Feb 08, 2012 09:20 AM
2610 Views
Bought a new LED TV and hence decided to have new TV connection. Being an Airtel Broadband & Mobile customer, I decided to order and AIRTEL DTH connection. On visiting the AIRTEL website, I found that there are some offers online and through phone ordering. Gave my mobile number to the website and a lady called me back to explain.
Date was 28th Jan 2012- Saturday: Lady started with offers and explains the packages. I wanted HD recorder so that kids can watch their favorite programs when they get time. I was quoted Rs.4199 /-. I wanted to make the payment by Net banking and she sends me a link. The email came from someone by name SANJAY MHATRE and they work for TRANSOURCE which is a partner for AIRTEL sales. I clicked on the link and the payment required was shown as Rs.1199/- I made the payment and got a call again from the same lady. When asked why this is only 1199 instead of 4199, she apologized and said she will send another email with balance Rs.3000. Within few minutes I got the second email and this time for Rs.3000. I made that payment also and was promised that within 24-48 hours someone will call me for installation.
Date was 29th Jan 2012- Sunday: No calls from AIRTEL. I decided to give one more day.
Date was 30th Jan 2012- Monday: Still no calls, I decided to call back. Trouble starts now. There are 2 different numbers for calling Airtel DTH. One for Existing customers, other one for New connections. I don’t have a customer ID as I have not yet got any connection or registered into the system. After many button presses and holds I got to talk to an agent. I explain my issue, he says this is done by another sales team and he can’t see any details. Takes down my number and promised to call me back within 1 hour. No calls from AIRTEL DTH till the end of the day.
Date was 31st Jan 2012- Tuesday: I get a call from AIRTEL DTH. The guy starts in HINDI automatically. He wants to know if I want to take an AIRTEL DTH connection! I explained to him that I have already fallen into the trap and asked him if he can help me get a status of my order and installation. He says I need to talk to the same people whom I purchased this connection. Is there a way I can talk to those guys? The agent cuts the call.
I called AIRTEL in the evening. An agent picks up, I narrate my story and frustration. He tells me that he will get back to me within 1 hour. I refuse to budge. He keeps me on hold to talk to his supervisor. After 5 minutes the call gets disconnected. I was late for office in the morning. So gave a call back again in the evening. Again, I had to narrate the whole story. This time he promises that the order will be forwarded to the installation people and within 24-48 hours I will get a call. I decided to give one more chance.
Date was 1st Feb 2012- Wednesday: Waited till evening. No calls again. I couldn’t call them as I was busy at work for the whole day. But I entered my complaint on the Airtel website.
Date was 2nd Feb 2012- Thursday: Finally a lady calls up, may be due to the complaint I entered on the Airtel DTH website. She assures me that I will get a connection within 24-48 hours! Evening, I got a call from the installation person in Bangalore. But he says his order shows and Standard Connection. Not HD or HD DVR. I gave him details that I have paid the amount for Rs.4199/. He was a polite guy and informed me that I have to sort out this with AIRTEL customer care itself. He can do only what is given to them. I called Airtel again and give the whole story. Now I have a customer ID as the installation guy created that on the system. But when I enter the customer ID I can see only Rs. 1000 or so in the account which is for a Standard connection. It took a long time for me to make the agent understand. They promise to call me back within 1 hour.
No more calls for the day from AIRTEL.
Date was 3rd Feb 2012- Friday: Another lady calls up and informs me that issue is sorted out and my connection will be done soon, possibly on Saturday. Exactly after 1 week after I ordered.
Date was 4th Feb 2012- Saturday: Installation guy calls up in the evening and informs me that they have instructed to give me an HD connection. Not HD DVR? Not again, I thought this is more than what I can take.
Date was 5th Feb 2012- Sunday: Called up Airtel and Cancelled the order. Before cancelling the guy says the usual ‘1 hour’ and ‘Will call me back’ etc. I stood firm and asked him to cancel this. Since no service was given to me I am expecting a full refund. The refund according to him will take 10-15 days. I am not sure if that is also like the 1 hour offer. As of today I am still waiting for the payment. There is no reference number, confirmation number etc to track this cancellation request though. Very poor system.
Key points to Note here:
Never take a AIRTEL DTH connection by phone or by paying online. Take from your local agent. Advantage is that you make the payment after the installation.
The people at the AIRTEL DTH customer care does not have a system where your calls or issues are tracked. Each time you have to start explaining from scratch.
They will not call you back within 1 Hour. That means, he has no clue what the issue is. They don’t hesitate to disconnect the call also.
Complaining on the web also does not get tracked. There is a link to track the complain number, but whatever you enter it will tell ‘No request found’!
If you have an issue, ask for Escalation department. Those guys at least seem to understand the issue. I am not clear if they can see the issue in their software though. So far no one really confirmed that they can see my payment done and issues raised etc. They will only take down your payment confirmation numbers to check with that team later. From the look of it, this is surely some pre-historic software.
