Make My Trip's delay in addressing complaints effectively

Make My Trip Travel company takes the longest time in resolving complaints and I would not be surprised if they do not even come up with a positive resolution or alternative. It has been a month and a half and even after escalating my complaint with the Management, no resolution or alternative has been provided to me. Nobody has followed up on the escalated complaint leave alone get in touch with me to update me on the status of my case.

I think they are very inefficient . Effective service means prompt, standardised service and satisfying customer needs. Effective service means avoiding delays in handling complaints and professionally handling complaints. Make My Trip is not equipped to do just that !

Any company could easily turn the negative feelings of the customers into selling opportunities but Make My Trip is very careless to even realize that. Their lack of follow up specially at the senior level has made me lose faith in their services again. Let's see if they can restore my faith in them considering that I am their permanent customer. Be careful regarding their promotions offering shopping vouchers as they never arrive on time.

Good Customer Service needed in terms of attitude and body language

I am once again reminded of my job as Guest Relations Officer at Hyatt long time back. I guess it holds true that Once a Hotelier, Always a Hotelier...As part of the the "Exceeding Guest Expectations" Training we would have lots of quizzes. One question was that " What are our guests' most basis expectations ?" The answer was " To be cared, to be understood and to be provided with good service."

People in the customer service industry should be more sensitive to the needs of their customers to have them coming back to them. Companies and Institutions should give them the best training to ensure that they meet the expectations and requirements of the guests and customers. They should be also given training in etiquettes and body language to aid them in delivering the most pleasant interaction with their customers. In this regard, I think that Lifestyle and Nike ( Ground Floor GIP Mall,Noida) need to pay attention as they have a lot of staff members with bad and aggressive attitudes.

Marks & Spencers Noida generally provided very good service to their customers and it is always nice shopping there. But in matters of etiquettes Marks & Spencers as well as Lifestyle needs to strictly prohibit their staff from coughing on customers and digging their noses while giving clothes to customers. As silly and irrelevant as this may sound, some customers actually get offended by such manners and do not want to pick up clothes from there then.

Later I will be telling more about the experience of a family member at the Nike shop which is on the ground floor of GIP Mall. Their attitude is really bad and the all male staff threatens and dominates by surrounding the customer in a group when the customer raises a complaint. I would suggest never to shop there. Instead Nike shop on the other floors are better at that mall.

This is where I stress that it is so important for even good brands like Nike to follow up on the services provided by it's franchises to customers to preserve their reputation and image. No wonder many are now going to Adidas even though they like Nike here. Of course we cannot base our judgement on one or two bad experiences as it is the individual who may have given the worst customer service and not the brand itself. But what can be done not to alienate the customer would be for the Brand name to be careful in selecting the people it lends it's names and franchises to and ensuring that they are providing good services through customer feedback.

I personally feel that not only famous personalities but common sales person at a shop is also in a way endorsing the brand he or she sells. The responsibility rests on that person on how he or she make it a positive shopping experience for the customer to shop at that store. All the more Nike and other famous brands like Lacoste here should be selective in hiring their staff or providing them on job training to deal with the customers specially senior citizens effectively and positively.

Exceeding Customer/Guest Expectations

Having worked at Hyatt Regency, I am trained to give the best possible guest services in any line of work that I apply my skills to. Hyatt Regency Hotel had online job training for " exceeding guest expectations". It is so important to exceed the expectations of our guests, clients or customers in any field of work to create a favourable first impression.

After that it is even more important to maintain the favourable image you have created by providing continuous and everlasting efficient services. That is when Follow-up comes into play as follow up is essential to know the impressions and needs of the guests and specially regarding their complaints.

 In the last couple of years,I have noticed that Hotels,hospitals, airlines ,banks and companies are lacking in providing the best services to the customers and exceeding their expectations. What is more irritating is their lack of responsibility and taking the appropriate action to fix responsibility and making it up to the customer for inconvenience caused.

Gradually I will address all the unpleasant experiences faced by customers from my personal experiences and research to stress that these institutions and companies need to adopt a responsible and positive attitude towards their customers to keep winning them back. Be it Reliance, Airtel, HSBC,Citibank,HDFC,HP, Make My Trip, Philips, Deutsche Bank, Mahendra Holidays, Air-India or Nike India, a very responsible and positive attitude is called for in dealing with their customers and their problems.

As I advocate ,it is our right to get the best possible service and value for money and one should not feel awkward or shy to expect that at any place anywhere. Also we must too provide the same pleasant and professional service at our work place.

Careless Attitude/ Lack of proper follow up by "Make My Trip"

Sometimes I feel is it just me or others too encounter the same problems in getting good customer service in their daily lives. Just recently, I had an unpleasant experience with the travel company Make My Trip.

On the 14th of Oct. 2013, I booked an international ticket on Make My Trip and at the time of booking I was told that I would be getting shopping vouchers worth Rs.4000 or so under the Great Travel Bonanza Offer. The vouchers were supposed to be sent to me within 5-7 days but I never received them. Since then I called them several times but nobody ever got back to me as promised. I even sent mails to the travel agent who had booked the ticket. But as expected there was no response.

Finally I decided to escalate the complaint online as this usually works. But unfortunately that too took so long and from 7th of Nov. 2013 till date I have been working on that. Most of the time they did not try to understand my complaint or deviated from the matter. Finally on the 19th of Nov. I received the vouchers after sending another mail to the agent stating that I will hilight the matter and their lack of response on the matter in my blog. But the vouchers seem to have arrived very late as some of them have already expired and some are going to be expiring soon.

I have been denied the pleasure of shopping using these vouchers. And instead of making it upto me for the inconvenience caused , I am being told that the vouchers were sent to me last month which is not true. After three escalations. I have now escalated the complaint further with the Management. I am interested in knowing what their response would be regarding the delay in sending the vouchers to me by their team and their careless approach.

After selling the ticket, there should be follow up by the Sales team concerning whether the customer has received cashback and shopping coupons under their promotions.http://offers.makemytrip.com/promo/gtb/

Lack of Responsibility shown by HP India in Disposal/Recycling of HP Laptop Batteries

As I had mentioned earlier on, my battle with HP India continues regarding proper disposal of Laptop Batteries specially the ones that were replaced under the Recalled Battery Programme. For years now I have been calling HP India concerning this serious matter and have complained and escalated the matter many times. Now the time has come to address this with them on a very serious tone as they cannot escape responsibility to dispose their Laptop Batteries in a correct manner. Their careless response over the years has irritated and shocked me as I was always told that I should just dispose my HP Laptop Battery in normal garbage. I was made to feel that I was just being difficult in questioning their stand and responsibility in this matter. I have been consulting my brother and friends in the U.S to re-confirm how they dispose their laptop batteries out there and I was told that they return it to the company for recycling as that is the responsible approach by them and the companies there to prevent damaging the environment. Now that makes me wonder that unlike HP Worldwide, why is HP India not taking responsibility to dispose their laptop batteries safely ?

In fact , DELL India  has already taken initiative to make it simple for their consumers to dispose the Laptop batteries in a safe manner by recycling them. I came across this information when I was researching on the subject concerning Disposal of Laptop Batteries in India. DELL offers it's customers discount on new Laptop Batteries on returning old ones. At one time, someone connected with HP did tell me that on returning my Laptop Battery, the guarantee period on the replaced battery would extend but later nobody came forward to take that responsibility.

It is so important to create awareness amongst Consumers to responsibly dispose their used or non- working a Laptop Batteries. Unfortunately, instead of encouraging and motivating consumers to do just that HP India is giving them wrong advice and sending them in the wrong direction. I am surprised that a reputed name like HP is allowing that to happen in India. We all share the same earth and it makes no sense that while one part of the world is led to responsibly dispose Laptop Batteries by HP to avoid damage to the environment, the other half on the other hand is not even encouraged to go in the same direction. I know that my fight against HP India concerning this serious issue may take away more years from me but I stand committed to create awareness amongst other consumers in India my doing my bit and forcing HP to show real responsibility in this direction here.

Please read the following article regarding this issue-


http://en.community.dell.com/dell-blogs/d2d-india/b/d2d-india/archive/2011/02/22/dell-launches-laptop-battery-recycling-program-in-india.aspxhttp://en.community.dell.com/dell-blogs/d2d-india/b/d2d-india/archive/2011/02/22/dell-launches-laptop-battery-recycling-program-in-india.aspx

WESTSIDE STORES - Always a pleasant shopping experience...

Some brands stand true to their shining image and what they stand for. Westside is one of them. As connected to the retail brand of Tata Group, naturally Westside Stores deliver what they promise without delays and rigidity. The brand stands for excellent customer service and always gives importance to customer feedback. It is always a pleasure to shop at Westside Noida as the staff is courteous and helpful. Once again this reflects how good the Tata training is or how Tata controlled brands provide the best service. I have worked in Taj Palace Intercontinental at the beginning of my career and I could see a visible difference in working for a Tata owned hotel and other hotels. They not only provide good service to their customers but also take good care of their staff.  Of course there can be exceptions sometimes but usually the staff at Tata owned hotels and brands give very good service even without constant supervision from their seniors. That just goes to show how good the Tata Group training is and how they ensure that they give a rewarding experience to people and customers they deal with.

At Westside Noida, the staff gives  personalized service and provides a pleasant shopping experience. I recommend everyone to shop there as you really get value for money in terms of service and all that they sell. What I like the most about shopping there is the attitude of the staff and the no hassle exchange policy. The ambience calls for compliments too. It is enjoyable to receive bonus points from them on the memberships cards during festivals and discounts on birthdays.
http://www.mywestside.com/westsidestory.aspx

Philips India's Fair Resolution- All's Well that Ends Well...

After a long wait, I was finally able to motivate Philips India to serve justice and pass a positive resolution on my case. Their Branch Head NCR, Mr. Amit Mehrotra agreed that I was entitled to the gift . He too understood that I was denied the free gift and the correct information about their promotions at time of purchase. In fact we were not given any information at all about their promotions despite our enquiring about it. He agreed that there should be clarity on their promotions.

The Dealer should not be left to decide the alternative to a free gift. If customers are eligible for a free gift in their promotions, all the more they have a right to it no matter what. Also a customer has a Right to Information regarding promotions of the products and accurate information has to be provided to avoid misunderstandings between the Company and the Customers.

It was nice to know that my suggestion that the customer should be informed about the existing offers or alternatives at time of purchase would be considered seriously. On my suggestion, Mr. Mehrotra has ordered Better Deals and hopefully other shops to stick a poster on their wall regarding details of promotions as well as the terms and conditions to avoid such problems.

According to Philips India, Mr. Vishnu of Better Deals told them that he did not give us the free gift as he had supposedly given us a so-called discount on the MRP. Well in that case then we should have been informed about this so that we could have decided whether we want the discount or the gift.

 According to Better Deals the free gifts are valid only on MRPs. I beg to differ here as whatever the reason may be, the free gift offer was going on for almost all Products under Diwali Offer and that should not have been denied to us irrespective of whether the Dealer decided to give us a small discount of Rs. 600-700 or so instead of the gift on his own which we did not ask for. We had requested for the free gift pack of Induction Cooker Compatible Cookware under the Diwali Offer.

Moreover the terms said that the offer was valid on select models and stores and their Customer Service team assured me that the offer was valid on the expensive model which we bought and the store we bought it from. The terms don't mention that it is valid on MRP. In any case, if the customer is eligible for the free gift , he or she should be given that gift instead of a discount or a discount of the same value as that gift.

 I recall Mr, Vishnu telling me that there were no free gifts offers under Diwali offers whatsoever and that he would give no gift or discount without the written consent of Philips India. Then I wonder how did he decide to give the so called discount without consulting Philips at the time of purchase.

As it is, at the time of purchase we should have been informed about this and given options so that we could decide accordingly.The free gift worth Rs.  2,269 would be more attractive to a customer than a small discount specially because you would be getting cookware compatible with the Induction Cooktop. We paid Rs.3,390 for the Cooktop.

I think that Better Deals knew that now they could not protect themselves on the basis of the excuse that the offer is valid on select models and select stores as the Philips India Customer Services team had already committed that the offer is valid on my model number and the store I bought it from. So the best way out for them was to say that the offer is valid only on MRP of Rs. 4,695. But this point is not specified in the terms and conditions of the Philips India Promotions page. The page clearly states that it is valid on select models and stores. It does not say that it is valid on MRP. They need to be more specific about the models the offer is valid on. Incase of Juicer and Mixer, they have clearly mentioned the  models that are eligible for the Diwali offer but incase of Cooktop there is no clarity.

Well All's well that end well. After all Mr. Mehrotra demonstrated his sense of justice and empathy by favoring us with this positive resolution . I appreciate that and I also look forward to his continued sensitivity to the needs and rights of the customers. After all this positive attitude shall win back the customers they have lost previously . The recent resolution to my case will provide hope to other customers in the same situation and their fair resolutions will restore confidence in their services and products.I am glad that Mr. Vishnu of Better Deals also co-operated in the end after all and has made up for the inconvenience caused to us by getting the gift pack delivered to our house. Even if delayed , damage control was done.

I deeply appreciate Mr. Mehrotra calling me and seeing to it that the matter was resolved immediately and his follow up on my complaint also needs to be complimented. He made sure that the gift pack reached me without delays and followed up on it personally. Even though late but Philips India has lit up our festive season . They reserve the right to alter their terms and their decision may be final in some disputes, but Philips India stood by the customer this time and has made visible attempts to restore back customer confidence in their services. Mr. Amit Mehrotra gave importance to the customer's right and has salvaged Philips India's image. I sincerely hope that Better Deals too would take this complaint positively and would improve their customer service.

Philips India I hope you will start a new chapter here of winning back old customers and creating new customers through positive feedback. Happy Diwali ! 

It is high time Philips India stops tarnishing the age old reputed brand name. It should provide proper customer service to it's customers which is our right ! Customer feedback mostly negative can be found on the Facebook page of Philips India COMPANY . Actually it is quite informative and I learnt a lot from others who are facing similar problems with Philips India and  about the possible difficulties involved in selecting Philips products. It is essential to register your product as well but many are facing problems with something as small as even registering the serial number of the product. Some have received damaged products while some are facing obstacles in getting them repaired by the Company. There is an endless list and the story goes on...Some customers are even joining together to take them to Consumers Court.

Basically every company faces some negative reaction at one time or another but it is it's responses and resolutions to those complaints is what maintains it's image and reputation. As an ex-Hotelier, I always believe in good customer service and the Hyatt training always taught us to exceed guest expectations and that the Customer should never suffer as their feedback is very important. A proper follow up of the complaint by the Company and a responsible response in resolving it is required as well.

I would like to add that after so many days of pursuing the matter, I finally got a call from Philips only to inform me that they would have to consult their seniors in resolving the matter. Actually I am quite bored with their same old reply for the last several days but now all the more I am interested in learning what they have to say as their final word will determine the action I will take. I look forward to a positive response from them but we would have to wait and watch...

Right now they are trying their best to protect their Dealer and themselves by stressing that the offer is valid on select models. I noticed that after my complaint, they had even brought about changes in their terms and conditions on their website. Fortunately during my first call of complaint to them, I had confirmed that the offer was valid on the model we had bought. In fact, their Managers and Executives had time and again confirmed to me during the calls that the Diwali offer was valid on all Philips products. As you know and are informed when calling them,their calls are recorded. People always note down the dates of your complaints and the names of the people you speak with as this really helps in terms of reference. Also,always follow up your complaint by repeated emails as well.

I had sent them three reminders about my complaint via email and called them many times as well. But I think that my comments on their Facebook page and my live chat on their website attracted their attention. Also thanks to the Facebook page, I was able to get the Philips India email id which was not given to me by the customer service and is not available on the website.

After my first call to Philips, I was told to visit the Better Deals Store to get my free gift and Philips said that they would intervene to assist me in the matter,. That is when I called Better Deals to speak with them before visiting the store. I told them that according to Philips, I was entitled to the gift. But Better Deals refused to co-operate and I was told again that Philips has no such offers on " any" of their products. He told me that however he may give me that gift if Philips sends an email and added that I could buy that cookware ( the free gift assigned to the Cooktop) with a discount of Rs.1000 .

Now my point is that how can Philips India advertise about their Diwali promotions even on say " select models"  when their Dealers say that such offers do not exist at all specially on Cooktops.Then the advertisements on TV and Philips Website are a lie !  There is lack of co-ordination between them or someone is misleading the consumers here and keeping many free gifts for their personal use. Whatever the reason, I intend to find out soon by demanding an inquiry so that other customers do not face the same problem. We want answers here even if there is a positive resolution to this matter. They have tried my patience by deliberately delaying the matter for so long and now I demand not only a positive response to my case but also concrete assurance that steps would be taken to ensure that such things do not happen in the future. I have suggested that there should be more clarity in their promotions and they should be more specific regarding the model numbers if the offer is on selected models.As it is , every company offers Diwali gifts on all their products..

Let's see what their response is ...I have planned an interesting way of tackling this problem incase their resolution is not favourable but I would have to wait to share that with you ! ;) Well in the meantime enjoy the Festive Season Indians... :)

HP India 's careless attitude regarding disposal of defective laptop batteries under HP Notebook PC Battery Recall Program

In the next few days, I will share my unpleasant experience with you regarding HP India as well. For years I have taken up the matter regarding the correct disposal of Laptop Batteries with HP specially the defective ones that they had replaced . I have discussed the need for safe disposal of these batteries since 2009 as throwing them away in normal garbage can cause an explosion and hurt rag pickers when they burn the garbage. The batteries were recalled as they had the potential to overheat posing a fire and were quite hazardous.

But HP India and their Service Centres do not take this seriously and are least concerned about it. I have been calling them and sending emails to them for years now but they are not giving a positive response or taking a responsible stand on the matter. The Battery Pack is still lying with me. I was asked to retain the return packaging that came with the replaced battery pack and was told that HP would be contacting me to make arrangements to pick up the hazardous recalled battery pack from my premises. But they did not do that despite repeated reminders to them via emails and calls. I even offered to send it back to them by courier and called their Service Centres to make arrangements for pickup of the battery pack but nobody co-operated. As a responsible citizen, I do not wish to dispose this defective battery pack just like that where it may harm others. There has to be a more safe way of Laptop Battery Pack disposal in convenient locations .

A brand name needs to live up to it's reputation

On 18th Aug. 2009, I had complained about the customer service and a purse that I'd picked up from Da Milano. Fortunately after several emails and calls to them, I was able to get them to resolve the matter in my favour. An expensive brand name like Da Milano eventually lived up to it's name by providing me good service after all.

At the time, I was not at all satisfied with the customer service given to me by their store. It was then that I'd posted some comments on their online form but I received no response.

I'd informed them about the purse I'd purchased on 29thJune 2009.The purse had defects-the leather had discloured after just two uses & there were patches and peeling.

I'd informed the Noida shop too.At the shop I was told that it may have been my fault and I didn't like that comment though I made sure that they accepted to send it for quality check-29th Jul.(It was later confirmed that the leather was defective as I had explained).

Anyway I was promised by them that they would fix it and that they would keep me updated specially if not delivered on 10th Aug. But nobody followed it up.And nobody got back to me.

Finally I called again on 17thAug-I was kept on hold for a long time.I disconnected the phone and called the shop again several times in half an hour.Everytime someone answered but did not speak up after hearing me.

Later someone answered & apologized to me for the staff's behaviour saying that they were busy...I told him that this was not the right response from them and they should not answer the phone if they do not want to respond on the phone. I was quite irritated by then...

He assured me that he'd call me on 18th and update me and that the delivery date would be 20th.He said that they were changing the leather.But nobody called me again as I'd expected.There had been no follow up again as I'd expected.

But I did not get discouraged from their careless response. Instead I sent another mail stating that I hoped the purse would be given back to me with a good finish or I will expect it to be replaced. I also commented that I was having an extremely unpleasant experience shopping with them and with their staff. I expressed that they had not lived up to the DaMilano name!!!

Well that did the trick and soon the purse was delivered to me at my doorstep and Da Milano salvaged it's reputation by providing good service eventually even if delayed. All's well that ends well...They did try my patience but I was persistent...Never lose a battle without fighting it ! ;) They even told me that the same design and colour in leather would not be available here but I was able to convince them to get it from Italy. Well finally they were able to restore my confidence in their services even though I had to work hard to demand it from them. Well we all have certain rights but it is up to us as to how we use them to negotiate and get things done.

This was not the first time that I had bought a designer purse.I have purses from Nine West,Coach,Banana Republic etc. But if you want to buy something valuable,it has to be worth it ! The whole idea of buying something from a reputed brand is to have a pleasant shopping experience.

I felt that if I could be treated and bullied like this I don't know how they would treat other customers who were buying an expensive and reputed brand for the first time.A brand's name sells by word of mouth.Bad feedback and bad customer service will not attract new customers or keep the present ones. So never feel intimidated to demand good customer service anywhere. Customers are never rich or poor. Customers should be treated the same way anywhere.

Philips India does not "light up your life" in the Festive Season

Just recently we had purchased a Philips Induction Cooktop from Better Deals, GIP Mall Noida. We were denied the free Non-Stick Cookware worth Rs.2,269  that comes with it under the Diwali Offer. It has been very unpleasant shopping experience....But I decided to escalate the matter and am prepared to wait as long as it takes to fight for my right as a customer and to be granted a positive resolution. I would advise the same to any other person who has faced similar problems with the products or customer service of Philips India.

I complained to Philips about it by calling them on their toll free customer service number and later followed it up with several emails and calls. But Philips India has  demonstrated lack of sensitivity towards my complaint by not responding with a prompt action to provide the best resolution. There has been a careless response and lack of co-ordination between it's head office , customer care and the dealers. There has been no follow up whatsoever. They have a long history of treating their customers  in such a manner and a list of complaints about their products and services can be found on their Facebook page. They have a bad attitude and do not deliver the promised service even in the guarantee period of the products. I was surprised to read that most customers even received damaged products.

In fact I have been wasting calls,time and energy by getting in touch with them every second day to remind them of my complaint lodged on the 11th of Oct and requesting them to keep me updated with a proper follow up. I even called up the store at the Mall and I was told that there are no Diwali Offers on Philips products which is untrue.

While their Executives and Managers have been assuring me that they will get back to me with a response as they stated that I am entitled to the free gift under the Diwali offer , nobody has got back till date. I would like to advise all not to be misled by their advertisements and to think carefully before buying their products. It is very disappointing to find out that Philips India is tarnishing the name of Philips Worldwide . In the 70s, my father had bought an electric shaver from Philips,U.K and it is still being used. We respected the brand name and that is why we went ahead and bought this Cooktop but now with their recent attitude we are not confident that Philips India would provide use good service even under the guarantee period.

I intend to escalate this matter further as responsibility has to be fixed on their dealer and I demand answers as a customer. Accordingly I will do the needful and if compelled will not hesitate to take this complaint to the Consumers Court and Media.It has been very unpleasant shopping a Philips product this festive season as they are misleading customers by their advertisements about festive offers and spoiling their image by giving shops and dealers the power to decide to deny customers their free gifts.

Philips India has  not lived up to their brand name. Diwali offers have to be universal in this country and they cannot be selective in giving out free gifts to customers. Philips India has to take back the Induction Cooktop we purchased or restore our confidence in their services by delivering the free gift assigned to the Cooktop as per their advertisement on the TV and website.

People please think twice before buying their products specially in the festive season....