[Resolved]  Tata Docomo — Tata Docomo - A big joke

Address:

Pune, Maharashtra

1) I receive a sales call from Tata Docomo offering me a mobile number portability from my existing service (IDEA) to Docomo, with some offers for customers of Tata Photon+. I happily agree. Having been a Tata Indicom broadband and Tata Photon+ customer, I blindly trust Tata Docomo

2) My documents were collected, and I was told that it would take 4 days for MNP, and that during MNP, my mobile phone will be turned off for 2 hours, that too during night so that I would have to bear minimum trouble. I trust the service provider and forget about it.

About 7 days later, I get a call from a person, stating that he needs to do my address verification. I told him the suitable timings, but was out of home for about 10 min. None came for verification. The next day, the Docomo guy calls and states that he had come to my home yesterday. I assume that he must have come while I was out for 10 min, and ask him to come that day evening. He says he will be there in about 5 min. Later he calls me and says 'I am ringing your doorbell, but you are not opening the door'. There was none at my door. He:'Aren't you <some name1>?'. Me: Of course not. He: Isnt this your address - <address1>. Me: How can you have every detail wrong? Do you have my details at all?
He: Okay wait. Are you <some name2>?. Me: What the..????
He: What's your name, ma'm?
Me: You must be having my details, if you are from Docomo!!
He: Sorry ma'm. I will get back to you.

I wait.

20 days fast foward.

MNP still not done.

3) I call up customer care.

CC: Ma'm as per our systems, your MNP has already been done 16 days back.
Me: Then why can I not see it? I got not message, and my Docomo sim doesn't work.
CC: As the MNP is complete, it must work
Me: But it is not working
CC: I will make a note of it. Someone will get back to you in 24 hours.
Me: Okay. Thanks.

Later, I call up customer care to get a status.
CC: Ma'm your request for MNP is still pending.
Me: You mean, the MNP is not done yet? Earlier your exectutive told me that the MNP is complete. Why am I getting different status from different people?
CC: No ma'm. There was some problem. And your request is pending.
Me: What is pending? Pending with whom?
CC: we cannot tell you that ma'm. You would need to go nearest customer care center.
Me: <Thinking> What????
Me: Why would I go to your office. I thought this was an offer from you, and I neither have time to go, nor do we have your office nearby. Why would I go all the way to Shivajinagar just to get a status? Moreover, how can they help me, if you can't?
CC: In that case, I cannot help you, ma'm.
Me: Who can help me, if you can't?
CC: You need to visit our office ma'm..
Me: (It was surprising to hear this from a customer care center) Is there a way to raise a complaint on this?
CC: Yes ma'm you can write to listen.[protected]@tatadocomo.com
Me: Sure, thanks.

I decide to write down a complaint to this email id. I detail my case, the details mismatch that occured earlier, my encounters with customer care who had different answers, and ask them for a concrete status on the request.

4) Within a day, I not only get a response to this mail, but get calls from 4 different customer care guys.

Response to mail: We would like to inform you that your MNP has been successfully complete 16 days ago.
Customer care guy 1: Ma'm our systems show that there was a problem in your IDEA sim. So IDEA rejected the MNP. And that is why this did not happen.
Customer care guy 2: Your MNP was completed 16 days ago
Customer care guy 3: Ma'm the guy who collected your documents misplaced them. So we need them again, we will send an executive to your home.

Customer care guy 4: Ma'm your MNP will happen tonight. It was pending earlier, but will be completed today.
Me: I would like to cancel the MNP request, please
Customer care guy 4: No ma'm. Since the request has already proceeded, we cannot cancel it. But it will definitely happen tonight. You will get an SMS. You can change the SIM after 2 hours.
Me: Are you sure? I have been getting different statuses, and each customer care person has been telling different things.
Customer care guy 4: I'm 100% sure, ma'm.

5) I do get an SMS stating that my MNP will be done on <date><time>. I get an automated call stating that my MNP is starting.
I was glad that finally processes are in place, and things have started working. Little did I know that that was the end of my mobile number I have been using for 3 years.

6) The next day first thing in the morning, I see that the network in my IDEA is gone, and IDEA sim is no more functional, clearly indicating that MNP is complete. I eagerly insert the Docomo SIM. Quite unexpected, there was no network, and the SIM was not functioning either. I call up the customer care from a different mobile, and explain them all that happened.
CC: The MNP was complete yesterday. So it must work.
Me: It doesn't work.
CC: Switch off and switch on the mobile and manually search for network. It must work (confidently). Also, try inserting in another handset.
Me: Okay I will try.

Nothing works. I kept restarting my mobile and searching network, nothing got any better.

I call up customer care again.
CC: Your MNP is complete, but your status is pending.
Me: What does that mean?
CC: I don't have more information than that, ma'm. You will have to visit our office.
Me: Sorry, I cannot visit your office. First of all, the office is very far away. Second, I don't understand the need to go to your office to get a status on a service that is entirely automatic.
CC: We don't have more information, ma'm.

Bugged, I write a mail to listen.[protected]@tatadocomo.com.

And that was just the beginning of the sad demise of my 3-year old buddy, my mobile number.

People kept saying that they are unable to reach me. I had to explain everyone.


7) Since then, for 6 days, there was just one reccuring sequence each day:
- I call up customer care atleast twice a day. They assure me with full confidence that the issue has been escalated and that someone will definitely get back to me within 24 hours
- I send atleast one mail per day to listen.[protected]@tatadocomo.com
- I insert the docomo sim card to see if it works, but to no avail.

I got to see closely how pathetic Docomo service is. Not a single person got back to me in the 7 days. And my mobile number was totally off for 7 full days. Almost all the calls I had with customer care were equally frustrating, and here is just one sample.

Yesterday as usual I was registering a complaint for this issue with Docomo.
CC: <Usual reply>I am going to escalate this, and within 24 hours someone will get back to you.
Me: I have been getting the same reply each time I call the customer care.
CC: No Ma'm I will definitely escalate this to my manager now, and someone will get back to you in 24 hours.
Me: Each CC person says this, but none has got back to me in the 3 days, and my mobile is still inactive. Can I talk to a senior member?
CC: Kshama chahti hoon ma'm. I am escalating this now, and someone will get back to you in 24 hours.
Me: Can I talk to a senior member, please?
CC: (Again) Kshama chahti hoon ma'm. I am escalating this now, and someone will get back to you in 24 hours.
Me: Can I talk to a senior member?
CC: Kshama chahti hoon ma'm.
Me: Can I?
CC: Kshama chahti hoon ma'm. We don't have that facility.
Me: What do I do if no one reverts back to me in 24 hours?
CC: You can call us at 121 and check with us
Me: I have been doing that atleast 5 times a day, and each time I get the same reply that the issue has been escalated, but nothing happens in 24 hours, and none gets back to me. Is there a way to track this complaint? A complaint no. or a ticket no.?
CC: Kshama chahti hoon ma'm. We don't have that facility. But you can call us on 121
Me: But how do I track the current escalation or complaint?
CC: Kshama chahti hoon ma'm. We don't have that facility.
Me: So, I call 121 again, someone else picks up the call, I narrate the entire story, he/she registers an escalation and gives me assurances. I have been going through several times in 3 days. Can you give me a single point of contact or a tracking number
CC: Kshama chahti hoon ma'm. We don't have that facility.
Me: Ok. You assure me that the problem will be taken care in 24 hours. What should I do if it is nothing happens in 24 hours and none reverts back to me?
CC: You can ask for me. My name is Mohini.
Me: Are you sure that I can ask for you just by your name?
CC: Yes ma'm
Me: (helpless) Thanks.


Today: (After 24 hours of no action)
CC: Hi this is (some name). How many I help you?
Me: I had raised a complaint yesterday with a person named Mohini. I need to talk to her.
CC: Sorry ma'm. We don't have the facility to transfer calls to other sales executives.
Me: But the person had told me to refer to her by telling her name
CC: Sorry ma'm. We don't have that facility
Me: How do I track yesterday's complaint?
CC: Tell me your problem. I will assist you.
Me: But I need a status on yesterday's complaint
CC: Ma'm I cannot see any complaint, may be it was not escalated yesterday. But I assure you I will definitely escalate it, and someone will definitely get back to you.
Me: (narrate the problem, previous Docomo encounters, complaints, etc.)
CC: Sorry for the inconvenience ma'm. I will escalate the matter.
Me: How do I track this complaint?
CC: You can call us at 121.
Me: Is there a way I can talk to you directly, or is there a way to track this complaint?
CC: Sorry ma'm. We don't have that facility.



My mails to listen.[protected]@tatadocomo.com:

13 Feb:

I have received an SMS and a call yesterday (12-Feb-2011) stating that my mobile number portability has begun. Later in the night I received a message that the MNP has been completed.

However, since today morning, both my SIM cards (IDEA and the new DOCOMO) are not working. Both detect no network and are totally out of operation throughout.

I had called up the customer service (121) this morning, and the person asked me to restart my mobile and manually search for the network. I have tried this several times during the day, but the SIM is still not working.

I just called up the customer service center again, and he told that the status of my MNP request is pending, he cannot provide more information, and that I must visit nearest office to get more information. All day, I have been facing the inconvenience of not being able to use my mobile phone, and now the customer service center guys are unable to provide me a concrete status, or even an ETA.

The entire MNP process has been a tiresome experience for me, and has been seriously making me rethink on my choice to continue with Docomo.

I hope someone could help me to get my mobile working.


14 Feb:

My new Docomo sim isn't working yet, effectively making my mobile number unreachable and unusable for 1.5 days and more.

I hope you can realize the seriousness of this issue. I am still hopeful that someone will be able to help me.

Thanks!!


15 Feb:

Hi,

My new SIM is still not working, i.e. for 2.5 days now.

Each time I call up the customer service, they assure me that the matter has been escalated, and within 24 hours, it will be fixed. However, I cannot see any progress being made.

Sorry to mention, but this is the worst customer service I have ever faced in my life.


16 Feb:

Hi,

My mobile number is not active yet.

I have raised the issue several times by calling at 121, and each time they say that the issue has been escalated and someone would revert back to me.

Not a single person has reverted back to me in the last 4 days, despite raising complaints over and over and over again.

I am unable to use my mobile number for 4 days. And looking at the Docomo service, I have a feeling that I would not be able to use it for many more days to come, and Docomo is forcing me to change my mobile number that I have been using for 3 years.


17 Feb:

Hi,

As I am getting absolutely no response from Docomo, and since the Docomo MNP service has led my mobile number to be unreachable for 5 days (and counting..),

I would like to inform you that in case my mobile number doesn't get activated in the coming 2 days, I will be applying for a MNP back from Docomo to IDEA.

Further, I assure you not to give you the trouble of bothering you by buying your products or services ever in my life, and I assure the same from my family and friends too.

Thanks for your time.


None of the above mails were responded.

I did not bother to write a mail after that.


8) On Saturday (though I was busy), I prepared the documents and went to IDEA office to apply for a MNP back from Docomo to IDEA. The only reason I wanted to apply for MNP instead of buying a new sim is that I did not want to change my number.

But here is an important bit of information (apart from the fact that my Docomo sim is still not working and Docomo is still unresponsive as expected):
One cannot apply for a second MNP within 3 months of applying one MNP. I.e., since I have applied for an MNP from IDEA to Docomo (which Docomo understood as MND (Mobile Number Disablement)), even if I am totally unhappy with Docomo, and am unable to use my number, I still cannot change the service back to IDEA or Airtel or another service for 3 months. So for 3 months I'm stuck, and of course since Docomo has almost permanenly disabled my number, I am forced to change my number that I have been using for 3 full years, thanks to Docomo. So be cautious when you apply for MNP, get enough reviews and inputs before you go ahead with an MNP, and if you ever plan for Docomo, be ready to go through a long time of frustration, stone age customer service, and unplanned events such as disconnect from the rest of the world.

Hell with everything.

9) I bought a new Airtel sim, and I am happy with the service, offers, and most importantly, it totally works (of course that's so relieving to me). Of course I am taking the pain o[censored]pdating my family, banks, collegues, etc. with my new number. But that's nothing compared to how painful Docomo is.


I strongly recommend all the readers to avoid going for Docomo any day. You'll likely be in a fix.

The experience with Docomo has left me flabbergasted. The entire Docomo thing is a big fat joke.