Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: BUYING A HOME IN PUNE - TIPS FROM A NOVICE

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: BUYING A HOME IN PUNE - TIPS FROM A NOVICE

Click the link above and read in my journal

DIGIHOME System - Waste of Money

http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2011/07/digihome-faulty-design-erratic.html

DIGIHOME – Faulty Design, Erratic Performance, Poor Customer Service, Waste of Money

The aim of DIGIHOME Solutions is to enhance the quality of life. But in actual fact DIGIHOME has made my life miserable as the system is malfunctioning ever since installation more than six months ago.

In brief, I would summarize the problems of the DIGIHOME System as follows:

1. Faulty Design and Installation – There is some basic flaw in the hardware and/or software that causes repeated malfunction of the system. Maybe the system is designed to work in Western Countries like USA and Europe where conditions are ideal and there are hardly any electricity power failures or fluctuations but the design is not appropriate or robust enough for Indian conditions. In India, and especially in Pune, where the electric power supply is most erratic and fails repeatedly many times a day, the DIGIHOME system trips, resets incorrectly, malfunctions and behaves in a most erratic manner. The installation has been done in a faulty manner and this has entailed a lot of rework. Wrong RFC Units were installed which had to be changed causing damage to the plaster and the placement of the door unit is incorrect, which serves no useful purpose. Basic Safety and Security features do not work or have not been installed, like main door latch security. It appears that there was apparently a lack of coordination between the builder Rohan Builders Pune and DIGIHOME Solutions during installation.

2. Erratic Performance – The performance of the system is most erratic. Sometimes the doorbell never rings, safety and security features are unreliable, intercom does not work, Local Console trips, system malfunctions, hooters and alarms keep sounding intermittently for no reason  – for example, since last night a continuous shrill noise is emanating from the Console which is most irritating.

3. Poor Customer Service – It seems that the technicians are not properly trained and some of them are quite clueless due to frequent turnover and new faces come every time. For the last six months a number of technicians are trying to repair the faults and make the system function properly but without success. They seem to be experimenting on a trial and error basis rather that diagnosing defects systematically. The response is quite lethargic too and there seems to be a rift between the “blue collar” and “white collar” employees.

In my opinion the DIGIHOME System is a waste of money and serves no useful purpose. In fact, it causes inconvenience and frustration due to erratic performance. There is no point investing in futuristic technologies which do not work in local conditions. Maybe the infrastructure in Pune (for example, uninterrupted reliable regulated electric power supply) is not geared up for advanced technologies or maybe these futuristic systems for "intelligent" homes like Digihome are not robust enough to work properly in prevailing local conditions.

Customer Service Technician visited. He said that a component in the RFC Unit may have got burnt due to fluctuation in power supply or frequent tripping of power supply and that is the reason for the continuous shrill sound. That proves my point regarding the design not being robust enough to work in local conditions. He switched off the system and said he would get a team soon to find out what to do. He showed me how to switch off the DIGIHOME System and asked me to switch off the system whenever there was a defect. That’s great. I wonder why you should buy a system if you have to keep it switched off.

WANNABE INTELLECTUAL: WHEN THE WORLD IS TOPSY TURVY

WANNABE INTELLECTUAL: WHEN THE WORLD IS TOPSY TURVY: Confused about your identity??? Well if yes then that’s what we have in common… I live in India...I love it here…It suits me…at least mo...

Archana's Blog

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: SHOULD I TELL HER ?

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: SHOULD I TELL HER ?: SHOULD I TELL HER A Short Story By VIKRAM KARVE From my Creative Writing Archives: Short Fiction - A Love Story I love making love on a...

click above link and read on my creative writing blog

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: IF YOU WANT RESPECT FROM SOMEONE YOU MUST TREAT TH...

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: IF YOU WANT RESPECT FROM SOMEONE YOU MUST TREAT TH...: IF YOU WANT RESPECT FROM SOMEONE YOU MUST TREAT THAT PERSON LIKE DIRT IF YOU KICK ME I WILL LICK YOU but IF YOU LICK ME I WILL KICK YOU...

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: PRICE RISE The Most Important Issue For The Common...

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: PRICE RISE The Most Important Issue For The Common...:

PRICE RISE The Most Important Issue For The Common Man While Scams, Political Slugfests and the Anti-Corruption Movement continue to hog th...

Click the link above or read below:

PRICE RISE The Most Important Issue For The Common Man

PRICE RISE

The Most Important Issue For The Common Man

While Scams, Political Slugfests and the Anti-Corruption Movement continue to hog the headlines, both on TV and in the print media, no one seems to be concerned about the huge price rise in the last few months. During the last one year the price of milk has almost doubled. Today in Pune a litre of milk costs Rs. 40 (which was unimaginable a few years ago). They quietly continue to raise the price of milk by a rupee or two every few days and no one seems to be bothered about it. Every single item of food required for daily living has gone up. Whether it is vegetables, fruits, medicines, transportation, in fact, all essential items for daily living, the unprecedented price rise seems to be irreversible – once the price goes up it never comes down. The price of petrol has also almost doubled during the last one year and though international crude prices have fallen petrol prices are not being reduced. Even an unpretentious cup of tea has reached double digit figures and it has become very costly to eat a simple meal in modest restaurants and roadside eateries.

It is sad that no one seems be doing anything to control inflation and stop the unprecedented price rise which is affecting every citizen of this country.

Of course, a few things like Electronic Goods (Laptops, for example) have become cheaper, but then these are exceptions and are due to global trends as most of these items are imported. Some things like diesel and gas are subsidised. I wonder why they don’t subsidise milk and other essential commodities and food items.

And there is another curious thing I observe during my walks in Pune. Seeing the ever-increasing crowds in liquor shops and bars, it seems that booze has not been affected by this unprecedented price rise, maybe a peg of liquor is more affordable than a glass of milk, or maybe drowning one’s sorrows in drink is the best way to beat inflation by remaining oblivious about it. You get so drunk that you don’t feel hungry – of course, your health be dammed. The consumption of tobacco, smoking cigarettes and eating gutka, also continues to increase day by day. I feel it would be a good idea to introduce a special tax on these intoxicants, like liquor and tobacco, and use this amount to subsidise Milk – maybe you can call it “Milk Cess” so that every time you consume things detrimental to your health, like tobacco or alcohol, whenever you drink booze, you think of a glass of healthy Milk.

Seriously, I hope they do something to contain, and reverse, this unprecedented price rise and alleviate the distress of the common

citizen.

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: TECHIES and TUM TUM

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: TECHIES and TUM TUM: IS CHIVALRY DEAD Fracas for a TUM TUM at Wakad By VIKRAM KARVE Every morning I go for a long walk, with my pet dog Sherry, towards the va...