The last date for paying the telephone bill was drawing near, and there was no sign of our Man Friday, long overdue from his annual vacation. There was no choice but to go ourselves. I offered since I thought I could get things done faster in the ladies queue, besides which I had been reading a lot about MTNL's recent customer care services initiative.
At the MTNL office there was a rude awakening in store. Clearly, women had won the battle for equality. "No separate line," the men said sternly, pointing to the end of the lengthy line. The sun was scorching and the line didn't appear to be moving at all. ( Can't fans be organised since the billing is now a monthly ritual) "The computer has broken down," someone said. Veterans ahead of me said that this was routine, usually meaning that the clerks at the counter wanted a break. Sure enough within a few minutes the clerk began accepting bills. "Why don't you use MTNL's schemes like the bank deposit one instead of standing here?" I asked a few people in the queue."Frankly I don't trust MTNL's billing. If there are any errors, it will take a lifetime to get a refund and have it corrected," said one middle aged gentleman. "The credit card scheme rarely works because I never get the bill in time - it has to be paid by card seven days in advance," he added.
The agent from the STD booth near my house, whom I recognised, joined in: "The response to the courier scheme is bad because most Indians don't trust any form of postal service." Pointing to the huge bundle of bills in his hand, he added: " When you can pay your bills through people like me for a mere Rs 10, whybother?."
By this time our turn was nearing and we could hear the ill-tempered clerk. An elderly gentleman a few steps ahead handed his bill, got his receipt and stood at the counter a bit confused. "Why is there no revenue stamp on my receipt?" he enquired. The clerk inside snarled at him: "If you own a phone, you should be intelligent enough to know why. Figure it out yourself." Sympathetic people behind told him that for amounts less than Rs 500 no revenue stamp was needed. As I handed my bills (for two telephones) and the cheques, the clerk threw the bills at my face. "Just give me the cheques, I don't need the bills," he snarled. He also got irritated as I handed the bills one by one, snapping: "Why are you so slow - can't you give them together." Perhaps he didn't like my face. But, then, going by his behaviour, he didn't seem to care much for anybodyelse's face either. It 's all very well to start new intitiaves and schemes, but customer care, dear MTNL, should begin at home.