Nov 19, 2013 12:13 AM
45152 Views
I think my title says it all. I had registered with another Matrimonial site and based on some initial activity on Shaadi( as a free member), I thought of giving Shaadi a try. I logged into my free account and(just like with other matrimonial sites), a representative(so called "Customer Executive Officer") immediately called me on my registered number so they can start to sell their "Assisted Services" membership.
I was not buying into that, but instead bought their Premium Membership(busted!). There were plenty of profiles(or seemed like) that came up on my match board when I was a "free" user. I am now a Premium Member(and I am stuck for one year because they would not refund my membership fees) and I dont see much activity happening.
Everytime I call Shaadi.com, they are only interested in selling their assisted services and give a reason that I am not logging on enough number of times because of which I am not getting many responses(this is BS) and that is why I should take up their "Assisted Service".
Before even I upgraded to premium, I had a concern about one of the filters in the search criteria not appearing - Gothra. Not everyone may be going by horoscopes match, etc, but there are plenty of families(South Indian, more specifically) for whom horoscope match is very important(or a basic necessity). According to that, the boy and girl cannot have the same Gothra as they are then considered siblings(there are some exceptions to this, but lets just keep it simple for now)!
The "Officer" who spoke with me convinced me that the facility is available for paid members and that he would give me a call to help me use that filter(After two months into the premium membership, I am yet to receive the phone call and I dont see the filter for Gothra).
Most of the profiles that come up in my search/matches have the same Gothra as mine, making it extremely difficult for me to separate the ones I can look at. But, as far as Shaadi is concerned, they are sending me "so called" matches, so this automatically disqualifies me from seeking a refund or even asking for it!
The other issue I have had is the nagging, untimely phone calls I kept receiving from the "Officer" before I paid. Once after I paid, it has been quiet since. This is not the way they should be selling their service. I may shred off the$180 I paid for their premium service for one year, but there are plenty of families out there for whom this is a lot of money.
If shaadi.com doesn't offer good quality service after the payment is taken out of the customer, then that, according to me, is called CHEATING! While I agree that this matrimonial thing is a business, but it should also provide the equivalent service that it claims to offer people in return for the money they pay.
For some, shaadi.com may have worked, but for me being from South India, I dont think there are as many South Indian profiles out there on Shaadi(it may seem like there are, but those profiles are also present on other matrimonial websites). So, if you are from South India(especially Tamilnadu), dont bother to register with these guys.
Be a free member and do whatever search you can as a free member. DON'T buy into their lies( or constant nagging phone calls to make you pay). You can look for other Matrimonial services. They MAY BE AS BAD AS shaadi.com in terms of after sales service or the lies that they say to buy you into some Paid Membership, but I am sure there are a lot more profiles than Shaadi on those sites(South Indian - Tamil profiles, that is. I cannot speak on behalf of other communities or castes as that would be misleading) and additional filters to make your search easier.
Good luck with your partner search!
