complaint - lousy customer care + credit card application mishandling

I want to register a complaint with the lousy manner in which Kotak customer care handles customer queries.

I am being forced to directly address the nodal office with this grievance because the customer care number and the relationship manager I am supposed to deal with are both being very unhelpful and totally irresponsible towards executing their duties.

a. I applied for a credit card in end Nov ’08. This was based on a call from the Kotak sales Pune office telling me - As Tech Mahindra employee my application is preapproved and that I ONLY have to sign the form and give my PAN card copy. I did this the next day and I got 3 different calls verifying my details
- I was told in my last verification call that within 20 odd days, I should receive my card.

b. It was 2 months past when I called Kotak with the status of the card application.

c. I was told that the card application got rejected. I raised an issue on this because I did not get any information that it has been rejected.
- I also brought up the point that I needed to know WHY I was told that I would receive the card positively (by 2 sources – one, the Pune sales office guy, second the verifying lady) that I would receive the card positively.
- I was told that my issue will be looked into and I was given the reference number - 1-88928648 (on 3^rd Feb). I was asked to call within 4-5 days to check the status.

d. I also called up again on 5^th to get a better clarity on this issue when the individual I spoke to gave me more information that I should have received a written note indicating the ‘reason’ for card rejection from the back-office, as the call center people are not equipped to know this info. I was told that on the basis of this note/reason, I could request to re-start my application process.
- This person who told me this did not give me any reference number but he mentioned that against my form number G000596136, he has put in a complaint about the reason why I was not sent the notification. I was told that I would receive a letter soon.

e. Today when I got on the call with this person from the call center, he told that ANOTHER application has been raised against my form number.
without my knowledge, I found it very interesting that for a rejected application another application was raised.
But this person never answered my query about the first request – why I didn’t receive any response/written note of rejection.
- I again asked the reason why the first application status resolution itself is taking so much time.
- I specifically wanted to know how long it would take to get the previous query answered but he bluntly said as a customer I am not supposed to know this information, and abruptly cut the phone.
- It could not be very coincidental that the phone got accidentally disconnected by his side just at this point in the conversation.

f. Then I spoke to Kotak’s credit card div. representative at Tech Mahindra.
I asked for the number of someone who can help me in this matter, someone senior, and not a DST person.
This individual turned out to be more irresponsible than the rest, he plainly mentioned that he doesn’t know why the application got rejected, he didn’t know who all were there in the Kotak credit cards division and he didn’t know whether he worked for Kotak directly or through an agency. He was plainly being difficult to speak with.

g. I can go on and on but I will spare myself the pain of trying to explain how pathetic the customer ‘care’ dept. is because of not just the above but several other instances when there was no ‘customer’ oriented behavior.
I would like to speak to someone who can look into the matter of irregularities in the credit card application process and resolve my issues.

Farcical mockery of technology

IDBI bank, the bank which asks in its PR campaign - What can I do for you - has ensured that it will do NOTHING of importance for it's customers on bank/public holidays.

I called up the bank today to find out about some home loan details.

I am told by some absolutely incorrigibly uncomprehensible executive - Mr. Nigam -
".. being a bank holiday today, the systems are offline so I cannot provide any details of your account.."
And this, he tells me AFTER he has asked for my account number. wonder what he took my account number for... and where he noted it down if ever he did..

And I go WHAT!!!!!!!!! is this what a 24 hr customer service desk and online technology is supposed to achieve?
Go offline on holidays??????
WHAT a MESS we are all in...

What on earth is the matter with banks and their hype of using technology for the customer's benefit?
Is this the benefit that they are passing on to the consumers in this time of competition and information/knowledge age? What the hell are they doing with all the money they are using to deploy systems and operations if this is the kind of service they are providing to customers???

Is any respite going to come to the "customer first focus" that every business house has been harping about on paper.. and here in practice, have gone a further 50 years back in time???

Is this the India I should feel oh so proud of!!! The spineless Indian governance is though better when compared to our other less lucky peers, we are still making a mockery of everything that we talk about.

Glorified puffed up words are being used just to draw customers - who being stupid that they are, and for the lack of sufficient education they they should have - get drawn to these glorified images of business, service and customer focus which are nothing but white elephants; lines in sand.