After initial research for a refrigerator having a bottom freezer and vegetable box in center we zeroed in on BOSCH KGN57AI50I(505 LIT) simply because of its beautiful SIMPLE design and very practical features as compared to Hitachi, Sharp and Panasonic which were in comparable price points and capacity.
Having purchased the refrigerator from SONY MONY(S.V.Road, Parle West, Mumbai) on 14th January 2014 our machine was to be delivered on 15th January 2014: and then began the saga of phenomenal after sale service:
1) When the machine was delivered on 15th January 2014, there was no warranty card in the box or with the delivery person and he had no idea as to why that was the case? He was used to delivering the same with other brands and refrigerators, but was perplexed why this was a peculiar case? On phoning the store they said maybe it is inside the refrigerator and he should search it properly. On repeated searches and phoning various sales and managerial staff they all gave up without any proper answer and asked us to wait till the demo person shows up. This whole incident went on from 12:00 noon to 1:20 pm on 15th January 2014.
2) We get a call on 16th January 2014 from Bosch sales/demo representative giving us a time of 2:30pm in the afternoon(no other time is suitable for him) and thankfully telling us that he is bringing over the coveted warranty card and showing us his surprise that we are not aware of this.
3) When he arrives(Mr. Sabir Khan-9892972561), we request him to reverse the position of the door(as this is one of the good features wherein the door opening can be altered/reversed to any preferable side) and to our surprise he tells us that we should ask for a technical person and take an appointment for him.(then what was he there for? Ohh! Only to deliver the warranty card) and that was end of demo by him.
4) So we request him to send us another person from his company(Jeeves- this is a company to which Bosch has outsourced its demo and technical customer care service in Malad-Mumbai).
5) On 17th January 2014 again we get a phone call from a new set of demo/sales/technical people informing us that they will be visiting us in afternoon from 2:00 pm.
6) An expert team of two technical people arrive(headed by Mr. Dharmendra - 7666679938) and we thought that now they will reverse the refrigerator door(it is very simple- only hinges from one end have to be removed and fixed on other end - its a modular fitting).
7) They made us empty the refrigerator as they had to bend and shift and move the whole machine.me and my wife helped and cooperated with them and emptied the refrigerator.
8) To our surprise they did not have proper tools and were using very old archaic manual tools and lot of human labor(and we were also skeptical that they could damage or scratch one of the surfaces in their enthusiasm, with which we will have to live forever). On inquiring that they represent Bosch and are not using modern automated or electric screw drivers- they said that their company does not provide them but they do have one set in their workshop.(so much for Bosch selling some of the most advanced and motorized/automatic machine tools)
9) These two gentlemen removed both the doors(the refrigeration section and freezer section) and fixed them back on the opposite side.on a detailed look we realized that one of the technician had lots of oil in his head and he left lots of marks on two surfaces of refrigerator while it was leaning on him and other guy was fixing the hinges of the doors.(I fail to understand, why do they oil their heads on duty and give customers the benefit with lots of oil marks on the appliance).
10) On our pointing this matter they took it very lightly commenting that we should clean it with COLIN surface cleaner(glass surface cleaner). Thankfully it was available readily and they volunteered to clean it as there were substantial oil marks on front door and side surfaces.
11) By late evening we realized that frost started forming in refrigerator. Ice started depositing in vents and there was water on all inner surfaces, vegetable box, chiller unit and large quantity of water on Tupperware boxes stored inside the refrigerator. On closer inspection we also realized that the refrigerator door was shaking in one of the hinges and something had gone wrong.
12) We immediately called on the mobile number of the head technician(Mr. Dharmendra) who told us that he was busy in Colaba(South Mumbai) and would not be able to attend us even if something had gone wrong. We will have to give a new complaint and call the customer care call center who will send someone in 48 hours.
13) So again began the whole process of wait and wait and wait till a new expert will come to diagnose the problem left over by the previous team of expert technician.
14) On the morning of 21st January 2014 a new expert this time from Bosch company arrives - Mr. Mohamed Zaid- 9167610710 and he pointed out to various mistakes by the previous team:
His expert take:
a) They have changed the door but they have not changed the rubber gasket as a result of which a gap is created in the door even in the shut position. This allows the outside air to enter the refrigerator and allows the process of frost forming and ice cubes forming in vent and other surfaces,
b) The previous team have forgotten to fix a hinge in its original vicer(a black color plastic cylindrical piece 2cm in length) and have lost it in the process of removing and fixing the refrigerator door as a result of which the doors are not in proper place and are shaking.and to locate this piece he calls up the company.
c) The company does not have a plastic vicer in ready stock and it will take 10 days time to arrive from Germany.so we have to live with the frost and shaking door for next 10 days.
d) he tells us that Colin should never be used to clean the refrigerator as it will permanently damage the hair-line finish steel surface( - and the previous expert team had bathed our refrigerator with Colin) and only baby oil or coconut oil should be used to clean the surface.
Now we are waiting for Mr. Zaid to bring one more technical help to change the rubber gasket which also should be reversed along with the door and for the company to locate a 2cm black colored cylindrical plastic vicer which is coming from Germany especially for us.
This is WORK IN PROGRESS and I will keep you guys posted about our saga of the phenomenal Customer Service and after sales service from Bosch.
This has kept us thinking:
a) Does Bosch give this kind of customer service in Europe and other parts of the world where they operate?
b) Do they have this kind of Labor practices and such efficient technical experts all over the world?
c) Do they give service to customers who have to sit at homes(you guys better take leave from your jobs if you buy Bosch appliances) waiting for their demo guys, technical experts and teams after teams of inefficient staff.is it a curse to buy Bosch appliances?
d) We seriously wish and hope that Bosch senior staff takes a detailed look into their after sales support and processes if they seriously wish to serve customers in India.
WAITING FOR THOSE BLISSFUL DAYS WHEN WE CAN USE OUR REFRIGERATOR WITHOUT HAVING TO CALL UP BOSCH CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE AND DOING FOLLOW-UPS WITH THEIR EXPERT TEAMS.
Mr. Sanjay Nandani - 9820700720.
- Thank You! We appreciate your effort.