Nov 26, 2009
Mumbai experiences
Here are some rough notes about my experiences in Mumbai so far…
Mobile connection
Airtel - Initially, I went to Airtel Chembur office for getting a mobile connection as I also wanted to check out an iPhone (I was under the impression that Airtel was the exclusive supplier in India). We had a major trouble finding it since it had just opened and nobody knew where it was. And the Airtel hoardings all over were making the search more complicated. Anyway, eventually found it but the staff were totally clueless about the iPhone’s availability, price, and the data plan (they said it was just Rs.200 per month - I am still not sure whether that is the case). Unimpressed, I decided to seek other options.
Vodafone - My friend, who is a long term Vodafone customer, took me to their office in Chembur. I wanted to get two SIM cards - for me and my wife. The staff was courteous and after asking a few questions about the expected usage (voice and data) explained me the various post-paid options and sold me two connections - smooth ride. They told me that it will take not more than 48 hours for the SIM cards to get activated. What they did not tell me was it was 48 hours after I give them the address proof - house agreement copy. Now my friend who is a very diligent person actually had carried my house agreement copy in the car (she was taking care of all affairs related to my house while I was overseas). So I gave the staff the copy for photocopying and he took the necessary papers. I had to sign all the photocopies - self-attestation - fantastic ritual as compared to the earlier days of finding a Special Executive Magistrate for attesting your photocopies. Vodafone staff was also appeared uninterested in my iPhone query.
Now, I was patiently waiting for my mobile connection to start - switching the phone on and off now and again with no luck. The stipulated 48 hours passed and still no result. I tried the Vodafone customer care 111 a number of times and every time they said, the connection will start after 4 hours. Finally, I went to their office and it seems the staff already knew what was wrong - they had failed to take a copy of a certain page from the documents I provided. But did not bother to contact me to tell that. And when asked that I had called 111 a number of times but they did not tell me that this was an issue, the response was they don’t have this record with them. So all the time when they said the problem will be solved after 4 hours, it was a total bluff.
The ordeal doesn’t end here. After making sure that all the documents were with them and getting another assurance that the phone will be activated within 48 hours(!), I started for my journey to go out of Mumbai for 5 days. I knew I was carrying the risk of the connection not activating and it did materialise but the most surprising aspect was that out of my two connections, the one for my wife started within a day and the other one did not start for the next 5 days (but wife’s phone was disconnected twice after that for address verification and started after a call to 111) - both connections bought at the same time, same documents submitted and still this unexplainable phenomenon.
Also, I am getting strange phone calls for verification of address with somebody asking for date of birth, work details, and so on. And when confronted, they apologise and inform that a Vodafone representative had gone to my home address and since there was nobody then, we can take the details on the phone. I told them to ask the guys to come back again after taking an appointment. But till date, nobody has called me again.
In the meanwhile, I am always dreading that the connection(s) could go dead anytime (for lack of address verification!).
I had received a couple of phone calls explaining me the plans that I had subscribed to. These were very nice, polite and informative conversations. But I already had this information from my first visit to the Vodafone office.
Mobile Unlocking - This has been a horrible nightmare. I have already lost Rs.1200.00 (Rs.700 for unlocking and Rs.500 for solving an issue after that) but the phone again had a problem and is currently unusable.
Internet
Broadband - This has to be the best experience as yet. I had received a leaflet at home for Airtel phone and broadband. Called the person, set up an appointment and he promptly came to explain the various options (including what the competitor offers), fill the forms, and take the payment. The wiring was done the next evening at 8pm. And another person set up the broadband the next day. And it has been a smooth ride since then. Apart from the one occasion, when the line went dead - it seems there was another set up going on in the building and the wiring might have been affected during that time. But it was solved within half an hour, so no major grief. Apart from my anxiety whether this has something to do with address verification 
.
Other
Milk, newspaper, vegetables, medicines, grocery, and taxi can be ordered over the phone and are delivered without any extra charges. Businesses will send a person to collect cheques and forms to remove the delay it could take for you to go and buy from their premises and to eliminate the risk of you going to a competitor. This is super convenience and comparable to the online services in the western world with an edge over the flexibility in delivery times - my shoe-rack was delivered at 10pm. One should appreciate why e-commerce has to be approached from a different angle in India. Phone and human resource availability is the major competition for Internet in India. Even for bill payments, India has drop box facilities which I think are easier than online payments (for the majority who are still not comfortable with the computers and internet).
Travel
Meru - Call 022-44224422 and you can get a taxi at your doorstep. The service is very good. I wanted a taxi at 11.30pm at Airoli (in Navi Mumbai) and they arranged it within 15 minutes of my call.
BEST - Apart from some dangerous drivers, I am pretty impressed with BEST. It is superb value for money. I have used a combination of the two sites http://www.bestundertaking.com/transport/index.htm and http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/navigator1/index.html to plan the journey and though both the sites are rudimentary, they are quite useful. BEST has introduced a suburban and city day pass for Rs.20/Rs.25 which is fantastic. Nowhere in the world can you get so much for so little. If you get a window seat, it comes with the added advantage of going through some amusing placards, slogans, information boards along the way e.g. today I saw an ad for ‘Car Fiancee’.
More to follow…