I dread making calls to any call centre. I land up listening to elevator music or a jingle on endless loop before getting to a human voice. A few privileges (are they?) with a few services that I have exercised directly goes to a voice call, but it tends to be answered by someone who wants to be doubly sure I am the bona fide person. So checks about by mother’s maiden name, my date of birth and a few answers later, she is more at ease to hear me out. Not wanting to sound biased, but most often it has been a lady at the other end.

Recently, I had to recharge a DTH package, which I did online, but apparently even after doing so, the TV channels that I had opted for, were blocked. I was not aware of this development as I rarely watch TV at home. A frantic call from my mother is what made me then get into the act of calling this call centre to get the problem fixed. I could not fathom the first few words uttered to me; “Thank you for calling…” I am pretty sure if a person’s job is to address concerns over a phone from irate consumers, it can never be a pleasant exercise.

A few seconds into our conversation I was explained why the package that I had taken earlier could not be continued. Apparently that package was scrapped. When I dug deeper, the lady at the other end explained that it was a good deal for me, but the company could not sustain it. There ended my smart buying skills. I now had to hear about the many combinations that existed before I could get the desired channels that my mother wanted to see.

Complexities compound

Unable to get a fix on what she was rattling, I decided to hang after telling her, I will explore their website before deciding on which combination to select. Now, I assumed there would be a standard package which would run by the time I figure what to me would be a good combination and deal. After all, I am the cool cat when it comes to extracting value. But behold, the service provider decides to automate a combination of their own, which I was unaware of being far away from home and at work.

In the meanwhile, my mother, who likes to watch a few TV programs as part of her daily chores, was irritable as the channel she wanted to view was nowhere to be sighted. The barrage of texts on the phone meant, I dropped everything else to focus on addressing the DTH package. By the time I settled for what I thought was the most ideal combination and called up the service provider again with the same routine of proving my bona fide, it was irritating. But the icing on the cake was when I was told by the executive that as I had not opted for a package, they had automatically put me on a plan, which I could not exit without paying an exit fee.

It is then that I lost it, but still composed myself to get into a rather lengthy chat which was going nowhere as both of us stood our ground; she on technical reasons and I on principles. In desperation I asked to be put on to a senior manager, who came on the line rather reluctantly. We got chatting and finally I felt I was the victor as all that I asked for was agreed upon with a courteous manager at the other end. Feeling elated, I called up my mother to ask her to restart the DTH to start receiving what she wanted to see.

I then checked my phone message to realize that to get it my way, it cost me Rs 50 as service charges. I was seething with anger and got into speaking to the service provider again. But before I could connect, I decided to escalate the issue with a stern complaint on the mail. Surprisingly I got a call within the next half hour to address my concern. This time it was a different setup of the DTH that got into the act. They somehow appeared to know more about the old package and what I wanted in its place. Over the next five minutes I was able to extract from the executive that she was actually working directly with the service provider.

She was more knowledgeable and empathetic and reversed all charges. And to beat my ego, suggested a better priced package than I had managed. I then asked a banker friend, how they outsourced their call centre and realized the reality – they outsource most of the redress to an external agency, which is trained to handle their bank-specific problems. They also have an in-house call centre to handle more evolved concerns. Makes me wonder when we will get over the differential treatment. Quod Erat Demonstrandum or QED as they say in Latin – for I rest my case.

nk@outlookindia.com