Goodbye Airtel Digital TV
Airtel Direct to Home (DTH) service goes by the name Airtel Digital TV (ADTV). I have had some very bad experiences with Airtel. The first bad experience came at the time of installation. I have expressed that in this post.
I have finally disconnected ADTV after a year and half. This is what led me to forgo Rs.2000 and move over to another DTH service provider. I came to know from an online forum that there were some new channels available on ADTV. I called up their call center and was told that these new channels were available on a new satellite and that the direction of my existing dish would have to be changed. They would send an engineer who would do it free of cost. It did not happen for a number of days and then ADTV changed their records such that I was on the new satellite but the direction of my dish was unchanged. This stopped me from watching any channel! I wrote a number of emails and since no one at Airtel seemed interested, I marked a copy to Mr.Sunil Mittal. I got his email id somewhere on the internet. i don't even know if that was the correct email id. But I was so upset that as a customer i wanted to be heard.
To - Digital TV, sbm@airtel.in
Date - 26th march 2011
Subject Dissatisfied customer ……. discontinuing my relation with Airtel
Dear Mr. Mittal,
I am not sure if this is the right email Id. But this hardly makes any difference to me now. I am discontinuing my Airtel Digital TV (ADTV) connection. My customer Id is 3001xxxxxx.
It all started with me going for ADTV for my DTH connection. I had a very bad experience then. The latest incident however takes the cake! Here is a sequence of events-
20th March 2011
On 20th March I called your call center 0n 1800 102 8080 with a request to add the new channels (CBS Prime etc.) I was told that these are available on a new satellite SES7 while I was on Insat 4C. I was asked would I like to migrate to the new satellite. I replied I the affirmative to this. I was told that an engineer would contact me and change the direction of my dish. This would enable me to migrate to the new satellite.
21st March 2011
The engineer (Venkatesh cell # 9096180282) called me and because he was loaded with work we decided to meet on Tuesday, 22nd March.
22nd March 2011
I came home early from office. Venkatesh met me at 3 pm and told me that since he was running behind schedules could we meet the next day? We agreed to meet at 10 am the next day.
23rd March 2011
I put in a request to my office informing them that I would be late for office. I waited the whole day for this irresponsible engineer but he didn’t turn up. His phone was switched off till midday. I must have called him atleast 15 times during the day but he kept ignoring my calls. I even tried calling him from a different number but he still kept ignoring. I managed to get in through once and he promised that he would reach my place in 10 minutes. He never turned up. I am still waiting for him.
I was calling your call center a number of times. It takes atleast 7 to 8 minutes to reach a customer care executive. The line gets disconnected even as we are put on hold by the customer care executive.
24th March 2011
At 3 pm I get a message on my TV saying the installation is wrong "Error code SM2". I called the call center only to find that as per your records I am on SES7 wheras my dish was still pointing towards Insat4C. Does this mean that the engineer gave wrong feedback to Airtel? Since that time I am not able to watch anything on TV. I again raised a request to send an engineer.
25th March 2011
I called 1 800 102 8080 atleast thrice. I managed to get through but the call got disconnected even as I was speaking to the customer care executive. I am now believing that this is being done on purpose. I had also requested for this issue to be escalated, but the person on the line refused to. I managed to get a complaint number 6304015. The person on the line (Ashish I suppose) told me at 3.30 pm that I would get a call in 2 hours. Till the time of writing this email I haven't got any call.
26th March
Today again I called 1 800 102 8080. The lady on the phone told me that she had logged in a request.
I have had enough of this and have lost the will to be with ADTV. I don't even want a refund. Consider this as a donation from me. I had a huge regard for you Mr. Mittal. I have been a keen follower of you since the days when you were making shafts for cycles. The efforts that you took by travelling in night trains to Calcutta and Mumbai to set up the business is the stuff legends are made of. I still have a huge respect for your father.
But I think Airtel has lost its connect with the customer. I wouldn't have written this long email but your website Airtel.in does not even mention about escalating issues. As a customer I don't even know whom to approach for my issue. But now I am so disillusioned that nothing would make a difference. I still wish your company all the best, because I believe that the management is super good it is only the last mile connectivity with the customer that is the weakest link.
regards,
Unmesh Patil
After this email I got a call from one Saurabh Bhatt and he also assured me that he would take actions to ensure that this issue was resolved. But again nothing happened. Here are the further emails -
Date - 29th March 2011
Hi Saurabh,
Thanks for responding to my email on Sunday 27th March. You called at 11.30 am and assured that the issue would get resolved in 2 hours. I had retorted by saying that I was given the same assurance twice by the call center guys and nothing had happened. You had replied in all earnestness that you be given a chance. I had relented and changed my plans for Sunday. At 12.30 pm I got a call from cell number 9096180282 by the same person. I found his name to be Ganesh and not Venkatesh as I had mentioned earlier. He said that he was in Aundh Gaon and would be at my home in 10 minutes.
He diddn't turn up for two hours. It was only when I called him I came to know that he did not have the material to fix the job and that he would come the next day (Monday). This person did not have the courtesy to call me and inform about his change of plan. I come to know about it only when I call him. He tells me that I could have waited for two days! At this point I lost my temper. I told him to do whatever he wants to do. Its his choice to complete the task or leave it. Just changing the direction of the dish takes so long? Is it rocket science?
Yesterday (Monday) I got a call from yet another person from Airtel asking if the job was completed. My wife had picked the phone and she replied that it was still not done. This person then said that he will send someone tomorrow (Tuesday)! She replied that we no longer wanted Airtel. To which he replied that in that case he would start the discontinuing process and wanted the set top box back! All along I thought that businesses needed customers. I was so wrong.
I do not intend to continue these mail exchanges any more. It still pains me to leave Airtel but I cannot take this any more. I called up another DTH service provider. He came, set the dish and we were watching TV in two hours from placing the cal!
FYI : I am a subscriber of Airtel broadband for the past 5 years.
regards,
Unmesh Patil
P.S I am now thinking of moving over to another broadband provider. The way Airtel calculates bandwidth consumption is so wrong. And then they reduce your internet speed to a tenth of what you were earlier getting citing Fair Usage Policies!
I have finally disconnected ADTV after a year and half. This is what led me to forgo Rs.2000 and move over to another DTH service provider. I came to know from an online forum that there were some new channels available on ADTV. I called up their call center and was told that these new channels were available on a new satellite and that the direction of my existing dish would have to be changed. They would send an engineer who would do it free of cost. It did not happen for a number of days and then ADTV changed their records such that I was on the new satellite but the direction of my dish was unchanged. This stopped me from watching any channel! I wrote a number of emails and since no one at Airtel seemed interested, I marked a copy to Mr.Sunil Mittal. I got his email id somewhere on the internet. i don't even know if that was the correct email id. But I was so upset that as a customer i wanted to be heard.
To - Digital TV
Date - 26th march 2011
Subject Dissatisfied customer ……. discontinuing my relation with Airtel
Dear Mr. Mittal,
I am not sure if this is the right email Id. But this hardly makes any difference to me now. I am discontinuing my Airtel Digital TV (ADTV) connection. My customer Id is 3001xxxxxx.
It all started with me going for ADTV for my DTH connection. I had a very bad experience then. The latest incident however takes the cake! Here is a sequence of events-
20th March 2011
On 20th March I called your call center 0n 1800 102 8080 with a request to add the new channels (CBS Prime etc.) I was told that these are available on a new satellite SES7 while I was on Insat 4C. I was asked would I like to migrate to the new satellite. I replied I the affirmative to this. I was told that an engineer would contact me and change the direction of my dish. This would enable me to migrate to the new satellite.
21st March 2011
The engineer (Venkatesh cell # 9096180282) called me and because he was loaded with work we decided to meet on Tuesday, 22nd March.
22nd March 2011
I came home early from office. Venkatesh met me at 3 pm and told me that since he was running behind schedules could we meet the next day? We agreed to meet at 10 am the next day.
23rd March 2011
I put in a request to my office informing them that I would be late for office. I waited the whole day for this irresponsible engineer but he didn’t turn up. His phone was switched off till midday. I must have called him atleast 15 times during the day but he kept ignoring my calls. I even tried calling him from a different number but he still kept ignoring. I managed to get in through once and he promised that he would reach my place in 10 minutes. He never turned up. I am still waiting for him.
I was calling your call center a number of times. It takes atleast 7 to 8 minutes to reach a customer care executive. The line gets disconnected even as we are put on hold by the customer care executive.
24th March 2011
At 3 pm I get a message on my TV saying the installation is wrong "Error code SM2". I called the call center only to find that as per your records I am on SES7 wheras my dish was still pointing towards Insat4C. Does this mean that the engineer gave wrong feedback to Airtel? Since that time I am not able to watch anything on TV. I again raised a request to send an engineer.
25th March 2011
I called 1 800 102 8080 atleast thrice. I managed to get through but the call got disconnected even as I was speaking to the customer care executive. I am now believing that this is being done on purpose. I had also requested for this issue to be escalated, but the person on the line refused to. I managed to get a complaint number 6304015. The person on the line (Ashish I suppose) told me at 3.30 pm that I would get a call in 2 hours. Till the time of writing this email I haven't got any call.
26th March
Today again I called 1 800 102 8080. The lady on the phone told me that she had logged in a request.
I have had enough of this and have lost the will to be with ADTV. I don't even want a refund. Consider this as a donation from me. I had a huge regard for you Mr. Mittal. I have been a keen follower of you since the days when you were making shafts for cycles. The efforts that you took by travelling in night trains to Calcutta and Mumbai to set up the business is the stuff legends are made of. I still have a huge respect for your father.
But I think Airtel has lost its connect with the customer. I wouldn't have written this long email but your website Airtel.in does not even mention about escalating issues. As a customer I don't even know whom to approach for my issue. But now I am so disillusioned that nothing would make a difference. I still wish your company all the best, because I believe that the management is super good it is only the last mile connectivity with the customer that is the weakest link.
regards,
Unmesh Patil
After this email I got a call from one Saurabh Bhatt and he also assured me that he would take actions to ensure that this issue was resolved. But again nothing happened. Here are the further emails -
Date - 29th March 2011
Hi Saurabh,
Thanks for responding to my email on Sunday 27th March. You called at 11.30 am and assured that the issue would get resolved in 2 hours. I had retorted by saying that I was given the same assurance twice by the call center guys and nothing had happened. You had replied in all earnestness that you be given a chance. I had relented and changed my plans for Sunday. At 12.30 pm I got a call from cell number 9096180282 by the same person. I found his name to be Ganesh and not Venkatesh as I had mentioned earlier. He said that he was in Aundh Gaon and would be at my home in 10 minutes.
He diddn't turn up for two hours. It was only when I called him I came to know that he did not have the material to fix the job and that he would come the next day (Monday). This person did not have the courtesy to call me and inform about his change of plan. I come to know about it only when I call him. He tells me that I could have waited for two days! At this point I lost my temper. I told him to do whatever he wants to do. Its his choice to complete the task or leave it. Just changing the direction of the dish takes so long? Is it rocket science?
Yesterday (Monday) I got a call from yet another person from Airtel asking if the job was completed. My wife had picked the phone and she replied that it was still not done. This person then said that he will send someone tomorrow (Tuesday)! She replied that we no longer wanted Airtel. To which he replied that in that case he would start the discontinuing process and wanted the set top box back! All along I thought that businesses needed customers. I was so wrong.
I do not intend to continue these mail exchanges any more. It still pains me to leave Airtel but I cannot take this any more. I called up another DTH service provider. He came, set the dish and we were watching TV in two hours from placing the cal!
FYI : I am a subscriber of Airtel broadband for the past 5 years.
regards,
Unmesh Patil
P.S I am now thinking of moving over to another broadband provider. The way Airtel calculates bandwidth consumption is so wrong. And then they reduce your internet speed to a tenth of what you were earlier getting citing Fair Usage Policies!
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