Of lost ways in Delhi and Airtel Customer Care folks...
Well, don't start linking the two issues i mention in the title. They are, till date and as far as i know, completely independent of each other (disclaimer: As is being taught to us in a course on systems thinking and flexibility, everything is related to everything else or atleast thats what i interpret)
Airtel customer care people have been successful in frustrating me more than anything else in this world. Here's a little experience i had with them. A few days back, when my gprs was not working, i called up their customer care number and after endless verifications, some completely meaningless (example: Sir, please confirm that your billing address is #$%#@^&*()? I am yet to understand who in the world would say a "no" to that), I was asked what problem was i facing. Having told the problem in detail, I was asked to dial up another number, which was their technical dept's. Gladly, i called up the new number, only to discover, that after listening to my problem, the person on the other side says "Sir, you need to connect to our technical dept, the number is !@#$" and he gave me the same number. When i mentioned that i had called up the same number, the guy says "i agree sir, but you would have to call up this number again". Goddamit! I was so pissed off, i mean is there anything called logical sanctity left in this world? After cooling down, I called up the number again, and to my relief, there was a person who took the responsibility of being from the technical dept. So, i reported my query to him, and in return he says "Sir, you would have to call after 4 hours as our gprs network is down". I told him that my particular problem was persisting for more than 4 days now, and so i was sure that it had nothing to do with the current network problem. To which, he humbly replied that he understood and that my problem will be solved after 4 hours. After i asked him how could he conclude that my problem was related to the network, he insisted on the same answer "Sir, you call up after 4 hours and your problem would be solved by then". That argument killed any last remnant of logic expected from the airtel customer care and i hung up the phone cursing my bad luck on having to interact with such people. But, after my problem was solved (which it did by itself after a day), i thought about the mad rush these telecom or for that matter any calling based firms were breeding, without even giving them the basic level of training. Duh, i don't know, but i wish they were a little more selective/careful on training them technically, as a matter of fact even a fraction of time they spend training them the "Are you satisfied with me?" would do.
Now, the first part of the subject was brought upon at the dinner table at a relative's place when my uncle declared that delhi people were inconsiderate about people having lost their ways. To give me a learning, i had to deal with it the other day. Having lost my way at Dhaula Kuan, i asked people which way was Okhla, and to my utter dismay, i got different responses from everyone. There was a somebody, who was sending me the same way where i had come from. God save people lost on the roads, for all they know, they might reach the place where they started from. And everyone is so damn confident while telling u the way, that you dont suspect them at all. And with complex delhi flyovers flooding the city, it is becoming more and more difficult to gauge the way in the absence of sign boards.
Well, observing the city from close, i'm forced to reconsider the decision i once made that Delhi is better than Calcutta. I must say, atleast the people are not. I remember from my college time, I used to fret about having to live in calcutta, which offered no respite from a boring day at college, but having experienced the life in delhi, i must say that Calcutta is a peaceful city to live where people are helpful, not misleading atleast, and where quality is given more emphasis over quantity. Sorry, Delhi, but I couldn't help it.
Airtel customer care people have been successful in frustrating me more than anything else in this world. Here's a little experience i had with them. A few days back, when my gprs was not working, i called up their customer care number and after endless verifications, some completely meaningless (example: Sir, please confirm that your billing address is #$%#@^&*()? I am yet to understand who in the world would say a "no" to that), I was asked what problem was i facing. Having told the problem in detail, I was asked to dial up another number, which was their technical dept's. Gladly, i called up the new number, only to discover, that after listening to my problem, the person on the other side says "Sir, you need to connect to our technical dept, the number is !@#$" and he gave me the same number. When i mentioned that i had called up the same number, the guy says "i agree sir, but you would have to call up this number again". Goddamit! I was so pissed off, i mean is there anything called logical sanctity left in this world? After cooling down, I called up the number again, and to my relief, there was a person who took the responsibility of being from the technical dept. So, i reported my query to him, and in return he says "Sir, you would have to call after 4 hours as our gprs network is down". I told him that my particular problem was persisting for more than 4 days now, and so i was sure that it had nothing to do with the current network problem. To which, he humbly replied that he understood and that my problem will be solved after 4 hours. After i asked him how could he conclude that my problem was related to the network, he insisted on the same answer "Sir, you call up after 4 hours and your problem would be solved by then". That argument killed any last remnant of logic expected from the airtel customer care and i hung up the phone cursing my bad luck on having to interact with such people. But, after my problem was solved (which it did by itself after a day), i thought about the mad rush these telecom or for that matter any calling based firms were breeding, without even giving them the basic level of training. Duh, i don't know, but i wish they were a little more selective/careful on training them technically, as a matter of fact even a fraction of time they spend training them the "Are you satisfied with me?" would do.
Now, the first part of the subject was brought upon at the dinner table at a relative's place when my uncle declared that delhi people were inconsiderate about people having lost their ways. To give me a learning, i had to deal with it the other day. Having lost my way at Dhaula Kuan, i asked people which way was Okhla, and to my utter dismay, i got different responses from everyone. There was a somebody, who was sending me the same way where i had come from. God save people lost on the roads, for all they know, they might reach the place where they started from. And everyone is so damn confident while telling u the way, that you dont suspect them at all. And with complex delhi flyovers flooding the city, it is becoming more and more difficult to gauge the way in the absence of sign boards.
Well, observing the city from close, i'm forced to reconsider the decision i once made that Delhi is better than Calcutta. I must say, atleast the people are not. I remember from my college time, I used to fret about having to live in calcutta, which offered no respite from a boring day at college, but having experienced the life in delhi, i must say that Calcutta is a peaceful city to live where people are helpful, not misleading atleast, and where quality is given more emphasis over quantity. Sorry, Delhi, but I couldn't help it.
posted by Rohit Mahajan at
3:23 AM
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4 comments
