We learn new things about Airtel almost every day. Yesterday, I learnt that Airtel does not have a refund policy at all. If you are stupid enough to buy a data card from them, all you can do is pray that the data card works. Because, if it doesn’t work, all you can do is use the faulty data card as a paper weight or a coaster! Do you think 4,999 Rs. is too much for a coaster?
Back to my story - the manager did send someone as promised - but it wasn’t a technician or even a customer support guy. Instead, it was a sales person(!) who just didn’t know what to do. We don’t blame him - his job is just to sell the stuff, not to figure out whats wrong with it.
The whole time he was here, he was on phone with R trying to figure out what he needs to do. I have a feeling that the manager wanted either R or a tech person to visit our place and fix this issue, but R was so scared that he sent a scape goat instead.
But at least we got some info from Airtel - the most shocking one being that Airtel has NO REFUND POLICY! Can you believe that? No wonder they dropped the price of the product by this much. The data card, when it was first launched, was priced at Rs. 13,999. Then, it dropped to Rs. 6,999. And when I bought it, it was available for Rs. 4,999. I thought they did this because they wanted more people to have access to it. But no, the actual reason is that they do not believe in their own product. Check Venu’s Blog and you will see so many people who have left their comments about the faulty data cards and the horrible customer support. Some of them spent Rs. 13,999 and paid their monthly charges and have still not got any response from the customer support!
Maybe the problem is just with the customer support level - the people who actually interact with the existing and potential customers. The manager seems to be really helpful, and till now, whenever he says he will call us back or send someone, he has kept his promise. I wish he just sees the effect R has on his customer base and realises that keeping people like R in his team will just ruin the image of Airtel in the customer’s eyes.
Anyways, the final update for today is that the sales guy accepted that the data card did not work - this makes a total of three people from the Airtel office itself who have accepted the fact. He wanted to take the Airtel Data Card with him, but I refused. These people have lied so much to us and made us go back and forth so much, that I did not trust them to be able to get the data card repaired and give it back to us. As it is they do not have a refund policy. I spoke to the manager and he assured me that he will get the data card checked and it’s his responsibility that we get a working data card back. So I made the sales guy give it to us in writing that he had checked the data card and it was not working and he was taking it back to get it checked.
So, I feel a little more optimistic about Airtel today and will keep you posted on what happens next. Lesson of the day, next time you encounter a guy like R who refuses to help you even though you are a paying customer, talk to the manager. 
Rangoo
You must be logged in to post a comment.