The global conglomerate is selling a number of its consumer electronic and home appliance products in India. However, getting through to the company for any kind of customer service can be a daunting task

Chinese manufacturers have swamped the globe with their low-priced products. Walk down an aisle of a supermarket or mall selling electronic items in any developed country and the chances are that you will find the shelves stacked with Chinese goods.

Haier India is a Chinese company which made a mark in the Indian market because of its wide range in low-cost home appliance and consumer electronics products. A price-line below what the overall market has to offer has always been the company’s strategy to increase its customer base. Its product offering includes refrigerators, air-conditioners, washing machines, LED & LCD televisions and water-heaters. But the quality of the company’s after-sales service is a different story.

The most important part that any manufacturer has to take care of is the after-sales service. Haier might be a conglomerate with operations in many parts of the globe, but there are a number of complaints against this multinational on the deafening silence that its customer-service department seems to stoically maintain, despite numerous complaints.

Haier India is a subsidiary of the Haier Group, which started its commercial operations in Delhi in January 2004. Haier has an established dealer network of around 1,600 outlets across the country, with what it proclaims to be a “strong service and after-sales service network.” Haier products are also available at all major retail outlets in cities across the country. The company has almost 18 branch offices & 25 warehouses; six direct service centres & 135 Haier ‘customer-care’ centres with a 24-hour call centre service.

Apparently, according to a former Haier employee (who preferred anonymity), the company does not have enough service centres around the country. Furthermore, the existing service centres are not stocked with enough spare parts—and service technicians usually have to wait for days before they attend to a particular customer complaint.

The customer care number on the Haier India site is barely decipherable.

Here are just a few of the complaints against Haier:

Vaidya DV from Pune-based Ablesoft Computers had bought a fridge from Haier through its retailer Gokul Electronics on 1 September 2006. Mr Vaidya told Moneylife that the refrigerator was not operational when it was installed—it was taken away by Haier for repairs, but it continued to remain non-operational. Mr Vaidya then filed an appeal against the company, but Haier chose not to appear in court for four successive hearings. The customer was forced to run from pillar to post but is still awaiting justice. 

Yogesh Sapkale, deputy editor of Moneylife had a similar experience with a Haier phone handset. “I bought the handset and as soon as I inserted a SIM card, the phone went on the blink. I have been trying to reach the Haier customer care department since last year. First I had gone to the Ghatkopar (a Mumbai suburb) service centre after speaking with the chief technician. I had to skip office twice to give the handset for repairs as Haier refused to receive calls. The handset is still lying at the Kalyan service centre. They have changed the service centre and have not bothered to even inform me about the same,” said Mr Sapkale.

Achintya Mukherjee, a consumer activist has also had a similar experience. “We had bought a Haier fridge about three years ago. We wrote to the company as the piece was defective and since they were going to replace it anyway, we asked for a bigger one. At the same time, we were constantly in touch with their main office in Faridabad. It took them nearly three to four months to replace the fridge and we had immediately deposited the cheque as payment for the replacement as well. It took them three months even to credit the amount to their account. Maybe they are not equipped to handle so many customers in India. The initial service support of the company doesn’t seem to be in place because it is not a bad product per se but a bad piece. The fridge is working fine till date.”

When Moneylife tried to contact Haier’s customer-care department, through their customer care number, it was constantly busy.

We finally got through to a Haier India spokesperson (VV Rao), but he preferred not to comment on any of the above cases.

Is this how Haier plans to service its existing customers and increase its market share in India?