The wicked grow like the palm tree. Grow taller and higher and mightier. The Bible says that, though not in the same words.
Reliance Communications has been awarded the ‘Best Quality of Service Award’ for the 2nd consecutive year at ET Telecom Awards 2012. Thank you.
The above message landed in the Inbox of my Reliance mobile phone which connection I’ve been sticking to out of necessity for eleven years.
I added a line to that message and sent it as many friends as possible. The line I added is: Not much money was reqd to buy d award!
Reliance must have bought the award. Capitalism is about buying and selling, and not quality of service or professional ethics, let alone moral values.
While I cannot complain about the services of Reliance mobile phone, I have a whole lot of complaints about the company’s internet services. I wrote earlier too about it. For example, Corporate Greed – Reliance Style.
I have a Reliance 3G net connection. This connection has to have two accounts: (1) a core account, and (2) your data usage account. There has to be a small amount (even Re 1) in your core account. Since I can’t afford to go the city for recharging every time with small amounts like Rs10 (which is the amount advised by a Reliance officer), I decided to recharge it with Rs50. From that time my troubles began. I recharged the account with Rs50 on 21 Aug 2012, and within a few days I received a message that my core account was minimal and I had to recharge it again. Like a fool that I am when it comes to Reliance-kind of affairs, I recharged the account with Rs100 (on 5 Sept) and in three days’ time the amount disappeared from my account. I complained and complained. Nobody from Reliance could give me an answer. Neither by phone nor by email. When I asked whether I could meet any Reliance officer personally, I was told that it would not be possible but I could speak by phone to the next higher officer. I had already spoken to many ‘high’ officers in the meanwhile.
This higher officer was the epitome of courtesy. He spoke to me as sweetly as the Ganga flowed a millennium ago. He said he understood my problem. He said he couldn’t understand why the deductions from my account were taking place.
The problem with the Corporate Greed is that they don’t understand anything except amassing wealth. If they can steal Rs100 from each client a month, with that money alone eventually they can build a palm-tree like palace (growing tall and high and strong) in the most luxurious area of Mumbai! And I’m quite sure they’re stealing much more than Rs100 from each client.
I told the higher officer of Reliance that it was not a matter of Rs50 or Rs100. It is a matter of trust between a firm and a client. Most probably, the higher officer suppressed a chuckle. Who cares about trust in the corporate world?
And this company Reliance Communications is awarded now for the second consecutive year for the best quality of service! Is it my turn to suppress a chuckle? Or can I complain? Can I demand quality of service?
A few quotes in this regard:
“The forces of a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.” [Jawaharlal Nehru]
“Capitalism did not arise because capitalists stole the land… but because it was more efficient than feudalism. It will perish because it is not merely less efficient than socialism, but actually self-destructive.” [J B S Haldane]
You bet Matheikal. My bro in law got a Rel. 3G donggle. At the time of buying they assured him that they could get the PIN lock opened so that he can use any other SIM he wants to. Rightfully so, since they have taken the full cost of the donggle.
ReplyDeleteNow even after a zillion queries, no one is able to unlock it and he continues (is coerced) to be a reliance user.
Anupam, I've spoken to quite many Reliance officers in a number of web world outlets in Delhi regarding various problems. I must tell you most of them are crooks or idiots. I'm not intelligent enough to distinguish between those two categories!
DeleteThis is the typical the of Indian consumers... Its hard to understand, whether we pay for service.. or pay to serve the opeartors...
ReplyDeleteA time will come soon, Priyanka, when (as Haldane in my quote said) the system will destroy itself! But will we have a better system? Did Capitalism give us a better system when feudalism was replaced? Or when Nehru's kind of socialism was modified? Will the Ambanis be better politicians than Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi 0r Narendra Modi or Raj Thackeray or Mayawati or...?
DeleteWhat is the common person left with? Except grievances? And rising prices?
Its a big, bad and corrupt world.
ReplyDeleteI think we should join Anna, instead of being critical.. then only may be something will happen.
www.anucreations.blogspot.in
www.facebook.com/VolatileSpirits
I'm also looking forward to some kind of a revolution... The way the poor are being oppressed - a messiah more visionary and effective than Anna may emerge soon, I hope.
DeleteNo portability? i guess reliance hardware does not work anywhere else due to CDMA GSM thing and it does not work for data also... too bad
ReplyDeleteYes, there's some technical error somewhere, I agree. Even the Reliance people are not able to explain why the deductions are taking place! But they can't go on like this; they can't carry on looting clients.
DeleteIn a country where the corrupt rule the roost it is an amusement park for the non ethical industrialists. Very unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteThe unethical are the heroes too today!
DeleteHi Matheikal
ReplyDeleteIn our country, most companies rely on the number of customers i.e. the masses and really dont give a damn about being in the bad books of a percentage of that crowd. Customer Service is a dormant or rather non-functional department in the companies.
Yes, Jaish, not only Reliance but quite many of our private firms resort to all kinds of unethical practices in order to make huge profits!
Deleteits going to take few generations to purify our system . Well one of my client too had a bad experience with reliance ...you are abs right in quoting "... if left unchecked tends to make rich richer and poor poorer " and that wot exactly what is happening in ths country.
ReplyDeleteYes, Alka, I can understand this comment of yours very well. I have seen a few generations now. I know how my grandmother's generation used to walk miles and miles even to do the basic shopping. I know how my father's generation just managed to make the ends meet. I know how my generation became rich! And I am watching how the present generation is wasting all those riches made by their parents! It will definitely take at least one more generation before the lesson is learnt.
DeleteAt ET, everything is for sale. I'm in media, so I have an idea. Big winners this year were Vedanta and Reliance -- what a combination!
ReplyDeleteYes, Shovon, the combination is very telltale. We cannot expect anything good for the public from ET. ET, Reliance, Vedanta - the trio will make an excellent combination.
Delete1. Sir, I can see the genX taking a toll on you - reqd for required etc,:).
ReplyDelete2. The problem is not typical to reliance, I have face the same problems with Airtel. To my surprise, the most reliable internet service, with a speedy problem solving mechanism, I found was that of MTNL.
3. Over the years I have seen you criticize capitalism umpteen times, I however love it. It lets you do what you want. No wonder, most free societies patronize capitalism.
Sid, nobody is taking a toll on me really. reqd was used because I wanted the SMS to be one instead of two - saving money. At best Capitalism is taking a toll on my purse, which is sufficiently loaded (thanks, again, to Capitalism, you may say).
Delete2. One of the teachers you know, Mr JLS, told me long ago when I planned to shift from Reliance to Airtel that I'd be switching from one thief to another. Both are thieves. Or, all capitalists are thieves. Fine, I agree with you.
3. I have suffered enough with MTNL and earlier with BSNL (in Shillong). Kamchor, that's what they are. Have they improved? If yes, for how long? Until their competitive position is safe?
Sid, all I'm asking is for a system in which at least some people are responsible for the system. Let the majority be fools, cheats, thieves... Is anyone responsible.
I'm happy with the overhauling that's under process right now with the Congress playing some very interesting cards. OK, I'm ready to wait and watch. I'm even willing to have FDI in any field including the beggar mafia in India!
:) Matheikal, there are certain business houses whose products and services I consciously avoid buying. Lack of ethics is in their very DNA,if I may say so.I will never have anything to do with either of these stinking rich brothers, if I can help it.
ReplyDeleteFor historical reasons I have continued with a Airtel connection,but they are equally unethical. Try complaining against spam calls in Airtel website,they are mandatorily supposed to provide such a facility. After filling in all details, a message crops up, 'can not process the request immediately, please try later'. I have tried repeatedly and doggedly at different times, on different days, from different computers and URL, and concluded that that this inability to process is by nefarious design, meant to hoodwink the public and the TRAI.
Relatively inefficient in service delivery they might be, still I feel most comfortable with the products and services offered by public sector entities.Take my internet connection at home, I have a MTNL wifi connection. I never had any problem with billing, so far, though yes, sometimes the connectivity plays up.
I was quite amused to receive your SMS message. I can only sympathise with the situation described in the blog.:)
The same kinda problem was with me too. I had a Reliance GSM connection and i am a frequent caller of UAE, whenever i make a call Rs. 10 was deducted first whether the call was answered or not. And when i complained about the same, the executive told me that i've made a call and it was answered. Better to switch to a new connection sir, i did.
ReplyDeletePlease try the sarkari companies for a change. Atleast you won't have any expectations to be disappointed later!
ReplyDeleteMy question to you - can any corporate entity afford to be anything but selfish, greedy, compassion-free, lying etc.?
ReplyDeleteNo matter. Capitalism would not die. At least its death will be alongside the other scourge of society - religion.
RE