[Resolved]  Airtel — Truth about the worst telco in the country - Airtel

My no is [protected]. I used to be a satisfied Airtel pre-paid cust, but maybe that is because i never had to deal with airtel's cust service!
After using this number for abt 4 yrs or so, I committed a crime; I got this number converted to a post pay under Airtel's corporate plan for HCL employees.
So this is how the story begins.
I was asked by the DSA guy to submit my docs that included abt 6 different docs (including my salary slip for some reason) and a cheque for one year's advance rental. No probs so far, i gave him my documents a cheque for Rs 699. He gave me the sim a day after, and then began my misery. First of all, the incompetency in Airtel is at such an astounding high, it took them over a week to get the sim activated. I though, ok, let it be. A month later, i got an sms from airtel stating that i havn't submitted my docs, and my services would be restricted if i dont submit them by so n so date. OK... first blow... i called up cust service, maybe for the first time, some guy who could hardly construct a sentence, answered the call, coudn't understand a of what i was saying, so he put the call on hold and then released the call. Nevermind, i called up again, just to talk to a greater lunatic, who, in some alien dialect (i am not sure of the language, maybe it was English..!) told me that my docs are not registered with the company and i need to go to the "nearest airtel outlet" to submit them again. OK... i guess beggars (thats what companies like Airtel think of its custs) are not choosers, i went to the airtel outlet in sec-18 NOIDA, and submitted my docs again. No worries, i thought that was it. However, the at Airtel had other plans.
I got a similar sms informing me that my services are restricted as i havnt submitted my docs! I was like w.t.f... Called up cust service, again, gave them the request number the guy from airtel outlet had given me, and guess what the exec told me that the number is not recognized by the system, and there is no way by which they can retrieve any information by "any complaint number". Moreover this time the exec told me an entirely different story (i strongly believe that either cust care execs at airtel are not at all trained, and if they are, they are trained by trainers from different planets!!!). The lady told me that in case of missing documents, custs cant produce the docs at any outlet, they are required to fax them to a certain number. ok... Anyway, she gave me the number, and i faxed the documents, now please take a note that all this while my services are restricted. Anyway, she also promised that the services will be restored in about 24-48 hours of the receipt of the fax. Two days passed, nothing happened. Called up cust care again, spoke to some "supposed manager" who said that he has marked a complaint, and he gave me a complaint number in the same format as the outlet guy. I told mr. manager that this number is of no good (as told to me by the previous exec), but he assured me and stuff, so once again i was like... ok... anyway... fortunately my services were restored after that and i thought, fine, now it is finally over. But i guess, with a company like airtel to deal with, i was too early on my decision. A few days later, i received my monthly bill, and guess what, the freaks at airtel had added 699 to my outstanding instead of my payments. I called up HDFC to check whether the cheque has been cleared or not. They told me the cheque has been cleared. They gave me all the details associated, such as, cheque number, transaction ID, airtel's bank a/c name, date, time, etc. Anyway, with all the details i called up Airtel cust service, again...! The guy told me that airtel is once again limped to an extent that they cant verify anything with the cheque transaction details i was providing and told me that i need to send a "cheque clearance certificate" to airtel to get the payment updated.
Called up my bank to place a request for the certificate, however they told me that it would be mailed to my office address (HCL).
By this time i had left HCL, and had started working with media. So i had to go to my bank's main branch in Janakpuri, from NOIDA (if you know what i mean) to get the address changed. Anyway, i received the certificate in about a weeks time and (as told by airtel exec) faxed it. As usual nothing happened! I had already made the payment of the remaining amount besides this 699. Now one fine day, when i was on roaming, to be precise in Aligarh, i started receiving reminder calls to make the payment (everytime from a different number). A little tired to elaborate all the 9 calls i had received. Anyway, after about 4 days and a collective one hour forty seven minutes on the phone, the day had come for me to come back Delhi (dont worry, despite recurring requests and elaborations to 9 different asses working for airtel, i was still getting these reminder call). So, once i was back, i called up cust service, yet again! And again and again! Finally i got the privilege to speak to a sane homo sapien in airtel. The guy took the cheque number and other details, put the call on hold for a while, when he got back he told me that airtel, has credited my cheque wrongly towards the acc of a diff cust and he has placed a request to make the necessary amendments in the account, and the payment will be updated in 24-48 hrs. It dint, ofcourse, however maybe i was lucky this time, that the payment got updated in about 5 days. Wonderful.

Now i have a series of questions and some problems as well. Lets get started with the questions:

1. If you analyze the whole case, you would find that when my new sim was activated, airtel neither had my documents, nor the cheque. How the four-letter-word could they activate the sim...???

2. When the company policies requre the customer to fax the documents under such scenario, why was i told to submit the documents at "the nearest airtel outlet"...???

3. When processing missing doc request was something beyond his scope of support, why did the guy at the aritel outlet accepet the documents...???

4. Why are customers not given complaint/request numbers even when they demand...???

5. Why in the next cust care exec alway incapable of processing these request numbers even when they are given...???

6. If its a case of the company's incompetency, such as the case of a wrongly ledgered cheque, why should the cust bear the consequences...???

7. Even when i told every exec that the outstanding amount is in dispute and also, that i am in roaming, why the reminder calls did not stop...???

8. When it was a clear case of wrong ledger entry, why was all the previous execs NOT able to find that out...??? How come only one learned person in a bunch of lunatics claiming to be the leading telco of the country...???

9. Why there is no supervisor/manager available anytime...??? That is just not possible. A plain bluff by cust executives!

10. Why the company makes false promises, the 24-48 hour crap...???

Now the problem... Well for the last few days i am trying to get in touch with cust service, yet again! This time, these primary school drop-outs from airtel have used some algorithm with my bill even aryabhatta would fail to understand. Its been three days since i am trying, i am calling 121 and [protected], with no success so far. The call gets connected evrytimes fine, but when i finally make my way through the crappy IVR to the prompt that asks me to wait while being transferred, either the wait music is followed by "All lines are busy" or if i am lucky, i get to hear the phone ringing, it is always followed by silence (maybe some freaky exec with the system on mute... incompetent cowards...!), and then the call gets disconnected.
Now, from today, when i finally press '9' after reaching the part where the IVR asks to press '9' to speak to cust care exec, i get the prompt to type 'airtel' and send it to 121. And know what a fool i am, i did THAT as well! Just to realise that it does nothing besides the service menu offered by *121#.

'Pathetic' is the word that best describes Airtel as a company. Dying to see the day when number portability would be a reality, and i can assure you i'd be the first one to use the service. The company has got to be "good enough" to deal with, being "big enough" is actually NOT a big deal!

Now, if all this goin to the right person (about which i am rather doubtful), i would like to mention that i have recordings of the all the calls (41 and counting) i have made/attempted to airtel cust service, and i am looking for an apology letter, a compensation, and a resolution for my ongoing problem; you might hear it everyday, but i'd have to call the court under AFI (actual financial loss), RTI (right to information), mental harassment and personal disgrace among a dozen other categories suggested by my lawyer.

Hope to see a butterfly effect...!