Poor Customer Service? We are like this wonly!
26 July 2010
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Poor customer service
Do you remember when I said I rued the day I decided to go down the Overseas Citizen of India route? Truer words have never been spoken. For the past two weeks, my life has been one long drawn out misery. From 9.00 AM, I dial and re-dial the number for the person who can tell me what happened to my renunciation of Indian citizenship process. Between 9.00 AM and 9.30 AM, the line will go through and the phone will ring out. After 9.30 AM, I will be greeted with a busy tone, followed by the message “The person at extension 3116 is not available at the moment. Please try again later.”
I have heard that message so many times that I hear it in my sleep.
In the past two weeks, I have been lucky twice to actually get a living, talking human being on the other line. On week 1, which was 14 days after I sent in my application, this lady answered that due to a postal strike the process got stalled and was being re-started that very day and I will hear from them in a week’s time.
Did I hear from them in a week’s time? Did I heck.
I got through once again on 22 July and this time a male voice answered that there has been a further delay because the lady who’s job it was to process these applications went off on holiday and I will positively hear from them in less than a week. “Take my word, madam, one week”, the voice said.
Of course, he was smart enough to hang up before I could get his name and hold him accountable for further delay.
I have been trying since 9.00 AM this morning. I am convinced that those that are allegedly working, have just taken the phone off the hook. I finally tried the High Commission’s operator again, knowing it was a lost cause. The cool lady who answered at the 32nd ring said it might take around 6 weeks. When I went “6 weeks? I was told 7 days and it has been a month already?”, she coolly responded “one month is nothing!”
Nothing? A delay of a month, without a word regarding the status of your application is nothing? Being fed excuses week after week while you are desperately awaiting your Surrender Certificate is nothing?
Coming from India, I know that sub-standard service, especially in government sector, is the norm. But this kind of apathy one wouldn’t expect even in India. What amazes me is that we live in places where you are assured of quality service everywhere right from your corner shop. When day after day, you are on the receiving end of decent customer service, how can you mete out the opposite thing?
Even iconic organisations such as the national airlines aren’t exempt from this. I personally know of people who have advised me against travelling by that airline because the service on board and at the airports is well below par. In fact, those that had no option but to go with this provider always took enough food to sustain them for at least two days.
What prompts us to treat our fellow brethren in this shoddy manner? Even if one doesn’t subscribe to the “all Indians are my brothers and sisters” tenet, the quality of service meted out by other Indians in the service sector is beyond appalling. What must be done to change the status quo? Or am I being over-confident in trusting that it could be changed?
Share your horror stories with me.
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I went through almost the same night mare as stated in my earlier comments … you were lucky to have a person pick your phone …. no such luck !
But surprise surprise … after 3.5 weeks … 25 days of no news, we got out OCI … all documents intact !!! Couldn’t have been happier that day !! Thank God, all our official documents were intact.
You never know … you might be surprised too
Good luck.
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