New Delhi, June 19, 2016: BSNL is slowly shedding its inhibitions on social media!
Barkha Dutt, a senior journalist with 4 million Twitter followers, was perplexed with her telecom service provider Vodafone and she finally took to Twitter to narrate her grievances.
Hello @VodafoneIN – 15 hours & counting- no phone service, no data, a rubbish fake helpline that no one answers. Why should one use u?
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) June 12, 2016
Hello @VodafoneIN you have taken away my data for the last seven hours and have useless, unresponsive helpline. What going on with you guys
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) June 11, 2016
Dear @VodafoneIN it's even worse 24 hours later when you claim to have fixed a data problem & it's even worse than it was. Awful experience
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) June 12, 2016
As soon as she narrated her problems, a flood gate opened with many other consumers narrating similar woes.
The brands who were being singled out by dissatisfied consumers jumped into the fray and offered their help, but there was one clear winner here; BSNL!
Most consumers had words of praise for the ‘sarkari’ telecom company and many mentioned Barkha Dutt to ditch the current provider and move to BSNL.
As if this was not enough, Twitter handle of BSNL, probably basking in the adulation, itself jumped into the fray and asked the journalist to consider moving to its ‘side.’
Dear @BDUTT do take a look at our plans & wide network. If you could DM your details we could connect & share the same. @VodafoneIN
— BSNL India (@BSNLCorporate) June 12, 2016
Barkha Dutt who was obviously still unhappy with the current provider answered kindly to the offer.
@BSNLCorporate @VodafoneIN – will do BSNL, time to change phone service
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) June 12, 2016
Whether she takes the offer or not is another matter, but the fact is that BSNL social media handle showed the other brands that it won’t shy away from a fight and is wiling to go the extra mile.
A person like Barkha Dutt who holds much clout in social media, mainstream media and political circles declaring her switch to the BSNL online probably would be the biggest, effective and a free of cost marketing exercise that would help BSNL get a strong boost.
It is also great to see that all the brands which were being pointed at by the dissatisfied consumers quickly offered their services. This is a good sign for the Indian consumer who has found social media a great way to report his woes which otherwise in many case takes months to settle down.
Sushma Swaraj chose to reply to a query is another lesson for the brands. When a dissatisfied consumer wrote to her on Twitter telling her about his faulty refrigerator, she actually replied kindly.
Brother I cannot help you in matters of a Refrigerator. I am very busy with human beings in distress. https://t.co/cpC5cWBPcz
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 13, 2016
But then with her reply, even the problem got retweeted many times and the brand in question also suffered. Therefore, being consumer friendly is the first thing that all the brands must now think over.
But yes, in the case of Barkha Dutt, it is clearly the BSNL which is the winner!
