I got a new blackberry pearl 8120 (only pearl model with wi-fi) last week. This thread is intended to bring blackberry users to one place, so that we can discuss various things related to blackberry !
Mods, I have searched the forum with different key words, but could not find a proper thread on BB services, providers, technical aspects, various hand set or plan discussions. Therefore, I hope this will bring users to help each other in many related things.
Coming to my personal experience; I must admit Airtel customer service sucks bigtime ! My first attempt to activate BB service was calling 121 and wasting my time speaking, on hold, speaking, on hold which went on for 15 minutes that ended with an advise to email
121@airtel.com with my request to activate BB services. I waited for 24 hours as advised, but nobody called, nor anyone replied.
For reference to the following discussion:
Airtel BB monthly plans as of August 2008
Unlimited = Rs.899/-
500 KB = Rs.449/- (50 paisa for every extra KB)
0 KB = Rs.249/- (15 paisa per KB)
Next attempt was to call up 7070, where I wanted to clarify different BB user plans and decide myself which one would suite me. The usual blabbering went on for good 20 minutes but without any information. I asked a simple question, 'suppose I opt for Rs.449/- plan and my total usage comes to 500 MB, what would be my total bill ?' I could feel the guy on the other side sweating and panting when it came to numbers. Anyway, I ended the call without any useful information.
After waiting for another 24 hours, I called up 121 again. The lady on the other side asked me to hold for a minute without even saying 'hello'. The game of hold, saying sorry, hold, sorry went on for 15 minutes. I have not got a chance to say why I called. A good 15 minutes has no value for a customer who is requesting for a high-end business service on the phone ? Yes, No value ! Atlast the lady asked me 'how can I help you?'. I told my whole story over BB activation attempts since 4 days. She immediately said, 'sir, you have to walk into any of the airtel outlets and give a written request, they might ask for a deposit, and your BB will be activated within 24 hours'. Ok, I understood everything and it sounded convincing ! Almost 25 minutes gone on phone while I missed over 4 important calls, which I had to call back at my cost ! Thank you airtel. You are helping me to increase my bill.
Almost desperate by this time, I decided to visit the airtel relationship centre on New BEL road today, from where I had taken my postpaid number 2 years back. Within 2 minutes after knowing my purpose of visit, guy at the counter said, 'sir, we are not accepting BB activation requests, you have to go to the city main customer centre'. He suggested the nearest would be Malleswaram which is 8 kms for me. Anyway, almost frustrated and angry with the directions I am getting from call centre as well as outlets, I reached home.
As a last attempt on phone, I tried 7070 again and spoke to a senior tech support guy. Now, hold your breath, I am getting a new information.
. "Sir, you have to send a BB activation request mail to
bb.support@airtel.in with all your details and wait for 24 hours. I have done that and got an auto-response mail. But I doubt anything would be done through this.
Now coming to the summary:
How many members here use a BB service ? I am sure there are airtel and hutch BB users. If you could share some experience on activation, plans that you use, practical tips on usage, important softwares that might be very useful etc. this thread will find its purpose. There are many international BB forums and software sites. We dont have any decent forum for indian users and service providers.
Waiting to hear from users. Thanks for reading thischeers: