[Resolved]  Airtel Digital TV DTH Services — Service lapse and sub standing broadcasting quality

Address:

Dhanbad, Jharkhand

Dear concerned,
This is to bring to your urgent attention that I have been experiencing difficulty with the viewing quality of certain channels on Airtel DIital TV for more than a month and a half. I have been a vintage customer of Airtel DTH services since 2009 until recently I was totally taken aback by the sudden degeneration and downfall in quality of programming pertaining to certain channels being aired by the DTH services provided by you. I cannot deny the fact that I am absolutely disappointed.
There are in particular 4 channels by the names: Angel TV, Subhavaartha, Shalom and GOD TV which are aired on channel numbers: 514, 531, 694 and 695 respectively and they seem to have been merged under a single service by the name I Divine displaying four window screens on four corners of the television screen. In other words I am seeing four different screens simultaneously airing four different programmes at the same time in four different channels whose names and no’s have been provided above. Until I see a red button option of my remote commander flashing on the four live feeds. When I press the same I am led into your so called I-Divine services loading page that takes about a moment to load. Eventually what is have on my TV screen is a slightly higher version of the window size screen right at the centre with an I-Divine logo right on top but this time with a single screen view of the channel tantamount to the channel no. For instance Channel 695 for GOD TV and so forth for the others as well. But I am getting a half size view of the channel on my TV screen unlike other channels like Star, Sony etc in which the programmes occupy the entire TV screen monitor.
I have never experienced such a paranormal activity on my TV since my existence on this planet and I mean it. If there is a problem with the telecast then we usually experience technical glitches which ideally points to un-availability of the channel at that moment under normal circumstances. But this is a new kind of problem.
Until I call on your PAN India toll free customer care number ([protected]) which guides me through an IVR and all I hear is music being played in the background and I am asked to be on hold. It takes good amount of time to reach one of your customer service aids while I am on hold for about 6-7 minutes. I tell him about the problems, he leads me to his technical team who asks me to perform a few tricks on the set top box which I do so by tweaking the Aspect ratio and rebooting the Set Top box but to no avail. I am back at the same place.
With great difficulty I succeed at convincing your customer centre guy to book me an appointment with the nearest technical engineer at my disposal. It was confirmed with an SMS sent to my registered mobile no: [protected] which bore the name and no of your service engineer (Mr. Murari, Mob no: [protected]). Apparently the next i.e on 08/03/2012 being Holi the office is on a closure. Upon calling up a day or two later I am told by the person that he is on his way but he does not show up on the committed time. Anyways I am fed up and I call up the call centre guys again telling them that the concerned person has still not shown up for the last 4-5 days. I am sent an SMS again on the same no bearing a particular Docket no. Anyways our tech. guy shows up on a Saturday evening along with his assistant. He performs a few things on the set top box, tries downloading software, completes the software installation process and performs a reboot on the Set top box. But there I am back again with the same problem. I am told that this is a novel problem that needs some background work to be performed in order to be certain about the patterns. In the meantime he tells me that there is a problem with my Set top box since it is an old one. He tells me to call him in another 4-5 days till he can suggest a logical answer to the problem. I do that but unfortunately I am asked to contact his team leader (immediate superior, Service Head) who sits at the Dhanbad office bearing the number: [protected] and name: Mr. Rajan Singh . When I call this gentleman he tries to put up with some dumb and lousy excuse and tries to convince me that this problem will be solved soon. He also tells me the same thing that my set top box needs replacement with a newer improved version which would cost me about Rs. 300 to Rs. 350 in exchange. Sensing the unsavory tone of his conversation I call up your all India toll free customer care no. and tell the person on the line about my experience with this guy who sets a tone of apology for the embarrassment I had to put up with. Well that’s fine. I really appreciate such a noble gesture but I still do not have a solution to my problem.
He then puts me on a long hold and confirms with the Tech team about the nature of the problem, and then pops out with the generic answer that this is a Technical error. There is nothing that could be done at the moment. Well to be precise he says that it is a Broadcast Issue. It’s got to nothing with the Airtel DTH services. I humbly accept his assertion like a dumb layman completely swept off my feet.
I am experiencing the same issue even today. In fact people in my family are glued to some of the devotional channels especially GOD TV on Channel 695. I myself am quite a compulsive addict to this channel since long and that is why we have been subscribing this channel since it became paid. But you see we are paying for the services of this channel but unable to view it to a normal size unlike other channels. I have confirmed the nature of this problem with some of my colleagues who avail DTH services of other service providers like Sun Direct etc. They also have access to GOD TV but there seems to be no problem with respect to the screen size of the channel. It is occupying the entire screen area of their TV monitors. And more so had it been a broadcaster issue then it would have been a problem with either one or maybe two channels at best. How can there be a broadcast issue with respect to the size of the screen for all four channels at the same time. Isn’t that strange? Isn’t that a rhetoric answer to someone who supposedly knows nothing about telecast?
I am sorry to say but in light of the above mentioned problems and the resolution provided I am absolutely disgruntled. I need a clarification to this problem as soon as possible failing which I will be compelled to take this matter to the Customer Grievance Redressal Board. If there isn’t any problem with these channels being shown on other DTH providers then how is that we are seeing it different through Airtel Digital TV. Are these programs being broadcast from some other planet or a distant alien orb?
On a serious note it shows a sheer lack in your quality of service and decadent state of programming telecast and feed. It also shows your slack judgment in dealing with unforeseen exigencies of this sort and providing a valid justification.
Regards
Richard Gomes
Customer id: [protected]
Email: richard.[protected]@gmail.com, mark.[protected]@gmail.com
Address: De Nobili School Sijua,
P.O-Sijua, Dist-Dhanbad
Jharkhand-828121
Mob no: [protected]