Okay, you must have read several open complaints on the web and this is no different from them.
I am so fed up with the customer service, rather the lack of it, of two of the biggest companies in the communications sector, Tata Indicom and Reliance.
I'll start with Tata Indicom. Went to the Indiranagar's office one weekend and duly filled the application for a post paid broadband connection (photon +) and submitted all the documents except the address proof. The guy, lets call him Raj, promised me that he will send somebody the next Tuesday to my place to deliver the USB modem on payment of Rs 3500 (price of the device) and on submitting a copy of residence address proof. He gave me his mob. no. and the office landline no.
Guess what, nobody turned up for the whole of the next week and neither Raj, who assured me of the connection, nor anybody else at the office bothered to pick up my calls. The phones were either ringing or busy. Finally the next weekend I went to the office to find out if anybody's alive. And there they were not just alive but alive and kicking ! I was informed that Raj was on leave for the day and that nobody else can tell me the status of my application since it is locked in his cupboard !
So I went back disappointed and tried again in vain to contact Raj. I had to go to my native place after that and though I was still using my mobile (on roaming), I never received any call from Raj or any of his callous office mates.
After returning to B'lore, I decided that I would forget about Tata Indicom and try Reliance instead. I went to their website and registered myself. Promptly, the next morning I received a call from a person called Mayukh (from Delhi, I guess) enquiring for some details such as my address so that they could deliver the modem at my house. I was informed that somebody from the office would come to my place the next day and that I was to keep my documents and cash ready, which I did. The following day, I kept receiving calls continuosly from more than a couple of different people from Reliance, disturbing me during peak office hours, eager to confirm the deal. To cut the story short, somebody did come to my residence later in the day and collected the documents and money. He griped that the HR letter for residence address proof was not in a format that they wanted. I brushed aside his bickerings saying that I was not informed earlier of the required format and that if the UK visa office had no issues with the current format, why should Reliance see a problem with it. The guy consented hesitantly and gave me the device after I paid for it online. He went away assuring that somebody would contact me to activate the device and gave me his office number as well as his manger's no.
I must say that this was the turning point of the whole story and I am kicking myself for being too naive. Anyways, I waited for a couple of days but no one contacted me about activating the connection. So I tried calling the office and as usual nobody picked up. I tried several times with the same outcome. Frustrated by this, I directly called the manager and was so happy when he picked up the phone to answer me. He explained that my calls were not being answered because there was nobody at the office and gave me somebody else's number, lets call him Albert, and assured that if I contact him my problem would be sorted out. After repeatedly calling Albert, he finally answered my call and informed me that my residence address proof was rejected since the the format was different from the one that Reliance accepted and also that my company was not 'listed'. One of the largest aircraft manufacturing companies in the world, not listed ! Ridiculous. Anyway, having realized that I cannot argue with a fool, I agreed to mail him a scanned copy of my house rent agreement the following day. He called me up to acknowledge it, and like any other salesman trained to lie through their teeth, assured me that the device will be activated by the end of the day.
So I went back home in the evening thinking that all will be well and that I will finally have my high speed connection to the internet. Again, what was I thinking ! Device still not activated. Furiously, I jabbed at my phone to call Albert. The phone rang but I guess he was too busy pouring sweet words into another stupid customer's ears that he didn't answer my call. I immediately tried calling the office and the manager. No reply again as usual. Its been more than 20 hrs, and I haven't received a call back from Albert or any other Reliance personnel or the guy who called from Delhi in the beginning despite me sending messages to them that I no longer wish to use their connection. All that these guys are interested in doing is just selling the product and getting the money from you. After that, , if you have anything to ask, you will get a treatment that is not very different from that of an unwanted orphaned child begging on the side walk.
So buyers beware !
