What started as a routine data subscription for my office Airtel ODU router on August 10 has turned into one of the most frustrating experiences I have had as a customer.
For almost a month, I have gone back and forth with Airtel and SmartCash trying to resolve the issue, sending emails, making calls, visiting Airtel offices and reaching out through social media, yet the problem remained unresolved.
The issue started on August 10 when I attempted to purchase the monthly data subscription for the Airtel ODU router used in my office. I made the payment through SmartCash, but I did not realise at the time that the data had not been credited to the intended office router.
I have two Airtel ODU routers, one for personal use and another for the office. My personal ODU router had already been subscribed on August 1, while the office subscription was made on August 10.
After I discovered that the office router was still without data, I began contacting Airtel. I sent several emails and made calls, hoping the matter would be resolved. However, I did not receive the response I expected.
I eventually visited an Airtel office in Alaba and lodged a complaint. I was assured that the issue would be resolved within 48 hours. I waited, but nothing changed.
As the matter continued, I also contacted SmartCash to investigate the transaction. SmartCash later informed me that the data purchased on August 10 had actually gone into my personal Airtel ODU router rather than the office router.
I was also informed that two unlimited ODU data subscriptions could not operate simultaneously on the same router. According to the information I received, the second subscription was expected to take effect on September 1 and run until October 10, while my previous subscription ended on September 1.
I therefore expected that the data issue would finally be resolved from September 1.
But that did not happen.
I returned to the Airtel office in Alaba and also visited the company's Ikeja office on the last Sunday of August. At the Ikeja office, I was attended to by a lady who remained calm and assured me that she was looking into the matter.
I continued following up, including another visit to the Alaba office the following week. I was again assured that the issue would be resolved within a day or two.
Throughout this period, I kept my editor informed because the affected router is used for our office operations and the prolonged lack of internet access was creating pressure at work.
I also continued contacting Airtel through different channels, including emails, X (formerly Twitter), direct messages and LinkedIn. Still, there was no satisfactory resolution.
On Monday, I sent another message to Airtel, hoping that something would finally be done.
Then came September 10.
I went back to the Airtel office after speaking with my boss, who had asked me to ensure that the issue was resolved.
When I arrived, an elderly woman attended to me. I was already frustrated after almost a month of repeated complaints, but I initially tried to remain calm. In fact, I told her that I did not want any problem because I was already frustrated with the situation.
She began checking the issue.
At first, I was told that there was no data remaining on my personal ODU router and that there was also no data on the office router. This confused me because it was different from the information I had previously received.
She later explained that, according to what she could see from her end, the airtime was already on the office router, although it was not reflecting on the Airtel app.
I chose to believe her and allowed her to continue trying to resolve the issue. She attempted to find a way to have the value converted or reflected as data for the office router.
However, when I was told that I would have to wait another 24 hours, I became overwhelmed by the thought of going through another round of waiting.
After almost a month of emails, calls, social media messages and physical visits to Airtel offices, I felt I had reached my limit.
I decided to record a video of myself expressing my frustration.
I did not shout at anyone. I did not insult the staff member attending to me. I was simply expressing my frustration about the prolonged back-and-forth and the lack of a resolution.
That was when the situation escalated.
One of the staff members approached me and attempted to drag my phone away from me, insisting that I could not record a video inside the office.
During the struggle over the phone, I feared that it could be damaged. My phone already had a crack, and I noticed that the situation could have caused further damage to it.
I questioned why I was being treated that way when, in my view, the staff could simply have asked me politely to step outside if recording inside the premises was against company policy.
The situation became even more disturbing when another staff member approached me. According to my recollection, he threatened to slap me and told me to come outside the office so we could fight.
I had gone to the office to complain about a data subscription — not to fight anyone.
Both men were captured on video during parts of the incident.
At another point, one of the staff members pushed me into a corner and insisted that I delete the video.
I kept asking why I was being harassed when I was only trying to express my frustration.
Eventually, a woman I understood to be the manager intervened. I do not know her name, but she was calm during the interaction and tried to handle the situation.
However, the conduct of some of the male staff members had already left me deeply disturbed.
Two of them, according to my recollection, threatened to beat me.
What troubled me most was how a customer complaint about an unresolved service issue could escalate into a confrontation simply because I attempted to record myself expressing my frustration.
I have since tried to establish whether there is an official Airtel policy prohibiting customers from recording videos inside its offices. From the checks I have made so far, I have not found a publicly available policy that clearly establishes such a blanket prohibition.
Even if such a policy exists, however, I believe there should be proper communication and professionalism in enforcing it.
A customer who is frustrated should be spoken to, not physically confronted.
I went to that Airtel office because I wanted a solution to a problem that had already taken almost a month. Instead, I left feeling hurt and disappointed by the way I was treated.
The original data issue remains the reason this entire situation began.
I am therefore calling for a proper investigation into what happened, including a review of the CCTV footage from the office and the video evidence from the incident.
I also want Airtel to clarify its position on recording within its offices and how such a policy, if it exists, is expected to be enforced.
Most importantly, I want the original data complaint resolved.
After almost a month of going back and forth, I believe the least I deserve as a customer is a proper explanation, professional treatment and a resolution to the problem I came to the office to report in the first place.
This is unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteAirtel, what???
ReplyDelete