Have suffered Airtel for over a year now(I’m in Poona), and felt that I should write a new review.
Throughout the year, Airtel has unfailingly proved beyond doubt that it is the worst network imaginable. Allow me to rant:
1) Extremely high number of call drops. Sometimes you cannot speak even 1 – 3 minutes without getting a call drop.
2) Network coverage is not good. You won’t get any signal at all in many places.
3) Network intensity is pathetic. Most of the time, signal will oscillate between 0 to 6 bars(max). Call will of course drop when it touches 0 – 1 bars. Voice will crack, hiss and blur. Plenty of static too. Since the last month or two, I have been getting barely 1 – 2 bars indoors at my residence. This makes it impossible to talk, and one has to run to a balcony.
4) Voice clarity is extremely poor most of the times.
5) Network is very congested… esp. thought the evening. Getting to connect with anyone is like winning a lottery. Just keep trying non-stop until you win!
6) I have often faced problems of not being able to send SMSes. The sending just fails. You have to keep retrying half a dozen times for it to succeed!
7) It is often very difficult to recharge. Perhaps their systems go kaput frequently. Netbanking transactions fail, e-recharge also fails often. You can be left with zero balance when you need the phone most… with no working method to recharge.
8) Customer care(call centre) is beyond words. In a nutshell, it is totally useless in solving ANY and EVERY kind of problem. All you will get are hollow promises.
9) Nodal and Appellate Officers don’t exist in Airtel. Their phone numbers NEVER work and emails sent to them NEVER generate any response. Airtel is blatantly flouting all regulations – it is compulsory for all telecom companies to have Nodal and Appellate Officers who are accessible, to look into customer complaints. Airtel has simply provided dummy phone numbers and email ids, just to show the regulator that it is complying with regulations.
I could go on writing pages, but this is sufficient to give any prospective subscriber to stay very far away from this 3rd rate telecom operator who flouts all norms, provides sub-standard service and also openly cheats subscribers in broad daylight.
Let me add my most recent experience(can’t get into all of them here) – I got SMSs from Airtel for 3 consecutive days. This was when my 1 year validity expired. The offer, in short, was that I should charge for a specific amount and avail of 3 months validity and full talk time. I successfully recharged for the amount and got only ONE day validity. After which my phone was abruptly disconnected. I have been calling the Customer Service almost everyday, and they promise that my phone will be restarted in 48 hours. Of course no such thing happens, and next day, when I call again, the same promise is repeated. Of course getting thru to the Customer Care is another ordeal – they either disconnect the call after keeping you on hold or say that their system is down, so please call back later.
I sent several emails to their Customer Care also. None of them generated a reply, except one. Now the funniest thing – the reply says that Airtel has no such offer and asks me to forget it and recharge again by buying a voucher in the market! Can you beat that?
Airtel is no longer a working phone service. They should be banned from providing services and swindling and their license cancelled. However, we Indians are highly tolerant about all the wrong things in life. If you are a prospective subscriber, please avoid Airtel like the plague. If you are an existing subscriber, please consider bailing out immediately. Don’t wait for things like Number Portability. Its not coming any time soon! Remember, our ranting here makes absolutely no difference to Airtel. As long as you continue to subscribe to their 3rd rate services, they have absolutely no need to change anything. Nor do we have effective regulatory bodies or legal system which can keep companies like this in check. Your best contribution to improving the situation is to patronize such services/products and move to the best options available in the market.
Lastly, I may be asked why I continue with Airtel myself, after all these experiences. Actually, I shifted my main number from Airtel to Idea Cellular(it rocks!) long ago. I only retain an Airtel connection as a secondary phone(I don’t usually carry it around with me), just so that my friends on Airtel Friendz plan, etc, can speak to me at reduced tariffs. I see to it that I generate minimal revenue to Airtel…and save on my bills in the process.