Neeraj Sharma's Blog - Posts on Tech, Gadgets, Quality of Products, Services and so on!

E-Commerce - Indian Online Shopping Websites - Review and Experiences

2012-01-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Avoiding visiting crouded malls and shops and envouraged by good deals available online I have continued shopping online for technology and other items. I have already shared my experience with Letsbuy.com and now I thought of sharing my personal experiences with some of the other websites also.

Good experiences so far which I had based on my on shopping -
Ebay.in - for various items from different sellers. Ebay guarantee on delivery of product and resolution mechanism if sellers do not keep up their promise is quite good. Ofcourse you need to check reputation and earlier feedback of seller and check description of product carefully.

Flipkart - Placed 4-5 orders and all deliverd in time specially books ordering experience is very good.

Myntra.com - Placed a shoes order and was delivered very fast in good condition with in 2 days.

Zoomin.com - Placed one Sony Camera order and delivered well packed in good factory sealed condition.

Homeshop18 - Placed few orders including electronics items like hard disks, memories and other house hold items all received in good condition. Once there was a need to return item and return pickup was also quite efficient. They take orders and vendors fullfil for them. Returns also need to go to respective sellers but HS18 provides good service and assurance of delivery.

Futurebazaar.com - All most all of 5-6 orders were delivered well. Phone and email support is quite efficient. Some times they sell old stock of tools etc at very low price to clear inventories. Their I had noted few items with some rust but price I paid was farely low.

Koovs - Have placed 4-5 orders. All delivered. Their standard delivery time is 7 days. They have delivered all orders. Shipping can be faster.

Sulekha deals - One order. Good experience. They take orders and vendors fullfil for them.

Greendust - Couple of memory orders. Slow in delivery but all items delivered.

Bad experiences - Letsbuy.com. You can see my detailed review of my TV order. You have to remind them to ship order or have to make noise on mouthshut.com to make them hear. Very difficult to get them on phone on their help line. Many false promises and delayed shipments.

Difference between various online shopping site companies is primarily due to their attitude towards customer service and also to a large extend on how efficiently and accurately they can process order and have it efficiently shipped (IT and logistics part of business). Some sites have accurate inventory information and order status information available to customers and support staff e.g. Future Bazaar, Flipkart and Myntra appear to have things like this worked out and implemented well. Letsbuy appears to be doing a lot of things manually and most of their staff appears to be not so well trained or may be only trained on how to keep customer confused and occupied with false promises till their system some how takes care of the order processing if at all.

Others and Many times problems are with the shipment/courier companies. So it is good to check which services these online shopping sites use. Best service - Bluedart, Fedex. Even professional courier is good. Worst experiences - Aramex.

I will keep this updated with my personal experiences and also those of my family and friends.

BSNL broadband blocking competitor websites access??

2011-11-27T05:22:00.000-08:00

I have been facing this problem for many months now. From my home BSNL broadband connection in Bangalore, I can not access Airtel and Vodafone India websites. Workaround that I need to use is dial into my office VPN and then access these sites for any information of bill payments etc. This is really annoying, unethical and probably illegal (restrictive trade practice) behavior by BSNL.

Not sure who to contact regarding this. As typically only complaints they take is regarding internet access working or not.

Letsbuy.com Review - Delivered an old Samsung LED TV - New unit delivered now.

2011-11-01T03:32:00.000-07:00

After being in touch with Letsbuy.com team, they have helped resolve my issue of old TV delivery. They have promised that Letsbuy.com is strengthening their processes to ensure such incidents don't repeat. Today morning (1st Nov 2011) a fresh new TV with manufacturing date of Oct 2011 with 0 hours of usage history was delivered. Will update my original post on delivery of old used Samsung LED UA32D5900 TV with new pictures. My other item in order Samsung BlueRay player BD-D5100 was also delivered but has a problem right out of the box. Its drive is making loud sounds when turned on. This is a new piece with Samsung's manufacturing defect but I have reported it to Letsbuy for a replacement.

I am hoping for many other customers who continue to report issues with Letsbuy (Mouthshut letsbuy review page), their issues also get resolved.

----------------

Update 8 Nov. 2011.

I noted another customer of Letsbuy.com, Vikas complaining about they sending a used Plasma TV. You can see his review on Mouthshut.

http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Letsbuy-com-review-rpopplotnn

- Neeraj

Review of Letsbuy.com - Delivered an old used Samsung LED TV

2011-10-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

My experience with letsbuy.com for a TV purchase has been very bad.
(Later edited - 1 Nov 2011 - Issue resolved after raising issue with Letsbuy customer service - Below are details of overall experience)

Placed order of Samsung Series 5 LED TV UA32D5900EA (UA32D5900VR) from letsbuy.com on 24th Oct 2011 with Samsung Company offer of a Blueray player free plus a surprise Diwali gift on offer by Letsbuy.com. On each followup I was told that both items are in stock and will be shipped soon. They shipped TV on 28th shipped only TV and said I have to wait for Blueray player. I was fine with the wait as atleast TV was getting shipped.

Surprise and frustration – once the TV was delivered on 29th Oct. It was an old used TV most likely a dealer demo / display unit with old manufacturing date – all user manuals, cards, remote accessories were used and open from original covers and packed again with tape. Even TV cover and internal packing material, box shows that box was stored for many months and TV used. On screen one can see that some one has cleaned the screen and packed it again with a number of old used tapes inside the box. In service menu it shows TV used for around 600 hours. This is totally different from Letsbuy.com's promise they have on website "Letsbuy only sells 100% genuine and brand new products". This delivery was definitely was not the case that supports this claim.

Panel Display Time (time for which TV has been used is ~600 hours). Considering July manufacturing and assuming usage started in August till 27th Oct, some one has used this set for an average of 7 hours every day. Most likely a dealer/distributor showroom display piece.

See images below which I have also shared with letsbuy - their customer service and their CEO Mr. Hitesh Dhingra. As per my call with him looks like Samsung dealer or distributor has cheated them and so caused this. They have promised a replacement in 1-2 days. I will update on final outcome.

I will write separately on their customer service aspects.

Intent of Mr. Hitesh Dhingra, co-founder and CEO and Amanpreet Bajaj, co-founder and COO of Letsbuy.com and others in Letsbuy Management may be good and I hope they are successful but they need to work on customer service, supply chain and their infrastructure if they really want letsbuy to be a relevant player in ecommerce in India.

- Neeraj

Following are snapshots of product delivered by Letsbuy.com

Update 1st Nov 2011 - New UA32D5900 TV Delivered

Volkswagen India - No Delivery of Vehicle - Poor Responsiveness and Quality of Service - Worst Dealerships

2011-05-23T01:12:00.000-07:00

We made a booking for VW Polo from Volkswagen Jalandhar - Lally Motors India (P) Ltd. In Punjab.

Booking was made with above dealer on 19th Dec 2010 and was informed 3-4 months wait time. Total booking amount given to Dealer in December 2010 was Rs49000. At time of booking dealer had promised that vehicle will be delivered in March 2011 but the vehicle has not yet been delivered as on 23rd May 2011. One day we were informed on phone that vehicle is available in April 15th, when we went to get delivery at dealership we were informed that same vehicle has been given to some other customer and we need to wait for couple of more days. After waiting for more, week after week there is no update on the vehicle. We also have given full remaining payment through Bank draft of Rs 503552 on 3rd May based on more promises made by dealer that vehicle will be there in couple of days.

Till date there is no vehicle and dealer has taken full payment. Now they are saying to wait till month end. The dealership has acted in highly unprofessional way and it is our worst experience in dealing with any of the car dealers. We have dealt with many other auto companies and dealers but Volkswagen experience has surely not started on a positive note. I personally wrote to Volkswagen through their website on 18th May and I got an automated reply that dealer will contact us. Dealer did not care to contact. When we visited the dealer he was again non-commited on any dates.

Dealer keeps blaiming the company that they do not make enough cars and take orders. At end of the day, they have taken full payment, we are loosing on interest that we are pying to the bank and there is no vehicle. What an attitude this company is having towards customers. They are a world wide brand and possibly also made a mistake in choosing a dealer.

When I called the toll free number they informed that they are just a call center and will forward complaint to the VW department. Please beware when you deal with Volkswagen India and specially their dealership in Punjab/Jalandhar (Volkswagen Jalandhar - Lally Motors India (P) Ltd). Also do not make any advance payments on their commitment that vehicle will be available very soon.

Following is text of email that came from VW support (actually from their call center people as they said same case number they have forwarded to VW department)

From: customer.care@volkswagen.co.in [mailto:customer.care@volkswagen.co.in]
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2011 10:19 AM
To: Neeraj Sharma
Subject: System generated Acknowledgement email

Date: 05/19/2011

Concern No: VWGxxxx

Vehicle: Polo

Name of Customer: Mr. Vijay Kumar Sharma

Dealer Name: Lally Motors India Pvt. Ltd. Dealer Location: Jalandhar

Dear Mr. Vijay Kumar Sharma

Greetings from Volkswagen Passenger Cars India!

We acknowledge the receipt of your concern to us and have noted the contents of the same.

We wish to inform you that we have forwarded your concerns to our dealer M/s Lally Motors India Pvt. Ltd. at Jalandhar. We assure you that your concerns will be attended on a priority basis and as per Volkswagen standards.

If you need any further assistance, kindly feel free to call Lally Motors India Pvt. Ltd. or Volkswagen India Assistance 24x7, Anytime. Anywhere. Call toll free 1800 102 0909 / 1800 209 0909. You can also write to us at customercaresales@volkswagen.co.in .

We thank you for choosing Volkswagen and assure you our best services always.

With best regards,

Customer Care

Sales

Volkswagen Passenger Cars India

--------

Eventually after followups and reminders vehicle was delivered later than promised. Dealers as usual don't like being complained about them to parent companies. Companies and dealerships have to be sensitive about overall customer experience and up their service levels. typically every one is sweet and nice till a sale order is closed. After that many companies, dealers and customer service cells of these entities have a don't care attitude.

- Neeraj

Unethical and Restrictive Trade Practices by Honda 2 Wheelers Dealer in Punjab

2010-07-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Came across some unethical and illegal practices being followed by Honda Two-Wheelers Dealer Mahesh Honda (Mahesh Agencies) Old Grain Market Road Kapurthala in Punjab. They are literally forcing consumers to buy 2 wheeler accessories of specified amount from them at time of billing and delivery of vehicle.

According to one of the consumers Kulbhushan & Associates from my home town Kapurthala who had booked a Honda Activa from this dealership at the time of Delivery of Honda Activa Black Colour on 1^st July 2010 at Showroom post billing in the name of M/s Kulbhushan & Associates they were informed that they have to compulsorily also buy accessories worth appox. Rs. 3200. Typically authorized dealers/company showrooms make huge margins on vehicle accessories compared to outside vehicle accessories shops. When the customer requested them that they were not in need of any such accessories they were told by the dealer that customer is not having any option but to buy these accessories for the vehicle along with delivery of new vehicle. After arguments the informed customer who did not agree to this restrictive trade practice by this Honda dealership of being forced to buy these highly marked up extra products, had to cancel the purchase of vehicle.

From what we understand according to the dealers like Mahesh Honda as there is a long waiting list for two wheelers in this booming automobile market it is a favor they are doing to customers by delivering the vehicles and so customers getting delivery of vehicles have to agree to the terms at which they make the sale.

In above case customer has also contacted HMSI and reported the incident. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) needs to make sure that such restrictive trade practices and monopolistic attitude of dealers are kept under check and as these practices be answerable to consumers if such practices are going on with or without knowledge of the company. One of the interesting things listed on HMSI website's Philosophy section is three joys in pursuit of which the company conducts it's activities one of which is "The Joy of Buying" which essentially highlights importance company gives to a happy and satisfied customer. After all companies and their products exist in this market because of consumers and practices such as this impact the company's brand and image in a negative way.

I would suggest consumers who face such incidents do not agree to forced selling/cross selling of products, report the same to company or to Consumer forums or Consumer Courts.

- Neeraj

Nokia X2 - 5MP phone at ~ Rs5000 in India

2010-05-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

Good spec and aggressive pricing for Nokia's upcoming model X2. Looks like Nokia is getting aggressive in competing with many local phone brands.

Here are the detailed specs.

Nokia X2

Key Features

Music:

Stereo output speakers

FM RDS stereo radio with built-in antenna

Dedicated music keys

Music Player with extended playlist supports MP3, MP4, AAC, eAAC+, WMA formats

Nokia 3.5 mm AV connector (audio only)

Manage music with Ovi Player PC client & Windows Media Player 11

Nokia Music Store (select markets)

Comes with Music (select markets)

Bluetooth v2.1 with stereo audio profiles (A2DP and AVRCP)

Imaging

5 megapixel Full Focus camera with flash,background processing, 4x smooth zoom

Camera flash can be used as a torch flashlight

View photos thumbnails in grid, albums or timeline view

Image Upload via Bluetooth and sharing services: Flickr, Ovi Share

Additional Features

Aluminium battery cover

Access to Facebook via Home screen

Download latest games and apps from Ovi Store

Nokia Messaging 2.0 Email & IM

Opera Mini browser

Conversational viewfor SMS & MMS

Preloaded Java games: Bounce Tales, City Bloxx, Snake III, Block'd, Diamond Rush, Rally 3D, Brain Champion, Sudoku

Technical Profile:

System:Quad-band GSM850/900/1800/1900

User interface:Series 40

Dimensions:111mm x 47mm x 13.3 mm(L x W x T)

Volume:61 cc

Weight:81 g with battery

Standby time:Up to 25.8 days

Talk time:Up to 13.5 hours

Music play time:Up to 26.8 hours (GSM idle/mid vol)

Display color:2.2” QVGA (240x320 pixel)262K colors Active TFT

Memory:User memory up to 48MBμSD card (support up to 16GB)

Connectivity:Micro-USB interface with USB 2.0 High Speed; Complimentary USB charging, USB OTG (audio, storage)Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR

Data Services:

GPRS rel-4, class B, with GPRS multislot class32 (and EGPRS MSC32)

Inbox Colors Available:

Black/Red, Silver/Blue

Standard Sales Package Includes

Nokia X2-00 handset

Nokia Battery BL-4C

Nokia Compact Charger AC-3 (AC-8C + CA-101D for PRC)

Nokia stereo Headset WH-205

Planned Market Introduction

•Q2 2010 (June 2010 in India)

Reliance BigTV - Pathetic Customer Service

2010-05-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

Another bad experience with Reliance ADAG's BigTV. I have a connection in Bangalore. Over last two days I have called around 20 times wasted around 3 hours waiting or talking to customer service for upgrade of channel package on BigTV without any success, First it is difficult to connect to their customer service number 1800-200-9001. If you connect and then go through their menu options and finally connect to customer service executive finally after a typically long wait mostly they will ask you to repeat all your account numbers etc which you have already entered and confirmed when requested for the service change, for two days I have been hearing excuse after excuse from customer service executives, system is slow, system is not working, getting some server error, getting failure message, please call after some time, call after five.. from the customer service executive. End of it nothing done. I had Tata Sky for 3 years and they had top notch customer service online and on phone. BigTV for last 4 months have been a real suffering. After bad service experience with Reliance Communication phones this is another bad service from Reliance ADAG group company. Their aim has been to gather as many customers as possible with aggressive marketing and pricing but customer service is pathetic to say the least. It is high time they spend time and energy on customer service.

Tata Nano owner seeks compensation

2010-04-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

Tata Nano owner is seeking Rs 15lacs (1.5million) from Tata Motors as compensation for his new Tata Nano that caught fire on the day of purchase.
Details at DNA link
http://www.dnaindia.com/mobile/report.php?n=1370119
Response from Tata has not been very supportive or encouraging to their customers. We do not have a strong regulator like transport safety administrators in USA or Europe and Auto companies take quality and safety very lightly. Instead of just focusing on emission norms of vehicles it is high time that an empowered regulatory agency is formed which provides guidance on and monitors road and vehicle safety issues.

- Neeraj

Europa Locks Bangalore Bad After Sale/Installation Quality of Service

2010-03-25T02:23:00.000-07:00

In my apartment after using cupboard locks from Europa Locks ( I decided to also go for a second main door lock from the same company. So around 10 daya back I got Europa main door lock from a Timber Store on Sarjapur Road Bangalore ( 3 dead bolt dimple keys model MRP Rs. 1135) and I was informed that company person will come and install the same which is a free service for main door locks. The shop keeper booked an installation request with company representative and (some request number was also assigned) I was updated that someone will come in 2 days. After more than a week of follow up almost every day and hearing that someone will come today/tomorrow afternoon/evening finally today I went to the shop where I got the lock and gave them the box telling that I will rather go for Godrej lock who were more responsive in terms of service in past. Finally shop keeper sent his own carpenter to get the lock installed instead of waiting for the company person any more. The same is now installed but quality/installation is not to my satisfaction as the keys feel too hard to turn both open and lock. I was told that they will get this fixed now from the company person again and I should wait.

Overall a very bad experience. Overall products quality feels good (atleast in packaging) and all the good things the company writes about the company and products on Europa Locks website and product packaging but in field and operations, quality of service this company has a long way to go to meet customer satisfaction. I would suggest stay with better known companies like Godrej or even Link Locks.

- Neeraj 25 March 2010

Update - After communicating with the company - the problem is now resolved and lock is now functioning to my satisfaction as updated in the comment.

- Neeraj 29 March 2010

How annoyed and frustrated customers feel with poor quality and service of products

2010-03-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Companies should know and appreciate importance of quality and good service of their products and also know how frustrated consumers get when their products break very soon and when the customer service is bad. Repeated problems with this HP laptop made this customer so frustrated that he broke his HP laptop in an HP store (through gizmodo)

Very Chilled Chinese Man Destroys HP Laptop

From original gizchina post

"The tiny HP DV20002154 was purchased on Feb 2007 and within 3 months had motherboard problems, which HP replaced under warranty, in fact they replaced 3 more mother boards in the same warranty period!! However, when it went in for its 4th replacement (why didn’t they just give the guy a new computer?) he was told that the computer was out of warranty and would have to pay 3000RMB (around $400). Obviously unhappy with the news he called the HP hotline where he was told the problems he had encountered were ‘normal’ and he would have to pay to get it fixed!

Like any rather irate customer the gentleman wandered in to the nearest HP after service center and silently went postal on his computer, literally tearing it to pieces!"

- Neeraj

Many Bangalore High Rise Buildings and Malls are not Safe

2010-02-23T09:09:00.000-08:00

Many Bangalore malls and high rise buildings are not Fire safe. Worst accidents that what happened today in Carlton Towers in Bangalore can happen in many places in the city. Many Malls and offices do not have proper fire exits or in many cases like in Carlton fire exits are locked. Many places are over crowded in evenings and weekends and filled beyond capacity. A small incident or panic can turn into a big accident. Take e.g. big bazaar near Forum or Total Mall on Sarjapur Road in weekends, we do not see properly marked exits, most of the times stairs are used as storage or for sale item displays limiting movement of people. There are no limit on how many people are allowed in. We rarely see fire extinguishers at key accessible locations. I hope audit is conducted on buildings in Bangalore by authorities and corrective actions taken.

Bangalore Fire

- Neeraj

My LG KP199 Charging Connection

2010-01-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

One of my phones which I use for office calls is LG KP199 which I had taken due to very long battery life was for quite some time showing problem charging with the USB cable and is now also showing problem charing with AC power adaptor. It only makes charging contact if I hold the cable in specific position. The charger connector is the phone is loose probably due to bad soldering in the assembly of the connector. Over period of time now I can even see the connector move slightly inside the phone connector cutout/groove. I should have got it fixed in warranty period which I suspect is now expired. Will be opening the phone and fixing soldering if possible.

Last year I had fixed similar broken connector problem on an HTC Windows Mobile phone for a colleague of mine and hopefully will be able to fix my phone too.

My other phone the dual sided Samsung F300 Ultra Music is doing good but lacks speaker phone feature for calls (but has a good speaker for music).

Rest Later.

Bad product quality of a laptop and worst customer service by HCL Infosystems

2010-01-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

My relative in Punjab bought (or rather made a mistake of buying) an HCL laptop from authorized dealer in Kapurthala in Punjab for around Rs30000. (~ $650)

* Machine Serial No : 8084AX056382
* Product Code : AX0P2825
* Warranty Card No. : 10485949
* Date of Installation: 18/11/2008

After some time of purchase the machine started giving problems with the display which was reported to HCL and given to service center for warranty repair.. Even after keeping machine for weeks for repair a permanent fix was not done by HCL service and the same problem reoccurred 3rd time in October/November and machine was again given to HCL as it was still in warranty.

Calls to HCL's Support desk were essentially of no use and waste of time and effort. Machine was last given to HCL service center on 9th November 2009 and have not been returned by the company till date (today 7th January 2010). What kind of service is this? Essentially during last 12 months machine has been with HCL service for close to 4 months. So HCL has taken money for the laptop and in a way still owns the machine, Isn't that cheating?

Emails and calls to HCL helpline have not resulted in any thing. This example shows how some of these Indian companies treat customers.

I have suggested to file a consumer and civil court case against HCL Infosystems for compensation. I would suggest buying a laptop or a computer from Dell, Acer, HP, Compaq or Toshiba and avoid local brands specially HCL.

- Neeraj

Another example how Total Mall Bangalore is fooling customers

2010-01-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

Another experience at Total Mall Sarjapur Road Bangalore today. Two problems one over charging of credit card second one again inflated MRP to how higher discount.

First total bill amount for my food items was Rs 115.60 but my card was swiped and charged for Rs 121. Later when I noticed and reported I was told that it may have happened by mistake. So after a brief discussion they paid me back Rs 6.

Another item I was shopping was a water heater or geyser. I almost bought a Crompton Greaves water heater that was displayed as having an MRP of Rs 6735 and a discounted price of Rs 5790. When I asked for a boxed piece to my surpise the company printed MRP on the box was Rs 6115 i.e. a difference of Rs 720 again as in my earlier post inflated MRP shown to fool customers. The sales guys were again having same attitude - Sir this is our price, take it or leave.

Most malls I feel are there to make maximum money at cost of us consumers by any means including cheating. God save consumers. Be careful while shopping. I feel there is nothing worst in shopping than paying too much or more than price to these companies. They think no one has time to cross check and validate things and so likelihood of they cheating good number of customers everyday is high.

Rest later.

Two examples of how retailers are looting customers - Total Mall Sarjapur Road and Vishal Mega Mart Hosur Road

2009-12-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

Let me share couple of examples of how the retailers are attempting to loot(steal) money from consumers by either putting inflated MRP (Maximum Retail Price) on products, wrong in store displays/advertisements.

First one is based on my visit to Total Mall on Sarjapur Road. This this related to my earlier post on misuse of ISI markings. The same product i.e. an LPG hose pipe which was of substandard quality and a fake ISI mark, without any manufacturing batch number and date code.

The packaging of the gas pipe said Gas Pipe + Lighter MRP Rs 180 Total Price Rs 99. The 1m gas pipe MRP written on gas pipe is only Rs 60. A sub standard poor quality lighter with a flimsy packing and wrong info on package (like see hologram on lighter - which did not exist) that was given to me said MRP Rs 75 (which added up to Rs 135 and not Rs 180 as was claimed. When I inquired I was told take it or leave it , this is what we sell. There was another MRP written on gas pipe cover which was Rs 90 for 1.5m version (actually the length) is only 1m even if we add that number to the lighter cost it added up only to Rs 165 and not Rs 180 as was claimed.

Second example is how companies like Vishal Mega Mart (and also similarly many other retailers) try to fool customers with their buy 1 get 1 or many similar schemes. Just try to maximize profit by playing with MRPs inflating the figures and then giving offers. Take example of Tea they sell under their home brands like "Cha" - In store they displayed Buy One Get One tea powder of 250grams pack. Each pack is labelled at Rs 85 so essentially you get 500grams tea at Rs 85. Take the Tata Tea pack from the next shelf and you get a 500 gram Tata tea from a well reputed company and brand which has a more reasonable price tag of Rs 79 only. Cheaper than Vishal's own brand even without any misleading Buy One Get One offer.

This is as bad or even worst that many small time shop keepers many of them simply erase or scratch the MRP numbers from many items all together and charge whatever they wish to charge. Many retailers also try to fool customers with other offers, like get a Reebok or other unknown brand items like watches or sun glasses worth many hundreds or thousands of rupees, which mostly are cheap Chinese products and mostly fakes.

So consumers we need to be careful while shopping check for quality and check for prices and be careful and aware before you handover your hard earned money to these retailers.

- Neeraj

Sunday 20 Dec 2009

Suspected fake ISI marking on LPG Gas Pipe and No manufacturing/expiry date

2009-12-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

There is a wide scale misuse of ISI marking. Be in food, drinking water or electrical/home appliances, there are substandard products on which manufacturers place Agmark/ISI mark without getting certification. Some place ISI mark and license number which as per BIS website queries are invalid. Recently got an LPG gas pipe from a well known shop in Bangalore which has an ISI mark on the packaging and cover text says that the product expires and should be replaced after 3 years of manufacture as per date printed on the tube. Surprisingly there is no manufacturing date on the packaging or on the gas tube. The records as per BIS website show that the manufacturer is not one of the certified companies and so does not have ISI marking license under that standard number. License number search shows it is invalid. The company making the product also has placed incomplete address - only company name and city.

Such critical items like gas pipes having poor quality can cause accidents like the one which happened in Bangalore recently. The large retail chains as well as small shops are filled with substandard products from China as well as Indian manufacturers. Consumers need to be alert while shopping for critical every day use products some of which can risk lives and health.

- Neeraj

Misuse of ISI Marks

2009-12-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

I recently came across some products while shopping which had ISI marks on the packaging or product but based on the quality etc. I suspected if they were really certified ISI marked products. So I explored website if India's national standard body - Bureau of Indian Standards website and found that it is possible to know through the website, which products have been certified under specific standard and also we can know the status of licences obtained by companies.

One of the items details I validated found that the license number they put on the product packaging is an invalid one.

Here are some useful links

http://www.bis.org.in/

http://nicdc.nic.in/CMMS/InternetRep/InternetRelatedRep.aspx

Also found some recent news items on misuse of ISI markings.

Misuse of ISI markings - Packaged Drinking Water in Bangalore

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/11/stories/2009111154380400.htm

BIS ropes in pvt agency to check misuse of ISI mark

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/bis-ropes-in-pvt-agency-to-check-misuse-of-isi-mark/356499/0

There is also a link for filing complaints related to BIS certified product(ISI Mark)/Services of BIS

http://www.bis.org.in/cad/complain.htm

- Neeraj

Indian telco's never ending price war in voice services. Would like to see tarrifs drop for data services as well.

2009-11-01T06:46:00.000-08:00

September - October 2009 again saw telecom operators in India fighting it out with each other on the pricing of call charges. The recent moves by Reliance, Airtel, Aircel etc. on pricing were bit late response to new entrant (in GSM) Tata Docomo's August launch of 1 second billing for local and STD calls. The pricing was placed at 1 paisa per second (Rs 0.01 per second). Till that time all operators only offered 1 minute billing. The Indian market is a predominantly prepaid market and prices in India are already among the lowest in the world. The call charges for local and STD are now around Rs 0.50 to Rs 0.60 per minute (USD 0.011 to USD 0.012) typically without any contact or monthly charges. The telecom minister recently announced that he foresees rate to drop to less than half of that for STDs and one to one fifth of the current charges (Rs 0.25 for STD and Rs 0.10 for local). We may come closer to that once the mobile number portability becomes a reality in coming months, when subscribers will be able to retain their phone number while switching the operators.

The cost of SMS, value added services, Wireless data plans have not dropped any where close to in terms of trend we see in voice services. They have stayed almost the same for quite some time and in some cases may have increased. With widespread availability and usage of smart phones and netbooks it will be good if wireless data access charges like for unlimited internet browsing, email access are also made more attractive to subscribers.

Recent annoucements by Intel, BSNL and HCL are encouraging prospects of wireless broadband access. There are also rumours that Google may also be interested in Wireless internet infrastructure in India. So let us see how things pan up.

Update 4 Nov 2009. RCOM and Loop also join operators who offer 1 sec billing.

Apple Store - Imagine in Forum Mall Bangalore

2009-10-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

This is about the Apple store - "Imagine" in Forum Mall Bangalore. I visited this place couple of weeks ago to look for some iPod Touch accessories. The store is not directly managed by Apple and prices are not consistent with Apple's standard prices. They also offer services like SW upgrades etc. (like many people who do not have itunes account in India or credit card for payment online). I also checked about version 3.1.2 upgrade on my iPod. One of the guys said they do not do it. Then another one said they can do it but will charge Rs500+tax. When I told that Apple has reduced price for SW updrade some time back to $4.99 (Rs 250 appx) and it is no longer $9.99 (Rs 500 appx.) , they said "we know but we will charge as per older price if you would like to get it updated". I did not agree to the inflated price and came home and upgraded through my iTune account.

As far as the service goes, I was not impressed with their attitude in general. Huge difference between the Apple stores in USA and these kind of stores in India. The stores like Croma or Reliance Digital are far better choice for shopping Apple products in Bangalore.

What you got served at a restaurant - part 3

2009-07-25T03:13:00.000-07:00

Go Veg Restaurant

(Near Wipro Park towards Sarjapur Road on first floor)

Near Devi Eye Clinic, Koramangala 6th Block

425, 80 feet road, Bangalore, Karnataka

This is rebranded Mast Kalandar with change in management of some sort that happened couple of months ago. The food quality, taste and pricing is almost identical as earlier. OK so what new about this one? Earlier in one of the Mast Kalandar I had got a piece of cloth inside their Amritsari stuffed Kulcha/Prantha. I was second time unlucky today with this one. Today went to this Go Veg place in 6th block and there was a piece of metal wire in the Punjabi Combo I ordered.

The metal piece was in my mouth and while chewing the food I felt some thing metallic. As per the restaurant manager it is nothing but a piece of metal scrubber used for cleaning utensils, they are sorry about it. As I was with my daughter, was not in a fighting mood and did not want to create a scene there I just finished eating and walked out. Towards the end one of the person serving food brought one piece of Gulab jamun as apology! for two of us to share. No offer for any refund or any thing. I enjoyed the place and food till the metal piece was found.

We were lucky that the metal came in my piece not the one which my daughter was eating as it could have been a major problem had it caused a cut in mouth or had it got into stomach of either of us. I do not understand one after the another as you would see one restaurant serves flies in food, another one a piece of cloth and now metal pieces.

These are just recent incidents earlier also various objects have been found in food while eating out or even in office cafeterias from any where insects to used chewing gums. These make me and my family more and more reluctant to eat out but this can not be fully avoided. All restaurants specially these new entrepreneurs starting new restaurant businesses should some serious incident happens like the ones reported recently for government's mid day meal scheme across India where many objects, insects and animals have been cooked and served along with meals causing serious illnesses to hundreds of school children.

- Neeraj Sharma

Link to a post on Bad service and cheating by Skoda Auto dealership

2009-04-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Came across this really bad experience for a Skoda Octavia customer in which case the Skoda Dealer swapped parts in the car with duplicate ones and charged for origionals.. Following in the case a lot of trouble for the customer and Car is lying with another dealer and is not being returned by them in a YEAR!

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/54881-skoda-dealer-changes-parts-my-car-consumer-court-car-not-returned-year.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/55796-team-bhp-stands-truth-but-skoda-wants-instigate-team-bhp-its-users.html

- Neeraj

Sonakshi Sharma's Restaurant Koramangala Bangalore - Frequent Wrong Billing

2009-03-29T01:54:00.000-07:00

I visit this restaurant often. It is a small little restaurant in Koramangala near Wipro Koramangala - 2 / Wipro Park / Raheja Residency. Cost is reasonable and quality of food is good mostly. Only problem or an irritant is frequent wrong billing in the restaurant (first floor). It has happened 3 times in last around 8-9 visits. The rates in bill are often put higher than what is quoted in the menu and some times different items are added on the bills than what you ordered. On pointed out they (gentleman sitting on the first floor) will fix the bill. So watch out if you don't want to be overcharged.

Have a nice day.

- Neeraj

Reliance CDMA USB Data Card Connection - Huawei EC121

2009-03-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

Recently started using this Reliance Data card connection service (USB version with Huawei EC-121 card) and thought of posting my experience after around a week of experience.

In part I have used Reliance data connection using their WLL phone many years ago and it was reasonably good at that time. Otherwise I have tried various other ISP connections in India including Airtel, Tata Indicom and BSNL. My main connection stays as BSNL broadband which is quite good and this new Reliance connection is a backup or for use when I am not in office or home.

First impression on this new connection - Very Bad, highly unreliable connection, Many times zero traffic rate even in areas where Reliance network signal strength is very good. It connects atmost every time with the network but you literally have to beg for each packet to arrive..

On a Saturday or Sunday evening a non working day when you would expect traffic speed to be really good, even that time almost no traffic. Sites like google are also not opening which are supposed to be really fast to open. Keep trying and trying once in a while some page opens. Looks like a major problem in their data network or DNS servers. Let me see if it is once a while problem or if it stays like this probably will have to try some thing else.

Will update if I see any improvement.

Rest Later. Have a nice day

- Neeraj

Tata Sky Power Adaptor Replacement

2009-02-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

My around a year Tata Sky (legacy not the Tata Sky +) set top box did not power up today and I debugged the cause to be bad power adaptor. I did some google search and found many people have problems with Tata Sky power adaptors and were looking for replacement options. There are posts which say that Tata Sky's sevice agents charge anywhere from couple of hundred rupees to six hundred rupees for a replacement (that too some times an old used power adaptor) which is too much. Even there are cases when Tata Sky agents have refused to replace the power adaptor which they claim is not covered under warranty.

So in case you are looking for a power adaptor and go to market for a replacement just keep in mind to buy a good adaptor with 12V output and a minimum output current rating equal to the original adaptor's rating which is 1.5A (ampere). So when shopping just look for a compatible plug and rating 12V and minimum 1.5A (or minimum 12V, 18W).

Voltage x Current = Power (volt x ampere = watt)

12V x 1.5A = 18W

I had a 12V 2A adaptor handy at home from another product not in use so I am able to use it without any problem. There is one customer online from Qatar who reported that his replacement adaptor overheated and died within an hour of operation. That most likely happened because of a lower wattage adaptor 12V and less than 1.5A rating.

So just keep the voltage and current rating in mind when you use a replacement.

- Neeraj.

Post any questions that you may have.