I discovered that there is an ice skating rink at a shopping mall not far from my house!




I discovered that there is an ice skating rink at a shopping mall not far from my house!

I purchased a weighing machine for 499 rupees (approximately 900 yen) including shipping from a store called Gadget Bucket in Mumbai, which is selling on eBay India. Something interesting happened.
http://myworld.ebay.in/samishah.0001
http://www.gadgetbucket.in/First of all.

Even though I bought it as new, an obviously used item was sent. The dirt was too much...

Also, when I bought it, I chose it because the design was important, but a completely different design was sent. (Laugh) Well, maybe I skipped over the instructions this time, or maybe it doesn't affect the function much. The problem is the function. The "India power" that makes you think "it's okay" even though the design is different. In Japan, that would be a big problem. It would cause returns.

Regarding the main function. The function is so poor that it makes you think the design difference doesn't matter. In any case, the error is too large. Even if you move it a little, the needle moves a lot. So, it's impossible to set it to zero. It doesn't return to zero after weighing. The upper part seems relatively stable, but since the absolute value is off, you can only tell the approximate weight.

So, I tried to leave feedback on eBay... Surprisingly, you can post "good" feedback immediately, but you can't post "normal" or "bad" feedback until 7 days later.

I thought, "What is that?" and left it for a few days, but then I received a strange email, so I followed it and wrote a "bad" feedback. I mean, it's possible, isn't it?

A few days after I left the feedback, I had forgotten about it, and suddenly I received a phone call. I couldn't understand what he was saying because he was speaking quickly. (Laugh)

Since I was at work, I said I didn't understand and tried to hang up, but he called back repeatedly. Furthermore, I received many emails saying, "We can't reach you by phone, so please provide an alternative contact." It was very annoying. (Laugh)

The following week, I received a phone call again, telling me to contact the same number.
Again, I couldn't understand what he was saying. (Laugh)

However, after repeating it 4 or 5 times, I gradually understood. It seems he was asking if I wanted a replacement. After I said I wanted one, I asked how to return the item, and it seems I don't have to return it. Hmm.

Just as I was about to hang up, saying "Okay, thank you," it seemed he had more to say.

It seems he wanted me to cancel the bad feedback. (Laugh)

Since I didn't know how to cancel it, I asked him to send it to me by email, and I completed the cancellation.

It should have been resolved...
However, the replacement scale I received later was a broken item that didn't work at all. (Laugh)It's so poorly made that I want to say, "Since you're sending it as a replacement, at least do a basic check before sending it." Or maybe it broke during shipping.

Either way, I had an interesting experience.

It's truly India.

Incredible India!

Supplement:
"Incredible India!" is a catchphrase used in overseas promotions by the Indian Tourism Bureau, and it's a well-known phrase that you often see on television. The Indian Tourism Bureau probably intends to say, "India is an amazing place that goes beyond your imagination, so please come visit!" However, from the perspective of foreigners, the same words also have a negative meaning of "unbelievable, untrustworthy, hard to believe," which is a very unfortunate catchphrase for Indian tourism. This time, I wrote it at the end with the meaning of "Oh well, India, you did it! Don't worry about it!" (Sorry for the long explanation).

In the past, booking Indian train tickets used to involve going to the station, enduring chaotic crowds, and pushing through people to get a ticket. However, I only know about online booking these days. It seems times have changed.

A popular (or supposedly popular) website for Japanese travelers is Clear Trip (http://www.cleartrip.com/). However, it seems an Amex card is required (or used to be). I remember being able to book train tickets simply by registering on the site, but recently, when I checked, I found that you now need to register with an ID from the public-looking website IRCTC (https://www.irctc.co.in/) to buy train tickets on Clear Trip.

I had used Clear Trip before, and I had also registered with IRCTC, but I hadn't actually used it. However, since the possibility of using trains in India arose, I tried to update my registration information for both sites, but something unexpected happened.

First, my Clear Trip membership information was updated without any problems. The problem was with IRCTC. When I tried to register, I received an error. It seems that registration is not possible if the mobile phone number is already in use. Since I couldn't resolve it through the website, I contacted user support. The subsequent response was quite difficult.

Initially, the response was: "Since the number is already in use by someone else, we cannot register you. We have contacted the previous user, so please wait for them to deregister." While I understand the logic, it seems unnecessary to have a phone number overlap, and a simple phone call or SMS would suffice. I was frustrated, but I decided to wait a few days.

Since there was no progress, I sent another reminder email. The response was the same: "We have contacted the previous user, so you cannot use the service until the previous user deregisters." I replied, asking them to force deregistration or something, but the response was the same template. It's frustrating to keep receiving the same response. I sent two reminder emails, and both times I received the same template. Simply saying "please wait" is a dereliction of duty. They are not fulfilling their role as customer support. It's typical of a state-owned enterprise, I suppose.

Eventually, I decided to call and negotiate. First, I called the number for Chennai, and a very listless-sounding man answered and told me to call another number, giving me a number that didn't have a Chennai area code, so it wouldn't connect. It's quite annoying.

When I called that number, I was told again, in a similarly listless voice, that "we cannot handle this, so please call Delhi." It's a never-ending cycle. Moreover, the tone of voice was so unpleasant that it made me even more irritated. Eventually, when I called Delhi, a man who seemed to have difficulty understanding and wasn't very bright told me to send an email instead of calling. Furthermore, the connection was bad, making it difficult to communicate.

I hung up and called back, and finally, I got through to someone who seemed to understand.

Initially, I was told to "contact us by email," but I explained that "I have already emailed, and there has been no progress, which is why I am calling." He seemed to understand the situation, and after I provided my ID and name, he confirmed that my phone number should be visible from the number displayed on the call. He replied "Yes." I explained that I wanted to book a ticket but couldn't because the registration couldn't be updated, and he said, "I understand." Finally, I received a response that they would force deregistration of the previous user's phone number if they didn't receive a response within 48 hours.

It was a hassle (sweat).

In the end, a phone call was necessary.

Supplement 1:
It has been 48 hours, but I still cannot update my membership information. When I try to register, I still receive an error. It seems that words have no weight in India. Perhaps the response was also inadequate. I'm exhausted.

At that time, I received a call from someone during the day, and the accent was so strong that I could barely understand what they were saying, but it sounded like they were telling me to wait for an email. I asked if they could update the phone number and update my membership information, and they replied "Yes," so I waited for a day, but I heard nothing. Perhaps they were simply telling me to "wait for a reply from the previous user's email." Or perhaps they meant "wait for the previous user to reply to your email." I should have asked more clearly.

Since there was no progress, I called Delhi again. Immediately, I was told to "contact email support," so I replied, "I already have." In response, I was told to "wait 48 hours," so I repeatedly said, "I've already waited 48 hours. Why am I being told to wait? I've already waited. How long do you want me to wait? I've already waited 48 hours. You told me to wait 48 hours, and I've already waited." Eventually, the other person said, "Okay. Talk to my boss," and the call was transferred without me having a chance to respond.

After a while, I was connected to a supervisor, who again told me, "The process is already underway, so please wait 48 hours." When I explained that I had already waited 48 hours, I was told, "The process will be expedited, so please wait." However, when I asked, "How long do I have to wait? I've already waited 48 hours. When will the process be completed? Please tell me the deadline," I received the response, "I understand your concern. Since it's already evening, I will contact the department tomorrow morning to expedite the process." Let's see what happens.

Annoying India.

Supplement 2:
Despite the supervisor's instructions, the process was still not completed. It's almost been two weeks. Useless user support. Later, I received a call on Saturday around noon asking if the issue had been resolved. I replied, "I'm currently out, so I'll check later."

After checking, the issue was still not resolved. This is hopeless. It's just India.
I'm considering asking the company's HR department to change my phone number.

I called again and said, "It's still not working. What are you doing?" I had to explain everything from the beginning again. After explaining everything, I was asked to "Please send the billing statement." I replied, "I already sent it (laughing)," and they finally found it in my email.
It's frustrating.

Again, I was told that the technical process and the user support's work would take another 48 hours.
What is that?
While not everything is bad, the parts of India that are bad are truly terrible.

Supplement 3:
No matter how many times I call, I only receive the response, "The inquiry has already been transferred, and it will be processed within 48-72 hours." This support is useless. It's almost been three weeks.
When searching for the error message "Mobile number entered is already registered," there's a funny but not amusing response from user support: "Our system is not designed to handle such cases." Is that the truth? It seems like user support will accept inquiries until the user gives up, but they don't intend to fix it.

It seems the options are:
- Wait for IRCTC to update the system (which is usually not an option).
- Purchase tickets at a local ticket counter.
- Purchase tickets at the station.
- Purchase tickets through a travel agency.

I asked the driver, and he suggested buying tickets through a travel agency he knows. Hmm...

Supplement 4:
I asked a friendly Indian colleague in the same project to let me use their mobile number. Apparently, it's possible to enter a separate mobile phone number during booking, so using the phone number linked to the user account for authentication only once should be sufficient.

I entered the borrowed phone number and updated the user information, and an SMS was sent, prompting me to enter that number in a pop-up dialog. After entering it, the user information was updated. However, some of the information I had previously entered was cleared, resulting in an input error (laughing). The user interface is terrible.
Eventually, I set the address to Japan to pass the SMS authentication and then changed it back to the Indian address. It's frustrating. Even though there was an error at the end, the account was inexplicably locked, so I had to reset the password and start over. It's suspected that a staff member noticed it and updated it directly, but somehow the user information was updated. Regardless, I was finally able to make a reservation.

When starting the reservation, there's a field to enter a phone number on the confirmation screen, so I entered my own mobile phone number there and completed the reservation.
Phew.
Whew. It was a difficult process, but I was able to make the reservation.

Supplement 5:
A few days after making the reservation, I received a message from user support saying, "Your phone number has been released, so you can use that number for user registration." That's slow (laughing).

Perhaps, because I made the reservation using my phone number, a notification was sent to the email address associated with the original account, and they rushed to change the phone number. ...No, I don't think it's that complicated. It's likely that user support panicked because a reservation was made using a duplicate phone number. Or, perhaps it was just a coincidence that the dates were slightly off. The truth is unknown, but I experienced India through the interactions with user support, which took almost three weeks. The end.

When I think of barbershops in India, I imagine a crowded, makeshift stall on a dusty roadside where people are getting their hair cut. In reality, it's often like that, and the prices are usually only a few hundred rupees (a few hundred yen). However, these places don't offer hair coloring services.

I wanted to get my gray hair dyed, so I was looking for a salon instead of a barbershop. I found a modern salon inside a shopping mall, so I decided to try it out. The appearance is modern. There are beauty salons like this in India.

The haircut costs 450 rupees (approximately 800 yen). (A simple haircut is even cheaper, around 300 rupees).
The coloring costs 1000 rupees (approximately 1800 yen).

The prices seem different from those of roadside barbershops.

However, the skill of cutting hair is at the level of a 1000 yen barbershop in Japan. It's not at the level of a beauty salon. The person's hands are clumsy (as expected in India), and they didn't even apologize when the scissors hit my eye. The service and morality are low.

In Japan, at the very least, the staff member would apologize, and the store manager might even come out and apologize. Even though the store is clean, this is still India. It seems that even if the scissors hit your eye, it's nothing to them.

When I dyed my hair, I checked in the mirror after rinsing, and it wasn't dyed properly (laugh).

Is this the level of a store in a shopping mall? (sweat)
It's terrible. As expected, India.
If this is the level of a store in a shopping mall, what would a roadside shop be like? Hmm.

Because the average level of buildings and services is low, perhaps this is actually a decent place considering that. That's what India makes you think. I don't even feel like complaining, as expected in India.