Thursday, June 28, 2012

TATA, Docomo - Part II

 

Last week I had posted about the crappy service provided by Tata Docomo. Well, this time they have moved up the ladder on their way to emulating their bigger counterparts: From crappy service to cheating. 

Everything began on last monday (18th). I got a push notification in mobile advertising that if i recharge with RC39, I will get 500MB of data. I did the recharge and all I go was 50MB.

When I called the customer care (121), the rep informed that balance 450MB will be creditted within 48 Hours. Well, It was never creditted and I contacted the customer care via Chat and the extract of the chat is reproduced below:
.....
{Ram}above is the pack details in 3g [packs
{ranjith j}it was said that i wil get 500MB 3g data
{Ram}yes
{Ram}39rs is 3g pack for 3 days validity
{ranjith j} 
but i got 50MB only. so i called customer care and they said balance will be credited in one day
{Ram}the alert which you got is to intimate you that 3g data pack will be lapsed
{ranjith j}now u saying it wl be expired in one day
{ranjith j}tell me... what abt the 500MB 3g data?
{Ram}Rs.39/- you get 50 MB 3 days
{Ram}packs*
{ranjith j}i got a message saying i wil get 500MB
{ranjith j}RC39=500MB and RC91=1GB
{ranjith j}from Docomo
{ranjith j}i have the screenshot of the message, if u want i can send u that
{Ram}let me know from which id you got the sms?
{ranjith j}it was notification
{ranjith j}included in 'last call charge' notifcation
{Ram}Please be online as I check
{ranjith j}ok
{Ram}I am taking a complaint for this issue
{ranjith j}okay
{Ram}so that the team can check and update you back
{Ram}one moment
{ranjith j}okay
{Ram}may I know your alternate number?
{ranjith j}currently i dont have an alternate number
{ranjith j}u can contact me at this number
{ranjith j}9633222700
{Ram}one moment
{ranjith j}do u need the screen shots?
{Ram}no sir,
{ranjith j}okay
{Ram}complaint number is PSMR12002047
{ranjith j}okay
{Ram}resolution date is 27-JUN-2012 13:04:18
{ranjith j}okay
{Ram}The concerned team will check and update you the details via call or sms on the resolution date
.....
On 22nd I received a call from a customer rep and I had to repaeat the entire episode to him. After that I didnt get any response from Tata Docomo and decided to wait till 27-June-12. On 27th, I contacted them again (via chat) and the customer care rep informed that the complaint is still in open status and that it will be resolved in 24 hours. That evening I tried contacting them via 121 and I kept getting the message that 'All customer care reps are busy'. After a few tries I gave it up. Yesterday evening (28th) I tried again and got through. The rep told me to hold the line while they verify the details. I waited for more than 5 minutes and then the call was disconnected from their end. After that whenever I tried to contact 121, I kept getting the message that 'All customer care reps are busy'. So I checked the site and called the number 18602665555 (Customer care for State of Kerala). I was able to get in touch with a rep and dutifully the rep transferred the call to a 'Senior Executiver'. The Senior Fellow informed that the notification  I received about the scheme is actually not available to general public and that it is a restricted scheme. As per the Executive, I was supposed to contact customer care before recharging to confirm the validity of the scheme though nothing of that sort was mentioned in the notification I received (See Image Above). Hence, I was not eligible for the extra data.

If any of Tata Docomo officials are reading this post, I want an answer to these questions:
  1. When a notification is pushed to customers without any information about the scheme being restricted, Do you really think any customer will contact the customer care to enquire about the scheme? The language in the message was such that the reader will believe the particular scheme is general. This is nothing but misleading the customer.
  2. Since you dont divulge to which numbers the scheme is applicable, Is there any way to confirm your claim that the scheme is in fact in force? For all I know, you may repeating the same response I got to everyone who does the recharge.
  3. If it was a restricted the scheme, they why the first cutomer care rep and the rep I contacted via Chat didnt inform me the fact? First one informed that balance will be credited within 48 hrs and second one registered a complaint.
  4. I still havent received any mail or SMS informing about the status of the complaint PSMR12002047. Where did that go?
  5. When will you stop pushing misleading information to public and thus cheating them?
I did the recharge on utmost good faith on the basis of information received from your end. There was no indication as to the restrictive nature of the scheme. As per Section 2(r)(1)(vi) of The Consumer Protection Act,1986 the practice of making any statement, whether orally or in writing or by visible representation which makes a false or misleading representation concern­ing the need for, or the usefulness of, any goods or services amounts to unfair trade practice and as such punishable under the law. I intend to take the legal remedy available to me.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

About the Literary Adventures of an Apprentice of Linguistics

More often than not I have been at the receiving end of complaints from most of the readers of my blogs that my literary ventures are infested with sentences too long and too complicated to comprehend which limit the audience who can actually enjoy and appreciate the art of forming structurally andgrammaticallycorrect sentences without compensating on the meaning part. I find it absurd because I think anyone patient enough to read the prose slowly and carefully can find the meaning without much difficulty. I have to confess here that sometimes I willfully frame long sentences with a somewhat selfish motive of ensuring that my readers put in some effort from their part to trying to understand the theme of the literature in the same way I perceive it. But I always ensure that the idea I want to convey is not lost to the realm of abstract in my strive to form complex and long sentences.

I picked up the hobby of writing as a means to express my thoughts and memories only recently. Although feedback I received suggests that I should prefer Malayalam more than English as the primary language of my writing, I have taken it up as a challenge to write more in English to improve upon my writing skills. But that does not in any way mean that I am going to stop writing Malayalam. I have considerably more readers for my Malayalam blog than the English one.

Another feedback I received was that I write very seriously or rather the fun part is missing. To that comment I can't respond because I try the different styles of writing to push myself in order to find out my boundaries. Hence you may notice that I sometimes write things that border on the domain of abstract thoughts; I may write things that I call 'poems' with no binding what so ever to formal rules of metering. Thats the way I write and I intend to continue the tradition I have set.

So folks, continue to read my scribbles and give your valuable feedback and help me to improve my skills so that I can share my vision in a better way with a wider audience.

 

Sunday, June 24, 2012

TATA, Docomo!

Last week I received a message from Docomo saying that I have missed calls and asking me to message to a particular number if I want to get details of the missed calls. The service would cost Rs 1. Since I wanted to get the details of missed calls, I promptly sent a message as they instructed and the reply I got was, well, idiotic. The reply read "You have no missed calls as per our system records". Rs 1 was deducted from my balance. I didnt raise a complaint since the money involved was Rs 1 only. That was the first mistake I made.

Then, on 18th, I received another notification (See Image Below) from Tata DoCoMo about a new 3G data plan. As per the notification, I will be getting 500MB of 3G data by doing a recharge for Rs 39. I thought it was a good way to check the 3g speeds and did the recharge. That was the second mistake.

Notification

After the recharge, I got a confirmation message from Docomo informing that 50MB (instead of 500MB) of 3g data have been credited with a validity of 3 days (See Image Below). Immediately I called the customer care and the rep informed that the balance 450MB will be credited within 48 hours and the validity will be one month. So I decided to wait for 2 days: third mistake I committed.



After the expiry of 48 hours, I again contacted the customer care; this time using the online chat feature. The customer care rep told me that RC39 gives only of 50MB of data and that they have registered a complaint to 'look into' how I got the message announcing 500MB data. That was on 20th. On 22nd I received a call from the customer care and I had to repeat once again everything I had told the customer care rep earlier. They said that they will look into the matter and the complaint will be resolved by 27th. So far I havent received any communication from them regarding the complaint and I dont think I will be getting the promised 500MB of data.

Thank you Docomo for actually putting into practice the things you preach in your ads.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Evernote and Me

Ever since i started using Evernote back in November 2010 to collect and organize my personal and work lives, It has become an integral part. For those of you who have not heard of or used Evernote before, its a great piece software that can help you to remember everything (literally!). Simply put, It is a note taking software (Text, Pictures and Audio). The biggest plus is that all your notes are stored in the cloud and synced to Evernote servers. So you can access your notes from almost anywhere!. It is available free to download for various platforms like Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.

NotelistEvernote for Blogging

I have presently Four blogs (including one in my mothertounge, Malayalam) and I use Evernote for almost every activity connected with maintaining a blog i.e. from coding custom blog templates to drafting posts.

(a) Templates, Codes and Custom Scripts
I use heavily customised templates for my blogs and in free time i tweak the code myself for improving the overall design and functionality. But sometimes editing the code can result in a broken template. So I use Evernote to store the original templates, custom scripts and widget codes so that I can easily re-install my original template in the case of some 'edit'mishap. I use seperate notebooks to store templates etc of each of my blogs and use tags to easily find the various widgets and scripts.

(b) Drafting a Blog Post
Inspiration can strike you at odd times (even when you are at office!) and I use Evernote to work on drafts. Since Evernote syncs the notes, I get all the new notes created in my work laptop at office in my personal one at home. I also use the 'E Mail Note' function to email the draft posts to few of my critical readers for review too!

Evernote for Work

(a) Document Drawer
I am an Auditor and my work requires maintaining a lot of working papers and other documents realted to each assignment. I use Evernote for storing my working papers, files and client representations. I use seperate notebooks and stacks for each type of Audits. As an Auditor I am supposed to remember everything I do and evernote helps me to do exactly that.

(b) Knowledge Base
India is infamous for its numerous and complex laws. Being an auditor i have to be familiar with almost all of them (especially the tax laws). I use Evernote to store bare acts (laws), notifications issued by government authorities etc so that I can easily find out relevant information while carrying out an audit. Since all these can be accessed from my phone, I can quickly refer to a legal provision even if I dont have my laptop with me (Essential for meetings with client!). Evernote has become a Knowledge base for me!

(C) Keeping Track of Bills
My work also involves a lot of travel and earlier finding a certain expense bill after a long and exhaustive trip was a difficult task for me. But with evernote, I can save all the eTickets, Boarding passes, Hotel bills etc and tag each of them with trip details. Now all the bills are just a mouse click away!

Evernote for Personal Life
Apart from Blogging and auditing, I use Evernote for my hobbies too: Yeah, I manage to find time for a few!

(a) Studies
I am currently taking three courses and I use evernote to store everything connected with these courses: From Application forms, Study Materials, Notes, Exam schedules to Admit Cards. I am also a Linux enthusiast and use evernote to store tutorials and guides on using Linux (Ubuntu). I hope Evernote will launch a Linux version of the desktop client soon so that Tux can also get the Evernote flavour. Currently I use the Web version to access my notes in Linux.

(b) Art
I love to sketch whenever i get free time. Sometimes while browsing i stumble upon great pictures that can be used as reference for sketching and i use evernote web clipper to save these to my collection. Since the clipper also saves the link of the original file, i can revisit the site to scout for more inspiring pictures.

(C) HowTos, Tips and Tricks
Like my blog templates, i also customise my computers for ease of use and it involves modifying system registry entries and configuration files. I store the tips, tricks and How-Tos collected from online resources so that i dont have to google everytime i want to change a setting.

Sharing The Goodies

I have created few Shared notebooks featuring everything from My Art to Linux Magazines! Here are the links to the notebooks and feel free to add them to your account!

1. Pencilmarks (my art blog)
2. Full Circle Ubuntu Magazine
3. SARFAESI Act, 2002 (India)
4. The Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 (India)

Note: This post was also drafted using Evernote