One fine day you decide to buy something. Say, a Dish TV connection. Wow! The lure of the age of DVD quality digital images, Direct to Home service, most importantly freedom to choose what you want to watch and what not, and to be part of the new age bandwagon. Ah! Satisfaction defined.
On second thought, it is not much of a freedom of choice kind of thing either. I mean, come on, I am ok with 10 music channels and another 10 sports channels. But when did I claim I want to watch all those channels in all those languages don’t have the slightest clue of. Hell, I don’t even know which language it is in. And I am paying for it.
That was, however, a digression. So you have decided to buy a new Dish TV connection (could also be a Tata Sky one). Great. But like me you are too lazy to explore the dealers in your locality. Well, you want to, but not physically. Like me, you log on to the net and check out the details in their site and keep looking for a series of numbers which will establish your connection with further laziness. And then you actually get the 1-800 number, supposedly toll free.
Well, the moment you get THE NUMBER, 90 percent of your work is done. The rest 10 percent is to write the cheque, for they believe in providing a package solution, where all you literally do is write that cheque. But hold on, not too fast, you have just got their number. YOU NEED TO CALL THEM.
You do that.
Entrapment.
Hello, I am Vikas from ….., how may I help you?
Errrr, hi,….errrr I was hoping to collect some information about the packages errrrrr ……….. schemes and offers ……errrrrrrr…….dealers near me…… errrrr, could you please help me in this regard
Ya surely, says the bright voice from nowhere, may I have your name please
Yes, my name is Ranjan
Ranjan, right – sounding absolutely nasal on the R
Yes.
Ranjan, may I have your number please
Ya it is XXXXXXXXXX - - what the hell for????????????????
And then my friend Vikas explains to me everything about the product and where and how I can get it. A friend in need is a friend indeed!
I am now happy, I know everything I need to know. And I make the contacts and proceed to get the new connection. The next day, Vikas’s friend calls to ask me what I have thought about the new connection and I happily inform him that I will get the connection in two or three days’ time.
The following day, another friend of Vikas (it so turns out that he has got many), calls to find out, and I inform her that I am getting the connection within the next two days. One day was lost because of a Sunday. The following day another of his friends’ calls up to inform me about the new schemes and which spell BLISS for me. I inform this friend that my dealer has already told me about it and it also turns out that I know more about the scheme than the caller. By the way, I have already opted for that scheme.
That same evening, another friend, or perhaps of one of the previous ones, I lost track, calls up to inform me about the schemes. I try to be polite but fail. Sarcasm starts creeping into the conversation. Yet the call ends on a polite note.
Next morning, I again receive a call from a similar number. I reject the call.
Instead I call up my dealer and ask him to cancel my booking.
On second thought, it is not much of a freedom of choice kind of thing either. I mean, come on, I am ok with 10 music channels and another 10 sports channels. But when did I claim I want to watch all those channels in all those languages don’t have the slightest clue of. Hell, I don’t even know which language it is in. And I am paying for it.
That was, however, a digression. So you have decided to buy a new Dish TV connection (could also be a Tata Sky one). Great. But like me you are too lazy to explore the dealers in your locality. Well, you want to, but not physically. Like me, you log on to the net and check out the details in their site and keep looking for a series of numbers which will establish your connection with further laziness. And then you actually get the 1-800 number, supposedly toll free.
Well, the moment you get THE NUMBER, 90 percent of your work is done. The rest 10 percent is to write the cheque, for they believe in providing a package solution, where all you literally do is write that cheque. But hold on, not too fast, you have just got their number. YOU NEED TO CALL THEM.
You do that.
Entrapment.
Hello, I am Vikas from ….., how may I help you?
Errrr, hi,….errrr I was hoping to collect some information about the packages errrrrr ……….. schemes and offers ……errrrrrrr…….dealers near me…… errrrr, could you please help me in this regard
Ya surely, says the bright voice from nowhere, may I have your name please
Yes, my name is Ranjan
Ranjan, right – sounding absolutely nasal on the R
Yes.
Ranjan, may I have your number please
Ya it is XXXXXXXXXX - - what the hell for????????????????
And then my friend Vikas explains to me everything about the product and where and how I can get it. A friend in need is a friend indeed!
I am now happy, I know everything I need to know. And I make the contacts and proceed to get the new connection. The next day, Vikas’s friend calls to ask me what I have thought about the new connection and I happily inform him that I will get the connection in two or three days’ time.
The following day, another friend of Vikas (it so turns out that he has got many), calls to find out, and I inform her that I am getting the connection within the next two days. One day was lost because of a Sunday. The following day another of his friends’ calls up to inform me about the new schemes and which spell BLISS for me. I inform this friend that my dealer has already told me about it and it also turns out that I know more about the scheme than the caller. By the way, I have already opted for that scheme.
That same evening, another friend, or perhaps of one of the previous ones, I lost track, calls up to inform me about the schemes. I try to be polite but fail. Sarcasm starts creeping into the conversation. Yet the call ends on a polite note.
Next morning, I again receive a call from a similar number. I reject the call.
Instead I call up my dealer and ask him to cancel my booking.
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