Service linked to your bill?

In many temples, it is seen that when you pay more, say for a Pooja or aarti, you are given a much better treatment than the rest – you get ahead of the queue, the pujari gives you special attention and overall, you feel your experience was very good. Thus customer service in temples is linked with what you pay or do not pay.

When that is the case with God Himself, what is wrong if today telecom companies are doing the same? The unwritten rule is that if your telephone/mobile bill is less than Rs.3000, you do not count for much customer service. You can be assured of long waits and complaints getting resolved at their own sweet time. But if your bill is more, you are high-paying customer, then you get treated well, like a VIP. This way, the telecom companies explain, they can concentrate on those who contribute to their profits more and less on those which not profitable to begin with.

But if this is case, if service will be provided based on your pocket, isn’t this a much worse form of discrimination than even caste or religion? And the telco’s better remember – it is we the “less than Rs.3000” people who make up the mass volume of their business. By the way if service is going to be poor, why not allow us to get a rebate on the service tax paid?