More problems dog Tata DoCoMo launch

Yesterday I wrote about Tata DoCoMo's sloppy launch in Chennai. The problems for Tata DoCoMo doesn't end with distribution.

I finally managed to get hold of a starter pack, courtesy a dealer friend who took pains to alert me that he had the pack. When I got it, he said there were problems with activation. A couple of people who had bought packs had encountered long delays in activation. He immediately sent a message to Tata DoCoMo and got a confirmation message.

I got the starter pack at around 8 p.m.  I waited till 10 p.m. There was no sign of activation. I tried to ring up Tata DoCoMo but the calls never got through.

I checked in the morning. No activation. I called customer care. This time I got through. The guy at the other end was absolutely clueless. He said there was 'some' problem and that the line would get activated by evening. I asked him why it was taking so long. He again pleaded helplessness and as a concession, brought down the expected time of activation to afternoon.

When will it get activated? Will it get activated at all?  

Sloppy launch

The Tata DoCoMo service was launched in Chennai on Saturday. There were full-page advertisements in The Hindu on Friday and Saturday.

But even till evening, the DoCoMo retail packs were not available anywhere in the city except with a handful of retailers.

What is the point in ‘launching’ a service with fanfare if the product is not going to be available at the stores? Shouldn’t have Tata DoCoMo sent out the retail packs to dealers and then advertised?

Moreover, the retail packs are just cards and do not require huge logistics support.

The customer care was not also helpful. I asked if I could get it anywhere in Mount Road. After a minute’s search, the customer care asked me: “Sir is it St. Thomas Mount?”. I said, No, Mount Road. Or try Anna Salai.” “No sir, any other area?”. Did she want me to go around Chennai looking for retailers?

After five full minutes, I got the names of three retailers. They were small non-descript shops. How do I find them? Does Tata DoCoMO have phone numbers of the retailers so that I can contact them? “No sir. We don’t have it.” Very helpful indeed.

There was a small surprise in store after two hours. I thought I would ask for another area near my house. I rang up customer care and asked, “Any shop in Gopalapuram?” “No, sir. There are a few in Teynampet. There are a couple of them in Anna Salai.” Anna Salai? Just an hour ago, I was told there were none. She gave me two addresses. Again no phone numbers to contact the shops. For those who don’t know much of Chennai, Anna Salai is one of the main arterial roads that stretches for almost 10 km.

I now have to go and hunt for them. Can marketing and customer service get so sloppy?

Technorati Tags: Tata DoCoMo,launch,Chennai,marketing

One way?

On the right is Royapettah police station. So what? Because this is a one way road. The cops are least bothered about the violations (See the auto coming in the wrong direction). Waiting for a major accident to act?

Swami Dayananda Saraswati's lecture

The Kamaraj Memorial Hall was jampacked. The organisers had to ask some people who had no space to sit to sit on the stage.
I managed to take a snap as Swami passed me.

No parking? So what?

The Omnipotent driver is not bothered about lack of parking space. May be he thinks he owns the road.

cop on the road

Place: anna salai, chennai

The cop has discovered that the best place to stand is the road! policehennai

Efforts going waste...

I recently came across a news item about Nokia's initiative on e-waste saying the company would take back even non-working mobile phones. If there is something we are least bothered about, it is e-waste. We don't care about where our printer cartridges go after we discard them. It's the same with mobile phones, monitors and each and every electronic item we use.

I have a (non-working) monitor, two flatbed scanners (in working condition - one without a driver and another without a cable), a multimedia speaker set (non-working again) and a bill printer (I am still wondering how and why I bought it). I have no idea what to do with them or how to dump them. I have tried all I could but they refuse to get out of my house.

I first rang up a guy who had advertised saying he would take `working and non-working' computer parts. "Yes, sir, what do you have?" he asked. I listed out the items. "What else do you have?" he asked. "That's it,' I said. "No, sir, we can't take them," he politely said. I could understand why he wouldn't take the monitor, but the scanners? They were in working condition. "No sir, we can't do anything with them." I told him there would be someone who would be ready to take the scanners. "No, sir, nobody wants scanners. If you have anything else, please let me know. I will definitely take them," he said.

After several unsuccessful attempts, I asked my computer dealer friend Roshan. "Why don't you give me the scanner model number? I will find the driver," he said. I told him I had already tried to get the driver, but couldn't. "No sir. Just tell me the model number. It's easier to find a driver than to dispose it," he said.

I called my friendly neighbourhood raddiwallah. "No. I don't know what to do with it," he said, and offered some helpful advice. "Why don't you call a computer dealer?"

So, I am back to square one. I have decided to wait till I get a proper recycler - despite my wife's protestations about putting up with "all that junk."

 

This appeared in the eWorld supplement of The Hindu Business Line dated Monday, June 15, 2009