Vodafone Customer Care-Happy to Yelp ?

Happy to yelp ?

Nice advertisement and all. Well done. To the advertisement agency of course. But don’t overwork the dog. Animal rights activists are watching.

Now coming to Vodafone itself and it’s customer care and how they are ready to help. I had to call Vodafone customer care yesterday and I expected prompt service after watching these advertisements. No, I did not call just to check. I really had to call.

Excerpts from that call:

Mr.Jackass*: Vodafone Customer Care. Jackass speaking. How may I help you ?

(Now, I have to stress before typing further that I got the feeling this guy had watched too many T Rajendar movies and Jackie Chan movies back to back and must have used his English text as nothing more than a pillow. He has to be a fan of Himesh Reshamiya too. Because he was speaking in such a bad nasal tone (not voice), that I was finding it really hard to understand what he was saying. On top of the bad tone, his English was just as crappy.)

Me: Excuse me ?

Mr.Jackass: (Repeats what he said earlier.)

Me: Errr, Ya, this is Karthik. I have some issues with my friends and family numbers charges.

Mr.Jackass: (Gibberish which I assume to be, Ok, can you elaborate ?)

Me: Ya, I was earlier being charged 10 paise per minute for my friends and family numbers. Now I am being charged 30 paise for the same. I recharged with that 99 rupee per month recharge. Any idea why this is happening ?

Mr.Jackass: Sorry for the inconvenience Mr.Karthik. How long has this been happening ?

(using my decoding skills again to roughly get what he said)

(Also, what’s this bugger sorry for ? What inconvenience ? That’s supposed to be the parting line when the problem has been resolved and I am not at fault. The problem hasn’t even been identified yet!!)

Me: (Yea, like I set a timer for it) Some three days I guess. (shrug)

Mr.Jackass: Please hold on Mr.Karthik.

Me: Ya

(Weird Noisy music playing in the background. Oh, it’s the Hutch-now-Vodafone music)

After a while, he comes back on line.

Mr.Jackass: Sorry for the inconvenience Mr.Karthik. I just checked your scheme. It’s not possible for you to make calls for 10 paise Mr.Karthik.

Me: (WTF??) Listen, I have been using this for a while now. You are telling me I can’t have used it ?

Mr.Jackass: Sorry for the inconvenience Mr.Karthik. Sorry for giving you wrong information. You have to top up with that bonus card for you to avail that offer.

Me: See, is this because of the 99 rupee recharge ? And if so, how do I revert back to the 10 paise scheme ? Supposing next month I recharge with a 250 rupee recharge, will it automatically revert back to 10 paise ?

Mr.Jackass: Sorry, Mr.Karthik. You have to use the bonus card.

Me: (Fuming, yet controlling it well.) Oh, ok. Thanks then.

Mr.Jackass: Will that be all, Mr.Karthik ?

Me: (Yea, right) Yes, that’ll be all.

I don’t know about the inconvenience, but he should be sorry he is an idiot. Also, I guess the inconvenience was like a statutory warning. “Sorry for the inconvenience, but I am not going to resolve anything.”

So, after speaking to him like for 10 minutes, he still hadn’t given me a solution. Worse, still, he hadn’t even identified the problem. He must most definitely have a negative IQ. The only reason I didn’t lose my cool was because I know he must be pretty badly paid.

Vodafone, stop making dogs run behind tiny girls and provide better service instead.

*Name changed (even if there was no request) to protect the person’s identity.

Book Hunting

Now that the project is over and we have another 3 papers standing between us and the much valued B.E degree, it’s almost like an anticlimax. We are supposed to do the same thing we have been doing for 4 years now. The same drill. Read some crap, write some crap. Pray a lot. Clear the Semester papers.

I had to get this book for my semester, “Wireless Communication: Principles and Practices” Second Edition by Theodore S Rappaport.

Now, if you should have found this book on my website already, then you should also know that that book is the first edition. It is also a badly scanned copy. I actually got an e book printed out for my other text book and it came out real nice.

So, I finally decided it was about time I went and bought this book as my exam is sometime next week. People at home were pretty shocked to hear that I was going to buy my books for exams that was starting next week. Well, as long as I get them and clear the papers. Not like it matters really. It’s engi-sneering you see.

To my shock, couple of book stores I called didn’t have the book. One in T Nagar, one more in Adyar - Kamal Book Stores and yet another in Mylapore - Ravi Book House. The Ravi book house guy seemed to have an abridged edition. (Something I must suggest to my classmates.) But then I said no thanks and the guy promised to get me the book by tomorrow. Not that I’d be needing it now.

I finally took Abhi with me to Mylapore and bought my book in Vijaya Book House. What a Rip-off. They sold me the book for the MRP!! That’s like day light robbery. I usually buy books for 25 % less.

So anyway, I bought the book, went to Ascendas,ate yet again at Mc Donalds with friends. (Only because it’s cheap and I don’t have much money after I was robbed by the book store guy) Came back home and am on line. So please learn from me. Never buy books when you know that you won’t be using them anyway. And never but books at MRP.

Chennai Centric-01-Adyar Depot Traffic Signal ?!?

Have been wanting to post this for a while now, but at first I did not have a camera phone and then I did not go out for a while.

I am sure a lot many of you who live in an around Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur and Besant Nagar would have noticed this by now.

(photo shot on my phone cam.)

On the way to Thiruvanmiyur from Adyar, the traffic signal that is supposed to point straight, points left instead. So if you want to go to Thiruvanmiyur, you will have to go to Besant Nagar and then come round about. This is how wonderful India is. I was there the first day this was repaired (it used to be alright earlier) and we motorists were still waiting for the forward signal to switch ON. To our agony, it never did. Then a traffic policeman comes and asks us to go explaining how someone screwed it up when repairing it. Ah, how beautiful.

When will these incompetent idiots learn ?