Travelling in Bangalore these days is simply a nightmare. And if u r in the driver's seat its pure hell!! A 10 KM stretch from e-city to Silk Board Jn. on the very infamous Hosur Road could take you anthing from 45 mins to 3 hours. But usually the painpoints start abt halfway down the route.
Yesterday was a different story. Abt a km after e-city, traffic comes to a dead stop!! Two vehicles that broke down on two diff lanes, blocking most of the traffic!! Frustrating is an under statement... I was hungry, tired and was longing for a warm cozy bed!! All these factors combined to probably give me a very grumpy appearance.. :(
Just ahead of my car, was a very common sight on Bangalore roads... the call center cabs!! They generally come in the shape of a Qualis/Safari/Indica or the good ol' Amby!! This one was a Safari and sitting on the rear end was a lady, who was trying to catch my attention.. well she was making faces at me!!
Once she found that she had me looking her way, she asked me "Why the grumpy face?!" .. and I replied.."The damn traffic!!" .. well, she said "Dont worry, just be happy n smiling!!"
The fact is the entire conversation happened through a barrier of two windshields and without a single word spoken!! Yep.. it was all using simples signs!!
As the traffic moved at a snail's pace, we continued this conversation and once we got out of it, bid her good bye..
No idea who this person is.. but whoever n wherever she is.. thank you!! :)
Monday, December 19, 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Airtel : Status Update
Just thot wud give an update on my predicament with the Airtel Data Card.
After all the trouble and travail that I had been through, I was able to locate that one customer care chap, who actually cared for the customer!! This chap, dunno if i shud take his name here, went way beyond his duty to ensure that I was connected!! he took care of calling up and co-ordinating with all the varied teams within Airtel to get my problem sorted out. And to top it he calls me up to confirm if my problem has been solved!! After going through two dozen good-for-nuthin people it really is a relief to find someone like that!! I promptly shot off a "customer-appreciation" mail mentioning this chap!! Hope it helps him!!:)
As for the GPRS net connection, its zimbly amazing!! The freedom to use the net newhere is gr8, after all these years of hving to dial up and sit rt next to ur telephone!! The speeds vary from 80KBPS to 220KBPS, good enough for me and it is accessible at the same rate anywhere in India, where there is an Airtel n/w!! The only stumbling block is the initial cost of the card.. 12 grands!! :(
After all the trouble and travail that I had been through, I was able to locate that one customer care chap, who actually cared for the customer!! This chap, dunno if i shud take his name here, went way beyond his duty to ensure that I was connected!! he took care of calling up and co-ordinating with all the varied teams within Airtel to get my problem sorted out. And to top it he calls me up to confirm if my problem has been solved!! After going through two dozen good-for-nuthin people it really is a relief to find someone like that!! I promptly shot off a "customer-appreciation" mail mentioning this chap!! Hope it helps him!!:)
As for the GPRS net connection, its zimbly amazing!! The freedom to use the net newhere is gr8, after all these years of hving to dial up and sit rt next to ur telephone!! The speeds vary from 80KBPS to 220KBPS, good enough for me and it is accessible at the same rate anywhere in India, where there is an Airtel n/w!! The only stumbling block is the initial cost of the card.. 12 grands!! :(
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Airtel - Anytime .. Anywhere!! * Conditions Apply
Just got a Airtel Data card, 2-3 days back. Its a credit card sized piece of hardware, that fits into the PCMCIA slot of ur laptop/PDA and lets u access the internet over GPRS/3G. Theoretically its an amazing thing coz it gives u wireless internet "Anywhere.. AnyTime"!! And thats wht tempted me to get it in the first place.. Big Mistake!!! When am i going to learn that marketing catch phrases are not to be believed!! :(
I should have seen the signs right at the beginning.. when i went to the showroom to enquire about it, the folks sitting there had no clue abt the whole stuff. They had to call up some other guy to get the details. But alas, i decided to go ahead with the card. I was assured that within 24 hrs i would be on surfing the net "Anywhere Anytime"!!
I waited for more than 24 hrs and last night installed the software and inserted the card into the PCMCIA slot.The flimsy manual that came with the card said it would be automtically detected. i waited n waited n waited n waited n after abt 30 mins called the customer care.
Now the sweet lady at customer care tells me data card queries are handled by a "specialized" service centre. Okey. I dial the new number. After a detailed trip of all the menus, the IVR informs me that this service center is available only from 10 AM to 10 PM!! So much for "AnyTime" service.!!
I am literally at my wit's end!! Repeated calls to the customer care proved futile. They had no clue whatsoever abt the data card!! :(
I waited till 10 in the morn n then finally called up the "specialized" customer care. The person on the line tells me smthing needs to be activated on my SIM and can only be done by the "normal" service center. I call up the other guy and he tells me everything is fine and active. After shuttling between the two service centers and abt a dozen "customer service" executives my problem still remains unsolved.. the final response was .. when the clock strikes 12 tonite everything wud fall in place!! ... i hope.. else if nebody needs to be connected to the net "AnyTime AnyWhere" u cud contact me for a GPRS data card!!
I should have seen the signs right at the beginning.. when i went to the showroom to enquire about it, the folks sitting there had no clue abt the whole stuff. They had to call up some other guy to get the details. But alas, i decided to go ahead with the card. I was assured that within 24 hrs i would be on surfing the net "Anywhere Anytime"!!
I waited for more than 24 hrs and last night installed the software and inserted the card into the PCMCIA slot.The flimsy manual that came with the card said it would be automtically detected. i waited n waited n waited n waited n after abt 30 mins called the customer care.
Now the sweet lady at customer care tells me data card queries are handled by a "specialized" service centre. Okey. I dial the new number. After a detailed trip of all the menus, the IVR informs me that this service center is available only from 10 AM to 10 PM!! So much for "AnyTime" service.!!
I am literally at my wit's end!! Repeated calls to the customer care proved futile. They had no clue whatsoever abt the data card!! :(
I waited till 10 in the morn n then finally called up the "specialized" customer care. The person on the line tells me smthing needs to be activated on my SIM and can only be done by the "normal" service center. I call up the other guy and he tells me everything is fine and active. After shuttling between the two service centers and abt a dozen "customer service" executives my problem still remains unsolved.. the final response was .. when the clock strikes 12 tonite everything wud fall in place!! ... i hope.. else if nebody needs to be connected to the net "AnyTime AnyWhere" u cud contact me for a GPRS data card!!
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