Open Letter to Airtel

Hi y'all,

The following is my open letter to Airtel. This is my way of airing my grievances. I don't expect Airtel to do anything, though.

Regs,

JAG

Open Letter to Airtel 

Hi Airtel, 

I am an irate Airtel Customer. Why am I irate? That’s because I have been in touch with Airtel Customer Care executives (CCE) since the 14th of May and NONE of my queries have been resolved in entirety. 

I was contacted by a Mr. VJ  on 22nd May ’09 (today) and asked to provide feedback of my experience via email. So here it is. Frankly speaking I am not expecting you guys to do anything about it. And that’s ‘cause the experience that I have had with Airtel Customer Care was PATHETIC so say the least. To say your customer care team is clueless when it comes to performing their duties would be an UNDERSTATEMENT. 

Nevertheless, I have listed down my issues in chronological order. Let me see if you do anything in terms of addressing / resolving the same.  

14th May: Called up 121 and spoke to Ms. CCE No:1. Requested a clarification on my bill. Was informed that I would receive a response in 24 hours. 

16th May: 48 hrs later. Still no response. I call up 121 and re-state my issues to a Ms. CCE No:2. She claimed that she is unable to access my account due to technical issues and promises to call me back in 30 mins. 

16th May: 2 hrs post my discussion with Ms. CCE No:2:  I call 121 again as Ms. CCE No:2 fails to call back. “Luckily” I get Ms. CCE No:1 to take my call. She, for her part promises the following:

1. that despite the back end team having closed my case, she would re-open it - How a case can be closed without informing the customer is beyond my understanding. 
   
2. that she would speak to her Manager, a Mr. Phani Kumar and ask him to personally return my call(s) on or before 14:15 hrs on 16thMay (i.e. within 60 mins of ending the present call)
   

18th May: Another 48 hrs go by and still no call from Phani Kumar or any one from Airtel. In my opinion, he should be called Funny Kumar. Why? Because his Managerial skills are a joke. 

I call up 121 and I get the “pleasure” of speaking to yet another customer care executive - No 3, who upon my insistence gets the really “efficient team leader” on the call. Pls. check the records and you will notice I spent close to an hour on this call. This “efficient team leader” finally accepts that my bill has indeed been mis-calculated and promises to give me a waiver. He too gives me a list of promises in terms of his deliverables. Pls. take note of the same:

1. the “efficient team leader” agrees to send me an SMS stating that I have indeed received a waiver. I did receive an sms but as expected the professionalism of the Airtel team was quite evident. The contents of the sms that I received is as follows: “The waiver has been approved for your Airtel Mobile”. Pls. note that there is no mention of the waiver amount or any other relevant detail.
2. After the“efficient team leader” had accepted the discrepancy in my bill, I had requested him to re-check my previous bills. He promised to do so and also to email me the soft copies of my bills – the last 4 bills to be precise. Today we are on the 22nd of May and predictably, I haven’t received any email from Airtel.  
3. My other service request was in connection with my online account at Airtel.in. I had visited the site and created a login id. Post which I had received an sms with my password. However, when I tried to login into my account I could not proceed beyond the first form. The reason being the Date of Birth field was not accepting any input. I briefed “efficient team leader” about this who very magnanimously offered to get it rectified at his end. He proceeded to even take down my DOB in this regard. I was assured once again that I would be able to access my online account within 24 hrs.  4 days later there is no change on this front either.  
   

I got to really hand it to you guys (read customer service team) for being consistent on one thing though. All of you were consistent to the point of perfection when it came to not delivering on your promises. Kudos to the entire team! 

I would like to sign off here.. 

Warm regards, 

Your Irate Airtel Customer.

Of journalism and headlines...

Today I received an email from a close friend. At first I thought it was just another forward. The subject line however caught my attention – Hats off to Indian News Channels! I quickly opened it; only to find the snapshot of a TV News Channel airing the latest “breaking news” – that ‘The Big B’ had caught a cold. It was then that the irony of the header struck me. I was appalled to see the channel which had recently been adjudged the best of its kind was passing off such trivial information as NEWS. I am sure the Big B’s die-hard fans would disagree, but I certainly felt short-changed. And that’s a definite understatement.

I still remember the observations of Jeffrey Archer – incidentally he is my all-time favorite author -in his book The Fourth Estate and I quote -

"In May 1789, Louis XVI summoned to Versailles a full meeting of the 'Estate General'. The First Estate consisted of three hundred clergy.
The Second Estate, three hundred nobles.
The Third Estate, six hundred commoners.
Some years later, after the French Revolution, Edmund Burke, looking up at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons, said, 'Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all.'"

Its incidents such as these that make me look down upon the journalist community. Whatever happened to real true blue journalism? The state of journalism in today’s world, to say the least is discouraging. This is more true when one looks at articles such as this one.

In today’s new age world of COMMERCIALISED news reporting, Sania Mirza’s short skirt and Saif’s Kareena tattoo – in deva nagari font (lest we forget) – are more important and noteworthy than any major crisis in any other part of the world. I vividly remember returning from work last week and having to put up with every other channel’s version of the Saif-Kareena love saga. WTF!

Now, I would like to set the record straight that I don’t believe all journalists are rank bad. The Burka Dutt’s of this world really leave me awe struck and make me wish I too was a journalist. But off late I see that more and more news agencies are letting the TRP ratings dictate the agenda of their coverage rather than go by the merit of the case. I wonder who is to blame -the media house that is pumping out the garbage or the viewer-class – including you & me – who demand it. This is probably one of the many ‘chicken or the egg’ questions. And it’s best to end the debate by saying they are equally responsible. Why? ‘cos it just ain’t worth the effort to determine who the real culprit is.

I don’t have anything against the Page 3 stuff either. After all the inherent need for variety is perhaps one of the traits that distinguishes us from god’s other creations. But at the same time I would prefer a clear divide between main stream news and Page 3 stuff. It’s the blurring of the boundary lines that I abhor. Having said that, I really can’t do anything - if the agencies continue with their endeavors in garnering higher rating - other than perhaps flip to the next channel and hope that B’ Dutt is online.

Why me???

Hi y’all,

Ever wondered why anything happens to You in particular? Well this “work” of mine materialized when I asked myself the same question. Ever heard the saying, “Everything that happens, Happens for a reason” ? Wonder what or who decides what should happen & when it should happen?

Honestly, I really don't know. And would love to find out. So if you do find the answer, pls. let me know. Till then keep thinking….

Cheers,
JAG


Why me?

Why me? Why me?
The chant grows within me.
It’s the million-dollar question, I want answered.
I seek here. I seek there. I seek for the answer everywhere; the answer till now but eludes me.
I seek, not a way out; but, the answer that eludes me.
Why me? Why me?
The chant grows within me.

I hear the Bell Toll; and I ask not, “For whom it tolls?”
But wonder, “Is it time yet?”
Why me? Why me?
The chant grows within me.

I would give my Life and some more.
If for once I could hear the chant NO-MORE!!!
Why me? Why me?
The chant grows within me.

Call it FATE. Call it DESTINY. But the fact remains ……I am ME.
Why me? Why me?
The chant grows within me.

my first blog..

They say the first step is always the tough one. Now That I have taken it, lets see how I fare in this new found land (well, it is to me) shall we?

For my first blog, I would like to pen my thoughts on the latest sensation (or SIN-sation – only time will tell!) to hit the automobile market – the Nano. Yes, I am talking about Ratan Tata’s People’s Car. The big question that comes to mind is whether the much talked about Nano is big No-No? (interesting play with words, right? No? What would you know..LoL).

In the Nano’s support are its refreshing looks, spaciousness – it is bigger than the M800, good build (so TATA claims) and adherence to emission norms (EURO 4 to be precise). And of course, it’s very attractive price tag. At the outset - talking from the perspective of guy who hasn’t got his first car yet - this is a dream come true - a definite boon to the country’s middle class. And I have a strong urge to rush to the nearest TATA showroom to book one. However, the fact that the car won’t be available till October - that's 9 months away (is this how soon-to-be fathers feel?) and that it hasn’t actually received the green light from its user base holds me back.

Now for the cons. Frankly, I don’t see many. I am more than a bit worried about whether our roads are going to get chocked – not that it’s a breeze driving these days. And of course let me not forget what a Nano in every household will translate in to for the environment. But with 18 new models hitting the Indian roads this year alone, I doubt if the environment would be any better off in the Nano’s absence.

From a marketing perspective, I like the way TATA has positioned the car – the people’s car. The company has cleverly positioned the car as an affordable alternative for two-wheelers by focusing on the perils associated with motorcycles & scooters. It is indeed sad to see a family of four doing a circus act on the roads.

I would like to end on the note that the Nano - despite the critics - to me, is a definite boon. Why? Because for a mere 1 lakh, the Nano promises to bring a smile on the faces of many-a-families. Kudos TATA!

a preamble...

hi y'all,

Welcome to my world - the world of an opinionated twenty-something adult male. Opinionated? Oh yes Siree! that is definitely me - why else would I be logged on to a blog site :)

Why am I here?

I just got introduced to this fascinating (that's a given, right?) world of blogs. In fact, I am just about to write my very first blog - my first step in virgin territory; so to speak. And I would like to start by setting the record straight. I am here to air my views (and my views only) about anything & everything that takes my fancy – be it the very mundane or the very interesting. The only criteria for selection/inclusion being that the topic should be of interest to me - after all, I do need to write about it (grin).

I strongly believe that No topic is taboo or off limits. So pls. be advised that you may end up reading about stuff that may not be entirely to your liking. Guess this is where I need to include the warning / disclaimer, “if you are not of the permissible age or someone who is mild at heart or just plain stuck up, be advised that this site is not meant for you. And if you were to get irked by any or all of my comments, pls. understand that any discomfort caused is purely unintentional”. Also, pls. don't waste your time in trying to reason with me. 'cos you really don't have to. I whole heartedly recognize your right to your opinion. With that, I would like to jump right in to ‘my first blog’...