Jul 25, 2009 06:13 PM
2649 Views
I bought a Tata Indicom Walky postpaid phone in January this year. The reasons for selecting Tata Indicom were several. First, they claim theirs to be the least clogged network. Second, their tariff plans were attractive. Third, association with the much revered Tata brand.
I started facing a problem with my Tata phone that it used get switched off while in use. And then, on switching it back on, it used to work fine until it would go off the next time. Since the phone usage was low initially, I did not notice the problem. Nevertheless, I did take cognisance of the problem during the 6-month warranty period and contacted the nearest service centre in Faridabad. The service centre here is a stark contrast compared to the service centres other telecom companies have set up.
It looks just like a shabby government office (and as I realized later, the people there also sport a government official like attitude). But, let me not describe the ambience of the office as actions are much more important than the appearance. The engineer there without much inspection told me to get my phone's software reloaded. I requested him to do as he said. Then came the first shock. He said that he was not sure if they had a datacable for my phone and he will ask his colleague to look for it the next day and if he can't find it, they will send my phone for a mere software reload to the Karnal office.
Since I did not want my phone to be stranded with the service centre, I requested the engineer to arrange for the datacable so that I could return to the service centre after 4-5 days and get its software reloaded then. After waiting for 4-5 days, I again went to the service centre. This time, I was a bit luckier as the person who knew about the datacable's whereabouts had paid a chance visit to the centre (as he had quit from the job there). The engineer (and it was a different one this time; someone from Karnal!!!) told me that it would take about an hour and I could choose to wait or come back after the stipulated time. I chose to sit back and wait. Much to my surprise, the engineer finished with the work in 15 minutes.
I was really happy that my phone had been repaired so quickly. The engineer, also happy, made me sign the job sheet taking my acknowledgement that the software had been reloaded. I had almost left for home when it struck me to atleast make a call and check if my phone was working fine. To my horror, it was not. It just stopped making any calls. I rushed back to the service centre and showed it to the engineer. He reloaded the software several times again but to no avail. Finally, after having tried for about half-an-hour, he had no clue as to what the problem was but the version he gave me was that the phone's hardware (it's main board) would have to be changed. I asked him how much time it would take and he said that it would take a "maximum" of one week and that I could enquire about the status after 3-4 days. Not so happy,
I submitted my phone at the service centre and went back home hoping for a timely (not quick) repair. After 3-4 days, I called the service centre to enquire about the status and what came was not the status but another shocker. I heard the answerer and his colleague saying between themselves that the phone was nowhere to be found. However, the answerer told me that my phone was safely with them and he would get back to me about the status within 10 minutes. And it was not just this time that they promised to call me back and didn't but this happened everytime I called them. And, I am sure that I must have called them atleast 20 times. The next day, I personally visited the service centre (yet again) only to find out they still did not have any clue about the whereabouts of my phone.
This time I raised my voice and made the engineer look for my phone. It was not without my help that he was finally able to find it in one of the unlocked drawers that any outsider can have very access to. But this was not it. The service centre's copy of the job sheet still not found. The engineer told me that it's not a problem as a new jobsheet can be made!!! Anyway, that was not my problem as I had the customer copy with me. This time the engineer gave me another date 3 days later. The service centre's track record continued and I again had to follow up continously to get my hands on the "repaired" set a delay of just one day. However, the problems did not end here either. The phone was not in a working state. The service centre personnel told me that since the phone's main board has been changed, it will have to be reactivated from the backend and that they have sent a request to the concerned department to get it reactivated. Again, it took continuous following-up on my part to have the phone activated in not less than 3 days. It might sound that this was the end of it, but NO. Now, my phone works, as in I can make and receive calls, but the called party cannot hear what the caller says.
I have described my experience with Tata Indicom above in a very detailed a manner, probably pointing out every small instance of inefficiency on the company's part. The concept of good after-sales service does not exist in India but at the same time, the standard of service at Tata has been extraordinarily poor. And, as I have realized now, it's just not me but other Tata Indicom customers as well who are having a bad time having their Tata products serviced. After saying so much, I really don't think it necessary to make it explicit whether I recommend Tata Indicom to another person.
