Tikona is one of the worst ISP's I have had to deal with. When the connection works, it works great but if there is a problem in any of the devices along the way, it can take them ages to resolve the issue. I recently did not have internet access for a whole week before the connection was restored. When I had first taken the connection a couple of years ago, it took almost a month for the connectivity to stabilize. I have emailed them to provide a compensatory cut in charges but I am still required to pay the full amount. I do not wish to spend my time badgering with them over the phone. That is not what I have planned for when I come home from work in the evening. But I suppose that is what you can expect from an incompetent and pretentious company. I will probably end up having to pay as there is a dearth of good providers in the area where I live, but that doesn't mean they can willfully harass me time and time again, whenever they feel like or whenever they are asked to. I pay Rs. 1700/- Month for a 4-mbps connection. Apparently, there is also a lower price point plan which would require me to pay about Rs. 1500/- per month for the same speed. Now, doing that, for some reason requires me to pay the entire amount due for the next month in advance. Which means, I'll end up spending almost double in a particular month. I say these guys are a bunch of crooks with access to bandwidth and licensed technology.
The same would go for the Vodafone 3G services in Bangalore, 90% of the time, I do not get 3G connectivity in spite of having paid for it.
The lack of attention to customer grievances is a major issue for companies operating in India. Customers are taken for a ride, taken for granted, I should say. And redressing these issues would involve lengthy court battles most people would rather avoid, including me. I do not understand what seems to be the issue, there seem to be enough companies around to allow for healthy competition, especially in a market segment like consumer internet services. Perhaps all of them have entered into a pact to treat the Indian customer in a substandard manner. Given that this is India, this is more than likely to be true.
BSNL was no different. I had an EVDO stick which promised speeds of 2Mbps unlimited. It hardly crossed 1Mbps and that too was far from the norm. I didn't pay the bill for several months and stopped using the device after I had temporarily moved to a different city. I kept getting harassing phone calls to pay up. Finally, when I moved back to Bangalore, I decided to start using it again but I had to pay over dues of over Rs. 5000/-. Money paid for technology that failed to deliver on it's promises. Once again, proving that customers in India can be fleeced by any company with the resources to provide a basic service.
The same would go for the Vodafone 3G services in Bangalore, 90% of the time, I do not get 3G connectivity in spite of having paid for it.
The lack of attention to customer grievances is a major issue for companies operating in India. Customers are taken for a ride, taken for granted, I should say. And redressing these issues would involve lengthy court battles most people would rather avoid, including me. I do not understand what seems to be the issue, there seem to be enough companies around to allow for healthy competition, especially in a market segment like consumer internet services. Perhaps all of them have entered into a pact to treat the Indian customer in a substandard manner. Given that this is India, this is more than likely to be true.
BSNL was no different. I had an EVDO stick which promised speeds of 2Mbps unlimited. It hardly crossed 1Mbps and that too was far from the norm. I didn't pay the bill for several months and stopped using the device after I had temporarily moved to a different city. I kept getting harassing phone calls to pay up. Finally, when I moved back to Bangalore, I decided to start using it again but I had to pay over dues of over Rs. 5000/-. Money paid for technology that failed to deliver on it's promises. Once again, proving that customers in India can be fleeced by any company with the resources to provide a basic service.
