High BP near IBP Petrol Bunk in Medavakkam

High BP near IBP Petrol Bunk in Medavakkam

 

The IBP Petrol Bunk near Medavakkam, a growing suburb in Chennai seems to be an eternal nightmare for passerbys of all sorts and creed — be them commuters of public transportation or private motorists. One can witness the callousness of traffic cops in their conspicuous absence to enforce discipline in the area besides the lot of stray cattle that loiters around endangering themselves besides throwing open a grave insecure road for the motorists.

 

I have personally registered a Chennai City Traffic Police complaint through the Internet Complaint Cell vide Complaint ID ‘CTPCO00679′ around the fourth week of August but hitherto the complaint is still in the status like ‘Your complaint CTPCO00679 is being reviewed’. 

 

Hence I just thought of sharing  the state of affair of the road with others too. Last week while commuting through this stretch when I saw the IBP petrol bunk the name made me think that this is really making the blood vessels to bump high and low. The badly constructed speed breaker with incorrect gradient also is for sure to give you a rough jolt when you negotiate the stretch. At least till CCTP wakes up from the slumber to address the menace, we ought to exercise an extra bit of caution whilst negotiating through this  Velachery – Tambaram state highway 48 (also known as  Marmalong – Irumbuliyur Road).

 

A dire need to standardize Seat Allocation in MTC buses

A dire need to standardize Seat Allocation in MTC buses

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Chennai has been innovative and instrumental in augmenting its fleet strength and enhancing the services of the buses to ensure that the transportation abilities of the metropolitan city is fully met and the people feel comfortable in commuting using its fleet. I just felt that there are  a few things left unattended for a long time though:

1. The substandard and adhoc reservation of seats for women passengers. A few buses have left and rear for women where as some of them have front side earmarked for women. This often results in a good amount of confusion and typically in vestibule buses where a part of the rear side of the vehicle is also front of the rear section. Often you can see hostile arguments in the bus between the passengers and conductors.
2. The commuters-conductors still face the change problem and because of their inability (or unwillingness ?) to tender the change back in smaller denominations, they are eyed as miniscule pocket pickers by the public. The transport corporation still does not have a concrete solution against this menace.
3. The Eve-Teasing is still looming as a big menace. Witnessing a slew of incidents in M21 and D70, this blogger submitted an online complaint (vide reference number CTPCO00716) to Chennai City Traffic Police around the first week of August. The complaint still shows ‘Being Reviewed’. Not sure whether the CCTP is looking out for a few astrologers calculating auspicious and good days to bring a discipline in the buses.

Let us hope that the transport corporation and the city administration brings discipline in the transport operations of the city at least henceforth.

 

Do big hotels serve truly fresh and hot dishes?

Do big hotels serve truly fresh and hot dishes?

The normal allegation against small restaurants/hotels in Chennai is that they would use cheap ingredients, compromise hygiene and also serve foods that were prepared even days before without regarding for the quality. People normally tend to quote big names like Sangeetha, Saravana Bhavan etc and claim that these always ensure the quality. I have one recent observation in Sangeetha and I feel that this public protection seems to be giving them a false cover and they seem to be diminishing the quantity and quantity perhaps in intangible terms.

Some of the cons about Hotel Sangeetha in Guindy are:

• The ever-crowded place.
• During lunch time whilst I had ordered meals, the neighborhood person had ordered some bonda. And whilst casually observing what the waiter was doing, he went in and was searchng for bonda. He found some remains at the bottom, pulled out two, put in the oven for a while and pretended to serve it hot and fresh.
• The table cleaning is often missing here. The waiters are ready to serve you and want to you eat in the same place and unless you exercise a stern voice to get the tables cleaned perfectly, one needs to appear themselves as if sitting in a pig sty.
• Unless you tip them handsful, the waiters are reluctant to serve you.
• There are two or three guys near the billing counter blocking the way and in a way to allow only their waiters to pay the amount; perhaps an unscrupulous way of making you to pay extra tips for them. Unless you raise the voice again and kick their asses apart to make your way to the counter to pay the bill, you are going to waste your time at the billing counter too.

 

Costly Clerical Errors due to poorly qualified staff at contact centers

Costly Clerical Errors due to poorly qualified staff at contact centers

Sometime back we discussed about “Poor Clerical Work at Citibank Chennai“. I just thought of the gravity of this incident is actually increasing and is encompassing in a bewildering way to even nonbanking contact centers. I have two more incidents to share in this front:

• Recession days are triggering Retail Robbery
• A few days back I had my vacation trip to Manali through New Delhi. I had the entire accomodation booked through MakeMyTrip. Though MakeMyTrip offers a one-stop capsule offering of all accomodation-cum-travel, I did observe a significant amount of major goof-ups in the same. A few of them below:
  • For the bus pickup in New Delhi, the phone number mentioned in the confirmation email was totally wrong. The address was incorrect too. Actually the bus comes to a petrol bunk near Hotel Imperial in Connaught Place to pickup. Fortunately, I could manage with the help of JustDial assistance and since I was able to manage the language. The most significant thing that pissed me off in the entire incident is that at one point of time, the call center agent simply brushed off and replied “I have no clues regarding that address. This is what I have in the database”.
  • The hotel booking confirmation too had a wrong number. Instead of September 14 to September 19, they had mentioned as December 14 to December 19. Fortunately, a quick call to the Hotel supervisor and his magnanimity saved a good deal of embarassment.

The organizations which are trying to open up call centers in India for the benefit of cheap labor and ease of management should also ensure that they don’t jeopardise the quality of the services rendered.

 

TRAI says minimum broadband speed is 256 KBPS but does Bharti DSL understand it as 2.56 Kbps?

TRAI says minimum broadband speed is 256 KBPS but does Bharti DSL understand it as 2.56 Kbps?

According the TRAI, the regulator authority of communications services in India, a broadband connectivity is defined as follows:

“An ‘always-on’ data connection that is able to support interactive services including Internet access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 256 kilo bits per second (kbps) to an individual subscriber from the Point Of Presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide Broadband service where multiple such individual Broadband connections are aggregated and the subscriber is able to access these interactive services including the Internet through this POP. The interactive services will exclude any services for which a separate licence is specifically required, for example, real-time voice transmission, except to the extent that it is presently permitted under ISP licence with Internet Telephony.”

However, at least this week when I use my Airtel Broadband and check against the various Internet Speed Testing websites, it is a ghastly shock to witness pathetic and snail-speed internet. The fastest homepage (Google) takes four seconds to load on a typical business day with Airtel Broadband (Chennai).

Not sure if some business development manager in Airtel who has signed the license agreements with TRAI for ISP business misintrepreted the 256 KBPS requirement as 2.56 KBPS. I have also raised this as a doubt to Airtel Broadband as an escalation note. Let us see if they are really serious about the quality of service and what reply they give.

 

Hostile Hi. What prevents one to politely excuse back with an amicable bye!

Hostile Hi. What prevents one to politely excuse back with an amicable bye!

 

This is a little followup of my previous post “How would you treat people who just hop back at you only when they need something for themselves?“. Today afternoon I had to confront one such creature near my workplace. I never had any affinity to ‘it’. And no sooner did I sit in my workstation this sniffed near me with a cunningly curious and a prank-tainted pleasant ‘hi’.

 

Since I have been following a simple logic of not to entertain such creatures I just to chose to ignore it. I would like to comment on its attitude and (mis)deamenour it was demonstrating by showing all sorts of long faces because describing it would mean feeding the troll and encouraging them. Let us uphold the spirit of ‘Do not feed the trolls’. The basic idea of this post is to serve as a guideline/eyeopener for other people to be wary of such creatures around them.

 

And similarly when it comes to prank calls and unsolicited telemarketing calls, I don’t think one should be too much carried over by them. We have a lot of ways to tackle them elegantly:

 

1. Reverse Telemarketing 
2. Mission Hilarity
3. Infinite Sink

   (We may need request services like (1) and (3) to our respective cellular operators in getting those implemented)

4. Or simply, as we have discussed above, when the telemarketer says ‘Hi’, you reply ‘Bye’. [Tit for Tat]

 

Truant Telemarketers seem to be bursting out gay to make the best hay whilst the sun shines …

Truant Telemarketers seem to be bursting out gay to make the best hay whilst the sun shines …

 

As today’s thursday demonstrated, the telemarketers seems to be active after a good period of hibernation because of the global economic slowdown and since the economy is showing slow signs of recovery, they want to make the best out of the moments to make fastest bucks and to jump-and-escape into the wild.

 

At least today, I have reported two major telemarketing violations on a number which has been registered and is staying-protected with the National Do Not Call Registry of TRAI for more than two years. Either the TRAI seems to be in deep slumber or it has got tired of these truant telemarketers or these telemarketers are entering into a bargaining spree of pitching hot sales deal versus penalties to be paid for reported and booked violations, taking into account of the less penetration of NDNC knowledge amongst the masses. In this juncture, it is our responsibility to ensure that we contribute to the nation in ensuring that every mobile user is brought under NDNC protection, subject to their interest of abhor towards those smelly telemarketing nuisances.

 

We would need to we wary of these telemarketers who just sell off crazy unsolicited things draining our wallets, filling up our mailboxes with rubbish and piling up our brains with tensions of multiple creed and kind. 

 

A striking telemarketing call from Benze Vacation Club :: A novel way it was tackled and a few Internet Research Results about them

A striking telemarketing call from Benze Vacation Club :: A novel way it was tackled and a few Internet Research Results about them

  

Today morning I recieved a telemarketing call purportedly from BenzeGroup. The number which flashed on the CLIP was as below

 

+91 44 3202 4214 at 11.29 today.

 

Inspite of warning her that she is attempting to violate NDNC norms the caller was so adamant in persisting through to discuss about the offer deals. I just gave a soft turn down to her but just thought I would do some research on this new vacation club scam.

 

Interestingly, the caller simply lacked a good pronunciation and/or good articulate skills to talk ably to the customer so for sure they are not going to pitch deals effectively. To fuel the burning fire, I found a few more observations on BenzClub:

  

1. The People have virtually spit on BenzeGroup face over here (http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/benze-vacation-club-c184925.html)
2. The website benzegroup.com already seems to be embracing death as the whois record for BenzeGroup is bound to expire on August 14, 2009 with no signs of being to be renewed.
3. The website http://www.benzegroup.com/ itself serves a 403 Forbidden page

I just wrote the above comments to the email address of benzegroup as mentioned by their managing director in Consume Complaints page besides suggesting them do to some good before the business liquidates. The HR&CE department has a scheme called ‘Puravalar Virudhu’ for contributing 10 lakhs to the temple. Liquidate your business assets and give it to the temple. போற வழிக்கு புண்ணியமாவது கிடைக்கும். 

 

I also expressed my thanks and gratitude to them for the illegal telemarketing call that I was able to do some rich internet research today to share with other people.

Of course, as a good citizen gesture, I did report them to 121@airtelindia.com too so that TRAI/NDNC/Airtel are also not denied of their share of the fun with them.

 

How would you treat people who just hop back at you only when they need something for themselves?

How would you treat people who just hop back at you only when they need something  for themselves?

These are too much mechanical days. Gone are the days of undivided families and/or kind of agraharams where everyone lived together, meeting and wishing everyone everyday or almost on every available moment. These are the days when because of necessity and invention, families are split into multiple geographic territories like parents in one country and children in totally different timezone. That is the reality. Wait. But technology has given us a truly great assets to offset this and rather gain from it too. Powerful and streamlined communication systems. Aren’t we blessed with a hassle-free private free emails? Hasn’t anyone been denied of a good cheap or free internet telephony like Google Talk?

  

This post is a close successor to my most recent post on ‘The Craze of Changing Mobile Numbers at their own whims and fancies …‘. Rather the straw that broke the camel’s back or which had been the inspiration for this post to get generated was the question in the post ”Do you have the number of Sasidharan?’. At least if the call started informally like ‘How are you?’ and a little Qs before barging directly into the ‘information solicitation’, it would have been tolerable. He is not reaching a customer care of a directory services for sure. Isn’t it? People had been in neighboring states of the same country, the sovereign securlar democratic republic of India but haven’t had the courtesy to even send a simple email wish during the festivals. But when it really comes for any information or service requirement for themselves, they just shamelessly knock the doors of anyone. At least in my perspective I always ensure that a friendly ‘hi’ knocks their mailboxes once in a while as a casual ping or a keepalive. I gave him another litmus test on if he replied me to a more recent email sent a couple of days before the conversation. The test ran till the midnight of 24th July 2009 00:00 hours and since that informal email failed to elicit a response, I had to adjudge him as a befitting ’guinea pig’ for this case-study and none short than that.

 

Around in 2007 [roped in from my personal diary], I remember, someone from my previous organization was trying to reach me and was telling me if I could assist them or point towards some assistance with Drupal PHP Framework. Since I didn’t have much idea on what the heck was that all about, I just replied back with the following set of information. I just thought I would the bullet-point thoughts shared across here to emphasize the need for the people to-keep-in-touch with the circles rather than floating around in their own whims and fancies and knocking/bugging others only one they feel the pinch of a need.

  

Some of the things I replied back were: 

• I have no idea regarding the specified framework called Drupal. If you would need, I can muster some PHP folks through my known recruitment circles and help you with. That would take a week’s time.
• Not sure, if the entity mentioned as ’some one’ is very important and is on a pressing need and hence I would not rather give any firm commitment from any delivery commitment from my perspective in this aspect.
• I also expressed my dissatisfaction in that this request is being routed to me after a long sojourn of no-contact and then just as a ‘bolt-out-of-blue’, this request is bothering my attention.

In the similar vien, I have another ‘gem sample’. Some people get carried over in sharing personal contacts for proliferating on their business relationships. Typical example is that BWW-Amway guys. I believe, we have discussed about this a while back over here.

 

At the same time, I also feel that there are a few treasures that come out because of such rotten apples too, just like an accidental keypress that turned out to be an amicable assistance for some one in the elevator for me. A colleague of mine coming out from the same alma mater had been helping our (alumni) group good through the various organizations he had been in.

 

• When he joined an insurance company in Chennai around in 2002, he could help us with a good insurance policy to enrol. Had we been visiting another new insurance agent, we would end up with a class two policy paying up a higher premium for the same, since we were in the start of the career then and not knowing how best to negotiate and clinch for a good deal.
• He joined another private bank in 2004. He used his privileges to bargain for different loans with processing charges either heavily waived or subsidised for a number of associates in the group who were interested.

But the benefit I outlined should be treated as a one-off case. The bottomline of the story is that let us not treat others as just only information carriers/service provider piggybacking on them for selfish benefits. That does not fit the ethical spirits too.

 

The government should consider distributing its officials including the ministers throughout the state instead of keeping in one closed place of the city.

The government should consider distributing its officials including the ministers throughout the state instead of keeping in one closed place of the city.

This discussion applies from the observations based from Chennai. It might be applicable to other states as well. Readers: Please feel free to share your views on this as well. A number of main ministers in the state of Tamil Nadu actually relocate to Chennai after being elected so that they can attend the daily assemblies in the secretariat. But the catch is that most of them are located within the same area. Either like MLA hostel or in posh areas of the city.  For example, I remember, Stalin was better associated with his residence in Baby Nagar (Velachery). Whilst he was in Velachery, the state administration was very particular in ensuring the civic and commuting infrastructure of the town. But once he was elected as the minister, I believe, the statutory shifting of the residence process chipped in and he was moved to Greenways Road. Perhaps similar plight and argument applies to other ministers as well from other parts of the city.

 

My concern is that since we have a lot of portfolios in the state and if the government could distribute the ministers across the city, it would give a lot of benefits:

 

1. The civic administration agency would have a fear and would ensure that the area would be maintained in a good order.
2. The police would ensure that law and order situation in the area and vicinity are perfect.
3. This would also ensure that one particular area does not become cordoned off for the general public and minister-public rapport/relationship would be elevated to a greater extent. In other words, the difference between them would shrink.
4. Since they are in different areas, they would know the problems faced by the public and help achieve the resolution quickly.

Readers: What do you say?