DTH - Pain Direct to Home
Right now , I am feeling so nostalgic about the days when Cable TV services were provided by the friendly neighborhood cable-wallah. This nostalgia has been induced wholly by my interaction with my DTH provider , Tata Sky.
Under the cable-wallah regime, one paid a one time deposit ( negotiable), no installation charges mostly ( though they tried to get customers to pay for the cable being laid) and a monthly subscription. This outlay bought you some 100 channels ( quality of reception is a point much debated) and in case of any down-time due to issues such as cable fault etc, free service. Thus, one paid for and received a bundled service i.e cable TV reception.
When I moved houses, I subscribed to Tata Sky, after hearing friends talk about quality of TV viewing and lure of moving to an organised service provider, that too belonging to a reputable business house.
The way it works is - one 'buys' a set-top box and a dish from the DTH company, pays for the channel packages and hopes it doesn't rain or becomes overcast( because if it rains / is overcast, there would be interruption in service). So, a customer is 'buying' a set-top box from the company, and paying separately for the channel package. Period. In case there are any service issues needing a service personnel to visit ( unless one has subscribed to the highest tier package), it would be charged.
As a business model , this is brilliant. The customer has an upfront outlay , for buying the set-top box and hence cannot shift easily if unsatisfied. An excellent exit-barrier. The services are completely unbundled - one pays just to buy the channel package, and then again for any service issues - so the Company makes money at each point. Net net, the Company doesn't care whether one gets to watch the channels one has paid money to watch.
The only problem is - as a customer, one has to pay for service , to watch the channels for which one has already paid good money.
Apart from the cost, there is the usual hassle of navigating one's way through the call center for any issues. Last year, I inquired the call center about the charges for the renewal of my annual package, and paid the amount communicated. Subsequently, on receiving the conformation sms, I found out that the annual recharge amount was different and the Company's call center itself misguided me!
Last evening my TV reception just curled up and died. I called up the call center, registered a compliant and gave a preferable time of 11.00 a.m for the technician's visit ( of course on a paid basis) and confirmed my address and contact details. I immediately received a sms confirming the visit at 4.00 p.m. So far so good. At 11.00 a.m, I received a call from the technician, asking me to confirm my address ( probably just in case i have shifted to a new one - between 7.30 last evening to 11.00 this morning). The technician promised me that he would surely come over by evening. I asked him, humbly, why did he need to confirm the address and why was I asked for a time preference promised a time in the first place. He simply said that the call center guys just keep on doing these things. God forbid.
As of now, I am waiting for Tata Sky to repaid my connection so that I can get the service for which i have already paid for in full - and feeling nostalgic about my cable guy.
Moral of the story - If one opts for a service which is structured to be unfair to the consumer, it is one's own fault.
Under the cable-wallah regime, one paid a one time deposit ( negotiable), no installation charges mostly ( though they tried to get customers to pay for the cable being laid) and a monthly subscription. This outlay bought you some 100 channels ( quality of reception is a point much debated) and in case of any down-time due to issues such as cable fault etc, free service. Thus, one paid for and received a bundled service i.e cable TV reception.
When I moved houses, I subscribed to Tata Sky, after hearing friends talk about quality of TV viewing and lure of moving to an organised service provider, that too belonging to a reputable business house.
The way it works is - one 'buys' a set-top box and a dish from the DTH company, pays for the channel packages and hopes it doesn't rain or becomes overcast( because if it rains / is overcast, there would be interruption in service). So, a customer is 'buying' a set-top box from the company, and paying separately for the channel package. Period. In case there are any service issues needing a service personnel to visit ( unless one has subscribed to the highest tier package), it would be charged.
As a business model , this is brilliant. The customer has an upfront outlay , for buying the set-top box and hence cannot shift easily if unsatisfied. An excellent exit-barrier. The services are completely unbundled - one pays just to buy the channel package, and then again for any service issues - so the Company makes money at each point. Net net, the Company doesn't care whether one gets to watch the channels one has paid money to watch.
The only problem is - as a customer, one has to pay for service , to watch the channels for which one has already paid good money.
Apart from the cost, there is the usual hassle of navigating one's way through the call center for any issues. Last year, I inquired the call center about the charges for the renewal of my annual package, and paid the amount communicated. Subsequently, on receiving the conformation sms, I found out that the annual recharge amount was different and the Company's call center itself misguided me!
Last evening my TV reception just curled up and died. I called up the call center, registered a compliant and gave a preferable time of 11.00 a.m for the technician's visit ( of course on a paid basis) and confirmed my address and contact details. I immediately received a sms confirming the visit at 4.00 p.m. So far so good. At 11.00 a.m, I received a call from the technician, asking me to confirm my address ( probably just in case i have shifted to a new one - between 7.30 last evening to 11.00 this morning). The technician promised me that he would surely come over by evening. I asked him, humbly, why did he need to confirm the address and why was I asked for a time preference promised a time in the first place. He simply said that the call center guys just keep on doing these things. God forbid.
As of now, I am waiting for Tata Sky to repaid my connection so that I can get the service for which i have already paid for in full - and feeling nostalgic about my cable guy.
Moral of the story - If one opts for a service which is structured to be unfair to the consumer, it is one's own fault.
posted by Alok Mehta at
11:53 AM
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