No idea as to why I am still with IDEA. Review on Idea Mobile Operator

Today, it’s difficult or almost impossible to find a person who does not use a mobile phone. It has become our absolute necessity to be constantly to be connected with each other. Our generation is fortunate or unfortunate enough to witness this revolution.

Owing to the market worth billions, many mobile operators are in the scene today. I have been using Idea for the past three years and I still have no idea as to why I am still with them especially now when there is mobile number portability.

Call Rates (Pre paid)

One of the biggest advantages of staying with Idea is the flexibility you get with the various plans they have. You can pick a plan according to your needs. Comparatively, the call rates are very less and this is the only area, according to me, in which Idea scores full marks. There are many packages that last for 30 -90 days that will significantly reduce the amount of money you will spend on calls and messages.

Internet (2G)

98 Rs. per month and you can stay connected with your friends through facebook, twitter, gtalk and host of other apps. Apart from this you can browse through your favorite websites or do a quick google search. If your internet requirements and expectations are only this much then 2G will be your best bet. What you can’t do is use an application which streams songs or watch videos on YouTube. Considering that you won’t be able to do that on any other network also, I am pretty happy with the 1 GB plan overlooking the fact that once in a while, there will be problems connecting to the net.

Network

This is probably the biggest problem many people face with Idea. The network is just not good enough. The reception is extremely poor. Two out of five calls, you will face some or the other problem. This situation has improved over the years but still a lot of work has to be put to compete with say an Airtel in this department.

Customer Care

I always wonder why this service is called ‘customer care’ when actually it’s quite a torture to interact with customer service people. Regardless of what you choose as your language of preference, they speak in Kannada (not that I have a problem with it, but then why do you ask the preference?)  They keep you waiting for long for simple queries and after the wait they talk breathlessly, say thank you and hang up on you. Don’t understand why they charge you and sometimes you can’t even connect to them at times and at the end of this circus, you are supposed to give them “good” feedback. Zero marks for customer care and trust me this is a common sentiment among all my friends who use Idea.

Advertising Campaigns

Some of them like the ‘Walk and Talk’, ‘Postped ya Preped’ were really nice while heavenly apps, 3G pe busy were just pathetic. (according to me of course)

Final Word

Dear Idea,

You don’t seem to get any ideas, I will give you one - please stop spending money on worthless advertising campaigns and concentrate on caring for your customers for once.

Mildly Frustrated Idea User.