My e-mail to Reliance broadband this morning following my issue. The issue might seem simple, but the principle bothers the hell out of me. I know what it’s like to run a Service Delivery team, with targets and closing times and whatnot. But the deplorable service some (read: many) ISPs take on makes me really wonder.

Is it because you’re pretty stuck with using them once you sign up that they don’t really have to worry about after-sales support and services?

This e-mail is only mildly edited from the original to remove personal account information.

My name is Chirag Desai and we have internet broadband from reliance at our home.

On the 8th of November, our modem failed. I filed a complaint number 140684488 with customer care, who told me the problem would be resolved within 24 hours. After waiting almost 48 hours, I called customer care again. I was informed that my complaint had been closed. I told the agent that no one even visited me, nobody fixed anything and I was still without internet. He told me he could not do anything about the previous complaint, and so was forced to open a new complaint, number 140803041 (opened nov. 10) and that the problem would be resolved within 24 hours.

I waited 5 days for someone to call me, follow up or even visit our house. No one did.

On the 15th of November, I called customer care again, frustrated that I was without internet for a week. I was told by the agent that my previous complaints had been closed and that the problem was resolved. I told him to please re-open them, but NO ONE HAD VISITED, I WAS STILL WITHOUT INTERNET. I then asked to be transferred to a supervisor.

I spoke to team leader Durghesh, based in Mumbai who told me he was extremely sorry for the inconvenience and that he would set up a new complaint (now complaint number 141112992, 15 Nov) and that he would make sure that my problem was resolved and investigate why my complaints had been getting closed without anyone showing up or actually fixing my issue. In the morning I finally received a call from a tech support engineer who told me he would visit. The following day, they replaced my modem (the previous one was completely faulty the engineer informed me).

When I spoke to Durghesh, I asked him how I could go about getting a waiver on my bill because I was without internet for over a week with pure failure on the part of Reliance. He told me that nothing could be done until the bill was generated but definitely I would get a waiver for the lack of internet. I called in after my bill was generated, filed a complaint number 142081510 and was told I would be notified within 72 hours. No one called back, SMS’d me or anything since then.

I called again today (Dec. 14) to figure out the status because I did not pay my bill since I expect a resolution to be reached first. I was told by Supervisor Ujvala to e-mail my issues in because my waiver had not been passed because my problem was resolved within 24 hours. This is rubbish. The line of multiple complaints is enough evidence in itself to show that my issue had never been resolved. The notes made by Durgesh should support this statement.

Please note that it is unfair to expect me to, and I do not intend to pay:

1. additional charges that should be waived because of a lack of internet which was the failure on reliance’s support team to solve my issue and
2. any additional charges that are incurred because of the delay in my resolution from reliance’s biliing and support teams, past the billing due date.

I expect a speedy resolution so that problems might be resolved otherwise I will be looking to cancel my account with reliance (both my own and that at our offices) because of extremely poor service, poor support, and poor engineers who close out complaints regardless of whether the issues have been solved or not purely to keep their closing times within their range despite not solving problems.

I expect a speedy reply with a resolution and a waiver. For a follow up, you may reach me on the number listed below.

Chirag Desai

Summary:

• Original complaint: 140684488, 8th nov
• Second complaint: 140803041: 10th nov
• Final complaint (Durghesh): 141112992: 15 nov
• Billing complaint: 142081510 — filed nov. 30, 1.51 p.m.

Update, not that it seems to matter:

Part II of this saga is here.

Part III is here.