There was a time when losing an internet connection meant postponing a movie or browsing the web later. Today, the internet has become an essential utility. For many of us, it powers our work, entertainment, communication, home security, and even our daily routines. Last week, I was reminded just how dependent we've become on it.
A few years ago, after being left without internet for nearly a week by another service provider, I decided that my next connection had to be fibre-based so that downtime would hopefully be minimal. While exploring the available options, JIO Fibre caught my attention. Their tagline, "JIO Digital Life," sounded promising.
The plans were attractive too. For just ₹599 (plus taxes) a month, the connection came bundled with a set-top box offering a large number of TV channels. Considering the price, it looked like excellent value for money. Apart from the occasional issue where some TV channels would temporarily become unavailable, the service was quite reliable. For nearly two years, I had no major complaints.
Then came 24th June.
The internet went down early in the morning. Since the TV channels are delivered through the same connection, they stopped working too.
Being someone who works from home, I had to borrow internet access from my neighbours just to get through my office work. Our Alexa device, which we use for music and setting timers for the water motor, became useless. The IP camera stopped functioning. Even the Wi-Fi-enabled light that I had installed as part of my initial experiments with home automation went offline.
It was surprising to realise how many things quietly depend on a stable internet connection.
I immediately raised a complaint through the JIO app. The status simply showed "Assigning an Engineer." Fair enough—I expected the schedule to be updated within a few hours.
It never happened.
I contacted the executive who had originally helped me get the connection. He assured me that an engineer would be assigned the next day.
Nothing happened.
Calling customer care wasn't of much help either. The IVR merely informed me that a service request was already open and wouldn't allow me to proceed further.
The only available option seemed to be escalating the issue on X (formerly Twitter). That finally resulted in an engineer visit being scheduled for the evening of 26th June. For the first time, I felt some progress had been made.
Unfortunately, when the scheduled time arrived, no engineer turned up. To make matters worse, the app quietly reverted back to its familiar status:
"Assigning an Engineer."
Back to square one.
After searching online, I discovered that I could escalate the matter to the Appellate team.
I called the Appellate customer care number and selected English as my preferred language. Interestingly, I was informed that the executive could speak only Hindi or Gujarati. With whatever little Hindi I knew, I explained the entire issue.
The representative assured me that within three hours, I would at least receive a confirmed engineer schedule.
Think about that for a moment.
This conversation happened on the evening of the third working day after reporting the fault. At that point, they still couldn't commit to restoring the service—they were only committing to informing me when someone might visit.
To their credit, a new appointment was indeed scheduled within the promised three hours.
And just as before...
That appointment too was cancelled.
While writing this blog, I received yet another message stating that an engineer would visit on 29th June.
This time, I didn't wait.
I had already initiated a request to cancel the connection.
What disappointed me wasn't the outage itself.
Technology can fail. Fibre cables can get damaged. Equipment can malfunction. I understand that.
What disappointed me was the complete lack of communication.
Not once was I informed why the appointment was cancelled.
Not once was I proactively updated with a revised timeline.
Every channel—whether the app, customer care, or social media—seemed to operate in isolation, each repeating scripted responses without any awareness of the previous interaction.
Ironically, the more "digital" customer support becomes, the harder it seems to be to speak to someone who can actually solve the problem.
Today, internet connectivity is no longer a luxury—it's an essential service. As more devices around us become internet-enabled, a disruption affects much more than just our ability to browse the web. It impacts work, entertainment, communication, home security, and even simple day-to-day activities.
Service providers may not be able to prevent every outage, but they certainly have a responsibility to minimise downtime, restore services quickly, and keep customers informed throughout the process.
What I expected as a customer
Clear communication on the earliest available engineer visit once the complaint was registered.
Timely notification if a scheduled visit had to be cancelled, along with the reason.
Better coordination across support channels so customers don't have to explain the same issue repeatedly.
Social media support that understands the context instead of responding with standard templates.
And, of course, the hope that such prolonged outages don't happen in the first place.
So, what did I get by choosing JIO Fibre?
Two years of uninterrupted internet.
One week without internet.
Countless templated responses.
A renewed appreciation for my neighbours' Wi-Fi.
And enough content for this blog.
Wondering why I called this my WOW experience?
Because, this time, WOW stands for Worst Of the Worst.
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