The Reliance India Mobile's Monsoon Hungama offer, providing a multimedia handset and wireless connectivity for just Rs 501, has created a mass frenzy even in the IT capital of India.
The one-month limited scheme, launched on Wednesday, has unleashed chaos at all the company's retail outlets and its web worlds across Bangalore, with thousands of prospective subscribers besieging them to grab the digital gadget.
It all started in the early hours of the very day when Reliance came out with a full-page advertisement in the local dailies announcing the limited-period offer with tantalising banners such as 'hurry' and 'offer till stocks last', besides encouraging words on the handset's exciting features.
Carried away by the magic figure of "Rs 501 only" in the ads, billboards and handbills, all and sundry began to queue up at its authorised retail centres even before the booking was thrown open.
Within hours, and in many places, in minutes of opening up the counters, the subscription forms were exhausted resulting in virtual scramble for more by hordes of consumers in their twenties and thirties.
When the remaining restive crowd learnt that all the applications were sold out, company officials and franchise agents went for cover after summoning the local police to handle the volatile situation as several touts started selling the forms in black at a price upwards of Rs 50-75.
If the early birds managed to get inside the outlets before the shutters were brought down, the unlucky lot was up in arms at the gates shouting and screaming injustice at the management.
"I have been waiting in the queue since 8am. I was assured that everyone will get the mobile and that we should bear with the delay due to unprecedented rush and time-consuming procedure to fill the forms.
"But even after three hours, we are still stranded as the authorities pleaded for more time to get fresh stocks of subscription forms," lamented Ramappa (28), a sales executive with a private firm, at the Reliance Web World in the busy Malleshwaram suburb, known for its middle class populace.
Another middle-aged employee of a travel and tourist office (Christopher Joseph) was at his wit's end as he had applied for half-a-day's leave to get hooked but was still waiting for his turn.
"After creating a mass hysteria on the offer with smart campaigns, they (Reliance) should have been prepared for such a huge response. The bedlam on the street since the last two days only goes to prove that the company did neither homework nor expected this kind of rush," Joseph expressed.
Contrary to their expectation and to the surprise of many, the anticipated delivery of the mobile did not take place on the spot. After filling the form, which sought details of customers to verify their bona fides later, they were in for a rude shock to learn that they would be getting the glitzy gadget only after a week, as the company had run out of its stocks on the first day itself.
Interestingly, many customers who had booked for the wireless in local loop service earlier, i.e., before the hungama offer began, were in heated exchange with the company's representatives as they were not yet given either the handset or the connectivity despite being on the waiting list for over a fortnight.
"I had paid Rs 3300 for the set and the connectivity. The franchise assured me that I would get it in a week. Now, it is asking me to wait for another week as it has exhausted the stock.
"It is giving the sets to the new customers under the monsoon offer and not to those who had booked earlier paying over six times the amount," an agitated customer told rediff.com.
Asked how many bookings were made so far and how they were coping with the surging demand, a company sales manager retorted that he had no time to entertain any query from the media.
"Can't you see the rush? I am not authorised to speak to the media. You contact our main office in the city for details. We are under tremendous pressure to ensure that the waiting crowd does not create any law and order problem.
"To regulate the booking, we are issuing tokens so that everyone will get a chance to become a subscriber," the manager said without disclosing even his name.
When the main office was contacted for details, the official concerned said the company was still processing the application forms and verifying the numbers from its 100-odd outlets across the city.
"We might have had about 10,000 subscriptions on the first day (June 2). The number appears to have jumped by about 50 per cent on the second day (June 3). We are expecting the figures to go up by a couple of thousands by the end of the day, thanks to the massive response and awareness the offer has generated during the last three days," the official quipped.
It is apparent that the low offer price has created a mad rush for the scheme, thanks to the promotional campaign and the attractive features bundled into it.
Though the offer's hidden costs are made clear to the prospective buyers in the 'terms and conditions' the application forms contain, many in the queue were blissfully unaware of the quantum of money they would have shell out later in installments for the hungama offer.
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