With all the troubles I had with the local cable guy, the news about the launch of TATASKY DTH service was music to my ears. Though similar services existed already in the market, the name TATA has inspired me
to switch to the DTH service with Tatasky. Initially things happened smoothly
and I patted myself on the back for having a taken the right decision. Now,
insteadof the visual treat, I am seeing stars (!!!) & I am seriously contemplating
about kicking myself in the a* for having taken such foolish decision.
Fallen from Frying Pan in to the Fire !!
*1.The
company has taken the customers for granted. *
The
subscription was raised to Rs.300 from Rs.200 prevalent at the time of launch.
The company even had the cheek to call it a “super saver pack”!! I can only
grind my teeth
and bear with the joke played on me by Tatasky because I had already committed
a significant amount towards the purchase of decoder box.
*2.The
company has concealed information by choosing not to disclose the same.*
The
company has cleverly concealed the information about the ownership of the dish.
Even the installation team was VERY PROFESSIONAL about installing the dish
WITHOUT ever mentioning this point. A TATA company can do such immoral (not
illegal ofcourse!) things. Effect of “Sky” in “TATASKY” ?? Or is it
the effect of the mighty TATA going GLOBAL !!
3.
*The recent decision to drop 13+2 channels without bothering to find out the
customer preferences. What made the company think that these channels are not
required ?*
Not
even a single alert was issued to customers on the day when these channels were
dropped.
4.
*The bouquets that were advertised defy all logic and anybody with an iota of
brain will be forced to choose the “Jumbo” and end up paying the highest.*
The
company is forcing the customers to accept a Jumbo package leaving them
absolutely no choice whatsoever. The so called packages “Starter”,
“Family”, ”Western” etc. are designed such that there will be no takers at all
and there is no alternative
for the Jumbo pack!
It
is a Hobson’s choice !! The Jumbo name is very appropriate because it is a
White Elephant for the consumers!!
5.**Deceptive
Pricing ?*
Let
us look at what you are giving vis-a-vis your competitor for paid and free
signals: Movies/Sports/News/Kids/Music/Info : Dish TV - 73
and Tata Sky - 58.
Regional
:
Dish TV - 32 and TataSky
Free to
Air :
Dish TV - 29
and Tata Sky- 18
So
the Bottom line is that Dish is Offering around 134 Channels against
your miserly 93 channels.This means that we are being charged without
receiving those 30 channels for the same price!!!
6.**Cost
of Service "Free to Air" *
Tata sky has 12 KU Band Transponders and are paying to ISRO
around Rs.500 Million / PA. It is fair to assume the other costs of up
linking and maintaining would be another Rs. 220 Million / PA. So assuming
a customer base (at least for calculation purposes) of around 1
million (could be more), the per year cost per customer works to around Rs.
720/- PA i.e., the fixed cost of Tata Sky per customer should be
around Rs. 60 per month.
So why is that starter pack of yours that has free to air
and regional channels priced at Rs. 160/- ??? **DD direct is offering
better and more channels absolutely FREE !!
7.Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
So when TataSky wants a-la-carte (pick-and-choose) why are
they not offering the
same to consumers? Should we also go to TDSAT with our grievances ?
- Clueless Customer Service.
The customer service is generally clueless about everything.
They can not do anything much other than saying “Thank You for your feedback”. When I called customer service to find out why
the channels were dropped, they said **“the channels were dropped because
TDSAT has asked TATASKY to drop these channels !”*
This is atrocious !! They are misleading the customers.
This is a misinformation campaign
by TATASKY to suppress the facts and cover up the truth. We are not asking for a Free Lunch, but we do
not want to pay for yourLunch/Dinner either !
It is obvious that the company is fleecing the customers @Rs.100/- per
month (minimum).
*Way forward for TATASKY
*1. Fix a reasonable base price say @Rs.60-Rs.80/- for free-to-air
signals. Offer all channels a-la-carte on a cost basis. Stop fighting with
other broadcasters ! Instead, negotiate for better pricing on individual
channels or smaller groups of channels. Let the
customer decide which of those groups/channels he/she would like to see. Let
there be transparency in your pricing. May be you can offer premium movie
channels @10/- & others can be @3 to 5/-. *
Do not try to decide what I shall watch with my Rs. 300/- !! Believe me, I am better at doing that because I am watching. *
- Showcase movie pricing should be in touch with market values. You may
not (obviously) agree with me but I feel it should not be more than Rs.20/-
