I live in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh (UP) state in India. This historical city is famous for its Chikankari (embroidery handwork), monuments from the British era and the era of Nawabs, fine cuisine and superb etiquette. All these, especially the last two, are believed to be capable of making the face of any visitor light up with joy: And hence the adage "मुस्कुराइए कि आप लखनऊ में हैं!" It translates to "Now that you are in Lucknow, smile!"
While the city takes pains to keep the ageing monuments in good repairs, little is being done to prevent erosion of its fine etiquettes and the accompanying moral fabric. Things seem to have gone so far that business entities, especially those of online variety, are reluctant to do business with the residents and accord to them common courtesies accorded to a group of good customers. I will give some examples from my own experience that bear this out.
I am an Airtel customer and my relationship with them is strong in so much as I subscribe to all their services, DTH, Broadband and LL as well as a mobile connection. And so their response came as a shock to me when I contacted their customer care for activating international roaming (IR) on my phone. They said, quite categorically, that this service is not provided to customers in UP (East) circle! It is interesting to note that those in the UP (West) circle do not face this ignominy!
Then, again, while enquiring with airlines operating on the Delhi-Lucknow sector, I found out that passengers coming in to Delhi from an international sector and proposing to travel on the D-L domestic sector were not allowed any additional baggage allowance. Though, such additional allowance was given by some airlines on such sectors as Delhi-Raipur! Yet another case of discrimination!
The latest affront comes from Amazon (India.) I used their app to order a Moto g plus phone with protective cover and screen guard. The latter two, of course, are low value items while the phone is priced at INR 15K. While the latter articles were okayed in my order, a message said that the first item could not be shipped to my PIN code. I tried other PIN codes in Lucknow and even in Faizabad but in vain. Correspndence with their customer care suggests that Amazon has stopped delivering high value merchandise in whole of eastern UP! Amazon being the exclusive dealer for this phone I now have to give up my plan to purchase this phone!
I feel deeply hurt by these incidents and am wondering why are commercial entities are viewing the residents of this state as such unreliable and irresponsible louts? I would also like to check with our state government and political leaders if they have any plans to check this loss of face and the waning smile.
While the city takes pains to keep the ageing monuments in good repairs, little is being done to prevent erosion of its fine etiquettes and the accompanying moral fabric. Things seem to have gone so far that business entities, especially those of online variety, are reluctant to do business with the residents and accord to them common courtesies accorded to a group of good customers. I will give some examples from my own experience that bear this out.
I am an Airtel customer and my relationship with them is strong in so much as I subscribe to all their services, DTH, Broadband and LL as well as a mobile connection. And so their response came as a shock to me when I contacted their customer care for activating international roaming (IR) on my phone. They said, quite categorically, that this service is not provided to customers in UP (East) circle! It is interesting to note that those in the UP (West) circle do not face this ignominy!
Then, again, while enquiring with airlines operating on the Delhi-Lucknow sector, I found out that passengers coming in to Delhi from an international sector and proposing to travel on the D-L domestic sector were not allowed any additional baggage allowance. Though, such additional allowance was given by some airlines on such sectors as Delhi-Raipur! Yet another case of discrimination!
The latest affront comes from Amazon (India.) I used their app to order a Moto g plus phone with protective cover and screen guard. The latter two, of course, are low value items while the phone is priced at INR 15K. While the latter articles were okayed in my order, a message said that the first item could not be shipped to my PIN code. I tried other PIN codes in Lucknow and even in Faizabad but in vain. Correspndence with their customer care suggests that Amazon has stopped delivering high value merchandise in whole of eastern UP! Amazon being the exclusive dealer for this phone I now have to give up my plan to purchase this phone!
I feel deeply hurt by these incidents and am wondering why are commercial entities are viewing the residents of this state as such unreliable and irresponsible louts? I would also like to check with our state government and political leaders if they have any plans to check this loss of face and the waning smile.
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