We crossed another major milestone in the journey to a normal life in India - we got the internet! In the US, getting your internet hooked up is a pain, because you have to deal with an installer who has no vested interest in your on-line happiness. In India, you have to deal with an entire country that is hell bent on ensuring that you never receive the services in which you were required to prepay.
The quest started on Friday with the purchase of Olga's cell phone. In our case, the internet service provider and the cell phone provider are the same, so our communication fate was held in the small, dark hands of Vipin, the AirTel Rep. He arrived on Saturday as pre-arranged with a mountain of paperwork and some government requirements. Apparently, due to the terrorist bombings in Mumbai, you now have to pass through a government registration process to get any type of communication - this includes cell phones and the internet. For each service, we were required to provide a copy of our passports, a copy of my employment visa and a passport grade photo for each service. On each application, I had to sign each copy of my passport and across the bottom of each photo. These documents would then need to be submitted for approval through the always quick and efficient Indian bureaucracy. I took a calming breath. Vipin departed with our documents, our money and our hopes of in-home communications with the promise of returning the following day, Sunday, to activate the cell phone and Monday to install the internet. Yep, I totally fell for it.
Sunday came and went, but no sign of Vipin. In the land of "over promise, under deliver" this did not surprise me and I was zen with him missing one day, especially since nothing ever gets done on Sunday. As Monday began to ebb and the Heat Miser (remember him from the Christmas claymation - well, he lives in Delhi now) began to turn down his intensity, there was still no word from Vipin. This, I was not Zen with. I called Amrita the relocation consultant. Amrita possesses the unique ability to motivate even the most seasoned malfactor. She has a wonderful combination of girlish charm, high piercing voice and the ability to nag endlessly in order to get her clients what they want. She is one of few people who have truly found their calling. Eight minutes after placing the call to Amrita, Vipin texted me to tell me he would be over in the evening (and asked to be contacted directly, rather than through Amrita - job well done!).
Vipin arrived as promised with the activated chip, but told us that the first month of the phone must be prepaid. Only after one month of prepaid, can you convert the service to postpaid or, as we would say in the states, billed. Apparently, in India the way you prove you are creditworthy is to plunk down 300 Rupees ($6.43) and wait a month (talk about predatory lending practices). We forked over the cash and he promised to return to the office that evening, deposit the money and activate the phone. As for the internet, it would be installed Tuesday. Damn! I fell for it again.
Tuesday morning, no phone and no internet. I texted Vipin expressing my disappointment and he assured me that the phone would be turned on by 7:00pm and the internet technician was delayed, but would be arriving in the late afternoon. At 7:01pm, I called Amrita. At 7:05, Vipin called me apologetic, but clearly a little irritated that I had invoke the vexation of Amrita. He again told us that he personally guaranteed that the phone would be activated tomorrow morning and the internet technician would be at the flat first thing the following day. My response this time was that he had given me his word before, but now I am unable to believe him. I told him he had lost his credibility. There was silence.
India is an interesting dichotomy when it comes to credibility. It is held in great esteem and to have someone publicly question your credibility is considered a huge insult. Ironically, no one in India actually does anything to protect their credibility or acts in a remotely credible way. I find that questioning someones integrity is a surefire way to get what you want, but also can damage the long-term relationship. I did not need a continuing friendship with Vipin, so I played the card.
Sure enough, first thing Wednesday morning, the internet technician showed up and started running cable. As well, by mid-afternoon, Olga's phone was taking calls. Vipin called about 3:00 to ensure that his credibility was restored and I, giving him my final concession, told him it was.
We are once again connected, albeit at 2 mbps, to world and another step toward normalcy!
No comments:
Post a Comment