Bajaj's Fast Customer Care Service - Unbelievable!

Here's something for the Internet enthusiasts.
I got the delivery for my new bike (it's a Avenger 220, black - a total beauty, trust me!) yesterday in the afternoon from Khivraj Motors, Bangalore. Went around the city comfortably (I mean as comfortable as it can get in the Bangalore traffic in the peak hours) and had absolutely no troubles with the bike. The I was going to meet a friend for a dinner at around 8:30 in the evening when I stopped at a signal for about 2 minutes and since then the bike just didn't start again. I tried everything that I knew but it just didn't budge at all. I had to push start it (it has no kick, just electric start!) and come back home. Not to mention that my dinner was ruined already. Then morning was the same, the bike just didn't start so I called up the showroom people at around 10:00 in the morning and asked them to come home and take a look and I was assured of a quick service.
I waited for an hour and there was no response so I called them again, same assurance and no results. Then in another hour I called them again and the same thing happened. Then I decided to log a complain at the bajaj customer care, which is an online service. I drafter a mail to them explaining the trouble I had with my new bike and the poor service I was getting at the hands of the dealers. Within an hour I got a call from the sales head at Khivraj Motors and I got the attention that I, as a customer, had all the rights to. As I still waited for the service men to come and attend to my bike I got another call from the Bajaj Sales team (seemed like some senior officer/manager from the authority he commanded) with humble assurance and a suggestion to hand over the bike for an overall servicing once again.
To tell you the truth, I did not expect the online complaint submission to be that effective and that fast! Bajaj is on its way folks! I think this was faster than the response time of the best customer centric companies with top of the class CRMs in place. Even Apple was slower in responding with 'Don't hold it that way!' remedy for its iPhone4.
PS: I'm still waiting for the service guy to come to my home though. Some things in India will remain 'cheap n chalu' for a long time I guess :P

Place The Rupee At Your Fingertips!

The Indian Government and the Department of IT (DIT) is conducting a survey to find out the most preferred location of the Indian Rupee symbol on the QWERTY keyboard.
Take this survey and voice your opinion!
Update: From the current stats of the survey it looks like "ALT + R" will be the winner! I voted for the same :)

Say No To Auto On 12th Of August, 2010

The auto menace in Bangalore is not anything new. The auto drivers are rude, the meters (if functioning at all) are never working right and the fares increases for no particular reason. A night call and you pay double the meter, a distant area and you double, you're sick and there are not many autos around and you pay double, you are new to Bangalore and you pay double/triple, you are a foreigner and you pay whatever you can afford.
This has to stop! Participate in 'Meter Jam' on 12th of August and SAY NO TO AUTO this Thursday! Spread this to as many people as you can, as fast as you can and tell the unjust unions that in this country, in 'namma Bangaluru' people's opinion matters!!!

Stop Child Labor In India

Could not resist but share these pictures with you. Child labor is a reality in India. We are creating a generation of malnutrition, uneducated and highly vulnerable Indians by promoting or ignoring this issue. If you see a child under the age of 14 working near you in households, dhabas, factories call 1098 and report the issue!

The labour ministry notification, banning employment of children under 14 in houses, dhabas, and other eateries, will come into force on Tuesday.
And employers found violating the ban can face imprisonment up to two years, a fine of Rs 20,000, or both.
Read more: Dial 1098 to report child labour - India - The Times of India

Why Is India So Poor?

Yes, it has been long since we posted anything. We were stuck with our lives to say the least. India, however, did not stop moving. So much happened over these months that it does not make sense to give you a recap (!) Mr. Kalmadi's CWG (I say that the games belong to him because that's how he has been treating it really!) would be the next big thing for India in the global front and we're all so excited about it :)
Here's what I have for you in this post: A blog post about a Malaysian student's experiences in India. While most of the post is a rather personal perspective on things, there's one comment which really touched me and inspired me to write this post.

Seeing the poverty around you changes your outlook. Dealing with such an alien community with such different values and tolerances teaches you to understand people.

Here's one question which has bugged me enough. I have tried to escape from it, tried my best to answer it, tried to avoid it, tried to change it but it keeps hitting me right in the face all the time: Why is my country so poor? I wish I had the answer, but I don't! I wish I at least had a clue or a theory, but even that is something that I can't offer to you, my readers!
Most of us reading this post are not poor. We are well provided, well taken care of. We have families to support us and we have families that we support. But, the moment we step out of our homes, the moment we step into public transports, trains, buses, the moment we get on the roads and the footpaths we know it - India's poverty glares at us. The poorly kept infrastructure demands an explanation, the struggling lot on the streets, though keep fighting with a resilient and rude attitude towards life, have a question written right across their faces. Why are we so poor?
We know we are a unique nation. We know that we're a huge economy and we know India still has a lot of wealth but why does it not reflect in our lives?
If corruption is the answer then there has to be someone who is rich right? The corrupt are the poorest of all, they're afraid of their own money and often live in conditions so miserable and minds so drenched with thoughts and fears of poverty that even the beggars laugh at them!
When I read about the Lords from England who ruled us for so many years, their rich way of life which was supported by the suppressed Indian people I can't help think about the situation that is prevalent even today. The ruling faces have changed color but the rule has remained the same. The suppressed Indian class is still present, the suppressors are still living in the mansions and palaces constructed by the British! How do we put the common man in a position of power and how do we keep them 'common' even after giving them power over a billion+ people?
Is it about an absence of National pride? Is it about an absence of good education system which should urge one to destroy all the anti-nationalist systems in India?
I don't know!
Take a look at this picture, does it look very different from the days of the British? We need to act right now!