Open letter to Vodafone, and future customers!

Sir,

I had sent a mail to Vodafone Karnataka, asking for the protocol to disconnect my Vodafone mobile account, on August 27. I had even mentioned in the mail that I wanted to disconnect my account LATEST by 11th Sept. I never got a proper reply, but I was called by numerous representatives from Vodafone asking me what the problem was. They would not take just the fact that 'I wanted to switch to Airtel' for an answer.

Realising that in this way, my account will not be cancelled any time soon, I went to Whitefield Vodafone store to cancel my vodafone account. The representative first asked me to change to a zero rental plan or something instead of disconnecting, but I insisted on disconnecting it completely, stating the reason that I did not want to be responsible for an active sim card falling into the wrong hands. (I should not need to remind you of what people have been able to achieve using sim cards and mobile phones in recent history.)

Then I was asked to fill a form, and sign it, and I was asked to clear my dues, which the store representative kindly calculated for me and told me to pay at the cash counter. I came out of the store believing that for all purposes, my Vodafone account was history now.

Few days later, I got a call from one of the representatives who had called me before to ask me why I wanted to leave Vodafone. She obviously didn't know yet that I had already disconnected my account. I told her so, and told her that I am happy to be an Airtel customer now, since my company also has an Airtel CUG plan. Anyway, I made her understand my point that I was feeling better off not being a Vodafone customer any more.

Further, on 12th September (my usual bill date), I received a bill from Vodafone in my e-mail, to which I replied stating that I had already disconnected my account, and settled all my outstanding, and will make no further payments.

My mom started getting calls on the alternate contact number since this week, asking if I could be contacted, and that I had to pay a bill, for a service I was not using any more.

When I called Vodafone care, every time, I was handled by a different person. I have been handled by Mr. Praveen and Mr. Manoj (both from the cancellation dept I presume).

I was afforded different explanations at different points in the conversation:

1) Mr. Praveen told me while talking that since I had mentioned in the e-mail that I want to cancel my account by 11th of September, I have to pay the bill till that date. My argument: Does not the fact that I actually went and got my connection disconnected have any importance in this matter? Once I get a disconnection, why should I pay for the other half of the month, during which I did not use your services?

2) After some time arguing about this, Mr. Praveen interrupted me and told me that he can see in the records that I had given a request for re-activation of my account on Sept 2. I was dumbfounded by this allegation. I asked him to provide me details of where I had gone to reactivate my account. He said that the vodafone store's name is some "Feet-on-street" or something like that.
I have asked Mr. Praveen for documentary proof of me having given such a request, to which he said that for reactivation, I don't even need to sign anywhere, or even visit a Vodafone store. All I have to do is just place a call and ask for reactivation. He was not even ready to believe me when I said that I had no knowledge of this reactivation request. All he kept saying was that there was a reactivation request ( about which there are no more details!!), and that proves I sent a request!!

My guess is that the representative who called me after cancellation would have changed the status, without consulting me. To strengthen my case, if you check my records since 29th August, you will see that I have not used the connection at all, active or not.

3) I tried reaching Praveen for two more days, and kept getting routed to other people in the Vodafone call centre. My mom still gets calls daily. I finally manage to reach a Mr. Manoj today, who again started discussing the matter with me, and told me that a Mr. Shankar had come to my house and visited me at my house on the 25th of September. don't know what Mr. Shankar achieved in the records after his alleged interaction with me, but I know only a small fact that on 25th of September, I was on a tour of Israel, not in India!

4) Yesterday evening I had even called Vodafone care and told them that if the sim card concerned with my account, which is still active apparently, and which is not with me anymore ( must be in some trash bin somewhere) is used in a terrorist plot anywhere, I should not be held responsible.

So, to help you summarize my complaints from the long mail:

1) Your representatives actively encourage people to keep the sim cards active ( even when they know we are not going to use them), which could be harmful not only to the concerned person, but also to the society in general. Is it to quote a higher number of users at the cost of national security?
2) What is the point of I having to go to a Vodafone store to cancel my account, If the cancellation request is not going to be entertained at all.
3) You have records, but you don't have accountability for those records. Case in point, my alleged call/visit to "Feet-on-street" to reactivate my account, Mr. Shankar's visit to my place, etc. Another example I would like to give: The representatives require me to visit a Vodafone store and sign documents to open an account, to close an account, hell even to change my alternate number. But you re-activate the account without even gathering any documentary proof? Why? Helps make more money?
4) What came up in the discussion, that apparently I am enabled to activate a new connection in the middle of the month, but I cannot disconnect my account in the middle of the month. Seems that I have to pay the bill on the next billing date IRRESPECTIVE of the fact that I had already settled all accounts at the Vodafone store? It is a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.
5) Again, I had asked Mr. Praveen to contact me and tell me where was it that the re-activation request was filed from. He told me he would get back to me. I haven't got a reply yet. I had even told him that I will help him resolve the problem, and had given him my new number for his advantage, but the calls to my mom should temporarily stop. The calls keep coming, and Mr. Praveen doesn't seem interested in solving the problem.
6) Heights! When I was trying to obtain the request number above, the representative said that he can take my cancellation request on phone! If only they had told me before!

I would suggest Vodafone try to rise above the money making mentality. Quality service to customers is important, whether it is a new customer, or someone discontinuing you services. I will wait for an appropriate amount of time for your reply regarding the same, after which I will contact the appellate authority. Kindly take heed of this mail, not just as a personal complaint, but also to improve as a company. To be more transparent, and professional.

Regards,
Atul Deshpande

Jonathan Livingston Seaman

Jon slowly opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was crashing into the sails of a ship during the pull up from a 'death dive'. The sailors had placed some bread crumbs and water in his cage. Wait, 'CAGE'?...

The sailors weren't so bad, after all. They would let him out of the cage every evening, and watch him fly. If he did well, he would get a 'reward' from the day's catch. Try a 'death dive', and he wouldn't get much, to drive home the point that though exhilerating, the sailors did not appreciate the possibility of either losing their only source of entertainment, or having to stitch another patch in the sails. He needed some time to understand these dynamics, but understand he did...

He returned every day to eat, rest and sleep in the cage. The death dive was now a distant memory, he knew it won't fetch him good, easy fish. He did not fly out into the thunderstorms. They wouldn't allow him to, even if he wished. 'The little joys of life' now seemed more clearer, nearer. Getting wool in the cage, being named the official mascot of the ship were suddenly so important to the same bird who had foregone a thousand meals for the love of flying. Flying was just another activity in life now. Not life itself...

Jonathan opened his eyes. He felt a sudden pain. He realized he didn't care if he died in the thunderstorm, or while doing a death dive, or just sitting on the deck of the ship. What he cared for was to "live" in all these places, to "live" the moments that he wanted to. A sailor's life was good, yes, but he did not want to live anything else than his own life.

He did not return from his evening flight that day.

Yaara Maula - Gulaal

...Haan haan yaadon mein hai ab bhi,
Kya surila wo jahan tha,
Hamare haathon mein rangeen gubaare the,
Aur dil mein mehekta sama tha...

...Wo zameen thi, aasmaan tha,
Hum ko lekin kya pata tha,
Hum khade the jahan par,
Ussi ke kinaare pe gehra sa andha kua tha...

...Phir wo aaye bheed ban kar,
Haath mein the unke khanjhar,
Bole phenko yeh kitaabe,
Aur sambhalo yeh salakhein,
Yeh jo gehra sa kua hai, haan haan andha to nahi hai,
Iss kue mein hai khazana, kal ki duniya to yahi hai,
Kud jao leke khanjhar , kaat daalo jo ho andar,
Tum hi kal ke ho shivaji, tum hi kal ke ho sikander...
................
.......
...Ab hamare laga zaayka khoon ka,
Ab batao kare to kare kya?
Nahi hai koi jo hume kuch bataye,
Batao kare to kare kya?

My first open letter to a celebrity!

For those who want a clue as to what this is about: http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/2008/05/22/day-34iii/

For those who don't care:

Mr. Pant,
Your article started off quite well. I thought it was progressing in the right direction, when you suddenly decided to commit suicide to take it into unwarranted detail. From what I understand, you were trying to establish the fact that India of today is lacking role models of substance. I guess the REAL problem though is: India of today lacks media of substance. take TOI(India, not Idea), for example. A few years ago, I could see lesser pictures and more text, meaningful text, in the publication. But recently, TOI standards have fallen to Tabloid levels. It takes an effort to find news in the newspapers. The Hindu has sort of maintained their standards, but picking up today’s paper, I feel as though I am reading something which had happened way back in the 50’s. So bland is their presentation that you can try putting a baby to sleep with a copy of the Hindu.
Now, coming back o the “substance-lacking” media, they are the ones who make heroes out of people. Who would have known about Budhia (the marathon runner kid) had it not been for the media? Getting me? So as long as the media keeps on reporting about how Aishwarya Bachchan got a pimple, or what shade of white Mr. Bachchan’s beard is, this country is going to, not perish, but at least waste a lot of its time reading stuff the people won’t remember the next day.
So, my point is, as you had pointed out, but got lost in the harakiri you committed, that we not focus on the poor ‘humans’ improving, but rather the all powerful media trying to do a better job.
Hope you agree with me.
Pondy aka Atul.

Dear Mr. Bachchan,
I gather that if I blog an entry named “Amitabh Bachchan sucks”, you will help me get more publicity in a couple of days than I have received in my whole lifetime of 24 years, by replying to my post in your own blog!
Mr. Pant was trying to say that you, or rather any celebrity, (I don’t believe either you or him can be considered as heroes) is after all human. Is it not a possibility that you MIGHT be having some fallibilites of your own? In trying to reply to each and every one of his points, are you trying to prove that you have led an ideal life so far? Why not simply accept that you are human, with your own share of fears and superstitions (yes, all religions come under superstitions)? I do not believe whatever Mr. Pant says, or even whatever you try to justify. But one thing is for sure, had it not been the Indian media, you wouldn’t have been half the celebrity that you are today. That, for the record, is not something the media should be proud of, anyway. I understand you have a right to your fair share of fallibiliies, one of which, I guess is a VERY fragile EGO. Why do you need to confront every Tom, Dick and Harry who you do not agree with? Life is short, Mr. Bachchan, and for you, even shorter, I guess. How old are you, 65? Why not sit back and enjoy your life? Why be angry all the time? Let the younger brigade show their anger, for a change. By the way, you can learn a few points from Aamir Khan on how to keep the media in its place. And try some original blogs, rather than always trying to write off someone else’s original input by simply hitting the ‘reply’ button!
And yes, before your fans here pounce on me, even I am a human, with my share of vices.
Pondy aka Atul.

PS: If you guys ask why I was on AB's blog, I was redirected when I was searching for content related to an aquaintance. :(

Panchvi Pass??

Amitabh Bachchan is wondering what's wrong with Panchvi pass( or fail, does he say?). TV analysts say IPL eats into the viewerships of Panchvi Pass(PP), otherwise it would have been far bigger. Some people have mentioned that the participants are too articulate. Maybe the choice of the host was wrong?

If we have a look at "Fifth grade" half way across the globe, we see a game show that is very similar, and yet, very popular. Reasons??

One, could be that Jeff Foxworthy is way better than SRK, or any other Indian host there could possibly be. Two, American people seem to be a lot dumber than normal people are, though it seems Indians aren't that far behind. Three, the most important point so far, is the questions they ask. There's an ocean of difference between them! The questions on the American show are much simpler, most of the times needing common sense, and hence entertaining(or you could read it as interesting), which makes the show watchable.

For a moment now, I'd like to sit back and think. This is no longer about the success or failure of a game show. This is about much more. Think about it. A game show, based on 1st - 5th grade questions, designed to catch maximum eyeballs, can turn out to be too boring, even for adults. How interesting would the same curriculum be for a ten year old? And without the moolah! Shouldn't we do something about it?

White Rabbit in my mind

...tsung tsung tu rungdung,
tsun tsung tsung tu rungdung,
tsun tsung tsung tu rungdung,
tsun tsung tsung tu rungdung,

tsun tsung tsung tu rungdung,
tsun tsung tsung tu rungdung,
tsun tsung tsung tu rungdung,
tsun tsung tsung tu rungdung...

Jam, fame and Desipondy

Cauvery was up against Jam in the Schroeter footer tie, though having a fine bunch of talented players, Cauvery was stuck with the bitter fact they were all literally uncles when compared to the BTech boys, whose average age might be 20 at the max. Anyway, the differences apart, Cauverians did fight, and eventually lose to the younger team, though the goals were more because of our players' mistakes than Jam's physical supremacy. This story is, in either way, no way related to how the match was played or how it ended. It has more to do with a ritual followed by the supporters of the teams on the field.

It is commonplace in IIT to find another name for almost every other person, basically their nick names given to them by their friends. Though it is a practice mostly followed by the BTech Junta, and very few of the PG's have nicks. Now, it is also a common practice in IIT for the supporters of one hostel to pick up players from the other team for sledging, and the nicks do come in handy here.
Coming back to the match, I was 'manager' of the Cauvery team, what with my hand broken, and nothing more important possible. So, watching the game from the sidelines, I realized the supporters on the other side calling out to a Pondy. I guessed their team had a pondy( my nick is Desipondy) too. Anyway, soon the encouragement turned into a nice round of sledging, with them making statements having all permutations of Desi and Pondy, if you know what I mean. I realized what had happened, though the Jam junta, in their innocent endeavor to shout the hell out of their throats to upset 'Desipondy', didn't know they were being cheated out of the satisfaction of unsettling Pondy.
After the match got over, I asked Adarsh( left wing) if he knew who Desipondy was, who teh crowd was sledging at. He said he didn't know, to which I asked him to remove his shirt and look at its back, where it was written in big bold letters

DESIPONDY

69

Flashback: Adarsh being a new student, didn't have a hostel jersey, and since Desipondy wasn't playing, he lent his own to Adarsh, who made every drop of sweat absorbed by the jersey count on the field with a fine performance.
Flash-to-present: Match analysis
Apart from the fact that Cauvery lost, a little victory of sorts was achieved when we consider the following facts.
The Jam supporters cried their throats sore calling 'Desipondy' more names.
Adarsh, the man in Desipondy's garb, had no idea what burden he was carrying on his back, and hence wasn't the least perturbed.
No other player was too much troubled, since the catchy Desipondy caught everyone's attention.
The real Desipondy was delighted that he eventually got more famous!
The Jam supporters would have been aghast at the amount of Desipondy's attention they could garner after all this shouting!