kinshuk sunilit aint no, dessert if therez no caek

I had only heard about the abysmal quality of the Idea Customer Care but on 8th I managed to experience it first hand. It so happened that I had finally discovered Nokia Maps and how to use it on my N73M and a friend’s N95. So on 8th, after my End Term Semester Exam of the day, Jitender (the friend), Myself and a few other friends (Varun and Manish) sat together to try out the Nokia Maps. So began the ordeal:

First, I tried installing Nokia Maps on Jitender’s laptop but it needed Microsoft .NET Framework 3. Hence couldn’t install it on the Laptop. Thus, I first downloaded .NET Framework 3, installed it, then installed Nokia Maps, and then downloaded the India Map and the English (UK) Language Files. Presto! Now Jitender could use the map of Delhi in quite a detail and search around for places. However, he couldn’t use the Navigation feature since, it needed GPS. Looking around the Nokia Maps web, I found that N95 comes with A-GPS which uses GPRS to co-ordinate GPS data with the satellite and is a very speedy process using very less data. Awed, started our quest to activate GPRS for Jitender’s phone which is an Idea Number.

All four of us had to take turns to talk to manage the customer care because we college students are such an impatient bunch of fellows that we can’t keep repeating the same thing to a customer care executive 20 times. You see – our limitations; we are not the perfect customers. So some excerpts from our conversations with the Idea Care:

Jitender: Boss, I use Nokia N95 and there is a feature called GPS. How do I use it on my phone?
Executive 1: No Sir, It is not called GPS; it is GPRS.
Jitender: No Boss, it is GPS that stands for Global Positioning Service.
Executive 1: There is no such service sir, for any phone. The Only Available service is GPRS.

Jitender: Buddy, I want to know if GPS works through GPRS?
Executive 2: We only offer the GPRS service sir.
Jitender: Ok! How do I activate GPRS on my phone?
Executive 2: What phone are you using?
Jitender: N95. Nokia N95?
Executive 2: Is that a Samsung sir?
Jitender: No. Nokia.
Executive 2: Please hold the line sir, while I confirm how you can enable GPRS.
Executive 2: Thank you for holding the line sir. All N-Series phones come with pre-activated GPRS. Please select Idea Cellular from you WAP Settings.

Jitender: Buddy, what is the issue? Why cant you guys enable something as simple as GPRS?
Executive 3: It happens at times sir. Please hold the live we are working on it.
Jitender: Boss, you already sent me a service message. But it didn?t work for my phone.
Executive 3: Kindly co-operate with us sir. Listen to what I am saying – we are working on your problem.
Jitender: I am not co-operating or you aren’t co-operating?
Executive 3: Are you even listening to what I am saying? Quit messing around! [Hangs Up Phone]

Me: Boss, Can I talk to your Supervisor?
Executive 4: What is the matter sir?
Me: You do have supervisors right? Patch me through?
Executive 4: Unless you tell me what the issue is I cant do so sir?
I tell him about the GPS/GPRS issue and how the third executive behaved
Executive 4: He did that?
Me: Now can you patch me to the supervisor?
Executive 4: I just want to let you know sir, we are working on your issue. And it will be resolved! If not, then I’ll forward you to supervisor.
Me: No thank you. I wish to speak to the supervisor.
Executive 4: Ok sir. Please hold the line for 30 seconds. I am patching you through to the supervisor.

Nobody picked up the call for the next ten minutes after which I hung up. Tired as we were from the whole exercise, we gave up the Idea Care as a bad job and resorted to glorifying how Airtel and Vodafone Customer Cares operate. They are, however, any day better than what I experienced of Idea Care.

Is Idea Care really this abysmal or is it just me?

Regards
Kinshuk

Suggested Reading

• Pending Travelogue (2)
• Insomnia and Little Wonders (2)
• Bidding Adieu (0)
• So What Would You Do For The Ones You Love? (1)
• MozillaCamp Delhi: February 10, 2009 at Indian Social Institute, Delhi (0)