What privatization is doing in India?

With the government’s push for the privatization of the economy, there is a new wave of exploitation of the common people. There is almost no focus on the increasing level of unethical practices that these private companies are embarking to achieve their so-called monthly and yearly targets. Targets are passed forcefully from the executive heads towards the bottom level executive who interacts with the customers. The sorry state of the customer services and the gundaraaz attitude of the executives to dictate at the less aware customer is something that demands accountability. More so, there is a severe lack of transparency.

I will quote the example of the multinational Vodafone, which recently merged with the Idea, after the surgical strike of Jio in the Indian market. One thing which is noteworthy is that before the advent of the telecommunication services of Jio, the various other companies used to charge extraordinary amounts for the petty data services they used to provide. It was pure exploitation. Soon all the dynamics change and they have to reshuffle their charge sheet as well. Secondly, the customer services should be renamed as ‘company service’ for their utter lack of sympathetic attitude for the customers. If we have to file a complaint about the misbehavior or let say a cheat or misinformation – it is damn hard. One don't know whom to approach. The mail responses and the phone calls are just the formal parrotings without the realization of any loss at customer's end. For example, I was done with my postpaid services and wanted to close the number – I called customer service thrice – they all shut me up bizarrely uttering that it is to be done from the Vodafone stores. Then I walked into one of the stores and after some waiting, I received the response that I have to call the customer care. After dictating my travesty with the store manager, he spoke how I have to talk adamantly in the phone with the executive and ask strictly that my number be closed. It was a shock in the first hand, but then I got accustomed to all this.

It is good that the government is clearing its slate with the non-performing assets, but then it is being done without the transfer of any accountability. The services offered by these companies are not welfare schemes; customers are paying for it. They should be treated like a king, no more, no less. For India’s literacy, these private companies which claim with universal jargons in their ‘Vision’, they deny understanding the ground reality and continue to make the task of customer service difficult, laden with procedures and more procedures and departments…

There is a genuine call for accountability and transparency. Otherwise, it is just like creating multiple EIC of the pre-independent era and nothing else. Privatization is clearly overstated in India. It lacks scrutiny but more so it's clearing the dust from one's soldier.