A small tweet could well lead to a big change. Hopefully, for hundreds of thousands of people who keep getting telemarketing calls. A national nuisance that has found no solution and keeps going in circles.
BQ Prime took the lead in highlighting this problem through a tweet, which has gone viral with Twitterati lashing out at such calls and making suggestions on how to control these pesky calls. The tweet in question was also raised at the RBI press conference.
The core issue is not about the response from this one company. It is about the very basic approach to marketing with utter disregard for individual privacy. These calls have spared none, not even the mighty and wealthy. Even, the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee once got a call amid a crucial meeting. He was offered a loan.
Can we just ignore this nuisance and keep moving on with our daily business? The answers are evident from the thousands of responses that BQ Prime has received for this ever growing ‘monster'. There are some very interesting and useful suggestions that have come up in the process. We are highlighting some of them here.
There must have been many who were frustrated with Bajaj Finserv Ltd.'s constant telemarketing calls. The frustration turned into anger after Sanjiv Bajaj, managing director at the non-bank lender, said customers will soon have the option to be “forgotten” by the company but "don't come back to us for your products and services".
Some on Twitter lauded the offer as a good move, but many dubbed Bajaj as “arrogant” for his response.
“We will happily forget you forever,” wrote investor Safir Anand as he shared BQ Prime's tweet on Bajaj's comment. Sharing a direct message for the Bajaj Finserv Ltd. MD, he wrote, “You are in a service business Mr Bajaj where you have zero right to invade any privacy without consent, just as you decide at your discretion to give loans. Life is not an arm twist.”
Reacting to BQ Prime's tweet, Deepak Shenoy, founder and CEO of Capital Mind, wrote, “The problem seems to be that every response is like: I'll take that trade anyday... just don't call me ever.” He even suggested an “autoresponder app” for Bajaj Finance calls that would just say “hello? Can you hear me?” on loop.
Journalist Vir Sanghvi called for action against the “big bosses” who are responsible for the telemarketing calls.
I believe the time has come to take action against telemarketers. Not just the poor sods who make the calls but the big bosses who make money out of violating our privacy even when we are on the DND register.
June 8, 2023
Jail May be too harsh but the law should provide strict punishment https://t.co/k75Qt2wpJNMany said Bajaj's comment displayed arrogance.
"Arrogance at its peak, we won't come to you and you don't come to us again," wrote cardiac surgeon Prashant Mishra.
"So you will refuse to give a loan to those with good credit merely because they opted out of marketing calls?" questioned lawyer Sandeep Pravin Parekh. FinTrekk Capital founder Amit Kumar Gupta watched the whole interview to make sure he was not missing any nuance to and concluded that Bajaj's statement reflected "sheer arrogance".
I watched the whole interview just to make sure was not missing any nuance. This is sheer arrogance at play!
June 7, 2023
The only reason this company can survive is because no one takes data and privacy breaches in India seriously. They would have been sued and finished by now in the US… https://t.co/JJoC0jWC3LJournalist Malini Bhupta questioned why government's DND registry is not enough to stop telemarketing calls. "If an individual does not want to be troubled by call centre calls, the person will be penalised by Bajaj Finance?" she asked. Debashis Basu called Bajaj's comment "dumb arrogance".
1. What is opt out? When did we opt in?
June 8, 2023
2. Does Bajaj Finance only call people who need a loan.
3. Are there no other loan providers?
This is dumb arrogance https://t.co/EI7o0QGT6qAbhinav Agarwal was also of the opinion that the Bajaj Finserv managing director came across as "brash and arrogant". Aurum Capital Co-founder Jiten Parmar noted that Sanjiv Bajaj should be aware that Bajaj Finance is not the only lender in India. "There are 1000s. Such arrogance is something which promoters should avoid (sic)," he wrote.
1️⃣Mr. Bajaj comes across as brash and arrogant.
June 8, 2023
2️⃣Has he never heard of 'opt-in'? It is also about respecting your customer.
3️⃣Bajaj's products & services aren't exactly the cat's whiskers, nor is Bajaj a monopoly.
Humility, common sense, customer-centric... too much to expect? https://t.co/DGKc9ZPLv9BQ Prime's tweet reached the RBI as well. During a press conference after the announcement of monetary policy, a question was raised about Bajaj's remark on pesky calls. In response, Deputy Governor MK Jain said, "We (RBI) will examine this issue."
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