With the spread of technology, most aspects of our day-to-day lives have also improved, haven’t they? In a metropolitan like Kolkata, where life is highly demanding and chaotic, people usually opt for a better and cooperative option as a way out. Isn’t this the case often?
Well – at times, the so-called superior and helpful options can lead you to very unsatisfactory and harassing circumstances. One such incident happened with me recently.
It was a hot sunny Sunday in Kolkata, and I was going to my aunt’s house. As it was a Sunday afternoon, I chose not to travel on a local bus. Instead, I booked an Ola cab for a relaxing journey. Now, Ola is a leading Indian-origin online transportation network company with great services. The public evidently looks forward to enjoying some good services from such a large transportation network company. And that day, I had the same expectations.
I chose to opt for a share cab – and my friend booked a white Dzire Ola cab for me as I was having some issues with my phone. The driver turned out to be one who had a 4.8 star rating.
I started my journey from the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass Link Road – my destination being Shiv Mandir Road, Brahmapur, Kolkata. When I booked the cab, the app showed me that I would have to pay ₹56 for the journey. However, when I reached my destination, the car’s device showed a fare of ₹187 – and I paid it. But I felt this wasn’t right – especially since the original bill generated showed a fare of ₹56 only.
Then I mailed the concerned department. They too said that I should have been charged ₹56 only, and they asked the driver about the matter. Guess what happened next? The driver denied having taken a single extra rupee from me. Again, I called the customer care support team and complained about this issue by registering a case with my number. However, the team turned out to be so callous, negligent and careless that instead of offering me a way out, they got busy protecting the driver and their reputation.
Whenever I try to get in touch with them, they just ignore the issue. On the other hand, the driver seems to have either blocked me or has kept his phone switched off. The concerned department did nothing against that driver and entirely ignored the matter.
Customers are being harassed by such services – and frankly speaking, this kind of irresponsibility and lack of concern from the concerned department is very annoying and unacceptable for me. I am sure many of us have faced such a behaviour from similar online transportation network companies. Now, the question here is not of money, but of customer security and service. Is this the way in which such a reputable transportation network company should deal with its customers?
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Featured image used for representative purposes only.