Customer Care

Actual Conversation with Airtel Customer Care Executive (CCE)

CCE: Hello. This is Suwarna. How may I help you?
Me: Hi. Outgoing calls and outgoing messages on my number have been barred. Can you tell me the reason?
CCE: Kindly be on the line, Sir. I'll just check and let you know.

(Music)

CCE: Thank you for holding the line. Sir, your address verification has come out negative. So your outgoing calls and messages have been barred.
Me: What? I met the person who had come for verification like couple of days back.

(Silence)

CCE: Yes Sir. He had visited you on 19th June.
Me: So what happened? Why is the verification negative then?
CCE: Well Sir, He verified your address for the number 99XXXXXXXX but according to our records your number is 99YYYYYYYY.
Me: You guys changed the number! I didn't ask for a change. I was told that the earlier number wasn't getting activated on my particular SIM so a different number was alloted to me. Also for a day or so some other customer's number was activated on my SIM.
CCE: Yes Sir. That's the reason for your address verification coming out negative.
Me: Okay! So now what? (Trying to keep my patience)
CCE: Your address will have to be verified again.
Me: Really? But you already know I am present at the address I've stated. You should be able to just sort out the issue within your system! (Realizing there was no point in explaining my logic to the the CCE) Anyways... So send the person to my address on Monday. (I was really fed up by this point)
CCE: Sir, We cant do it from here. You'll have to go to a Airtel Center, raise a request for address verification and they'll send the person after that.
(Now I've had it)
Me: What? Why cant customer care do that! Isn't that what customer care is supposed to do? Help the customers.
CCE: Yes Sir. But we already sent the person for address verification once. If he has to be sent again for some reason then the customer has to go to the Airtel center and raise the request.
(I presume that's like a punishment for screwing up on the first address verification)
Me: But the reason in my case was that the person who had come for verification made a mistake. You're not having to resend him because of my mistake. The error was from Airtel's side. So the person should be resent without me having to do nothing with it. In fact my outgoing calls shouldn't be barred either. But I'm not arguing about that!

(Silence)

CCE: Sorry Sir. I understand but I cannot help you.
Me: Thank you very much!
CCE: Would there be anything else?
Me: You tell me! Bye.