JustDial – Where it went WRONG …

Few weeks back when I started blogging, there was mention about my old online lifeline – JustDial. Most of us who are online more than half the time always rely on mediums like Wikipedia, Google Maps, JustDial etc for information. The advantage is you have ready-made information which comes free of cost & MOST of the times it is proven and might be CORRECT.

Let me start off with a terrible incident with JustDial which made a repeat customer like me to walk away from the service !!!

Before the delivery
The episode started when I called up JustDial for Packers & Movers [M&P] in Hyderabad. As soon as I hung-up the call, there was a series of calls from different small to big M&P. I got a good deal with a P&M named DG P&M, Hyderabad. Though it is a small M&P, they gave a great deal as well as promised an on-time delivery[i.e within two working days the luggage would reach Bangalore]. After I reached Bangalore, there was no trace of the luggage for more than 4 days. I spoke to close to around 4-5 guys from DG P&M & 2-3 drivers who told me that the luggage is very close to my place and it would reach in few hours.This continued for more than 5 days and finally I received the luggage[though it was not in the state in which I gave to them].

After the delivery
Once my fearful moments were over, I immediately called up JustDial and there were number of lessons learnt about JustDial[and in general the mis-information floating on the internet]

Authenticity of information
When I asked the customer care executive about the authenticity of their huge database, she had no clue about the same.In fact, even as an anonymous user, I was able to change the mobile number of the DG P&M which was a complete security breach in JustDial !!! JustDial has an interesting Terms Of Use with a special mention to it’s authentication – While every attempt has been made to ascertain the authenticity of the site content …

Customer is NOT the king
JustDial would be definitely serving lot’s of people daily[considering it is a Rs 500 cr enterprise] so it would not bother about every single customer but what if the customer has called back with a grievance.Even on my narration of the complete incident, the executive completely denied to transfer the call to the right person. In fact, she told me to read the Terms of JustDial & further added that they cannot remove any company listed in their database [even if the customer says that they had a horrible experience after using their service].

Why care about Media/Social Media
After I got a bad response from one executive, I called back again after some time. After completing my narration, I informed the executive that I have decided to share this message on TV through CNBC Pahredar , she was least bothered & argued with me for a long time. Not to mention that social media tools like blogs, Facebook were not new to her but she never cared how much it would affect JustDial’s online reputation.

Is Internet just for FUN ?
Like me , many people rely heavily on the information available on the internet but this incident made me wonder – Can we trust this information [even if it comes through a reputed service like JustDial]. Or should we say- Information can be used as long as there is no serious motive attached with it [ i.e we can use it to find Theaters, Pizza corners but not if you are looking out for something which may turn your life upside-down….

If you have any such mis-incident to share, please leave them in the comments section and it would be added to the main article.

Photo Credit
Movers and Packers

Important Update –
A similar complaint raised against DG Movers and Packers