One of our batch-mates had a rather sorry start to his 2nd year stint at XL. It had been barely a day since his return to campus, when one fine evening he misplaced his cell-phone during a casual game of cricket – the rest as they say is history. (both in terms of the event as well as the mobile)
After the initial search period, the logical course of action was to call up Airtel customer service to apprise them of the issue, block calls being made from the number and also to inquire about the procedure to obtain a duplicate Sim-card. (A duplicate Sim comes of great help in the sense that not only does it eliminate the need to call/message every contact to inform about a change in number, but also the entire balance at the time of blocking the card is credited to the duplicate Sim by the service provider)
From the customer care executive, it was learnt that the formalities for the duplicate Sim would have to be completed at the Airtel outlet at Bistupur. There is some truth in the Reliance TVC, which projects network as the next basic necessity after food, water and shelter – most of our generation cannot think of passing a day without access to one’s mobile. It was little wonder therefore that our friend set out that very evening for Bistupur, with me the Good Samaritan riding pillion (the first of many to come) to give him company.
At the Bistupur store, we were told that duplicate sim cards for XLRI would be available from the Sonari outlet of Airtel, and off we headed in that direction. However, the misery had just started for us. At Sonari (after waiting for close to half an hour), it was conveyed to us that the Sim cards allotted to XLRI students are unique, and were not available at that point of time. “9006- Series ka nahin hota to araam se aapko aaj hi duplicate Sim mil jaati” – said the man at a counter with a rather bemused face. It was only on further coaxing on our part that he divulged that there is another outlet at Bhalobasha on the Baridih route handled by a distributor, who could possibly stock the label-H3 sims. “Nahi to kal shaam tak aap ko yahin pe paake se mil jayegi” was his promise.
We decided to give the distributor outlet a try, before calling it a night. At the distributor outlet, worse news was waiting. “H3 sims are sourced from Calcutta, and hence have to be ordered. The earliest you can expect it is around ten days from now” – the owner had to say. He passed on his telephone number to us, asking us to call up and inquire, rather than coming down all the way. (Incidentally, in spite of our repeated requests, the Sonari outlet had refused to share their number with us, stating that on-phone service was not offered by them)
The next day, we headed for the Sonari outlet once again – and to our dismay, the card had not arrived. Thereafter, my friend and me made three more trips to the same outlet, each time being asked to return either the next day, or in a couple of days or the like. We finally got the duplicate Sim yesterday, not from the Sonari outlet, but after receiving a call from the Baridih distributor, true to his word and the time line stated.
I can’t help comparing the service here at Jamshedpur with the same situation in Bangalore where my colleague had lost his mobile, but was provided a duplicate Sim that very evening, after verification of the FIR report, from the Airtel showroom – no-frills. Call it consistency issues, call it small-town mentality or whatever, the conclusion that one can come to is that things definitely ain’t so SIMple out here …..
SERVICE RATINGS:
And now for the ratings (for the authorized Airtel outlet at Sonari):
a> Reliable - 1 (Definitely not. Beyond a point, we as customers had lost all faith in the assurances of the dealer)
b> Assurance - 2 (Yes, at the outset, which changed to a resounding NO with the passage of time)
c> Tangibles - 3
d> Empathy - 1 (Missing. Five trips to his shop in the sweltering heat, and still he bluntly refused to share his number)
e> Responsiveness - 3 (Except for the waiting time on the 1st day, the responsiveness was reasonably good)
[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]
After the initial search period, the logical course of action was to call up Airtel customer service to apprise them of the issue, block calls being made from the number and also to inquire about the procedure to obtain a duplicate Sim-card. (A duplicate Sim comes of great help in the sense that not only does it eliminate the need to call/message every contact to inform about a change in number, but also the entire balance at the time of blocking the card is credited to the duplicate Sim by the service provider)
From the customer care executive, it was learnt that the formalities for the duplicate Sim would have to be completed at the Airtel outlet at Bistupur. There is some truth in the Reliance TVC, which projects network as the next basic necessity after food, water and shelter – most of our generation cannot think of passing a day without access to one’s mobile. It was little wonder therefore that our friend set out that very evening for Bistupur, with me the Good Samaritan riding pillion (the first of many to come) to give him company.
At the Bistupur store, we were told that duplicate sim cards for XLRI would be available from the Sonari outlet of Airtel, and off we headed in that direction. However, the misery had just started for us. At Sonari (after waiting for close to half an hour), it was conveyed to us that the Sim cards allotted to XLRI students are unique, and were not available at that point of time. “9006- Series ka nahin hota to araam se aapko aaj hi duplicate Sim mil jaati” – said the man at a counter with a rather bemused face. It was only on further coaxing on our part that he divulged that there is another outlet at Bhalobasha on the Baridih route handled by a distributor, who could possibly stock the label-H3 sims. “Nahi to kal shaam tak aap ko yahin pe paake se mil jayegi” was his promise.
We decided to give the distributor outlet a try, before calling it a night. At the distributor outlet, worse news was waiting. “H3 sims are sourced from Calcutta, and hence have to be ordered. The earliest you can expect it is around ten days from now” – the owner had to say. He passed on his telephone number to us, asking us to call up and inquire, rather than coming down all the way. (Incidentally, in spite of our repeated requests, the Sonari outlet had refused to share their number with us, stating that on-phone service was not offered by them)
The next day, we headed for the Sonari outlet once again – and to our dismay, the card had not arrived. Thereafter, my friend and me made three more trips to the same outlet, each time being asked to return either the next day, or in a couple of days or the like. We finally got the duplicate Sim yesterday, not from the Sonari outlet, but after receiving a call from the Baridih distributor, true to his word and the time line stated.
I can’t help comparing the service here at Jamshedpur with the same situation in Bangalore where my colleague had lost his mobile, but was provided a duplicate Sim that very evening, after verification of the FIR report, from the Airtel showroom – no-frills. Call it consistency issues, call it small-town mentality or whatever, the conclusion that one can come to is that things definitely ain’t so SIMple out here …..
SERVICE RATINGS:
And now for the ratings (for the authorized Airtel outlet at Sonari):
a> Reliable - 1 (Definitely not. Beyond a point, we as customers had lost all faith in the assurances of the dealer)
b> Assurance - 2 (Yes, at the outset, which changed to a resounding NO with the passage of time)
c> Tangibles - 3
d> Empathy - 1 (Missing. Five trips to his shop in the sweltering heat, and still he bluntly refused to share his number)
e> Responsiveness - 3 (Except for the waiting time on the 1st day, the responsiveness was reasonably good)
[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]
No comments:
Post a Comment