issue a "priority" issue. Guess what speeds I got? No prizes for guessing, again.
I did get great follow up calls at 11 am the next day after complaining, but being a working professional, I used to be in office. The morning of 8’Sept, I was at home luckily, during which they somehow managed to show a speed of 3Mbps. Not even what I paid for.
I guess this is their business model. Show great speeds initially, and then when the customer has paid the money, laugh at them while telling them that the issue will be "resolved" in 4 hours. It’s like a couple of stand-up comedians, charging you to laugh at you, while making you suffer for choosing them.
My verdict: If you stay in Pashan, or similar areas where Tikona "promises" high speeds, don’t choose them. All you’ll do is waste your money. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but get a BSNL connection. Much more reliable than Tikona. Plus, you’ll get a landline to make all those free calls to the Tikona customer care. Or you could choose to wait for Reliance Jio, and in the meantime, live like a caveman.
Customer ID: 1118917026
Plan 4Mbps-210gb a month
Price: Rs.1750/ month+ Rs.20/day for calling their customer service+ peace of mind
Tl;Dr: STAY AWAY FROM TIKONA