The other day, I tried buying an RD subscription on their website at rd-india.com Though it looked like a legitimate website, the very idea that it had 'subscribe now' and 'buy now', send a joke 'get paid'.. kind of links 'ALL' over on the first page of the website.. more than showcasing magazine articles.. made me slightly uncomfortable about using my credit card to pay them online.. for a new subscription I was registering.
I ended up paying them online, only because they were using a 3rd party online payment services provider which I trust. After I made the payment, I read that the subscription will start only 4-5 weeks afterwards'.. uncomfortability begins again.
And I start looking up my mailbox to see whether they are confirming my payment, or sending an e-invoice or something.. but no mails from reader's digest.. "very well ! looks like I dropped my money into a black hole" I said.
Then I took to my "patience patience" learning about how indian company's work on such services.. and waited to see that no email, nothing until 4th week.. I went back to their website to see that they had put up some contact numbers.. one of which very clearly looked like an invalid tollfree number right away.. 1800 00 800. I took to the other New Delhi paid-call number.
Their customer support is well attended.. but only on Monday - Fridays 10am - 6pm.. Evven if you call one minute earlier or later, you will get a message very very ignorantly telling you their working hours and disconnecting even without a 'we request you to call us later during office hours' kind of thing. Again, the typical traditional "Who customers ?" Indian attitude.
I could get to two customer executives on two consecutive days to enquire about my black hole subscription. Both days, both the executives took all information from me, like phone number, address, email ID, etc., mimicking to verify my stuff with their system.. and after they got the information which they probably filled up to their 'Huge happy marketing database' .. they simply happily said 'Our systems are having technical issues.. we request you to call later'... and I said, 'When is later.. I called yesterday also to hear the same thing from you'.. 'well sir, I dont know how long people take to fix the system.. I suggest you call us tomorrow again sir'
I told myself.. you got to be jumping over their head now.. dont you see they are that kind of attitudinal people .. and I said 'well.. it looks tricky.. because your online payment system works.. so that you take the money.. your marketing system works.. so that you can get all my information when I call you.... but your customer support system alone doesnt work.. Is that the importance you give to it.. are you one of those websites who run away with unclaimed money of busy people who think just paying up will get them their subscription ??' .. to which the executives simply either hung up the phone.. or said something ignorant and closed the conversation.. without even a generic apology or 'sorry for inconvenience' thing.
How do you trust such people with your payment.. that too online when even on the telephone they can't support their business with attitude. ??
I recommend, you either subscribe to reader's digest the old model way.. 1. Buy a reader's digest book at a mart.. 2. Tear the subscribe / gift a subscription page in the book.. 3. Subscribe by snail mail.. choosing to pay by VPP or value paid post
RD.COM seems a much better and attended website.. but rd-india.com is definitely not a reliable website..
Did I get my subscription finally: Yes, on the 5th week.. but till today, not a receipt or invoice or payment confirmation email.. or any email.. I only have my credit card statement and transaction information for proof of purchase.
Is RD such a nice good book for information? Actually, reader's digest is as the name suggests mostly a very good compilation of what readers contribute regularly as jokes, stories, real-life stories, suggestions. RD pays the readers higher than what most magazines pay their readers.. very simply because RD depends a lot on readers for content more than writers and regular columnists.. I think there arent many regular columnists or writers for RD except for an editor compiling everything well.
RD is a pass-time read .. not definitely an informational magazine and for news it contains only side-lined news not the important news you would read anywhere.It is more popular / successful only because it took to a very professional content publishing style in the book.. many times better than almost all indian magazines.
But. Reader's Digest is a pass-time read.. when you want to read something which doesnt need your brain's attention.. and I would say more than 65% of content in reader's digest is 'humour'.
