Airtel Broadband — Highly Deploring Customer Service

Produced below is the mail sent to the Nodal Officer - South of Airtel, looking for a resolution to my problem. To my utter dismay, after a lapse of more than 24 hours, I have not even got an acknowledgement for this mail / complaint. The website states on one page about customer grievance being addressed by Nodal Officers who would respond within 48 hours with a resolution. On another link in the same website providing the contact information of Nodal Officers, there is an underlying statement that a minimum of 10 days time is required for resolving any complaint...

Not sure if Airtel really understands CUSTOMER SERVICE...Height of sickening is speaking to any person in the Airtel Call center for customer care...they neither understand the customer's problem and come out with a resolution nor allow the customer to escalate to some other level for getting the problem resolved...GOD ALONE CAN SAVE THE CUSTOMER WHOEVER HAPPENS TO CALL UP AIRTEL CUSTOMER CARE FOR SOME COMPLAINT / SUPPORT.

Mail Text of the complaint sent to Airtel :

I had been using a Broadband connection at my home, through BSNL for over the last couple of years. Quite recently, I started running into frequent problems with the same and on enquiries from the market, got very promising feedbacks regarding the services and connectivity of Airtel Broadband. Becoming quite ambitious, I wanted to explore the possibility of getting an Airtel Broadband connection at home.

After lots of initial exploration, I landed up at one of your centres through telephone and on giving my initial details and interests, they took a couple of days of their sweet time in understanding the feasibility of this installation. I was given to understand that formal applications are entertained only after this feasibility study. To my fortune or rather I would like to term it as misfortune for now, they confirmed feasibility and one of the Sales Representatives came into contact.

The Sales representative's name is Mr. Elamurugan[protected].

He came home and got my application filled up on 30th March 2008 vide your Application / Bill No. 699713 and also gave me a receipt for the Rs.500 cash taken towards registration charges vide receipt number ZA 15273. Though the formalities got completed on 30th March, since it commenced with his previous visit on 29th March, these documents are dated 29th March 2008.

When he left after completing his documentation formalities, he assured that he would get the connection installed ASAP - max. 3 days and even committed out of the usual Salesman's anxiety level that he would go all out for getting it installed even before Monday 31st March evening. Nothing actually happened over the last week. Having already paid the money and looking eager to go online, I started following up from last friday. Even last friday evening, when I spoke to Elamurugan, I was assured that latest by the weekend, he would get it installed.

The weekend passed and Monday morning, I spoke to him and again got evasive responses. In a bid to escalate and really understand as to what exactly is going on, I tried reaching your Customer care number. Spoke to a pleasing gentleman by name Mr. Venkat, who registered a complaint on this vide reference 5417324 with an assurance that the installation would happen either on 7th April itself by evening or latest by 10 AM on 8th April. Had to keep waiting because I had no other options.

As usual, nothing happened on 7th / 8th April and finally on the evening of 8th April, I tried reaching Customer care referring to this complain for following up. I spoke to someone whose name I forgot and he was again giving round about replies without any clear commitments. Infact he mentioned that for any complaint lodged, the redressal time was 48 hours for closure and the Technical Team starts actually working on complaints only when the deadline of 48 hours is being approached. PATHETIC WAY OF HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS - all the more mysterious was when the service level committed is clear being 48 hours, how did the first gentleman go ahead and promise me that this would be looked into within 24 hours - AS A CUSTOMER, WHEN WE REACH AIRTEL CUSTOMER CARE NUMBER, ALL WE TRUST AND BELIEVE IS THAT WE ARE SPEAKING TO PEOPLE WHO ARE VESTED WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY O[censored]NDERSTANDING AIRTEL's PROCEDURES THOROUGHLY AND BALANCE THE SAME TO THE CUSTOMER NEEDS SO THAT EVEN IN THE EVENTUALITY OF A GRIEVANCE, TEH CUSTOMER IS NOT TOTALLY IN THE DARK - seems all these Customer Satisfaction theories are myths with Airtel.

I wanted to really understand the situation and basically speak to some responsible official from Airtel, who could also understand my plight as a customer. The second gentleman was neither giving me an understanding response nor was he cooperating with my request for putting me across to the concerned person. Yet another excellent advantage of a Call center because the Customer never has the option of talking to the same officer again and the Customer will also not be able to get the phone numbers of responsible and senior officials for any escalation to resolve pending issues. ONLY THE ALMIGHTY KNOWS HOW YOUR INTERNAL METRICS ON TEAM PERFORMANCE REALLY WORKS AND HOW SATISFIED YOUR CUSTOMER BASE IS, IN TERMS OF REALITY.

After a long resistance from my side to be put across to someone else, I was put across to Mr. Bhoopathy, who introduced himself as the Floor Supervisor and as being a responsible person. When I explained him my plight, he again gave me an assurance stating that the complain would certainly be closed by 9th April 2008. But even after these calls, no one from Airtel has even bothered to give me a call back or visit my house for going ahead with the installation proceedings.

Your Sales representative is no more interested in talking to me because he is done with his job of bringing in one application along with the registration fees, basically adding up to the Company revenues and also his incentives.

I am no more interested in speaking to your Customer Care because I feel that no better than me going and wasting my time simply even to get through to someone who will really talk sense corresponding to the reality of the scenario.

One last hope I still carry is that I might get some attention by this mail being addressed to an esteemed Nodal Officer, but do not take me wrong, I am not sure as to what sort of response I will really get from you. Whether this mail gets your attention or just gets into your trash or junk. But without jumping into any conclusions, I am making this last attempt to see if someone in Airtel really cares about a Customer.

All along over the last 10 days, I had been hearing different concoctions / stories / imaginations from various members in the Airtel Team - your Sales guy told me that since from the nearest junction box, my home connection will require laying of 100+ metres of cable and it would be better if I could do some active marketing within my apartment complex to have someone also subscribe for an Airtel connection - I would have lost face with my neighbours too had I really gone into some stupid activities based on this. Without getting a responsible answer from Airtel, I would also have ended up squeezed to provide a reply to my neighbour who would have got into this proposal based on my advise. I THANK THE ALMIGHTY FOR SAVING ME FROM THIS.

One day the Sales guy says 100+ metres cable laying needs to happen - but the other day, he comes up and says that he is waiting for approval from ICICI Bank or the apartment behind ICICI Bank but in reality my apartment is road facing and is just on the other side of a 40ft road which houses both ICICI Bank and my apartment. NOT SURE IF HE HIMSELF FINDS ANY SENSE IN SUCH MISLEADING STATEMENTS TO A CUSTOMER, JUST FOR THE HECK OF SAVING HIS SKIN FOR AN UNJUSTIFIED DELAY IN INSTALATTION OF A NEW CONNECTION.

Can I look forward to any responsible person jumping into the fray to address my plight????????