MY WOES WITH AIRTEL
My first experience with mobile cell phone was an LG mobile served by Reliance. This got soaked in rain and so was gone. After this another stopped working for reasons unknown to me and also to the repairer and thus this was also a lost one. I may add that I am not very fond of mobile phones though they are very useful and the way I see it being used by school girls it certainly is a boon. Boon it is for all the workforce, people awaiting the arrival of a dear one by plane, train or bus. As the due time approaches restlessness increases and the ringing of the cell phone is awaited. The tremendous utility of the cell phone cannot be denied or underestimated.
I was going to Delhi recently and on the last day bought an ordinary NOKIA cell phone and got it charged for STD calls. In Delhi it worked very well and I could call Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and other places without any problem. Then the charge was used up and I had to get it charged again. I went to a vendor, a very busy one, and simply got my cell charged for Rs. 100.00. To my surprise it was charged for local use ( Mumbai) only, so my 100 rupees were wasted. I told the vendor that I want to use it in Delhi and other places including Mumbai. No, that charge was for Mumbai only to be used in Mumbai. I then got the number of the local Airtel office and learnt that the schemes of recharge are different in different places and he did not know, what were the schemes for a cell phone bought in Mumbai. Next step was to get the telephone number of Airtel in Mumbai, contact them and get the cell phone charged as per the scheme told by him. This was the case every time the cell phone was to be recharged.
I fail to understand why one cannot have STD facility available from any place in the country? I could not get any answer to this dilemma from any Airtel office. Every time I had to call up Mumbai to know the current scheme and get the cell phone recharged accordingly. I have heard of roaming connection. But that is very expensive, I am told. Why not simple STD facility? I have not been able to find an answer to this. I sent an email to Airtel on reaching Mumbai but no response only an acknowledgement came once and nothing after that, reminders notwithstanding.
