Place : Trivandrum (Kerala, INDIA),
Date : 31st August 2009.

From

Raveendranth. P
T C 31/981-1, PRRAP-123,
Manakkal Lane, Puthen Road,
Palkulangara, Pettah (PO),
Trivandrum-695024 (KERALA STATE),
INDIA. (PIN CODE - 695024)

PHONE :
Mobile - 09446509596,
Office - 0471-2351827
Residence - 0471-2452469


To

SANSUI India Ltd.
Plot No. 248 (1st & 2nd Floor),
Udyog Vihar, Phase – IV,
Gurgaon, Haryana,
India - 122015

Dear Sir,

Poor Quality and After Sales Service of SANSUI TV

I am an unfortunate customer who purchased a SANSUI 32" LCD TV on 5th September 2008 from M/s IDEA Home Appliances, Trivandrum vide BILL No. 1095 dated 5th September 2009.

The TV worked well for 8 months and developed some complaints during May 2009. TV will get automatically switched off within 5 to 10 minutes after you ON it. Then, we have to switch it off manually and wait for another 5 to 10 minutes and and re-start once again. But after another 5 to 10 minutes the same problem will recur. I have telephoned to the dealer ( 0471-2573535) and he gave me the number of the local service station (Trivandrum - 0471-2330910). I telephone to the local service station as directed by the dealer and got a reply that first I have to ensure that the electrical connections are OK and and then register a complaint with the National TOLL FREE NUMBER (18004194040). So, I verified the electrical connection and the complaint continued and hence registered a complaint with the TOLL FREE NUMBER on 1st June 2009.
(Complaint No. COC / 0106090378 dated 01-06-09). Within 2-3 days a service personnel called me and visited my residence. He tried so repairs with the limited equipments he had with him and told me that if the complaint is repeating, I have to bring the TV to their service station at my own cost.

I observed the same for a few days, found that the complaint has not at all rectified and hence i called the service centre once again and asked for help. He repeated the demand that i have to take the 32" TV to his service centre for conducting a detailed check up and putting it under observation. I sought for his help to transport the TV to his centre since the service centre is having a vehicle of their own. He expressed his inability and saidd that the vehicle for MARKETING and TRANSPORTATION OF NEW TVs and nor for bringing old ones for repair. I told him that mine is also a NEW TV purchased 8 months back and is under ONSITE Warranty period and the inability of the Service Centre to Repair it is not my Problem and the service Centre should take delivery of the TV from my Home if they need a detailed check up and observation. But to my utter dismay and disappointment, he repeated what he has already told me and asked me to register another complaint, if i am not satisfied with his reply with the NATIONAL TOLL FREE Number.

So I registered another complaint with the National TOLL FREE Number on 21-6-09 ( Complaint NO. 210609 L 0033 dated 21-06-09). I also asked them how they closed my earlier complaint dated 1-6-09, for which they replied that they have a report that one salesperson has visited my residence and rectified the complaint. But asked him whether he has cross checked for which I got a negative answer in which he clarified it is not in our policy / agreement with the company. I understood that they are only an outsourced agent for SANSUI and many other companies like this. The voice on the other side confirmed it and clarified that there are lot of complaints about SANSUI TV and rectification will take some time. Anyway I asked him not to close the complaint without my satisfactory report and record whatever I said. He promised me to take up the matter with SANSUI Cochin Office also.

After two three days the service personnel from Trivandrum service Centre called me in my Mobile (9446509596) and repeated the demand that I should bring the TV to their Service Centre and they may not be able to help me in arranging the vehicle to lift the TV from my residence. As you may be aware, 32" LCD TV is very heavy and bulky in size when you want to transport and ordinary Auto rickshaws and TAXI people does not allow such bulky, oversize packets in their vehicle. I expressed my difficulty and asked their help to life the TV from my residence using the vehicle available at the service centre, for which the service personnel centre responded negatively with a big NO. I contacted the Manager of the service centre and he told me that the vehicle has gone to Cochin and he may try to help if possible when it comes back. After two three days I called him once again and he told that the vehicle has gone for repairs and he may try to help me after the vehicle comes back. Both the times he requested me to bring the TV to the service Centre by arranging a transport carrier with packing case to get the defects rectified at the earliest without waiting for their Vehicle. But since I am a Bank Executive and i have to start as early as 8.30 AM from my residence to rech the office in Time and will come back only by 7 PM on all working days. So I have to take a day's leave for bringing the TV to the service centre and another day's leave to bring it back in addition to the cost of transportation for a transport vehicle from my pocket. All these things within 8 months of my purchasing a Brand New LCD 32" TV from SANSUI. I am customer who used my earlier CTV for 15 years continuously without any complaint and exchanged the same for this SANSUI TV.

I expected for the help of the Service Centre and waited in anticipation of their call when their vehicle becomes free, but no reply came despite repeated calls most of the time unattended and even if attended by different persons, quite unaware of the background of the case to whom I have to explain the 3 month old history of the complaint and geography of my residence every time. There is no reference Number system at the local service Centre at Trivandrum and hence I went on repeating the history and geography to those unidentified service personnel every instance but without any positive response.

I registered another follow up complaint on 24th August 2009 (Complaint No. COC /408090065 DATED 24-08-09) mentioning the details. Again the service centre personnel from Trivandrum called me on the second day and repeated the same old message and demand. I told him that the requirement has been created by the lack of infra-structure or lack of expertise of the service personnel to provide on-site warranty and hence i am not responsible for transporting the TV to the service centre. They have been provided with a vehicle and my residence is hardly 3 to 4 KM from their office. If such a small help is not rendered by the service centre within the warranty period, how they are going to render service after the warranty period.

To my surprise there was no confirmation call or cross verification call from the TOLL FREE Number till date.

I registered another complaint with the TOLL FREE NUMBER for follow up quoting all these reference on 29-08-09 (Complaint No. COC/ 298090500 dated 29-08-09) once again quoting these reference number. The Toll Free Number person responded that if they arrange a vehicle I have to bear the cost (Rs.150/-) and it is better that I arrange the vehicle. I am yet to receive a reply from the local service station. I also want the TOLL FREE NUMBER personnel to escalate my complaint to a higher level, because it is pending since 1st June 2009 and I am NOT Watch the TV thereafter. It is kept well packed in the packing case for the service centre to transport to their local office. They also told me to contact [email protected] and send an SMS to 53030. I have done both. But i lost the failth in the company. SANSUI India is a company which thinks that the customer, especially after selling its product, is a small fry, SILENCE and "No RESPONSE" are the BUZZ Words, when the whole world believe that Customer is KING and Service with a SMILE is the BUZZ word... The COMPANY appears to be HAPPY, as per their WEB Site, but Not the Customer; But how long...

It is not the cost or Rs.150/- that matters for a customer, but owning the responsibility and rendering effective after sales service is the key fact. Whatever marketing efforts a company does, it will not work if the after sales service is poor and the system is NOT owning the responsibly of the mistake and rectifying the same at the earliest. The company is getting an opportunity to know their defects and if they want to reach out to millions they should own their NAME and responsibility of their Products and its Quality. A 32" LCD TV developing a complaint within 8 months of its purchase, tell about its quality and a customer who purchased the same could not watch that TV because of the poor after sales service despite knocking all the possible door tells upon the Credibility of the Company and its willingness to Own the responsibility of its products and its quality and service.

I simply gave a GOOGLE Search in the net, “SANSUI - Complaint", and there comes hundreds of links to the complaints from MUMBAI, PUNE and different parts of the country about the poor quality and after sales service.

Now I understand that i have made a GREAT MISTAKE by purchasing the SANSUI TV and I will have to pay the price for it if I want to keep it with me for the rest of my life. I thought that I need not purchase another TV for the next 15 years like my old one. But I repent now in going for a wrong Brand name without looking into the INTERNET.

I will definitely publish this letter wherever possible (including local Newspapers/ Internet/ Consumer redressal forum/ MRTP Commission) to make the public and the authorities aware of SANSUI Brand and its way of OWNING its products and its quality and after sales service. People should know the way in which they are being treated before and after the sales. Marketing is NOT the LAST word in SALES, it is the STARTING POINT. If one makes a wrong start, definelty they have to suffer at the end, surely a disastrous end...

Remember a customer and his family will never forget and forgive the COMPANY and its BRAND NAME which has presented the THREE MONTHS in their life when he could NOT WATCH his Newly Purchased 32" SANSUI LCD TV for no fault of theirs except the fact that they believed in the Marketing Team of the Company...

with Best wishes for a happy marketing ...

Yours faithfully,


Raveendranath . P