Airtel brings out the True Sri Lankan in us.
This is a follow up to a comment I posted on Cerno’s blog.
There has been much hype created over Airtel, either planned or unplanned by the chaps them selves. So much soo that ppl got sick of waiting for them to launch. Kinda like the shy girl hiding behind her mother when suitors come to see her to the small child calling in sick and throwing every tantrum possible to avoid the first day of school.
What ever the case, Shah Rukh Khan seems determined to say “Hello” to us today (12th), despite our very hospitable treatment the last time around. Already the radios are flooded with their jingles, and soon will border annoying. But the most amazing part of it is us Sri Lankans. You see the crowds flooding the tiny little outlets in the hope of securing one of five no’s of their preference. You ask them :
- Do you know the tariffs? No.
- Are you sure of getting any of the no’s? No.
- So why are you standing in a queue? It’s FREE!
There are a few things that are only common to Sri Lankans. Some of them are :
- Short term memory. Yesterday, already forgotten.
- Accept anything that’s Free. Even a Cold!
Hence why I see the huge appeal for the new entrant despite a single call made through the network. I just hope they could live up to their expectations if not.. another trait we Sri Lankans are famous for is :
- No matter how much good you do/promise, one mistake. Your bad mouthed, trampled to the ground and lastly forgotten. (Ask Ranil, if your not sure)
In any case the positives are the reduction in call rates and increase in better service in all operators coz of the competition.
Lastly speaking to a friend at Dialog about the hype created by the new entrant, his reply was “Machang let them launch and get it over with. We’re worried about Mobitel. Airtel will have to sell 3 million connections first, to get our attention”.
PS : Just received the Airtel tariffs (unofficial). Definitely nothing special to write home about. Feel sorry for those who were standing in queues. 
ah, but i hear dialog shares had dropped considerably yesterday and with all the price slashes at dialog, one can only conclude that they’re worried about airtel no matter what they say:p and maybe the reason people are flocking to it is also because all mobile operators now can’t deliver as much as they promise, leading to frustration. i know i’ll switch if i hear good things about it.
the airtel jingles surely can’t be worse than the dialog ones, which are annoying from the get-go.
I’d say something usually worth a few k’s for free is a pretty good deal.
And I’m pretty sure they have dialog’s attention. They’ve got the whole country’s attention.
We all know that Dialog shares sucks. It’s hit rock bottom way before Airtel came into the picture. I say now is a good time to buy some stocks. If the volume traded on Monday is anything to go by.
Well Jerry it’s a wait and see. I certainly hope so.
Dialog better worry about Airtel. 3 Million connections or not. Otherwise it’s the same road as celltell who didn’t worry about dialog.
And hell, those dialog commercials and jingles need to get a life.
Yes and I’ll prolly go airtel as well. Simply because dialog is pissing me off with their “we are so big we don’t really need you attitude”.
And btw, nice header
Thankfully, whoever once experienced Airtel would switch back to their old network. The call clarity and signals are the worst I’ve ever seen on any operator. Hutch is much better. But, forgive Airtel, they have a managed network and not a true network of their own. And yes, DIALOG is not worried about Airtel, neither does Mobitel. Still, DIALOG and Mobitel lead the way much comfortably. And they have a far better customer service than Airtel. I’m yet to meet anyone who’s happy with Airtel.
off topic – How are you? hardly see you around or hear from you!
Just checking on ya..
tc
i wouldnt mind buying airtel…
its not that i like airtel…
its just that i hate dialog…
1. Do you know the tariffs? No.
2. Are you sure of getting any of the no’s? No.
3. So why are you standing in a queue? It’s FREE!
haha love it….
not a fan of dialog either, used to have a mobitel since the pre GSM era
1. Do you know the tariffs? No.
2. Are you sure of getting any of the no’s? No.
3. So why are you standing in a queue? It’s FREE!
So true … Sri Lankans rush for freebies without “counting the cost” so to speak!
well, indeed Airtel came and sri lankan’s lined up for freebees. What they don’t realise it, freebee was SIM. DOH! they lose the money to India after that! hmm…
We have Indian Cinema, Teledrama and Mobile now. ayyo