Respected sir/madam,
This is regarding the service from customer care, airtel.
My issue is regarding my post paid bill for the month of september-october 2017. I was charged exorbitantly for one of the isd calls. On calling the customer care, the representative was unable to help me. He kept repeating that calls to country code 6113 is charged rs. 118/ min while i made calls to 0061. I did not deny the fact that i called the australian number, at any point during the conversation. However, i was surprised to see that i was charged high when the charges should have been approx. Rs. 13/min (According to the information available on the website, which i found out myself on the internet while on the call). I repeated this several times to the base level representative, who was unable to clarify the issue (Or provide the right website address for even standard isd rates with detailed information) and the call was further taken to the supervisor. The supervisor clarified that the call was made to a special number and separate charges will be levied. I agreed, however i repeatedly requested the floor supervisor to provide the website where i can find the information as i make multiple calls to international numbers and i needed more clarity on which numbers carry such charges. I was again asked by the supervisor to message the customer care number to receive the charges that would be levied for each country (As a easy way out instead of searching the website). I was not happy with the information and i repeated the request again, at which point, the supervisor relayed that he will get back with the details in 10 minutes. I have been a customer with airtel for 8 years. And, i have repeatedly come across situations where the customer care representative have not called back regarding some or the other information. Personally, this has only forced many of our family members to change the provider. I relayed this information to the supervisor and he promised to get back. Because i did not believe on the promise (Which have been made and not met before for some other complaints), i stayed on the line while they tried to come back with the information.
Meanwhile, the manager -
Mr. Ganesh babu,
Chennai santhome head office
- got on phone and spoke very rudely to me. The whole call took approximately 40 minutes during which i was put on hold several times. These are some of the claims he made,
1. I am wasting airtel employee's time and i am unable to accept the point that the information is not available on the website and i should enquire airtel before making international calls everytime.
2. I am trying to get waiver and i am trying to put in a fake complaint stating that i did not make the call (At no point during the conversation i said that i want a waiver, or i never denied making those calls. The first customer care rep gave wrong details on the country code. I merely replied that the country code that you are mentioning is wrong, i called australia).
He was disrespectful and very harsh. At no point, i lost my temper nor was i being disrespectful to any of the individuals i spoke. I know that the representatives merely represent the company and they cannot be shouted at for the shortcomings from the side of airtel. Yes, i openly do not like the service provided by airtel, but i never showed any disrespect to any of the individuals who spoke to me. I am happy for the calls to be analysed. Being a long term customer with airtel, i have come across really poor service from their side several times. I have been planning to change the provider and i just merely mentioned the fact that unfortunately airtel's activity are in such a way that they push loyal customers away. This just made him to make so many unwanted claims and suggestions on what i was trying to communicate in a very harsh manner.
Again, i am happy for the airtel higher to analyse the phone calls and take action accordingly. I made the call on 10 october 2017 at 7:56pm. Frankly, at no point i asked for a waiver nor did i beg for anyone to reduce the money.
I think, as a customer, it is not wrong to have open information available somewhere (These are provided by other mobile operators available in countries abroad where they list the numbers that will be charged special rates). The request was made only having that thought in mind, however the manager had the audacity to shift the blame and put unwanted claims on the reasons for my call. He was very bold in giving his details and openly said that i can escalate this issue anywhere i wanted and he thinks what he has done is right.
I would like the consumer board to please kindly look into this. Again, this is not regarding the money that needs to be paid. If i have utilized the service, i have to pay. I am clear regarding that. However, the unavailability of information openly on the website and the rude behavior of the manager warrants appropriate action.
Thank you,
Srividya
Airtel customer support has been notified about the posted complaint.
As a result, most of the banks and other institutions nowadays have switched to the 1860 helpline numbers instead of the traditional toll-free 1800 or other numbers.
Most of the people these days have been equipped with the unlimited plan and I mustn’t say, people keep ringing these institutions for no valid reason and due to the long call queue, people in need actually couldn’t get in touch with the support staff. The strategy certainly help these institutions to keep the call flow in control but it can be a pain in the neck for the genuine callers as well. Sometime the IVR takes time like 5 minutes or more than that, in such cases genuine callers may end up paying a huge amount, if they frequently call on 1860 numbers.