How to dial in to a conference bridge automatically without entering passcode everytime?

1) Note the bridge number, say it is 18002707000

2) Note the sequence that you normally follow to join the bridge 1 for selecting the language and say 1 for entering passcode.

3) Now save the number using "Add 2-sec pause" or comma(",") as below

The commas would be followed by the options, here in the above case, the number would look like 18002707000,1,1

Remember to give sufficient lead time for the IVR to speak simulating how you would wait for IVR to say out the options and only then you would be punching in the numbers.

Here is how I have autosaved SunBirla Customer Care number. It punches in everything like language selection, 1 for existing policy holder, 1 for Details, then enters the policy number and date of birth.

Thereafter, all that I have to do is to press "9" to speak to customer care.

Five reason why you shouldn't buy Lava, Micromax, Karbonn, Celkon mobiles?

a) Lava is great but what about is SAR value?

< 1.6 is not a figure. Why isn't there a clarity on the values?

Micromax's have their ratings but I dont think it's been ever ratified.

Even Nokia 1280(INR 999) has a SAR-TICK sticker at the back.
None of Karbonn, Lava or Micromax's is listed in the www.sar-tick.com site.

Here are the manufacturers on the list:

Apple
LG
Motorola
Nokia
Samsung
Sony Ericsson

-All oldies :)

b) Value for money but is it worth it?

So I own Lava KKT 40+ (Note that I was the first to review and give a 5 stars on Flipkart.com).
Now, after 6 months of usage, the phone has started emanating a "circuit smell"(circuit burning/wire burning) if I remove the battery.
Flipkart, you folks are innocent. But, I haven't heard anything from Lava yet inspite of my complaints.

Yes, in India, a recall is very rarely heard of.


c) How can a phone be so cheap? All low end chinese boards?

In the battle between the big fish and the small fish, I am amazed to see how much of "extra" the small ones are offering.
It totally baffles me on why Samsung Galaxy Duos would cost 12 K and something that has configurations equivalent to Galaxy S3 (Lava Iris 501)
would cost just 9499 with goodies like Bluetooth headset and 4 GB card.
Forget about the ad-factor that contributes to the pricing, Micromax too sponsors IPL and cricket tourneys along with Karbonn.


d) Sales and support

There are only three to four service centers listed for a place like Bangalore in the Lava Support list.
And they were in areas equivalent to Siberia in terms of "I know the place exists but where the heck is it?"

So, when I had a screen crack on Lava KKT 40+, I took it to a local repair shop & it costed me about 600 INR to get replacement.
He swore to me that it took him 5 hours to find the part in SP Road Bangalore.
And 600 INR though a small amount(?), is 30% of the Cost prize.
Imagine, if it was a 10 K phone.

I asked the man on which of these new brands have good after sales and support. He just told me that it was tough and Micromax was just a little better than the rest.

e) Lava, Micromax, Nokia, Samsung

Which one would you carry? Yes, it is just the name that matters atleast for 90% of us


But, the final choice is yours, my friend!

Avoid "wardrobe malfunction" buying at FashionAndYou.com

"Things that I don't learn once and continue to falter".

Well, yes, it is the same story. First, it was the most fraudelent BagItToday also known as India Today Book Club(ITBC), then it was

MakeMyTrip. Now, inspite of my "gyaans", her highness's binge of online shopping with FashionAndYou.com continued and today it ended with much of bitterness.

Okay, lets me make it more simpler:-

Ever wondered why we post our best photos on Facebook & Orkut? If you know why, then you might very well understand why we should not be buying things online especially from sites like FashionAndYou.com

When girls spend a fortune of time to get ready for shopping and take a millennium to choose "a dress", I do not get the logic of why they would buy something online based on a set of photographs. If you trust me the way I trust my photographer friends- Rahul and Alvin can make even a rusty bicycle look great or a simple fisherman look like he has the best profession in the world.

So, the story is that her highness had ordered a set of garments worth INR 1300/ and when it arrived, she thought it was not even worth mopping the floor with. The advertised photograph portrayed it to be something else.

Then, we called the customer care who ofcourse refused to accept it. So, I am blogging here just to let you all know that we have to be wise, especially when shopping online.

FashionAndYou like any other online store strives for maximum profit and though you might get good order sometimes, there is an equal chance that you may not like the next stuff that you order. Also, I dont believe the prices are competitive. They always have an additional burden of shipping charges.

My simple advice , "Avoid FashionAndYou.com. Avoid going blind with the bling"

India Today Book Club becomes BagItToday but still fraudulent?

So, it just came across my mind to check how India Today Book Club was doing and was it still doing what it did best?

My article was a thunderous hit on the web and featured on top of Google searches. And WOW! ITBC doesn’t exist now. Its been rechristened “BagItToday.com”. I’d be happy to find out if my blog was one of the reasons of why they had to remove the brand name. Serves them right!

But, they don’t seem to have learnt a lesson yet. Have they?

What are your views? Let me know of your experiences.

How to activate voicemail on Bharti Airtel Postpaid mobile in Bangalore?

If you know the answer, please do leave me a comment about how to set it up. But, believe me when I say- Airtel have no clue about it themselves.

 

Originally, not an Airtel customer and frustrated with Idea’s hold-on-call that lasted for a good 10-15 minutes everytime I called them, I thought of doing my first MNP(Mobile Number Portability) to Airtel.

 

I had a good history with Airtel and was very impressed by their QoS- a term that doesn’t exist in their dictionary now.

 

My request was as simple as activating voicemail. Who wants to get a call from office at 4 am when he/she has reached home at 2 am? Yes, unfortunately, that was my poor story way back in March. But again, what if something got messed up terribly? I needed a workaround and thus subscribed to Rs. 20/- a month SMP(Smart Mail Plus). Thus began my frustration.

 

Trust me when I say that I have followed the correct escalation matrix :-

a) Call to Airtel Customer Care (121) at 50p for 3 minutes. Roughly about 2 hour

b) Talk with floor supervisors. Roughly about ½ hr@50p per 3 minutes.

c) E-Mail to customer care: 121@in.airtel.com. Roughly about 6 times.

d) Escalation e-mail to South Nodal team. Once

e) Visiting the nearest Airtel Store. They know just one thing- Dial 121 from the store.

Finally

f) Threatening to disconnect call and go for an alternative service provider. 3 times.

 

Its utterly unbelievable folks but they’d rather lose a customer than take a sincere effort to resolve the issue. They have stopped replying to my e-mails or calling me now to take the issue to resolution.

 

In a nutshell, it’s been a frustrating experience. I am going for a MNP again tomorrow, not for a VMS (now that I have changed my job & it’s not required) but only as a way of peaceful protest against a now sub-standard bunch of so called technical & customer service executives of Bharti Airtel.

Sunil Mittal is a rich guy. He would not mind losing a customer who paid Rs. 1422.33 as a “parting gift” to the company. That is just Rs. 17067.96 a year…

But, remember Airtel- HFZ hai !

 

 

UPDATE

 

For you reference, Smart Mail Plus procedure is as follows:

Now MNP Port in customers can use smart mail service on 52555. Customer to dial USSD Short Code *321*671# for activation.

Activate:
Call 52668 (toll free) to activate or deactivate

Charges:
Monthly rental of Rs 15/- for existing customers. Rs.20/- for new activationRetrieving 75ps, Call 52667 (for settings) @ Rs 3/min

Features:
- Call gets diverted to Voicemail(VM) under the following conditions
When the customer is out of reach
When Mobile is Switched Off
If unreachable
- Smart mail working condition when in roaming
In not reachable mode
Switched Off mode

- Get Missed Call Information(MCI) thru sms under the above conditions:
- All VM notifications or Missed call Information notifications will include mobile number and time.
- Retrieval of all VM on IVR 52666 or retrieval of a particular number VM on IVR 52666** (specified in sms).
- Retrieval of messages while in Roaming or even from a local Landline

Retrieval:
- Call 52666(75ps) for retrieval of all VMs or 52666** as specified in the sms for a particular voicemail
- For Landline retrieval call 9945501491, enter mobile number and password* to access VMs
- Customer can retrieve while roaming by calling ten digit number 9945501491(roaming rates) after password* verification.

For Settings:
- Call 52667(Rs3/min)
- Set your Password
- Record your personalized message or select a pre-recorded message
- Set messages as default message, Person specific message or Alternate message(define time period)

Super service from HP Customer Care, Bangalore

Possibly, one of the only reasons to keep me awake this moment! I have just been out of an hour long call with BMC Support. These two days have been 'freaking' hell! Not that I am complaining about the work or the hours but get thoroughly frustrated to 'over-commitment' of the biggies!

Anyways....

It has been a long time since I last blogged. A blogger since 2004 and an early-bird, of late I have been busy shuffling between tiring work hours and the need to commit to my personal duties.

Having said that, I would not been blogging at this hour hadn't it been for the timely support of HP's Service Center in Indiranagar, Bangalore.

My HP laptop is again up and running...

A month back, I was informed that the laptop would not boot. A little later, there was a yellow line on the screen(Read: Permanent Damage) and a little later

Since it was purchased in the U.S through www.deals2buy.com and at that moment did not care about international warranty, So, I wasn't expecting much from the Service Center- Maha Electronics at 13th Main Indira nagar.

On enquiry, I was bridged to the customer care and they said that the laptop wasn't supported in India.

With this, I was left with the only option that I usually follow to get the best out of any support- I spoke to the manager Mr. Rajeev who first empathized, sympathized and then said he would "work on that on a best effort basis" to get it working and asked me to leave the laptop there.

Days passed and we were getting impatient but the most pleasing part was that the Service Center guys kept informing that the "Hold your breath" FREE replacement was on its way.

Finally, it arrived yesterday much to our immense delight. And today, I received a call from HG Padmaraju(the engineer) that the "Hold your breath again!" FREE LCD replacement had arrived and we could get that replaced whenever we wanted to.

That's like a stress buster, ain't it?

On a closing note, I don't know why I keep writing about "Customer Rights" and "Customer Experiences". My cousin Anand teases me with the line "Jaago Grahak Jaago"

Yes, indeed! I was "awakened" by this excellent customer support. Kudos to HP and the Maha guys..

MobileStore India cash-back offer: A story of how internet helped me get my money back!

 

Read comments in the end to find out how I got my cash-back…

 

Eureka Forbes customer feedback.

 

Here’s another one and the only one where I possibly went wrong in the end and tendered an apology.

I purchased a water purifier system(WPS) sometime in January directly from the Eureka Forbes(EF) office in KR Puram. Though there are lot of  WPS companies available, yet, I chose EF simply because of the number of its service centers in India and the brand name. The team lead Satheesh PM(name unchanged) promised me a free re-installation anywhere in Bangalore within a period of 3 months. This was my pre-requisite for buying the WPS. My experience with customer service from people over the past few months has/had been dismal so I thought of getting it hand-written on the purchase invoice.

So, when my new apartment was almost ready, I called up Satheesh and politely asked him for a free re-installation. He informed me that I should be calling him a day before I shifted. So when the day arrived, I called him up. However, even after twenty odd tries wherein the phone rang, I received no response. The next day, I received a message saying he was out of station. I was fine with it and since it was already weekend, I thought it would be best to call him on Monday. On Monday, I called him again and this time he picked up the phone and noted the new and old address. Also, he seemed to remember his promise of a free reinstallation and informed me that the technician would be notified and gave me the number of Narayanamoorthy(NM) who could be contacted to get the details of the technician. I called up NM the following morning and enquired about when the technician would be arriving. He gave me the date and time and then informed me that it would NOT be a free service that Satheesh promised but a paid one. I argued that Satheesh had promised me a free-reinstallation and that I had the written proof for the same.

Now Mr NM informed me that he had spoken with Satheesh who said that he had never promised any customer and possibly the technician(guy who installs) might have written that on the invoice. So, I called up Satheesh again but could not reach him(Phone rang but he doesn’t pick up). By this time, I was already pissed off and so called up Mr NM and asked him on who should be contacted for escalation. Mr NM directed me to Mr. Ali who also had a similar line of NO-FREE reinstallation. I blasted him about Satheesh’s broken promise, EF’s service and threatened to create a ruckus and report in the internet if they made me come to their office. I believed this had no impact on them.

So, I sent an SMS to Satheesh informing him that I would escalate the issue to his higher superiors and that I had a written proof and would report in the internet about EF’s failed promise. Thereafter, Satheesh replied stating he was in a conference somewhere out of station and that he would look to ensure that a free reinstallation is done.

The SMS had worked and the next day, the technician was there at my old residence to shift the WPS. I had also asked for a clamp stand for the purifier’s wall mounting and of course, I was ready to pay the price. Since I was caught up with some other work, I directed the technician to my residence and became busy. After about an hour, when I returned home, I was informed that the base of the WPS had a crack and that the technician had left in a hurry after installing the wall mount without testing if it was working fine. By this time, I was furious and sent an SMS to Satheesh who replied stating that Mr. Raju, the service manager should be contacted.

Raju was quick to act on the request and I could hear him shout at his technician over the phone on the second line. After several calls and in about 2 hours, the technician was back and he cooled me off with a single line. “The WPS was full when I emptied the contents at your old address. If there is leakage now, then its my problem and if there is no leakage, then it was already in that condition”. That made sense and I waited for him to pour water on the empty WPS. And as he said, there was no leakage. It appears that Protec+(the WPS) has a hollow space between the actual system and the base. So, even though the base had cracked(God knows when?), it hadn’t leaked.

Immediately, on realizing my fault, I apologized to the technician who bore the brunt of his manager’s wrath and to his manager Mr. Raju himself who had done the work with great sense of customer support.

The entire episode ended with mixed feelings for me.

Raju did a great job but Satheesh-the architect of the chaos failed me repeatedly. The technician was just and deserved a pat for his thought.

The faulty booking system of Makemytrip.com and lessons learnt

Situation: You are in urgent need of an airline ticket and you think of using one of the supposedly famous ticketing service to get your bookings done. The journey  between x and y is long and since your kid and wife is travelling, you are looking forward for a) a direct flight b) a direct flight with one stop or c)a break journey(in that preferred order). Login to the booking portal and select the flight. Proceed to the payment gateway and do the booking. Then, comes the message- the transaction FAILED. Now you need to wait for 7 days to get the refund back and what’s more worse, you don’t get back the money you paid for the insurance.

What actually happened:

The search was for a flight from Bangalore to Bagdogra. Though there were other options available, the fact that the flight was a “one stop direct flight” attracted me to do the booking. Note the lure in circle.

 

Then, I proceed to the gateway and for the second time in six bookings, the transaction failed with a generic message.

Customers can never understand why transaction fails because the company never tells you why it failed. All that I know is that my money is gone for a week. The last time I had a failed transaction, I had to make a last moment effort  and was forced to get my dad a train ticket instead from CCU to IXB.(See snapshot above). To my ill fate, one out of the two flights for the destination failed in the payment gateway.

I could neither cancel the successful one because the cancellation fees is quite a sum nor did I have the courage to do a direct booking because the price was exorbitant. Was the system faulty right from the onset? I would never know! A jet flight from CCU to IXB at Rs. 1800 during festive season- AMAZING. Reminded me of the Air Deccan days!!

Now, let me come back to the investigation of my most recent failed transaction. Bewildered after being a victim of the faulty system for a second time, I checked Yatra.com if the flight existed. Yatra didn’t list the flight at all. I grew suspicious and then went and checked the airline website.

And if I am to believe it, there is no direct one stop Spicejet flight from BLR to IXB. (Snapshot below)

Imagine if my family was travelling for the first time with an infant and I put them in the flight because it was one stop same flight.

The story doesn’t end here”-

I receive a message that the refund will be done in a week’s time but the money that I “purchased” insurance with will not be refunded. I would have understood if  I had cancelled the flight but how can the stupid company with a faulty payment gateway and its third party CANNOT have a SIMPLE mutual understanding? Common folks, a FAILED transaction is not the same as a CANCELLED transaction. Leave aside the TOC’s if the clause is specified there but for heaven’s sake, you cannot charge insurance money to a customer for a failed transaction.

I wrote to the customer support and through my interaction, I have come to realize that the insurance money will not be refunded.

Valuable lessons learnt:

a) Use services such as makemytrip.com ONLY to find out which is the cheapest airline and why not?

b) Never book tickets from online booking portal such as makemytrip for flights from A to B where C is the stop-over and journey from A to B involves changing the plane at C.

c) Booking directly through the airline website seems to be the wisest choice.

Samsung Customer Care, Bangalore – Feedback!

I am very impressed with Samsung’s customer care here in Bangalore. Yesterday, there was an issue with my front loading washing machine. The water wasn’t getting pumped in. Though I tried everything I could by checking the manual, yet, the problem wasn’t fixed. So, I called up the washing machine dealer who directed me to the customer care at 080-30308282.

The customer care took my details and politely transferred the line to the technical support. Immediately, I got an SMS on my mobile phone with the reference number. The technical support tried to solve it over the phone but were unable to do so. Therefore, they fixed an appointment for a service visit to my residence today. At around 10 AM this morning, someone gave me a call and asked for the landmark. And by 2 PM, the issue was resolved. Now, that was excellent customer service!

I believe it is important for us, as consumers to appreciate great service and write elaborately on pathetic experiences. Down the line, this will result in greater CSAT experience for everyone.

Technorati Tags: Customer Service,Samsung

Credit card companies in India- Taking customers for a ride: Beware!

Image Courtesy:Morgue File

I thought of closing all my credit cards(HDFC, Barclays) in November 2008, so I approached the respective customer care to get an idea about the process.
On inquiry, they informed me that once the "full and final" payment has been made, the card closure letter would be sent to my address within three days. Trusting their words, I did what I thought was a full and final payment and expected a card-closure letter but that never arrived.
A month later, I was shocked to see a statement which still had some outstanding.


Instantly, I called up the customer care and as always, they had a system downtime. So, I wrote an e-mail to the support group. I got no reply even after 5 days, so after an extensive search on the internet, I managed to get the e-mail address of the support head. It took me more than a month to receive a reply from them.

My point was very clear. When I ask for a final settlement, it means that I will no longer be using the card. So, intrinsically it means that I am asking for full settlement. However, to maintain their customer strength, these companies never close your account even after the full and final payment and will not include your current month outstanding.

Taking forward this point, I had a heated verbal arguement with the customer care. At the end, I realized that this was of no value to them. To my claims of having been told by the collection department that this was the final settlement, they would retort by saying "Who told you?", "Which customer care?", "We aren't aware. You have to pay the amount and we will send you the letter" and so on.

I wasn't ready to pay this amount at all but I was unlucky. I had linked my card to my savings account and by virtue of a "stupid" law that gives Credit card companies the authority to hold back funds from a linked account, I was forcibly made to pay. They send you a letter stating that "as per the law, funds have been held and you need to contact them and sign a letter of authority for release of funds". Even if you don't, within 7 days, they take the money from your account.

Yes, I did falter, but there were lessons learnt.

a) First, do not make a final settlement without a card closure letter. If you have approached them for a final settlement, ensure you tell them to bring your closure letter when they are coming to receive the payment.

b) Second, do not ever link your credit card with your savings account. Once the funds are held, you have lost your battle.

Last but not the least, avoid using Credit Cards as much as possible. Remember, you have to pay back with "alarming" interests and if you are unlucky like me, you need to pay undeserved bonuses to these companies.

India Today Book Club: Fraud, Scam- Don't trust!

If you stumbled on this page, I am sure it was with a purpose. Either you have not been able to reach the India Today Book Club customer support or you haven’t received your free gifts or haven’t received the order at all.

Yes, Folks, beware of India Today Book Club offers... Read e-mails below to get the flow of the story. Or you can directly begin with the comments at the end.

"You cannot trust anyone these days, even reputed companies!"

Offer Details!

Here are the TOC's, there is no mention of the articles being sent in "parts"!

Terms and Conditions:

* Rs 300 to apply as order handling and delivery charges over and above the offer value of Rs 799.
* By placing the order, the purchaser understands and agrees to all the terms and conditions of the offer.
* We will take 3-4 weeks for delivery of order subject to stocks availability.
* It will not be possible to cancel the order once the order is placed.
* Offer is available only till stocks last.
* Actual product may vary from the images shown here.
* Living Media India Limited reserves the right to terminate or extend this offer or any part thereof at any time.
* All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only.
* All forms received after the cut-off date will not be entertained and hence not eligible for the offer. Living media India Pvt Ltd. will not be responsible for postal delays,transit losses or mutilation of the order form/parcel.
* For any further assistance, please call 011-40502424 or email us at feedback@indiatodaybookclub.com

The first mail I sent to ITBC after placing the order…

From: Sachin [mailto:mailfxx@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 12:32 PM
To: response (ITBC)
Subject: Reference: MITBC-WEB-12182175: Offer

Hello,

I did a booking today for the offer. I would like to know if I will be given a call prior to the delivery of the goods. I ask this because I have given my residence address for delivery. So, I might not be available at all times there. And there is no one at home.

Also, please confirm that the "Reebok TShirt size" is "L" or "Large"

Thanks,

Sachin

9XX

Response from ITBC...

On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 4:08 PM, Response wrote:
Dear Member,

Thanks for mail to us.

With reference to your mail we would like to inform you that your has been fully processed form our side and it will be dispatch as soon as possible so it is not possible to dispatch this order to other address. Kindly try to receive this parcel as the same address and provide us that address mostly you present there. As per your query we would like to inform you that no any Reebok T-shirt in your order which you have place.

Kindly note down your Membership number for future reference ITBC09948052

We value our customer and trust that you enjoy our products.

Your valuable association with the India Today Book Club means a lot to us.

Assure you of our best services always.


For any further query or assistance please feel free to get back to us or contact us on 011-40502424, 1800-10-24242(toll free)


Thanks & Regards,
JAMSHED ALI
India Today Book Club

My response to ITBC...

On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 5:54 PM, Sachin wrote:
What do you mean by NO ANY REEBOK TSHIRT
There was an offer right???

My second e-mail to ITBC. Consider yourself lucky if you get to the customer care!

On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 6:04 PM, Sachin wrote:
And what about your customer service? I have placed so many calls on your toll free number and I get no response.

I applied for the scheme Reebok TSHIRT , A BAG and CD's for rupees 1099(700 +399)=1099

Any other offers will be rejected and further promotional mails from your end will go into my spam box.

Thank you.
Sachin

And surprisingly, even before I got a clarification to my last query, I got an SMS which said that the order had been processed...

From: Sachin
Date: Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Subject: Re: order details and address related
To: Response


Hello,

Even before attending my queries, you have processed my order-0GA090037898???

What are you sending in the dispatchment???

Immediately, I wrote back to ITBC...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sachin
Date: Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Subject: About order:0GA090037898
To: response@indiatodaybookclub.com


Please cancel the order if these items are not coming via VPP:

a) 8 CD's

b) Reebok TShirt

c) Adidas Bag

I have seen numerous complaints on the internet regarding the non-delivery of the aforesaid items.

http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/india-today-book-club-c86529.html

Needless to say, I will not accept the consignment if it doesn't contain the above said items and lastly, this is my last transaction with your organization.

Thanks,
Sachin
+91XX

This e-mail from ITBC didn’t make sense at all. It was a simple case of beating around the bush!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Response
Date: Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 3:53 AM
Subject: RE: order details and address related
To: Sachin


Dear Member,


We thank you for your e-mail to us.
In this regard we would like to inform you that we have dispatched your order through ARAMEX COD under the consignment number 6127210235.
We request you to kindly wait for some more time and you will receive the same at the earliest.
We will be happy to render any further assistance or clarification that you may require.
Your valuable association with the India Today Book Club means a lot to us.
Assure you of our best possible services always.

For further queries, please feel free to get back to us or Call us on our Helpline Number (011-40502424 or 1800 1024242 tolls free, 9:30 AM TO 6:30 PM, all 7 days) or Write to us at:

INDIA TODAY BOOK CLUB

B-47 INDIRA ENCLAVE

NEB SARAI

NEW DELHI-110068

Warm Regards,

Executive Relations

India Today Book Club

And again, I received an e-mail after 12 days...

and it is funny…security reason, EH?

On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 4:34 PM, Response wrote:

Dear Member,

Thanks for your mail to us.

With reference to your mail, we would like to inform you that as you will receive the parcel kindly intimate us about the same along with your T-shirt size and invoice number, so that we can dispatch the same from our end in the next lot. This is to inform you that due to security reason we do not dispatch the free gift along with the parcel.



Kindly make a note of your membership number as given below for future reference.



* ITBC09948052



We assure to provide you with best service always.



For further queries and assistance please feel free to get back to us on same or call us on our helpline number(s) _

011-4050-2424 or 1800-102-4242(Toll Free**)



Thanks & Regards

Zishan Ahmed

India Today Book Club

My reply to ITBC's response...

From: Sachin [mailto:mailxx]
Sent: 2009-04-06 16:41

To: response (ITBC)
Subject: Re: order details and address related



Nothing was mentioned in your TOC about gifts arriving late!

What is the use of providing TSHIRT size on your page( when I initially signed up for the offer..)when I need to inform you again about my size again now???

I understand your marketing gimmick. Do what you can. Am not accepting your parcel as you all have violated TOC's of the offer.

On Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 4:31 PM, Response wrote:


Dear Member

Thanks for your email.

With reference to your mail we would like to inform you that as your order has been already dispatched from our end, it is not possible for us to cancel the same. Kindly accept the delivery as it reaches to your doorsteps.


We value your association with the India Today Book Club and assure you of our best services at all times.


For further queries, please feel free to get back to us or Call us on our Helpline Number (011-40502424 or 1800 1024242 toll free, 9:30 am to 6:30 pm) or Write to us at:


INDIA TODAY BOOK CLUB

B-47 INDIRA ENCLAVE

NEB SARAI

NEW DELHI-110068


Warm Regards,

Executive Relation

India Today Book Club

My response to ITBC...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sachin
Date: Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 4:37 PM
Subject: Re: order details and address related
To: Response


I am sorry but I am not accepting your offer.

Thereafter, I thought of writing to ITBC directly. In search of the ITBC contacts, I accidentally stumbled upon Mr. Prabhu Chawla’s blog.

So, I posted a comment to Mr. Prabhu Chawla on "Seedhi-Baat". I waited for a day, to see if action will be taken, before posting this piece on my blog.

Dear Mr. Chawla,

Greetings! I didn't stumble into your blog-site by chance and this doesn't pertain to the talk you had with Mr. Anand. But, rather, it is due to unavoidable circumstances. I am not too sure if you do write the blogs yourself or you have a "ghost-writer". I wouldn't care and further I don't know if this comment will approved. This is but a strict "Seedhi Baat" about what is happening with a subsidiary of India Today- the India Today Book Club.


Do you realize there are tens of hundreds of bad reviews for the book club and it is has reference directly to "Aajtak" as per the confidentiality note in the e-mails they sent?

I didn't care about these but ITBC has proved that the reviews are correct!!

As per the marketing policy, I received an email about CD's+TShirt+Adidas bag at Rs.1099(inclusive of delivery charges). I went ahead trusting your brand but it seems only the CD's will be sent. A lot of my friends have also been "cheated" like this-luring prospective customers with e-mails and not delivering what is promised.

I had a torrid time reaching the customer care and when I did, they informed me that I need to read the TOC. This is funny the ad about the offer is as big as the webpage itself and TOC doesn't specify sending packages by parts.

When I see "Aajtak", I see a lot of breaking news everyday, everyhour. Have you ever thought of portraying ITBC scam on your news channel? Or is the media based on selfish values?

I can give you lots of reviews available on the internet on ITBC, if you don't believe in this.

If you do not have the authority, do please forward to the authorities concerned. I trust you with the job of being a responsible constituent of the Indian Media.

Best Regards,
Sachin

I haven't yet received a feedback...

Incase you receive offers like this from any company, Remember to:-

a)Check offer reviews and feedback by searching the Internet. "ITBC" and companies like "Country Club" has tons of negative feedback from customers.

b)Check the e-mail address of the sender.

c)If you have doubts, approach the company through it customer care and inquire.

Technorati Tags: Customer Service,Customer Rights,ITBC,India Today Book Club

Why voicing opinions counts- Bharti Airtel Bangalore!!!

In the end, I realized....Airtel is superb in its customer service!!!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sachin xxx@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 2:21 PM
Subject: Thanks: Bill with reference to landline number xxxxxxxx:Payment done!! :)
To: Nodal.southabts@airtel.in, Shashikala.AN@airtel.in


Dear Shashikala and the South Nodal team,

Thank you so much for your e-mail and exceptional follow-up on the issue.

I have immediately made a payment of Rs 1,342.60 today for November bill referenced by Invoice # 965506257 .

This was the payment that I needed to do as per the amount reflected in the EBPP site(https://ebpp.airtelworld.com)

Mode of Payment	Date of Payment	Amount Paid
Payment - Self Care BillDesk Gateway	12/12/2008	1,342.60

Please refer to the snapshot which will illustrate that I have no dues now for my phone/DSL.

Kindly confirm the payment has been received for the month of November.

Thank you for your exceptional service.

Best Wishes,
Sachin Tewari

On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 12:09 PM, <Shashikala.AN@airtel.in> wrote:

Dear Mr.Sachin,

Greetings from Airtel Telemedia Services.

With reference to your email dated 6-Dec-08, regarding the broad band speed
and the reversal of bill as per Home 799 plan.

Based on the facts, we have reworked your invoice 965506257 as per
Unlimited 799 plan. The rental adjustment and the
usage adjustment of Rs.1589/- will be reflecting in your next invoice for
the month of December 2008.

After the above said adjustment towards the invoice number 965506257, the
amount payable from your end is Rs.1539/-.
The applicable service tax of 12.36% on the adjustment amount will be
adjusted with the service tax amount of your next
invoice for the month of December 2008.

We hope that our response and resolution is to your satisfaction and look
forward for a long term business associated
with you.

For further assistance, please reach us at 080-44444121 or E-Mail us at
care.karnataka@airtel.in or Fax us at 080-41112346

Assuring you Best of Services at all times.

Yours sincerely,

Shashikala
CSD Service Assurance - Nodal Escalation Desk
Bharti Airtel Limited / Telemedia Services / South Hub
#1106/10 &11, Garvebhavi Palya|Hosur Main Road | Near Novel Software |
Bangalore-560 068

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Mail received from Sachin <xxx@gmail.com>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hello Abu,

This is to inform you that I am really fumed by the service of your billing
department. I was on Broadband 799-256 kbps plan and on the 3rd November
asked for the plan to be migrated to Plan 499, 2mbps plan.
However, in spite of my repeated phone calls to the customer care, no
action was taken on my service(increase in speed) until 9th November when
finally the speed was migrated to 2 mbps.

Now, your folks have generated bills on 499 plan right from 3rd whereas
"technically" speaking the plan was migrated only on the 9th of November
because I was getting 256kbps speed till the 9th of November.

Kindly revise my bill as per the tariff below:-

3rd November to 9th November:: 799 plan
9th November onwards: 499 plan

I would not consider anything less than the above as I was still arguing(in
the form of numerous fone calls) with your personnel from 3rd to 8th
November saying that the plan has not been changed because I am getting
around 256kbps while measuring speed on http://speed.airtelbroadband.in/.
Your engineers were stating that 2mbps was not available for that
area/port.

Finally, on giving a final notification for disconnection of the airtel
line, in case the speed is not provided, which was available earlier
because I changed plan twice, they changed the speed to 2mbps.

Kindly check your customer logs of my account for more details!!!!

On receiving the bill and checking with your customer care, your personnel
agreed to lower only the rentals for that period but not the data usage and
this is absurd. The very fact that the rentals are being lowered for the
period 3rd to 8th means that you are accepting that I was not on 499 plan
till that period of time. According to the tariff on 499, I should be
getting 2mpbs speed and not 256kbps line. Correct?? I follow
http://speed.airtelbroadband.in/ religiously so I knew the plan was not
migrated technically because I was getting speed in that rate and this is
what I have told your customer service.

If you do not consider my request for bill revision, kindly send someone to
collect the final settlement and disconnect this service. There are many
other service providers who are waiting in line for a NEW customer and I
already have BSNL broadband in hand.

Thanks,
Sachin