survey

global test marketing has paid me again.  about rs 2500 ( 50 dollars converted).
the cheq they sent was rejected by citibank for mismatched signature . i sent it back.
they sent me another one . with almost the same signature. this time i got payment.
great people . more sensible than citibank. i have given the login elsewhere in this
blog. please try . a genuine site in  the net .

service is the issue

i had bought a whirlpool automatic washing machine around two
 years back. paying a premium . mainly for its international reputation .

this machine just stopped working a few days back . that is  a few months
after its warranty period of two years expired. its control panel failed.
i got it repaired after paying the replacement cost.

i took up with the company . i raised  doubts about quality of the product.
the company  took the stand that the warranty expired and hence
replacement cost has to be paid by me.

the company is technically and probably legally right. but if the motor
fails next month and the if  the tub develops leak in two months , the company
can probably give the same advice. ultimately if  i end up paying the cost
of a new machine to make my whirlpool automatic washing machine
up and washing  just after two years of buying the machine, it should be
 my problem and not that of the company.

what it all boils down is that brand  is only in advertisements and goodwill
ends once the product is sold.

i am posting this with a purpose. to solicit similar experiences. and if possible
identify genuine companies who care for their customers even after their legal
responsibility expires.

please  post your comments.

catch cockroaches the sticky way

it came almost as a surprise . a small sticky board
of say 10" x 4" costing about thirty rupees. one side
is coated with some sort of a sticky gum. keep the
board where you expect lizards, cockroaches etc
during the night. next morning lo and behold. lizards
and cockroaches  are stuck on the board. a few more
 next morning .  and again the day after.
unbelievable but we have  seen it in action.
the secret is probably the extra sticky gum which
doesnt dry up even after days of exposure.
product comes by the name TROUBLE GUM.

emergency light using telephone line

an emergency light with  21   l e d   which can be plugged into a
telephone line.  works fine  but the light is not adequate.
battery back up is there. so the light can be used outside too.
price is about  rs 200  which may be a little on the higher side.
 i got the light thru internet  shopping

R T I database

right to information act is becoming popular by the day.
quite a lot of information is  being unearthed thtu  r t i  querries.
here is a site which lists the answers to  querries obtained
from the authorities concerned.

http://www.digitalrtimission.com/

you will be amazed at the quantum of info available in this site.
you can also add  information collected by you thru  r t i  querries.
great intitaitve indeed .

e books

want to read a book ? you have  movies on the net ,
live coverage on the t v , instant visuals on networks.
yet if  you feel like reading a book do not lose heart.
there are e books and e book readers to help you.

KINDLE  for example is an amazon product costing
 around 120 usd which allows you to download
an ebook in less than a minute from almost anywhere
in the world thru wireless and read it just like
any other book.

shashi taroor book on indo pak cricket is available
for download at about 10 usd. there are free books
too like dracula , pride and prejudice etc

you can read your  kindle book even in bright sunlight.
you can have it read out to you too.
 if any one owns a kindle e book reader please write
a review here.i have not used one . this is based on the
 info on amazon.com site.

you can e publish your books on kindle and earn
royalty. visit amazon.com for details.

the sony service saga

i am the proud owner of a sony tv. nay; i was, till recently.

the tv which worked fine for almost 7 years switched itself off a month back.
and the great journey to get it repaired started there.

as usual i tried the local repair man first as it appeared to be a simple problem
with the power supply. and as usual he messed it up.

i then called up the sony service centre. they sent a man who explanined  the sony
policy not to touch any thing touched by locals. he also admonished us for not
adhering to the sony policy   which is manadatory for all those who own sony products.

i sent an email to the address i got from a sony website. they too went thru the process of
teaching sony etiquette  but sent a more reasonable man . he took the the  pcb to the workshop
and promised to try and repair it.
a few days  later i got a call which said that sony  doesnt keep components of  models older than
seven years and therefore replacement is not available.  i insisted on repair as  i didnt want to
throw away a tv  which is fine except some burnout in the power supply segment. ( the preformance
was great till it went off ; no problem with the picture or sound quality ).
finally sony relented but said it would cost more than rupees six thousand. when i pointed
out that a new tv would cost that much if it is sony and much less if it is any other brand
they advised me to upgrade  to their new models.
why should i ?
  if sony is discarding its old models so esaily and frequently  why should i pay a premium
  and buy a sony product  ? i can as well go for a cheaper product and throw it away once
  it fails. i can do it more often as i  pay less.
just for the record what exactly is the unique selling point of sony and the basis for the
higher price of its products. it cannot be 'service' by any reckoning