Claims of the ads are nowhere close to the reality of what the consumers face
Every one of us wears multiple
hats and I am no exception. Let me talk about two large hats that I wear that
still struggle to hide the shining halo at the crown of my head! One is of a consumer
who buys products and services and has a strong point of view. If I am not
happy with something I don’t hold back! I tweet till the cows come home! The
second is that of a brand consultant who is passionate about advertising and who
watches a lot of TV as sometimes I find the advertising a little more
interesting than the programs in which they are featured in. Being a consumer
of Airtel since the JTM days (a brand Airtel took over) I have been watching Airtel’s
advertising with great interest even as the brand pushes the envelope with
newer, more creative ads that have no relevance or relation to the ground reality.
Increasing my frustration is their abysmal coverage, horrendous service and
complete lack of concern for the consumer and that is me! Why haven’t I shifted
then? Simply because I am increasingly sceptical about all mobile services in
general and Airtel in particular for who would like to go from the frying pan
to the fire?
Oh we are so transparent!
The latest in the series of
misleading ads is the one that tells you that you know exactly where your tower
is and where the gaps are and they keep patting themselves on the back as to how
wonderful they are. Here’s the ad which you must have seen and which left me
cold.
And why do I say that? Let me
tell you my own experience. Both I and my wife are heavy Airtel users for
several years and yet the network is appalling in our house. We are invariably
a little fitter as we rush out of the house the moment the phone rings.
Probably the mobile service operator in their wisdom have decided that we don’t
exercise enough. But I did exercise my rights (?) as a consumer by complaining
several times. And what does our “transparent” mobile service operator do? It says there are unable to do anything as
there is no tower near my house which leads me to the important point I wish to
make now. How is anything going to change? Are you really telling me that a
company which is the market leader needs two decades to figure out where the
network is poor? And why should I tell them how bad they are? Don’t they know
it themselves? And to add insult to injury they are claiming transparency!
Ads have generally
been misleading
Before this campaign, Airtel had
launched their 4G campaign with great fanfare and proudly announced how it works
in the farthest corners of India - in hilly mountains, distant villages and the
back of beyond. Sadly, though it does not work in Malabar Hill or Koramangala
and as an actual user I just cannot experience any difference between my
earlier 3G and my present 4G. Here’s that Airtel girl who lies with a sweet
face who thankfully seems to have taken a break
This is my problem with all
mobile services. The advertising is clever, interesting and entertaining. But
it has no relation to what consumers face. Otherwise why would call drops be
such an issue with all of us and Parliament even? Vodafone too has had very cute ads talking
about their service and network, but I continue to experience both their
network and service and have been hardly impressed.
What do I expect as a
consumer?
So what’s the bottom line? Today,
the mobile is an integral part of our life and no one young or old can even
imagine life without the mobile. But the mobile service providers’ cartel is trying to milk the
existing networks which are already stretched and painting a rosy picture about
the coverage which has no relation to reality. They are like husbands who are
taking their spouses for granted and are being extremely casual about our angst
and genuine fears and are merely being glib in their attitude and advertising.
If Airtel or Vodafone is serious about its business, consumer and way of doing
business it must focus on network, coverage and customer service and spend less
money, attention and time on advertising. Like a poor student who only
concentrates on easy subjects they are focussing on the easy part which is advertising.
And that’s the hard part for me as a dissatisfied, angry and frustrated
consumer.
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