Airtel Cannot Provide STD on Fixed Lines

I tried dialing a Delhi number from Bangalore today only to be told the "service wasn't enabled" on my fixed line. I called Airtel on 198 to check. Spent 30 minutes and spoke to two CSR's.

The first one kept asking me what number I was trying to dial and really didn't get it despite repeating the number about 3 times. Then she was convinced that 011 is an ISD code and I was dialing international. I hung up in disgust and tried again.

The next attempt took about 20 minutes to reach a CSR. This time round the person assured me that he could and would get STD enabled on my phone within 4 hours and refused to give me a tracking umber.

5 hours later -- no surprises, STD remained disabled. I called 198 again and asked for a complaint number which the CSR claimed would only be resolved by December 24th (three days away). When I  asked to escalate, I was given yet another number where I had to listen to that irritating Airtel IVR tell me the escalation department works only reduced hours from Monday to Friday.

I'm still without STD.

Does Airtel really believe that the way to do good business is to have customers deal with flaky IVR systems instead of competent people who can help resolve issues? Given the interactions that I've had with Airtel CSR's, the term moron readily comes to mind.

However, being the good Samaritan that I am, I've got a suggestion for Airtel. Get into the healthcare space. Here's the rationale: given the crap product and lousy customer service, Airtel causes immense grief to customers. This grief, frustration and stress will eventually lead to health issues for customers. What better way to make even more money from customers than by getting into the "healthcare" space? The quotes around the word healthcare are deliberate: I don't expect more than a facade from Airtel -- proclaiming to provide a service while actually just continuing to fleece customers.

Die, Airtel, die!

Where Are You From?

Where are you from?

This is a question that *always* leaves me stumped. With parents of North Indian origin, I was born and raised in Western India, and "home" is now Southern India.

So where am I from?

From the data above, most people expect me to answer "North Indian". Do I belong to North India, because that's where my parents grew up? Having never really lived there, I don't really relate to the culture.West India also hasn't been home for more than a decade. However, answering South Indian is not considered acceptable.

The answer that I want to give is that I am INDIAN, minus any labels. Why is that so hard for people to accept?

Flipkart The False

I ordered a book on Flipkart.com (at full price, i.e., 0 discount) along with a couple of other things. This book had a similar delivery date to the rest of the order, however, it did not ship at all.

When other parts of the order got shipped but not this book, I wrote to Flipkart asking for an explanation. 

Customer "Support": This is to notify you that the shipment of the above mentioned product may be delayed by an additional 3-4 business days.

Me: Are you sure that you will be able to deliver the book and this is just a delay? In that case I am ok to wait. If however, you are unsure of delivering the book and there is a possibility that you will refuse the order after a few days, I would like to cancel right away and get the book directly from Scholastic. Please let me know as this is a hard to find book and I do not want to miss the opportunity of getting it.

Flipkart Customer "Support": This is to inform you that there has been an unexpected delay in having this order shipped to you. As per our records, the above mentioned book is expected to get shipped on September 03, 2012.

Naturally, I assumed this meant that Flipkart was sure about delivering the book, just that it was taking longer than usual, so I decided to wait. 

...

Me: My order is due to be shipped today but the website is not yet updated with any shipping details. Please confirm that you are able to send me the book.

Customer "Support": We would like to inform you that as per our records, the above mentioned book is expected to get shipped by the end of the day today. 

Me: I have not yet received any shipping information for ...  -- which, after multiple delays, was due to ship yesterday.

Customer "Support": This is to inform you that there has been an unexpected delay in having this order shipped to you. We have escalated this issue and the concerned team is looking into the challenges involved which has caused the delay. Kindly provide us one business day within which the concerned team would get in touch with you by email or a call with an update on the status of this order. 

...

End of the business day, no response from Flipkart.

Completely inept handling of my order by Flipkart and it's Customer "Support". I am now poorer by the cost of the book and have lost the window of opportunity of getting it directly from Scholastic. 

Flipkart is now relegated to the list of online websites that are inefficient and inept at handling orders (I've had similar issues post payment with Indiaplaza and now Flipkart).

Websites I've had non-problematic experiences with (in random order):

• Uread.com
• Landmarkonthenet.com
• Firstcry.com 
• Infibeam.com
• Bookadda.com
• Madratgames.com

So, dear readers of this blogpost, beware of Flipkart. They offer nothing new or different from the rat-race of online inefficiency in India and are no longer the lowest when it comes to price either. 

Human Trafficking?

In a shocking incident, a mother sold her 8-day old baby boy for Rs. 40000 in order to be able to fund treatment for her two-year old paralytic son.

The anti-human trafficking branch of Rajasthan Police got involved and said, "This baby ... was given for adoption in return of money. An adoption can only be undertaken through the District Child Protection committee. Besides, no money or gifts can be exchanged in adoption cases." The "trafficked" baby's parents were arrested (and are currently out on bail.)

While I completely agree that human trafficking is abhorrent, one needs to look beyond the superficial facts. In a country like India, where the male child is practically worshiped and people go to any lengths to have one (including killing girl children inside and outside the womb), this mother was ready part with her baby boy in the hope of curing her elder son. She who went through the process of carrying, giving birth and then parting with her 8-day old baby -- in no way strikes me as a human trafficker (even though I do not condone what she did the slightest bit).

As a nation, it would be good for us to strengthen availability of medical facilities at reasonable rates to poorer sections of society so that they don't need to resort to such acts of desperation.

If I was the investigating agency of this case, I would arrest the "broker" and the couple who was willing to take advantage of the mother's desperation by "buying" her baby.

Oh, and then I would turn my attention to *serious* and *brutal* human trafficking that forces thousands of girls into the flesh trade against their will, instead of turning a blind eye because it is lucrative to do so.

I'm a Satyamev Jayate Fan

Satyamev Jayate is about the only television show that I make it a point to watch religiously. The show has come in for lots of criticism ranging from "Aamir Khan is making money over social ills" to "it lulls the middle class into believing they are doing something about social ills by watching/tweeting/SMSing" and "it's scripted melodrama".

Yes, Aamir Khan is probably making big bucks for hosting the show (why shouldn't he?) and a (large?) section of the middle class probably silence their conscience by watching/tweeting/SMSing. And I completely believe that the tears are scripted in order to gain TRPs.

Then why do I watch it each week?

I watch the show because it brings serious ills that plague our society to the forefront; issues that we'd rather not even think of because they are huge blots on our "India Shining" imagery. I watch it because, melodrama apart, it appears to be well-researched and has success stories that show all is not lost. On any issue, it's completely worth it if the success stories help even one person cross the bridge from victim to survivor.

I'd like to ask the armchair critics of the show what they are doing to help deal with the issues that the show is raising (apart from criticizing Aamir Khan for bursting into tears).

To close -- a serious tip of the hat to Aamir Khan for raising, dwelling-on and humanizing issues that we Indians would rather not talk or even think about.