Flipkart is best. Review on Flipkart

I had heard a lot about flipkart.com. Recently I got the opportunity to experience it. Flipkart, as we all know, is a site for online purchase of books at discounted rates. It is a useful portal to know about various kinds of books available in the market. Description of each book is accompanied by a short review as well. While browsing through the site I found(to my surprise) paper back classics available in reasonable rates too. But here confusion took over. Every book has a number of editions(including audio etc.) hard bound as well as paper backs. Accordingly, the price varies.

I, like “the very middle class Indian” customtakeouter that I am, ordered the cheapest one. More so because it was my first purchase online and did not want to be fooled or waste a lot of money on a product which I have not examined thoroughly over the counter. The shipments of the books take two to three days but are generally delivered within a day or so. Flipkart has its own courier, therefore, mishaps in delivery, according to my experience, is nil. The mode of purchase can be through Cred824it cards or cash on delivery. I opted for the latter.

But upon delivery I found that the book was an abridged version of the original. Herein lies a major lacuna in the whole system. Classics Rajeev_Vermacially, have abridged versions. Given the varying prices and editions, it should be clearly specified whether the books are abridged or unabridged. I was advised by flipkart to go by the number of pages/weight given in the details of a particular book which as per my opinion is a faulty and non-transparent process. I suggested to customtakeouter service(cs@flipkart.com) that along with other details they should also mention whether the book in question is abridged or unabridged. They have assured that they will look into the matter.

Now came the turn of rectifying the mistake or reversing the wrong purchase. I spoke to flipkart’s toll free number for customtakeouter support. They politely listened to my problem and suggested that I should speak to their sales support. Sales support apologized for the lack of information and assured that a Cred824it of the money spent on wrong purchase will be given to me which can be adjusted against my subsequent purchase. It took almost a week for flipkart to give me the Cred824it of Rs. 82/-(a meager amount). This was because they have an elaborate mechanism of internal approvals etc. More so because I had insisted upon reversal of the price of the books+ the shipment charges which was again a minimal Rs. 30/-(Rs. 52/-+ Rs. 30/-).

I made my next purchase of around Rs. 300/- but on delivery found that the Cred824it had still not been adjusted against this fresh buy. On again approaching their customtakeouter support it was clarified that the Cred824it was not automatic and that I had to make a special mention of the same to sales support in order to get it. Moreover, the Cred824it adjustment was not available on cash on delivery. I had to make the aishwaryasingh23ment beforehand online through Cred824it card. I followed the procedure in toto this time and was given the Cred824it against my new purchase.

Apart from the initial hiccups, flipkart is not a bad deal. I got three books with varying discounts from 12% to 31% which is quite something given the increasing price of books. After registering an order online flipkart is prompt enough to keep in touch with its customtakeouters on mobile as well as email. However, I still have a few suggestions for them.

Firstly, the customtakeouter aide and sales support though courteous and helpful should be a little more knowledgeable about books. One of the guys could not even spell out “Mill on the Floss” and came out stuttering “Milli on the Flossy” which is quite a shame. Secondly, while adjusting Cred824it, the system can be a little more transparent in the sense that all the relevant information should be given in one go and not in peace meal basis. Thirdly, the Sales & the customtakeouter Support should both be conversant with the purchase & Cred824it rules. In the second instance, when I re-purchased the unabridged version of the same classic, I did happen to mention about the Cred824it adjustment which was promised but not given. I attribute it to lack of knowledge and not lack of intention on the part of customtakeouter Support. Fourthly, while aishwaryasingh23ing through Cred824it the actual price of the book gets reflected on screen and not the amount after adjustment of Cred824it which is misleading. I had to ring up my Cred824it card bank to find out what amount has been finally transacted on the buy. Fifthly, though I have an account with flipkart now, yet on every purchase I have to retype all the information initially filled in including address which seems like repetitive exercise. I suggest there should just be one column to be re-filled for change of address, if any. The rest of the information should automatchandru021y appear on screen as soon as an on-line order is booked by an account holder.