Hostel life is tough...specially when you realise that you cant hang on to the phone for hours and talk to your heart’s content! Did you think that getting scoldings from your mom at home was the ultimate when you went on talking on the phone for hours...or did you feel you were being pointed out when your dad said that the phone bills are spiralling every month ! Well , ...the situation can be much worse if you are in a hostel...you share the phone with 30 other people ...and just when you get a call after having waited, prayed for it to come ...then someone shouts and tells you to hang up as they are expectng an urgent call!
However, I thought that my luck had turned when my brother-in-law gave me a cell and yipeeee... I thought that my troubles were over! Was I dreaming ??
Anyways, what happened was that I got a AT&T Idea Cellular pre paid card from a medical store here in Ahmedabad...filled the necessary form during the installation and then I joined the club of mobile phone users! Was I happy ...but sadly the happiness lasted only for 3 months...suddenly one fine day my connection got snapped because they said they did not have my identification . Well...hello !! what happened to the form I had duly filled and submitted at that medical store which stocked Idea pre-paid cards..? Negative , the reply. No such form has reached them . Is that my fault ? Then I told them that why wasnt I informed earlier...for 3 months I has used the service without a hitch ...silence from the other side! NO solid reason.
Anyways, I was asked to resubmit a proof of identity personally to their Ahmedabad office or fax the proof. I got the driving licence duly photocopied , faxed it to their office, called them up again to reassure myself and them that they have actually received it or not ! Yes, thankfully ..the people there said they got the fax and I was told I will get the connection back in one hour!! That one hour stretched on and on ....into days , more days...months!! Dont think that I was twidling my thumbs all the way ...repeated calls , reminders, complaints ...nothing helped ! Everyone time I was told that connection would be restored but all were empty promises.In the end, I was so disgruntled that I changed my service provider! Well , this is the kind of service AT&T provides in an era where customer is the king.
Hold on, I have more to say . My friend has a roaming AT&T connection and she also complains that the network is bad, the connection poor...so I know at least another disgusted customer!
And another thing is that at least in Ahmedabad , Idea’s customer care department is really shoddy and unprofessional...I mean they are a service provider ...do they know the meaning of the word ? Have they ever heard of customer relationship, goodwill and word of mouth ? Even if they have, they dont seem to be bothered about it , judging by the quality of the people they have recruited to handle customer care! I had called up their department and told the lady who attended the call all about my problems ...everything...the whole history ..in English. After venting my frustrations, the reply comes : ’’ aap zaraa hindi mein bolenge?’’ ( Will you say that in hindi ?) I did not know what to do ...bang my head ...bang down the phone ...or just do what she said !
Well , my personal experience with Idea has not been too rewarding ...hope it improves its services , instead of harassing customers who dont have time to waste !