Tag Archives: Technology/Internet

Mac Troubles! A Consumer True Experience About Defective Macbook Horrors!

Posted on by
Reply

Tadka Take

Apple symbolizes an extremely coveted aspiration in today’s world. But when a consumer who acquires his dream Mac gadget and it comes with its own harassment plan of defects and issues. This is what exactly happened with Col. Ramdas Buche when he purchased his new Macbook Pro. Below is his story in his own words.

Consumer Story 

I wanted to purchase a high end and extremely efficient system which would give me long term immaculate service. Accordingly I went in for purchase of Macbook Pro 13″ from an agencycalled Algorithms in Nagpur. To my surprise in the first week of its purchase it went to service center because it could not load and run CD. Next week it was sent again because it could not read or write CD. As I went along, again help was sought because it could not pick up any of the peripheral Hardware like scanner, printer, data card etc. running otherwise smoothly with available machines with me. Past month was the climax of its hardware failure and the machine was to be sent to service center twice because it was not booting at all and also twice screen display had gone blank separately resulting in change of certain hardware components. You will agree with me that once an engine of brand new car is opened within first week of its purchase then it keeps going to Garage frequently. Similar thing seem to have happened in case of this purchase and I have now ran out of patience because after purchase of MacBook on 26 Apr 2012 till 26 Aug 2012 i.e. within the period of four months it has been to service center six times that too with ever increasing fresh defects each time relating to Hardware failure of serious nature. Thus one knows what future holds for this particular machine piece.  Frankly speaking , I had gone in for purchase of first rate product from best Agency because I sincerely wanted very efficient, reliable and hassle free service from the product on longterm basis and Apple being the indisputable world leader and Algorithms being the best agency who has carved niche for itself not only in Nagpur but whole of Vidarbha. However with ever increasing problems I had not been able to use this machine even for single day after purchase and I am also scared to carry it with me for my tours to other cities or abroad because of its abrupt failing tendencies. What would I do if this fails to open up or suddenly goes blank when I am away from Nagpur to to other city or abroad and who is going to fix it up for me. I will be also making scene of myself in crucial presentations or data display when it fails like it is behaving presently for very routine and basic functioning due to defective hardware and it would inadvertently point to my professional failure. As a result of its periodic packing up in above manner frequently and unreliable tendencies ,I am forced to depend on my old Desk top and laptop for all the possible mobile or static functions as hither-to-before after purchasing this Macbook. As I have said earlier APPLE is indisputably worlds best brand and I fully understand that an odd piece may go defective and in the present case it seems that I am the victim of such probability. 

Tadka Take 2

While Akosha’s team has been trying address Col. Buche’s issues as soon as possible, it is undeniable that he has undergone a lot of harassment. It is the duty of both brand as well as the authorized agency to ensure that such instances do not recur with other customers and even in the unavoidable cases where such issues do arise, they are addressed as soon and as efficiently as possible.

3 Things You Must Know To Avoid Falling In The Internet Banking Fraud Trap!

Featured

Posted on by
Reply
3 Things You Must Know To Avoid Falling In The Internet Banking Fraud Trap

3 Things You Must Know To Avoid Falling In The Internet Banking Fraud Trap

Internet banking fraud and ways to avoid is undoubtedly a topic that has been done to death. And yet, people across country continue to lose money in such frauds with an alarming frequency.  Recent reports of a businessman in Bombay losing over 2 lakhs within 24 hours and Maharashtra Banking Ombudsman refusing to intervene in another internet banking fraud case (See full story  Lost In A Click, Lost Forever) leaving the harried consumer in lurch brought forth the urgency of a refresher course on the precautions you must be taking if you have an internet banking account. We bring you a lowdown on the basics.

Phishing Alert— Banks almost regularly warn and advice their customers against phishing scam. Phishing is a technical name for the scam in which fraudsters send authentic looking emails, purportedly coming from your bank that ask for your passwords and such other details. Despite the fact that people are warned not to send their details in response to any such emails or click on any links that may have been sent via such emails. And yet, even though it looks and feels like a no brainer, people still fall into this trap.

These are bare basics. Never ever click on any links that are supposedly sent by your bank even if they look absolutely authentic. Type out the address of your bank in the browser and check the homepage. Most banks have a policy of not sending such communications to their customers or seeking account related information from customers through email.

Be aware of the communication policy of your bank and be at guard against anything that looks even remotely suspect. Always remember, if your bank wants you to do something, they will ask you to first log on into your banking account instead of offering to do it for you or send you links to do the same.

Stolen Passwords/Hacked Accounts— Hacking accounts and stealing passwords constitute the basics of online frauds and consequently, the basics of online security. An updated anti-virus is a no brainer as well as the fact that unless someone will die if you don’t access your bank account, you should never access your bank account on a public network.

Also, there is a reason why a longer password with mixed characters is always advocated. Longer passwords are difficult to hack and having combinations of letters and numbers that do not use standard words that can be found in dictionary that can be guessed by a computer program trying out endless combinations of real words and numbers, makes them automatically preferred. You should also, ideally change the password frequently to prevent them from being compromised.

Save Your Smartphones— Smartphones are convenient and help us get a lot of things done far more quickly and effectively. But if that lot of thing includes stuff that involves internet banking transactions, it is time to beware. Every single principle that is applicable to using online banking using a laptop or a desktop is applicable to the smartphones. Keep your security system updated. Never trust any SMSs that are supposedly sent by your Bank and ask you to download softwares for various purposes. If you have to absolutely install anything, contact your bank and confirm. It doesn’t take long and can save you a lot of heartburn in the long run. Don’t access internet on public wi-fis, however tempting it may seem. Always remember, smartphones are rapidly emerging as fraudsters’ dream simply because most consumers don’t take time to be careful enough.

The list of precautions above is pretty basic and as we said earlier, has been repeated infinite number of times. And yet, history of such scams in the recent past clearly indicates that we cannot emphasize the importance of these precautions enough. Once a consumer falls prey to such a scam, it is indeed a painful walk through hell. Most banks are unwilling to take responsibility and even if they do, it is only after a harassing long while. Even the Banking Ombudsmen have been usually found unwilling to grant relief in such cases as they by design are not equipped to handle cases that fall in the cyber crime category.

The bottom line is that consumers’ vigilance is their only hope and this is one area where prevention is not just better, but probably the only cure.

 

Happy Consumers Ahead! TRAI Asks Telecom Operators To Improve Quality Of Data Services And Meet Benchmarks.

Posted on by
Reply
TRAI mandates telecom operators to improve internet services, test data services quality

TRAI mandates telecom operators to improve internet services, test data services quality

Does the quality of data services by your mobile operator bother you?

TRAI is here to help!

While mobile internet performance is hardly a concern it used to be, there are still areas that need significant improvement, not just in terms of better speed and connectivity but also dissemination of proper consumer information.

In an attempt to further improve the quality of data services, TRAI has released ‘The Standards of Quality of Service for Wireless Data Services Regulations, 2012′  according to which the mobile operators are required to meet quality of service benchmarks in respect of parameters such as activation of data services, successful data transmission download or upload attempts from a test server, minimum download speed from a test server covering all tariff plans and data drop rate.

In order to ensure due compliance with the regulated standards, every cellular mobile service provider is required  to set up a test set up comprising of servers and test probes to cover the entire geographical area of coverage of different data services in the licenced area

According to TRAI, it has also been mandated that service providers have to publish at its website, the details of all data services offered, along with their tariffs, clearly indicating the cities and towns where such data services and tariff plans are applicable.

Crucially, the service providers are not directed to not offer new data services or modify existing data services or tariffs without prior publication at its website.

TRAI asks telecom operators to test quality of data services (NDTV Gadgets)

Trai asks mobile operators to test quality of data services (Business Standard)

Idea Cellular, Are You Listening? Of Internet Data Usage And More–A Consumer Seeks Answers!

Featured

Posted on by
24
Complaint Against Idea Cellular, Consumer Seeks Answer

Complaint Against Idea Cellular, Consumer Seeks Answer

Tadka Take

Internet connections in India are nightmares. And that is a serious understatement.

The issues are numerous, each graver then the last.

We already had referred to speed issues in a previous story Expecting 3.1 Mbps? You are in for a rude shock!

At promises that vary from 3.1 Mbps to 7.2 Mbps, most consumers are hardly fooled. When we get a connection, we KNOW that promised speed is not something that will be delivered and we will be stuck with an abysmal speed of 256 Kbps or a maximum of 512 Mbps (only if you are blessed with an exceptional luck,that is).

When it comes to mobile internet usage, the things get murkier. Between 2Gs and 3Gs, what most consumers are conclusively stuck with is less than optimum speed and absolutely no track of data usage. No wonder, most of us are caught by surprise whenever our data pack expires, wondering where and how we used it all up and even more importantly, why weren’t we intimated?

Most of the consumers have stoically accepted this reality and continue with their lives without as much as a whimper of complaint. What then hurts the most is that despite this exceptional cooperation from us consumers, who have completely unburdened the Brands of any expectations, they still end up bitterly disappointing us.

When Aditya wrote to us with some disturbing questions for Idea Cellular and its coveted internet services, it was as if he was not voicing his individual concerns but was a spokesperson of the entire harassed consumer community with respect to these services.

Here is what Aditya wrote to us.

Consumer Story

I would like to share my questions/objections about Idea cellular Ltd.

I want to point these out to TRAI also but not able to identify proper way for this.

While I figure out official way to convey these to official authorities, I request you to kindly publish these on your website also so it reaches maximum people.

I would like to raise objections about the service and practice being followed in Idea:

1.       This incidence happened with me during 6th September and 9th September 2012.

2.       I recharged with Rs. 300 (full talk time recharge for Maharashtra and goa region of idea) and Rs. 148 (GPRS recharge. 2GB day time + 2 gb nigh time data pack) on 6th September. On 9th September all my balance reduced to Rs. 0.

3.       I suspect it is because the 2GB free day time data has been consumed by me and then I got charged as per 10ps/10kb.

4.       I would like to know why there is no mechanism to warn customers when they are about to cross the free data limit and are about to shift to 10ps/10kb plan.

5.       Few of my friends and even I used to get the pop screen message mentioning my session details and remaining data usage from my data pack every time I disconnect my internet connection.

But now I don’t get any such sms/pop up screen messages.

Why this customer friendly feature has been stopped?

In case if it is technical glitch and temporarily unavailable, why it’s not been fixed on priority basis and why a backup solution not been provided to customers?

6.       When I have recharged for Rs. 148/- which includes 2GB day time and 2GB night time data usage pack, and when my day time usage is consumed,

i.         Shouldn’t I be informed about the same immediately during my running internet session instead of secretly switching to expensive normal 10ps/10kb plan?

ii.       Shouldn’t I be provided an option to utilize the night time data pack?

7.       When I call customer care seeking clarification and they are unable to provide me details because its not updated yet in system or their complete system is down,

i.          Shouldn’t my complaint be still at least registered by them?

Currently, in such scenario, they don’t register any complaints stating reason of system is down and they don’t keep any record of my call or my intentions to call them.

ii.       Shouldn`t they call me back whenever they are ready with my details or ready with a working system?

Currently they ask customer to call about the action taken back even though it was their inability to provide solution in first call by user.

8.       Since Idea sends lots and lots unwanted spam message everyday to every customer, why cant idea send informative messages to customers to educate and inform about IVR short codes, to check talk time balance by themselves, to check data balance by themselves so customer can track balance and proceed with usage accordingly?

 Tadka Take 2

Data usage pop-ups is one of the best and most convenient features that Idea provides. It is strange that the Idea chose to do away with or simply be careless with the most consumer friendly feature of its product. Is it callousness? Or they don’t take their consumers seriously enough?

Either way, this just goes on to show how  easy it is for the consumers to lose money to the Brands.

The data usage is a grey area for most companies and checking remaining talk time or balance is a perpetual trouble with most providers. One cannot help but wonder if it is a deliberate design to cheat consumers?

Internet is increasingly becoming a necessity for most section of the urban populace and it is high time that the concerned authorities take note of the consumer resources that go down the drain availing sub-standard internet services in India with absolutely no transparency or accountability of any sort. The consumers also need to stop shoving these issues under the carpet and voice their concerns as loudly as possible just as Aditya has done in this case.

Meanwhile, Idea Cellular, do you have any answers?

(Picture Credit : Topnews.in)

iPhone 5 Effect! Unraveling Apple–The Brand That Every Brand Should Aspire To Be!

Featured

Posted on by
Reply
iPhone 5 Effect! Unraveling Apple--The Brand That Every Brand Aspires To Be!

iPhone 5 Effect! Unraveling Apple--The Brand That Every Brand Aspires To Be!

Those rare times when you feel alienated in your own office!

Thank You iPhone 5! Me and like minded technologically challenged buddies across the country (bless your souls wherever you are soul sisters) curse you forever for this brutality!

But then I figured that there actually are no soul sisters around to do me the favors.

Everyone and their grandmothers right now are totally, completely, wholeheartedly trapped in the iPhone 5 bubble.

For most, it doesn’t matter if they ever owned an iPhone or not or if they really ever will own one. Heck! even people who can’t operate a smartphone to save their lives are making it a point to discuss this ‘grand’ event.

The techno geeks (like the ones in my office) are busy dissecting the technical specifications to the minutest detail with words like features, OS, “nano SIM” (‘nano’!?), converters and a couple of other incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo liberally thrown in.

For those who don’t care for the technology (or can’t), still choose to go ga-ga over how slick and smart and light and  ”thin” is the iPhone 5, fascinatingly judging all of the above from a mere picture or some stray video. Of course, all of the above is true, certified by a couple of thousand posts and reports strewn all over the cyber world. But, I choose to reserve this sort of distance fueled infatuation for good looking guys on my telly screen; NOT for a little black box launched in some faraway land, the “classy” factor notwithstanding.

Don’t get me wrong! I absolutely admire Apple and everything it does.

If this makes you happy, it by default includes iPhone 5.

Its just that my reasons for admiration are slightly different.

I admire Apple for the kind of Brand loyalty it inspires, for the kind of love it has sustained, for the kind of obsession it has fueled over the years without fail.

I admire Apple for being the Brand every Brand should aspire to be.

In a fickle world of rapidly changing consumer loyalties, if a Brand continues to elicit confessions of true love from across the world, every single time it steps into the market– it must be doing something very very right!

Apple symbolizes the technological glory of the modern world. Every product it launches, encapsulates the ultimate human aspiration in terms of innovation and luxury. Of course, innovation is the root of it all and Apple continues to ride on the fact of being one of the first innovators in the market.

But, the fact that it has sustained itself, more or less unblemished, despite the competition, merits  adulation which it rightly receives.

And this is not about the products–or quality. Definitely not.

As someone pointed out on Twitter, even if Apple sucks, we would still love it to bits!

iPhone 5 opened up to mixed reviews. Refraining from delving into the technical debate storm raging all over, all we want to say is that competition is getting there and Apple is playing the catch up game , which in itself says a lot about a Brand that had thrived on innovation and first-mover advantage.

But, Apple evokes emotions, the single most important factor behind every sustainable success. As a great man proclaimed in the Indian Telly world–jab dil pe lagegi, tabhi baat banegi!

There is something about Apple that tugs hearts across the world and that is an achievement, really hard to replicate.

For all the innovations, experiments and wonders that rivals come up with, the world still stirs, debates and waits with bated breath for Apple’s launch of iPhone 5.

Till the time, another launch of another product forces my elderly aunt in an obscure, interior part of this country to inquire about it, I will safely say that Brand Apple remains untouched, market dynamics be damned!

Note To Brands: This is how it is done!

(Picture Credit : theverge.com)

Warning: Mac Users Alert! Think Before You Take That MacBook For Repair, You May Be in For Trouble! (True Story Of Harassed Consumer).

Featured

Posted on by
11

Tadka Take

Important: Magali Vaz had a dream run with her MacBook Pro, but that only until the time she finally needed a repair. That was when the dream started turning into a horrifying nightmare. We decided to run this story primarily because it highlights some fundamental issues that are there with service for Apple products in India. While we realize that this is a one off incident and has more to do with the service provider than the brand itself, we still couldn’t get over the fact that an authorized provider can be a source of trouble for any consumer, however random the incident may be. And as far as the accountability of the brand is concerned, there is a reason why these service providers are called “authorized”!

Apple!

Did I hear a collective sigh?

Lets try again…Mac!

There!…I can see a whole bunch going weak in the knees!

Ok. That was exaggerated. But not as much as you would like to believe.

Apple and Mac are two words that spell much more than luxury in this new evolved techno-freakish country. They symbolize class in a way which is distinctly urban and distinctly, for the want of a better word “cool”.

But when something is wrong with that Apple? Yes, that Apple which has redefined technological aspirations. That Apple which has a whole chunk of crazy junta going all orgasmic by its mere sight!

When something is wrong at that Apple’s front, ears are bound to perk up. Given the huge amount of money that consumers spend on their Apple products, it is imperative for us to highlight any shortcoming on Apple’s front–as a word of caution for everyone harboring the great Apple dream.

Magali Vaz had a dream run with her Macbook Pro, but that only until the time she finally needed a repair and that is when the dream started turning into a horrifying nightmare. Below is Magali’s story in her own words:

Consumer Story

I’ve had such a horrible experience getting my Macbook Pro serviced at Maple Digital Technology (Apple Authorized Service Provider) in Mumbai, that I had to share this here in hopes that it will help anyone else in Mumbai who needs an Apple product fixed to make the right choice.

 I’ve had my Macbook Pro since April 2009. It has worked like a charm since then & I couldn’t have been happier with making the switch.

Sometime last month (June) in the middle of working my mac randomly died. It turned back on but the battery indicator now had an x mark on it, if you clicked it, the message ‘battery not available’ would come up. It worked only with the power cable & would die immediately if the power cable was unplugged. I figured that the battery had died, after two years two months of using it as much as I do (a lot) I wasn’t to concerned. A new one was on the cards so I figured that I could safely use this one at home with the power cable only & maybe get the battery replaced later (I wasn’t under warranty or a care plan). 

At this time that battery behaved quite erratic. Sometimes when I switched it on the battery would show & behave normally, at other times it would go back to the x mark & say battery not available.

After a week of this, the problem became a lot worse. Even with the power cable connected, the mac would just spontaneously switch off. This started to get a lot more frequent, to the point where it would shut off within a few seconds after starting (still at the apple screen) & later it would just not start, even with the power cable plugged it. This seriously worried me, because most of my stuff was not backed up (silly me!) & so I knew I had to get it fixed ASAP. 

Here in India we do not have Apple stores, just Apple Premium Resellers (imagine / iStore / maple) & they are Apple Authorized Service Providers too. The imagine website was quite annoying, I filled a service request form on the iStore website (they promised they’d contact me within 48 hours but never did) & finally decided to take my mac to maple because it was relatively convenient.

I took it to the center on 27th June & explained the problem (the clerks at the counter were friendly but didn’t seem too proficient). My mac was listed as ‘battery needs to be checked’ & I was informed that I was going to be charged Rs 1700 (about US $30 due to the week Rupee & all). Fair enough.

The next morning I got a call from their technician, Bhaskar saying they had diagnosed that my battery was dead & I would need to have it replaced. At this point I wondered how fixing the battery would fix the mac switching off all the time but who am I to argue with a trained technician at an Apple Authorized Service Provider, right? 

Their policy entails that you have to pay for the battery, then only they place at order at Apple & the battery arrives within three working days (oh & their non-working days are Saturday, Sunday & Monday) The new battery would cost Rs 9600 (approximately US $171). Went in that very day & paid for the diagnosis + battery. I got the mac back the following Tuesday or Wednesday (3rd or 4th July). When they asked me to check it at the store, the battery still wasn’t working but they assured me it needed to be charged fully.

Within one day I was having the exact same issues as before. I was very disgusted by the whole thing but didn’t really have the time to take it back right away. On the 7th my dad came home with my new mac so I tasked myself with backing up everything from my old mac, amid multiple shutdowns. At this time I tested my old mac with the new power cable to rule out something being wrong with that, but it was the same. I got an email survey from Apple to rate the quality of service received, & I of course said that even though they communicated well, the service was completely ineffective.

The next day itself I started to get calls from Maple apologizing for the inconvenience but asking me to bring it in. Finally took it in on 17th. Got a call on the 20th asking for my password, they hadn’t even touched it for 3 days. 

And finally yesterday I got the verdict (from Bhaskar, again) “We checked & your battery is fine. It’s your motherboard that’s spoilt. And a replacement costs Rs 35,700″ (US $637).

I am not crazy to replace the motherboard for that much money on a mac that’s already old. The big problem I have is with their useless engineer who first diagnosed it as a battery problem. And I’m not trained in this kind of thing but it’s obvious to me that the battery was not at fault. If they had diagnosed it properly the first time I would have cut my losses but now I spent Rs 9600 (US $171) to get the battery replaced & took so many trips to their store to replace a battery that I will never get to use unless I pay a ridiculous sum to replace the motherboard too. 

I wanted to write about this before but couldn’t really type through all the anger. I know my rights, have all the receipts & will look to take Maple consumer court after I get back from Delhi.

I still maintain that Apple products are kickass but the service for those products in India is so dismal. Apple India, if you’re reading this, please step your game up!

I shudder to thing of the time when I’ll need some kind of service for my current mac. All I know is that if you live in Mumbai & own an Apple product that needs servicing, DO NOT TAKE IT TO MAPLE. They are in the business of robbing people, nothing else.

Tadka Take 2

Most of the consumers who share their experience with us are the ones who want to warn other fellow consumers of possible troubles with brands and/or their service centers and stores. And even if this is an isolated incident, we just couldn’t shake the nagging feeling off that if it has happened with one consumer, it can happen with more…and in all probability has happened with more. Brands like Apple that enjoy almost a hallowed status need to be extra careful when it comes to their consumers…after all with pedestal, comes responsibility (yes…i made that up…but you got my point!)

Our only concern…is Apple listening?

Do you have a similar story to share? Write to us at editor@akosha.com and we will make sure you are heard!