Belonging to a generation that is all but a slave to its smartphones, I am one of the lucky few to maintain some distance from my phone. This is not from some supreme will power or restraint I exercise on myself. I have Vodafone to thank for this 'healthy' habit since the network provider has decided never to facilitate any kind of network in my house.
By some miraculous luck, I have managed to get myself a nice rent controlled (touchwood, touchwood touchwood) apartment with NO network whatsoever. As a consequence, I am pretty sure I have blood pressure issues (from waiting for network on my phone once I am out of my house) and my family has fallen into the unhealthy habit of being reassured that I am home if my phone is out of coverage area (God forbid I am kidnapped and taken to some dark dingy basement where there is no network. My parents will be living in the false hope that 'all izz well' since well, who gets network at home anyway, right?)
Being a Vodafone loyalist, I kept making complaints and sticking my head out of the bedroom window in order to get some network. After almost three years, I have now given up. Being a journalist, I am not too comfortable with changing my number, so I felt the best way to go is Mobile Number Portability. But alas, Vodafone has other plans. My calls to the customer care center kept dropping while I was being transferred from one 'concerned' department to another. Frustrated and completely disillusioned, I hung up and decided to update my Facebook status and tweet about the incident.
Well, THAT caught the pug's owner's attention and I was assured, nay reassured, that Vodafone would be 'Happy to Help' at the earliest. The earliest they could reach out to me was the next day. Even then, I was bombarded with the same questions that I had answered at least 5 times earlier and was given the same reassurances as before.
It never stops amusing me that had I not paid the bill, the reminder call would have come within an hour, but anyway.
I am currently 'co-operating' with the Vodafone India team while they send network engineers to survey the nearest cell site to my house and get back with their feedback by April 8.
What was more appalling than Vodafone extremely efficient and prompt customer complaint redressal, was that most of my friends seemed to face similar problems in with their network! One of my friends tells me never to opt for Airtel since he has been using it since the last 10 years and has seen a consistent drop in voice quality and network connectivity, not to mention inefficient 3G coverage. I was advised similar things about Idea and BSNL and MTNL and DOCOMO and RELIANCE and AIRCEL and what not. I actually have a friend who has changed some 3 number and ported in and out of three other networks!
I only hope these people get their act together. India is a country that loves to talk (how else do you think 11 telecom operators have managed to co-exist in the country?). And God forbid someone comes in the way. I may be one disgruntled customer whom the pug refuses to follow, but the number seems to be growing and there will be a time when telecom companies also will not be able to 'ullu banaving'.
Until then, I guess I shall continue living in the network black hole that is my abode and pray I do not get kidnapped and shipped off to a dingy network-less basement where I may die before anyone realises I am actually missing and not chilling at home.
I feel for you. Really, I do. I had to disconnect my Delhi number before moving back to Mumbai, and they gave me grief and HOW. Overbloated my last rental, and they haven't refunded the amount they were supposed to as the deposit one. %$)(@&#$) you, Vodafone.
ReplyDeletePS: You write well, girl :)