An open letter to Airtel from a Loyal customer of 10+ years!

Hi Airtel, I am Kani Karthick, a loyal customer of Airtel since I got my first phone (2007) but today I am changing from Airtel to Vodafone. So here is my journey!

It was when I had just started my under graduation in the year 2007 and I had come out of my home to stay in a hostel for the sake of my education. I chose you over BSNL, even though at the time, they were leading network in mobile service providers. All my family members were BSNL customers and since it would cost me more to call them, I would give a missed call and wait till they noticed my call and called me back!

For 12 years, I have been your customer. Yet if I am thinking of changing my network provider now, it is mainly because there are absolutely no improvements in your service in these many years. You haven’t given even a single reason to your loyal customers to hold on to your service.

But let me be more specific and list out the top three reasons why I have come to this decision!

Reason 1 I recharge for the special unlimited plan every month, for Rs. 299/-. For the sake of unlimited calls and constant data per day. However, for over half the month, my data never works! I have raised complaints regarding this for 3 consecutive months. Sometimes, they ask me to switch off my phone and turn it on again. Sometimes, they ask me to change the network carrier mode from Auto to Manual! It works for a day or two and then it’s the same old story Reason 2 My in-law's place is a small village in Tamilnadu. I know it is unfair of me to expect amazing coverage in such a rural area. But what I soon realized was, other networks like Vodafone, Idea,

and Jio provide 4G data network, where Airtel cannot even provide a proper signal, leave alone 4G data! I seem to have started avoiding going to visit my In-laws simply because it would cut me off completely from my work and blog!

Reason 3 One of the biggest reasons why people have cell phones is when we are traveling and are away from home, we need our cell phones to keep us connected and make us feel safe! It may be to inform them about your whereabouts or tell them that you are doing ok or get in touch with them in case of emergency. This May, I had traveled to Delhi-Agra-Amritsar. Throughout the trip, I had horrible connectivity! I couldn’t make any calls or access anything online!

The cherry on the top!

And this happened when I was holding off changing my network provider because I was starting to feel nostalgic! I had been to Bangalore to my uncle's place and was on my way back to Chennai.

I am waiting at Bangalore central railway station with my hubby, waiting for our train. He is busy, happy tappy on his phone, watching some videos. I pick my phone to connect on Instagram and it doesn't load! I see that the data shows 4G. So then I ope the speed test by Ookla and that doesn't work either! So I take a few screenshots to remind myself why I am doing this, Why I am going to change my network and ever since, I did not look back even once!

I have faced a lot of issues over the 10 years but I was still being loyal only because you call your network as the one that keeps getting better, constantly. But in my experience, I have only seen a constant decline in your service and capabilities. Especially your customer care service.

Maybe you tried your best. Maybe you are still trying and maybe you will get better in the future but I cannot wait any longer!

My parting advice- Please stop spending on all these advertisement campaigns where you keep telling that your services are getting better. Best network coverage- FAIL. 4G data and network everywhere- FAIL. Ookla speed test- FAIL! Instead, get down to the shop floor and understand your customer’s needs and actually do something about it. Maybe one day, I will be forced to return back to you for your amazing service then!

XOXO Kani