Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Talking to the parrots of night

Do you live in Delhi? If yes, have you ever faced a prolonged power cut? Affirmative answer, Have to ever tried call there call centers? Yes, then what is your experience? If you wanted to know mine, then just read on.

Power situation is Delhi is bad, last weeks of June saw power cuts of almost 12 hours a day in most of the middle class localities. Something that the discom ‘BSES’ didn’t acknowledge, because according to their official records, and the records of top bureaucrats, there has being no power cut for more than 2 hours per day. When the situation got out of the hands, austerity measures where imposed in the city, and the Chief Minister pulled up the ‘discoms’. The ‘austerity’ measures, which include early closure of the shops, invited the ire of the traders. No wonder, power improved within days of the threat. After all, if ‘discom’ can get the government value, traders get them the volume. However, it is the situation just a week back. The main contention of retail consumer has being the non-functioning of contact centers and complaint centers. This was asked specifically by our lady CM to be corrected. It was, but how, and what was the result, then lets come the first Monday of this week.

It had being a hot and tiring day, with monsoon playing hide and seek with the city, the temperatures remained hot and humid. Usually, I don’t hit bed before 1 am, but on that day, a family friend just had too many of the drinks and was therefore forced by the family to lay himself down. He slept on my place, just beneath my poor desktop. This left me nothing to do, as he slept at 11 pm, and I can’t sleep before 1 am. For one whole hour, I kept roaming in the balcony for an hour. At 12, I hit the bed, after setting the alarm; I was closing my eyes, wooosh! At the 12:06 sharp, the power was gone. I didn’t got up immediately, I thought it might be of the regular cut for an hour, so I kept sweating out in the bed (actually I sleep in the ground, I like it that way). By 1.15 it had became unbearable, so I called their call centre, read the supposed transcript.

Me: Vikas puri **, ki light kab tak ayegi (when shall power supply be resumed to Vikas puri)
CC: BSES mein call karne ke liye dhanyawad, hold par rahiye main check karke batlata hoon (Thanks for calling BSES, Please keep on hold, I’ll check and tell)
The guy kept me waiting for a minute.
CC: Hold par bane rahne ke liye dhanyawad, Sir apke yahan par breakdown hua hai, 2 baje tak light aa jaegi (Thanks for keeping on the hold, there is a breakdown in your area, the supply will be resumed by 2 am)
Me: Thank you.
And I disconnected the phone.

At 2 am, there was still no sign of power, the street lights were still on as it was connected with a different phase. I called them again.

Me: Vikas puri **, ki light kab tak ayegi (when shall power supply be resumed to Vikas puri)
CC: BSES mein call karne ke liye dhanyawad, hold par rahiye main check karke batlata hoon (Thanks for calling BSES, Please keep on hold, I’ll check and tell)
CC: Hold par bane rahne ke liye dhanyawad, Sir hamare records mein toh apki 2 baje tak resume ho jani chahiye, main apki complaint le leta hoon. (Thanks for keeping on the hold, according to our records, your power should have resumed by 2 am. However, I am registering your complaint)
He took my complaint, and gave me the complaint number, 267.

The night was unbearable, there was no sign of wind, and I was sweating, there was no point going back to bed and suffocate again. So I decided to stay outside. At least I was able to breathe there. After waiting for 20 minutes, I called them again to ask the status.

Me: complain no. 267 ka status kya hai (What is the status of Complaint no. 267)
CC: BSES mein call karne ke liye dhayawad, 1 minutes sir, main check karke batata hoon (Thanks for calling BSES, I will check and get back to you in a minute.)
CC: Hold par bane rahne ke liye dhanyawad, Sir apke yahan par breakdown hua hai, 3 baje tak light aa jaegi, hamari koshish rahegi ki dobara apko fone na karna pade (Thanks for keeping on the hold, there is a breakdown in your area, the supply will be resumed by 3 am, we shall try that you don’t have to call back again)
Me: pakka, 2 ka 3 hua hai uska 4 na ho, pure din ka nahi soya hoon, office se ane ke baad band thaka hua hota hai aur app log drame karte rehte ho (Sure, it was 2 am earlier, now you are telling me its 3 am, don’t let it be 4 am. A person is tired after coming from office, he hasn’t slept for the day and you people are taking this as nothing)
CC: sir main apki taklif samajh sakta hoon, hum koshish karenge ki apko dobara call na karna pare (Sir, I can understand your problem, I will ensure that you don’t have to call again)
I disconnected the phone.

I was tired, and it was hot, I thought of having a beer, but there was only a single bottle and too many companions (my dad, my uncle and that inebriated family friend), I thought it would be better to stick to Red bull. It took me an hour to finish that drink, that many rumors claim, contains the juices taken from the testicles of the bull. I waited for further 10 minutes and made a call again, it was 3.05.

Me: 267
CC: kya? (What?)
Me: status, complaint no. 267
He kept me in hold for a minute.
CC: Hold par bane rahne ke liye dhanyawad, Sir apke yahan par light 3 baje tak a jaegi (Thanks for keeping on the hold, the supply will be resumed by 3 am)
Me: abhi time kya hai? (What’s the time now?)
CC: 3 baje hi hai, aa jaegi 5-10 minute mein (its, 3, it will be there in 5 to 10 minutes)
This casual approach just pissed me off. How casually he murdered the punctuality, would even have force Mahatma Gandhi to commit suicide.
Me: 3 ka matlab kya hota hai, main ek waqt ka paband banda hoon, 3 ka matlab 3.10 ya 3.15 nahi hota (What is meant by 3 am, I am a punctual person, 3 doesn’t means 3.10 or 3.15 to me)
CC: sir main apki taklif samajh sakta hoon, hum koshish karenge ki apko dobara call na karna pare, 10 minute aur wait kar lijiye (Sir, I can understand your problem, I will ensure that you don’t have to call again, please wait for 10 more minutes)
I disconnected the phone.

Since it became a sign for the things to come, I called them again after 15 minutes.

CC: BSES mein call karne ke liye dhanyawad, main **** apki kya madad kar sakta hoon (thanks for calling BSES, How can I help you)
Me: Complaint no. 267
CC: Sir, apke yahan toh 3 baje tak light aa jani chahiye, main apki complaint reforward kar deta hoon.(Sir, power should have being resumed by 3 am, I am re-forwarding the complaint.)
Me: Kya?? Reforward ka matlab kya hota hai, b***c*** apne senior ka number de (What? What do you mean by Re-forward? Give me the number of your senior)
CC: sir woh hamare pass nahi hai? (We don’t have that)
Me: apne senior koh fone de? (Connect me to your senior)
He connects me, no one picks up the phone, apparently no one is there, and the CC guy picks up the phone again.
CC: Senior line nahi hai, main apki kya madad kar sakta hoon? (Senior is not available, how can I help you?)
Me: b***c****, apne senior kaya JE number de (Give me the number of your senior or the Junior Engineer for this area)
CC: Woh apke bill mein hai (That is in your bill)
Me: b**c***, bill mein jin c**** ka number hai who b**c** kabhi fone nahi uthate (The no. provided in bill, never work)
CC: aap aise anuchit sabdo ka prayog na karein, nahi toh main apki call disconnect kar dunga. (Refrain from using foul language; otherwise I will disconnect your call)
Me: b**c** kar de
CC: aap aise anuchit sabdo ka prayog na karein, nahi toh main apki call disconnect kar dunga. (Refrain from using foul language; otherwise I will disconnect your call)
Me: b***c*** kar de, tu kisi kam ka nahi hai(disconnect it even you are of no use)
CC: aap aise anuchit sabdo ka prayog na karein, nahi toh main apki call disconnect kar dunga. (Refrain from using foul language; otherwise I will disconnect your call)
Me: saale, light ka ek toh time nahi bol raha upar se bakwass kar raha hai, sunge nahi toh kya karega, puri raat ki neend haram kar di hai (You are not sure about the time, and neither we have being able to sleep for night, and then you are of no help, and then you tell us not to abuse you)
CC: sir main apki taklif samajh sakta hoon, hum koshish karenge ki apko dobara call na karna pare (Sir, I can understand your problem, I will ensure that you don’t have to call again)
I disconnected the phone.

On a whole, I discovered a pattern; these guys at BSES use these following sentences
namaskar BSES, main *** apki kya madad kar sakta hoon
hold par bane rahne ke liye dhanyawad
main apki taklif samajh sakta hoon
BSES par call karne ke liye dhanyawad

There must have being few more, but I don’t remember them. After last call, I tried them for another 1 hour, that is, till 4 am; all I got is same answer. After that my uncle took the mantle. I was by that time was in no mood to talk to the parrots. I like them in their natural habitat, but not in a cage, where they do whatever they are being told. The cage is of money. But what it bound is truth and honesty. After sometime, even my uncle was bemused, “don’t they get tired by repeating same thing again and again.”

Power supply was resumed by 5 am in the morning. By that time, first lights of the dawn had broken through the sky.

Many a time it has being complained that the call centers either don’t provide the information or don’t have any. What is the point of having a Grievance Redressal Mechanism when the vital information is not provided to the consumers. In the above situation, I was forced to use the foul language, who wants to listen to a parrot in the middle of the night, repeating same thing again and again. At one time, they responded in manner as I was just calling them without any purpose, as if I am having fun. By the time power resumed, I had lost my all desire to sleep, but my sleep hasn’t left me. I slept for one hour from 5.30 to 6.30 and then an hour in the afternoon. I was busy during the day.

Since then there has being no major power cut till now. But I wonder, does such shoddy customer service befit to the citizen of a capital city? Will this parrot service work? Well if you ask me, may be yes, because in India its chalta hai. And many times we also behave like a parrot, in the cage of money, bounding truth and honesty.

© Tarun Mitra

8 comments:

shivani said...

Hmmmm
Actually mein for the first time mujhe tera article interesting laga and acha bhi tha no doubt
keep up the gud wrk

Tarun Mitra said...

Thank you Shivani....but its actually you are reading my article for the first time.

Mridula said...

Tarun I understand how frustrating it must have been. But I am also sure the poor employee is quite ill trained and stressed because of irate customers. No win situation for anyone.

Tarun Mitra said...

Agreed Mridula, sometimes I do feel for the guy who is abused for which he cannot be blamed. Having said that, he is also the person who is doing PR for the company without knowing much about it. But still, it is a case where not much can't be done, the company is dishonest, the government is pathetic. And only people are to blame is the citizens.

Cuckoo said...

I can understand your plight. Summer months can be quite painful. Delhi is quite famous for it's load shedding. Not much can be done there, The staff is helpless.

Been thru all this for years before I shifted to Mumbai.

Tarun Mitra said...

Dear Cuckoo, load shedding can be understandable, but there must be some schedule for this. And some fair play. Which is missing. I think I have came across few article, where it says that Mumbai may also face such power crisis. Some tussle between Tatas and Reliance.

DRIVEN said...

Had the same experience around 1 month ago. Surprised by the response of a private firm.. this is erasing the gap between a public sector and a private sector.

Tarun Mitra said...

Well in some areas public sector is much better. Power sector is different and to some extent a bit difficult to understand.