We were using SUN Direct for some time. At the end of 2007 we moved to Airtel DTH and even though it is costly their services were superb and awesome. But suddenly as they say it as Twist of Fate for we decided to use the Sun Direct again and there the headache started. When we contacted their customer care 3940 7575 they said our account is still active and if I recharge I will get all channels within 2 hours. Later after reading the other reviews, from mouthshut.com I’ve learnt that ’within 2 hours’ is the line those call centre morons use every minute. So I recharged for 665 Rupees on 7 June and I was not able view any channel except their Info channel, Podhigai and Mega TV.
Immediately I contacted their call centre and they said to me that I should do a manual scan of STB and’within 2 hours’ I will receive all channels. Again I called them in the evening and they said the same old nonsense. So I was too tired arguing with them as Airtel’s1800 102 8080 is toll free but Sun Direct’s 3940 7575 calls are charged from my end.
The next day 8th June the same thing happened surprisingly for the whole day. And the next day that is after 2 full days I got a different solution. WOW !!! Only Sun Direct could have pulled this off. It’s not a rabbit but a Godzilla from a magician’s hat. They said to me as I’m recharging after 30 months it will take 2 days for me to receive all channels. But I pointed out to them, that I’m already receiving their Info channel, Mega TV & Podhigai they replied casually that those channels can be viewed by anyone with a Sun Direct STB, so I have to wait for another 2 days and also added that my TV and Set Top Box ahould always be switched on.
From ’within 2 hours’ it has come to ’within 2 days’ this is what I call as innovation. Now it’s 14 June. 7 quiet days have passed away in my home without those famed Sun TV’s Megaserials and my personal favorite Hannah Montana from Disney Channel.
When I called them again, and they said to me ’within 2 hours’ I will get all channels. When I pointed out to them that for the past 7 days I have been hearing the same, I was put on hold rudely for a long time hoping that I might disconnect the call. As a former call centre employee myself, I knew all the tricks & nuances played by agents to end the call. So I hung on to the call. This time I got a solution, WOW #2.
That they have refreshed my Customer ID there so this time ’within 2 hours’ I will get all the channels. When I politely asked them why they have not refreshed my ID for the past 1 week inspite of my repeated calls they didn’t know what to say. But they assured me again that ’within 2 hours’ I will receive all channels. What a long hold did not achieve to end my call a simple lie did. WOW #3.
Yes guys, you guessed it right. I did not get any channels except the above mentioned 3. So after 14 years I was getting used to DD Podhigai. Surprisingly they have not changed a bit in the last 14 years WOW #5.
So this continued daily, and we lost heavily on phone calls and more than that missed all of our fav programs, coincidentally most of them were from SUN TV. Now after 8 days with no solution in sight, I got agitated. So to pacify me they gave a new solution. There is no fault from their side, this they found out after 10 days. WOW #6.
I should contact my nearest distributor or from whom I bought this Set Top Box and they will send trained technicians to rectify the problem. As none turned up again I contacted 3940 7575 and they said to me ’within 2 hours’ I will get all my channels and this brought a smile to me and I couldn’t control my laughter. After 9 days, and going through few dozen calls the stories & details which I have not added here, I’m still hearing the same.
I had never seen a Parrot repeating in person, but these agents are awesome. So I disconnected my call and was saying to myself "live today, call another day". The next day I finally got a solution. They said they had escalated my issue to the complaints department and I will receive a call the next day. And I became furious. I have been calling 3940 7575 for more than a weekand now they are saying it 1 more day. A 0.0/100 to that Virtual Complaints Depatment that never called me even once. Now my Set Top Box has become like a oven, thanx to superlative customer service from Sun Direct. It was on for the past 1 week, and it became overheated.
As those agents have said keep the Set Top Box and TV on for the past few days so it has reached close to its melting point, whereas I who was orchestrating this circus for the past 10 days was surprised how low these agents can stoop to end their call. They really were not bothered about customer’s issue or the name & fame of Sun Network. The next day after going through the routine warming up lies of ’within 2hours’ and ’please perform a manual scan’ you will get all the channels stuff etc finally they gave me a solution.
I was relieved at last. I was given a mobile # to contact and it belongs to Zig Zag from Ashok Nagar, Chennai. They will send technicians to my place to rectify my Set Top Box as they finally found out where the problem lies. It’s my Set Top Box. This I know for a long time but Sun Direct can give you only tele support. It didn’t have any technicians to send to a customer’s place. On the first place they don’t have a trained set of agents to understand and resolve a customer’s issue.
So the calls are no longer directed to the Sun Direct Customer Service but to Zig Zag’s mobile number. Again waste of calls, money, time & effort from my side. They religioulsy collected my home address, contact number, nearest landmark etc and promised us they will come at 4:00pm. The next day when I called them they said they will come at 4:30pm. Improvement by 30 mins. WOW #8.
At 5:30pm when I called them, they said their technicians have already left and they will reach my home anytime. Yes that’s right. They did not turn up. For the past 10 days, it has been a lie feast whenever I dialled. The next day I called them and gave them a piece of my mind. After that whenever they saw my landline# on their cell they politely disconnected.
I was literally confused, whom should I contact or whether this will be like this till for the rest of my life. Previously Airtel’s service was great but is it possible to contact them in this issue ???
To be continued .......