Reliance-kind of theft

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 2^nd 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]