I happen to be the Honorary Secretary of a Group Housing Society (Cosy Home) in Sector 9, Rohini, Delhi. In October, 2007.
The Society was approached by a Sales team of Airtel for permission to install a CT box inside the Society complex and also to take cables to each floor of the flats in the Society for which purpose the Company would have to do extensive digging across the roads in the Society as also moling/fixing of conduits by drilling in walls.
The Society was assured that, in the event of the permission being granted, the Company would restore the roads etc. to the original condition.In return for the gesture of permitting the laying of the net-work in the Society, the Society was promised the following:
(1) 1 free outgoing line with 450 pulses free every month and
(2) 6 free centrex lines (only incoming) with zero activation charges to be installed at the Society main gate and other important points for which there was to be no monthly rental; only inter-com facility would be there. In addition, a host of advantages were promised for the paying connections in the Society e.g. free calls within the centrex group, instant free access to everyday service, like neighbourhood medical stores, groceries, restaurants, taxi services, etc.
The Society gave the necessary permission. The work of laying cables etc. for the net-work was completed in December 2007. The quality of restoration work of roads etc. fell far short of assurances and after a lot of hassles, the Society was left with no option but to accept sub-standard work. The management of the Society had to bear with much resentment from the residents for having permitted the work.
Much greater pain and resentment was caused by the failure of the Company to fulfil their promises regarding the provision of providing 1 outgoing line with 450 pulses free and 6 lines with only inter-com facility with each other and integrated with the outgoing line through the centrex. While the outgoing line was provided, it has no intercom integration with the other six lines.
As for the six lines with only intercom facility, only instruments were provided sans the intercom facility rendering them into as many eye-sores.After umpteen complaints to the area Sales staff, including the Sales Head, the technical staff and the customer care numbers, the Society wrote to the Company’s Vice President, Customer Service Delivery and the General Manager, Sales at Okhla, New Delhi, bringing to their notice the non-provision of the promised facilities but to our consternation, these dignitaries did not even care to acknowledge, far less take any action., leaving the Society to eternally regret having cooperated with the Company.
Even the residents who took fully paid connections, complain of having been short-changed in respect of some promised facilities, especially the centrex and some have even surrendered their connections. I decided to highlight the incident in “Mouthshut” feeling that dead-end had otherwise been reached. This may benefit some others from getting entrapped similarly.