Hi Guys,
Let’s make this a live blog. I will update the status real time daily till issue is resolved by @Airtelindia. This will be fun:).
Please read "actual issue" section of the blog towards the end to find the issue that started on 10-Oct-2017
Updates:-
10/16:- I called airtel customer care myself since there is no initiative taken from their side. I was told by the representative that ticket number 88913396 that was raised by me on 10/10 is closed with comments that customer asked to 2MbPs connection and the same is provided. THIS IS THE HEIGHTS OF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. SHARE ON AIRTEL FOR LEVEL OF MISMAnasultanGEMENT AND INCOMPETENCE. I have got my ticket reopened again. They again promised to resolve the issue in 24 hours. Let’s wait and watch.
10/15:- I called out airtel on social media on Oct-12. They responded on 10/15 and asked for my info to check the issue at backend. So far I am yet to hear back from them. I am not sure whether Airtel folks on social media are more competent then the ones sitting and handling customer care and so far I have not received any reason so believe so.
10/14:- Got a call from Airtel representative. They asked to to provide all documents again. I asked they can’t they use the documents which I gave then on Oct-10 but they refused. I asked someone to contact me so that I can provide the required document. It’s 10/16 and so far no one has contacted me for documents.
10/13:- Got a call from Airtel back end team at 10:33 AM from 9632766616. I was told that my area supports only 8 Mbps so they can not give 16Mbps speed. When I told them that I already have another connection of 16Mbps in my own house the representative told be he will check and call back in 10 minutes. It’s 17:05 now. Looks like all the clocks in airtel office have stopped working so they are not really sure that 10 minutes are over:)
10/12:- Got a call from airtel at around 6:00. I was informed that my original ticket that was raised of 10/10 because it was under incorrect category. A new ticket is raised to find out why incorrect information was provided to me at the time of taking a new connection. When I asked them to fix the issue and do inquiry later I was told to wait for upto 48 hours for issue to resolve because issue can not be fixed without inquiry. I think someone has to get court marshaled before I get what I was promised 6 days ago.
Actual Issue:-
I recently applied for a new broadband connection using Airtel. It’s been 5 days and I am really pissed off at what I have seen so far. I live in Bangalore in a populated area with lots of airtel customers. I will summarize the facts below:-
1) I was promised 40Mbps by the sales person. I was happy with the plan so I cancelled the existing broadband plan that I had with some other vendor. I paid Airtel 3 months advance to nullify the installation changers. Once I made the "non-refundable" aishwaryasingh23ment for 3 months I saw the real face of Airtel customer service. The installation team called me and told that in my area only 16Mbps speed is supported. I am not sure why I was not informed about this before I made the aishwaryasingh23ment
2) The agent who was assigned to my case took my documents for verification. He called me in evening and said I have to give him Rs. 100 cash to notarize the proofs. This sounded fishy to me so I told him that I will aishwaryasingh23 online not via cash. He tried to convince me to aishwaryasingh23 him Rs. 100 cash for 15 minutes but then I cut the call and called airtel customer care. First person who picked my call clearly told me that this is against airtel policies and forwarded my call to local office in Bangalore to raise a complaint. Here the guy told be it’s normal process to aishwaryasingh23 Rs 100. When I demanded to talk to his supervisor he put me on long HOLD and then told me no need to talk to supervisor and Rs. 100 charges are not applicable for you. I could have understood an agent being corrupt and asking for money but looks like in Bangalore the whole department is getting a cut.
3) Technician came to my house and setup the connection on 10/10. He was in real hurry so he left my house without letting me check the connection speed. When I looked at the speed it was 2Mbps. I asked for 16Mbps connection so this was surprising. I called up Airtel technical support on 10/10/2017 at around 7:00 PM to fix the issue and since then I am struggling. All the representatives give me a reason why my issue is not resolved and they commit a deadline. No one shows up to fix the issue as per deadline so I call the technical support again. They tell me a new issue and blames some other department. So far I have been given 3-4 deadlines and Airtel has missed everyone of them. They don’t have the decency and professionalism to call and inform me if a deadline is missed. When I call them myself after the deadline I am told a BS reason about why issue could not be fixed and I am given a new deadline.
4) After having so many calls with Airtel customer service(121) I called the installation team directly and requested them to increase the speed. They said they can not do it directly unless they get a request from customer care team. This is understandable. But then he said that he is not sure if my area supports 16Mbps and he can give 8Mbps only. This is REALLY UNACCEPTABLE. The speed went from 40 Mbps to 16Mbps to 8Mbps. If Airtel does not have the infrastructure then why are you guys doing false advertisement. At least inform us about the facts before taking our money so that consumer can make an informed decision.
5) Various departments within Airtel are not in sync. I am being called to provide documents even after 3 days since my connection is activated. It becomes a hassle when you get so many unnecessary call during office times. I just got a call at 10/12/2017 at 10:35 AM asking when can a guy come to provide new connection. My connection is in place since 10/10. When I told her about the issue she said her job is only to fix the appointment and she can not help here.
P.S:- I have snapshots of when I am put on HOLD for 18 minutes when I request to talk to supervisors. I have recorded all the calls with customer care also. If airtel team really wants to find the root cause of the issue then can contact me for these details.