Pride Gutter-nium

My single largest request to any person investing in a Pride group project is to do the following:

1) Contact me via email.
2) Visit Pride Platinum and walk around.

You won't feel out of place in a direct comparison with Asia's largest slum. The basement reeks of gutter smell. A point that we have highlighted since mid 2012 when the plant went operational till date. It hasn't been fixed. It works a few days and doesn't the others. Mind you, when it works, Sewage water is treated and pumped back with almost equal stink as a public toilet. The colour of the water pumped into your bathrooms is Brown. Yeah, full of shit! 

We have tried our best to tell them to move the plant away from the basement but Mr. Arvind Jain and Pride group engineers are not bothered. My next few posts will highlight this aspect in detail. And that includes how they pollute ground water table with sewage water by dumping waste water in storm water drains and pumping it back into the apartments using a borewell.

What you see is what you don't get

You start your search for an apartment by scouting places, spending your valuable weekend time in hot scorching afternoons in dusty conditions. You are determined to make your first house a sweet success. The research that goes in is pretty spot on.

A customer's first line of approval is a sample flat. Perhaps that is where everyone falters. I was point blank told while looking at the sample flat in Pride Platinum that the actual house will be exactly like what I see minus the furnishings. But, every resident in Pride Platinum was in for a rude shock when quite a few of the specs did not match. Let's start with pre delivery inspection of my apartment, 8 sliding window glasses were cracked and broken but slyly fit. They thought I would not notice. I refused to take possession without that being fixed. 3-4 floor tiles were cracked in corners and broken in some cases. They offered to fix these defects but said that the replaced tiles won't match in color. How sweet. I'll put up pictures of chess board type floor tile replacements at a later time.

However, let's begin by some obvious deviations in the sample flat.

The entire sample flat had high quality 4 track channel sliding windows:

But the actual apartment has 3 track huge windows that rattle like crazy, are difficult to operate. Mis-aligned and heavy to use. Add to it, that the finishing and quality of the sliding windows would put any third grade sliding window manufacturer to shame. Do note, that the economics behind using 3 track v/s 4 track are huge. Obvious savings in metal frames and channels lead to a huge cost difference. But, Pride says they are committed to quality. This is an obvious example of how cheap their standards are. Trying to make a few thousand bucks per apartment by giving lesser track channels and thinking that the end users won't find out.

Let's get across to a most glaring misdemeanor. They showed this window in the guest bedroom of their sample flat:

What they have given is a cage like flush window that does not offer any ventilation. Add to it, that the grill has been fixed on the inside as against outside which is a norm. So, if you have naughty kids, do expect them to try and crawl up the window grills. A contraption that their engineers and designers had no clue about on how to fix. Quite a commitment to quality I'd say! 

Someone replied in bulk, paid stooge?

I was quite surprised to see a flood of copy pasted comments on my blog. Strangely enough, they sound clearly as a defense for the builder. Strange no? Someone who wants to clear the builder of his responsibilities and liabilities. But I am glad someone is trying. Keep going Mr. whatever-your-name-is. I am all up for it. 

Elevator issues - Part 4: More assurances no action

How to kill a month without action, engage a customer in a chain of emails. You'll also notice how we jump up from August directly to mid October with constant harassment to the users of something as primary as an elevator in a high rise building. Do note, that people staying upwards of 5th floor have paid an extra Rs. 50/- per sq. ft for every floor they rose. Would you pay as much for buying trouble? I think not. From end August till mid-October, Pride group people (barring Bhagwan Singh), vanished. They left their vendor and end users to sort it out. It was only until mid October when I got a call in the middle of a work day from Mr. Milind Bhoite that there was big meeting called with OTIS and Mr. Jain will preside over it. Thinking it was a waste of my valuable work time, I gave it a miss. 

I am not sure what transpired in the meeting but it took a good week till I think the 3rd of 4th week of October to have the issue resolved. I had to fly out for business reasons in the end of October and could not pursue or follow up on the matter. However, after constant relenting and getting overly aggressive as well as being point blank rude in many occasions, the elevator issues in C building seemed to have come to a logical end. Yes, it took a little about 10 months to fix what was assumed to be something integral to a high rise building. It is also important to note that each member had paid maintenance for their apartments, this maintenance includes a significant amount of money that goes in the electricity consumed by the elevators. Surprise surprise, Pride group made away with that money since these elevators continued to be down in the said duration. We are talking about almost a year of electricity savings. In my estimate, that turns out to be roughly touching Rs. 3,00,000/-. Considering that Pride group had to shell out Rs. 3,50,000/- to get the elevator fixed, I don't think the smart alec businessman took any losses to his account. 

Comments and feedback welcome till I blog out issues related to security, VAT payments, stinky premises due to a failed sewage treatment plant (2 years), garbage issues, dumping of sewage water in ground water table by Pride, deviations from the sample flat and what we got, leakage issues, more elevator problems in the other seven buildings, etc etc. Thanks for reading!  

_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  8/28/12
to D, bhagwan, cb, arvindjain, milind.pride, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, AnilM, Duryodhan 

Dear Mr. Gandhi

Your reply on parts' status unavailability is unacceptable. Are you trying to say that due to unavailability of parts you have stopped delivering new elevators?   

I am wondering how you will deliver service in future if your response time to any breakdown is such.

_________________________________________________________________

On 27-Aug-2012, at 21:13, "Gandhi, D K" <gandhi.dk@otis.com> wrote:

Dear sir,

We have replaced defective display of F building on 23/8/2012
2 hall call were not working of E & D – Started on 23/8/2012
Only one fan is not working of E Building.  Will change before 30/8/2012.
Today I have discussed with Mr. Milind Bhoite  regarding Car Lights.  Tomorrow we will give one sample to him.

Thanks & Regards,
Dinesh Gandhi.
M-98500700209
_________________________________________________________________


bhagwan singh <bhagwan@pridegroup.net>  8/28/12
to milan.chaudhari, rajeshnarang, AnilM, gandhi.dk, me, cb, milind, arvindjain 

Dear Milind Chaudhari,

We are not getting confirm date of delivery of material and serviceability of C building elevator after making of payment for it. Mr. Dinesh Gandhi is not able to get material delivery date and not able to give any target date of it repair where as our clients are facing un bearable problem. You are requested to look in to the matter to get serviceable of the said elevators as soon as possible. You are also requested to look in to the pride house elevators those are giving jerks and not installed duplex system.

Your co-operation and necessary action in this regards is highly solicited.

Thanks & Regards,
Bhagwan Singh
Pride Purple Group
_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  8/31/12
to bhagwan, milan.chaudhari, AnilM, gandhi.dk, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain 

Spoke to Mr. Gandhi and no update is available with respect to delivery of parts! 

_________________________________________________________________

bhagwan singh <bhagwan@pridegroup.net>  8/31/12
to me, milan.chaudhari, AnilM, gandhi.dk, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain 

Dear Milind Choudhary,
I had written a mail to you on 28 Aug 2012 on a very urgent issue when We are not able to get require information and data from your Area Manager Services but you had also  not given any feedback on it which is very embracing on OTIS part. If a General Manager level official is  not able to  give target date of delivery of material and  repair of break down elevator after making of payment for it due to which numbers of occupants are facing severe problem then it means OTIS is not taking any care of its clients after sales service. You are requested to inform us target date of material delivery and repair of elevator . If, you are not able to repair the elevator then inform us you inability so, we can take further decision.

Please revert back soon as it is most urgent.

Thanks & Regards
Bhagwan Singh
_________________________________________________________________

Chaudhari, Milan <Milan.Chaudhari@otis.com>  8/31/12
to bhagwan, me, Anil, D, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain 

Dear Mr. Singh,
Dinesh Gandhi our area manager will reply you today with all the information, including material delivery and completion of balance work
Regret the delay and inconvenience caused Our team is working on these issues and be assured early resolution and  non-reoccurrence

Thanks for you cooperation

Thanking you and assuring you our best services at all times

Regards,
Milan P. Chaudhari.
(Western Region -Area Operations)
Tel. - 91-20-25399696
_________________________________________________________________

Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com>  8/31/12
to bhagwan, me, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan 

Dear sir,

Attached herewith Pride Platinum & Pride House pending points updates.
As confirm ,Pride Platinum – C building material will dispatch by factory by 10/9/2012.
Pride Platinum – car light sample is given to Mr. Milind Bhoite.

Thanking you & assuring you our best services at all times.
Thanks & regards,
Dinesh Gandhi.
M-9850070209
_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  9/12/12
to Shreyas, D, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan 

No news on the material. What is the next false date of promise Mr. Gandhi? 

I think at this rate, 2013 looks more like it.

Kiran Chitnis

_________________________________________________________________

Shreyas Shringarpure <sdsatufl@gmail.com>  9/12/12
to me, D, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan 

This is extremely troublesome. It seems civil language and behavior will not get any work done from OTIS on the lifts

Shreyas Shringarpure

_________________________________________________________________

Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com>  9/12/12
to Sandesh, Shreyas, me, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan 

Dear sir,


Attached todays mail communication.

Thanks & regards,

Dinesh Gandhi.

_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  9/14/12
to D, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

Please give me a date Mr. Gandhi? The last two dates that you promised have already went past without ANY action. Just to summarise:

1) C building elevator is still down. While you are making all attempts to fix it, there are elevators in other buildings that are giving away slowly.
2) The primary elevator in C building keeps breaking down again and again. Although this hasn't been reported to you but they fix on themselves.
3) The panel lights in the primary elevator of C building have gone kaput.
4) There is just one CFL on the roof of the elevator. You promised a 3 day response to replace them and it is still not done. 

Please let me know what will be done to fix this? 

Regards,
Kiran Chitnis
_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  9/16/12
to D, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

Dear Mr. Gandhi,

Elevator in C building down since 7 am. The watchman has tried to call Mr. Pethkar, Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Birajdas but no one has responded to his calls. I finally got Mr. Birajdas right now on the call and he is sending someone over.

Regards,
Kiran Chitnis
_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  9/16/12
to D, bhagwan, cb, arvindjain, milind.pride, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, AnilM, Duryodhan 

Technician arrived on site. Time is 9:20 am. 

_________________________________________________________________

Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com>  9/16/12
to me, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

Dear sir,

As discussed , we send the Technician  & started  Lift at 9.20 am today. Call was received at 7.45 am.
I have confirmed with Mr. Dhanraj  ( 9762351873 ) ,he did not contact to me. But he tried to contact Mr. Petkar & Mr. Birajdar.
Mr. Petkar responded him .Also said that he will commutate to Mr. Birajar. & communicated also.

Thanks & regards,
Dinesh Gandhi.
M-9850070209 
_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  9/16/12
to D, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

That still beats your promised response time of 30 minutes as you've mentioned earlier in the mail thread. In view of this situation you should have sent someone on site by 8:30 am. Agree? 

Regards,
Kiran Chitnis
_________________________________________________________________

Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com>  9/16/12
to me, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

Dear sir,

As per attached my mail communication dated 19/8/2012 -

·         Otis will ensure /take care of these Elevators  ( C & H )for minimum down time. But  In case of breakdown of these elevators, After getting calls – Otis response will be 30 Min. 

Between 9 am to 5.30.  After 5.30  to 9 pm. this will 1 Hr.  In case of emergency ,you  will contact  Mr. Birajdar ( 9850070221 ) or me directly.

Thanks & Regards,
Dinesh Gandhi.
M-98500700209
_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  9/18/12
to D, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

Dear all @ OTIS,

C building elevator down since 8:45 am to 9:45 am. Fixed by OTIS technician and again went down at 10:15 am.

Fyi and writing to you for record purposes.

Regards,
Kiran Chitnis

_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  10/7/12
to D, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

Haven't reported many instances for over a month. Both lifts of C building down right now.

Kiran Chitnis

_________________________________________________________________

Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com>  10/8/12
to me, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

Dear sir,

AS confirm by our Service Engineer with Mr.Dhanraj , yesterday there was supply issue 2-3 times.
Mr. Dhanraj reset the Lifts & started.
Now Lifts are working ok.  But our Service Engineer will visit the site & will check once again..

Thanks & Regards,
Dinesh Gandhi.
M-9850070209
_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>  10/8/12
to Kiran, D, Shreyas, bhagwan, Anil, cb, 'milindbhoite, rajeshnarang, arvindjain, Milan, Sandesh 

Just like Microsoft Windows 98? Is that a solution? :-)

Power will go and be restored subsequently. Should that warrant a reset? Let me also inform you that power outage is not the only reason why a reset is required in OTIS lifts. It happens abruptly.
_________________________________________________________________

Elevator issues Part 3: We don't give a damn follow up with "our" vendor

An issue occurred since inception. The elevators never worked. We are 8 months into the mayhem without any clear and concise directions on what the future would be. The cost of replacing elevators is pretty high and going by the attitude of Pride group engineers and management, I had no faith that this issue would resolve any time soon. Constant stinker emails, phone calls, et al go unanswered. Their lack luster attitude is clear they give a damn, they choose the vendor with a price match, quality seems secondary and when the end user is stuck with sub standard products, they have a way of shooing you away and asking you to directly contact their vendor.

The parts required for replacement hadn't arrived. In the meantime, to me it looked like OTIS did not make a single elevator since they did not have parts. Hard to believe right? That's what they said for a complete two months.

As a damage control measure going by the hue and cry we had raised, Pride Purple group's VP, Mr. Rajesh Narang, a flamboyant speaker and smart marketeer sat down and gave us a million assurances, 15 days down the line, we were at the same old place where we started. It seemed obvious that the meeting was a damage control measure for Pride group as their sales were still on and I had openly told them that we'll dissuade any person from purchasing a flat at Pride Platinum due to ongoing issues. Here are minutes of the meeting for your reference from a meeting that was held on 17Aug'12 (pardon the English, I did not make it):

Agenda of the meeting held on 05 August 2012 for a follow up meeting with Mr. Narang:

P.S: This was an internal meeting and an assurance was given by Mr. Narang on each point below stating that the issues will be resolved. We are in November 2013 and I'll list out all the issues that stand unresolved as on date as well an new items that have added to our woes. Think living in a desolate property without any compound wall 2 years after taking possession. 

________________________________________________________________________
Attended by: 

Mr Santosh Bohra 

Mr Ramesh Bhatt 

Mr Shreyas Shringarpure

Mr Dheeraj Munot

Mr. Vikash Jugran 

Mr Kiran Rai

Mr Mohan Khatavkar 

Mr Sandeep Lokhande 

The meeting was started at 10.15 and it was decided that the communication part will be taken care by Mr. Santosh Bohra and Mr Kiran Chitnis with Pride Group and Following agendas was discussed during the meeting

1 Society Maintenance: Committee will take this matter with Builder or his senior representatives and will ask them to follow the commitments done by the sales person of the pride group to all .

2 Property tax: This is now at very high priority and the Committee will take this matter with Mr. Narang and Pride group Team and will take the matter urgently with Pune Municipal Corporation for the following points a> Why are there such discrepancies in the amount payable by flat owners for similar flats ….? b> Property tax computation mechanism to be explained by the lawyer in the next meeting

3. Security: Committee will ask to install main gate soon and also the Automatic Gate Barrier on Main Gate . Two Wheeler and four wheeler’s sticker need to be provided by builder to all the Residents 

4. Parking Leakage: Some place Leakages are reduced but need to remove all leakage permanently and this will be taken with Pride Team in next meeting .

5. Garbage treatment: Still committee waiting Reply from Builder on this

6. Solar heater/ fuel cells installations : Also waiting Reply from Builder on this .

7. Gas connection : This is at very high priority and Pride Team must have to reply on the exact date for the same .

8. Amenities : Real Map still not updated on Website and also now we need to a confirm date of handover this to residents from Pride Group .

9. Water softening issues : Water Softening is being seems solved but need to get confirmation from Pride team and also the affected area need to get cleaned and request to pride technical team to help on this 

10. Glazing window : Still waiting for Reply from Pride TEAM on this 

11. Door magnets: Still need to get confirmation on this from Pride Team is installed and tested or yet to be test…………..?

12. Lift : Lifts of ‘C’ building don’t function for about 15 days a month and all the other building also have similar issues. UPS will be installed in the C building lift immediately. OTIS services are bad hence they will not be renewed. The other lift of “C” which is breakdown from long time need to rectify same with all new material need permanent solution on this . “D” building Lift is ok . “E” Building small Lift door open button inside car is not working . “F” Small lift is not working in night and also having some noise in the same . Display at many floors are not working . “H” building lift have Display . Apart from above problem some common problems are as follows 

- No Intercom is being installed in any lift. 

- No instruction manual and mirror in any lift 

- No safty certificate 

- Fan and lights are not proper so need to check on each lift properly 

13. Intercom : Tata indicom person’s phone number are as follows so who do not have connection please contact Mr Pramod 9225546463 and Mr Sitaram 9225546414. 

14. Cable : Videocon Dish already installed on the terrace and Builder paid Rs. 1500 for each Flat for getting this service and if resident want to use other service than better builder will provide the space to install the Dish but he suggested to have a common dish for each service prodder like Tata Sky , DISH TV. We will talk to them for quote us and after getting quote we will decide on this till that time for new residents who will come now requested to go for Videocon 


15. Tenant issues : Tenant policy to be drafted and passes in the first AGM, however the same is possible only after the society is formed. Currently an Ad-hoc committee is to be formed comprising the builder’s property manager and two members each from every building.

________________________________________________________________________

Since we are talking about elevator issues, flamboyant Narang (sounds similar to a Bollywood biggie), gave big talk about their ethics and commitment, etc. Yeah, the same type of crap that is dished out by B school graduates. Much to the satisfaction of others. Usually a broken bone needs plaster and not an ointment. We'll see in my next post. 

Elevator issues - Part 2. Still a customers problem

Amidst all these issues which should have been fixed before possession began, Pride group representatives namely Rajesh Narang, CB Kulkarni and their respective subordinates devised a very smart plan. That is to have a joint meeting between OTIS, Pride and the residents. Ever bought a TATA car and had an issue with the engine? And TATA representatives putting you across to their engine component vendor to have it fixed? That is exactly what residents had to do. They had to follow up themselves individually for getting elevator issues fixed. Smart move no? All they did was confirmed that they will clear payments for OTIS.

8 months have passed since occupancy was issued and residents were living with one elevator that was completely down since day # 1 and the other which ran sporadically. Imagine staying on the 11th floor and having to walk up. The security guards had to perpetually attend to man traps in the building. Pride group cared a damn even if residents were heart patients, expecting mothers, senior citizens, et al. 

Meeting minutes were made and a summary was sent out by the OTIS representative who attended the meetings:
_________________________________________________________________

Assurance by OTIS representative on 19 Aug'13 Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com>	8/19/12
to me, bhagwan, cb, arvindjain, milind.pride, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, Anil, Duryodhan

Dear sir,

This has with reference to our meeting on 18/8/2012 regarding Elevator issues.

Following points were discussed in this meeting.

·         There are 12 elevators in Pride Platinum. Out of 2 Lifts are shut down  in Building C & H .
·         Otis will ensure /take care of these Elevators for minimum down time. But  In case of breakdown of these elevators, After getting calls – Otis response will be 30 Min. between 9 am to 5.30.
After 5.30  to 9 pm. this will 1 Hr.  In case of emergency ,you will contact  Mr. Birajdar ( 9850070221 ) or me directly.
·         We will update  C Building material status on 21/8/2012.
·         We will provide Do’s & Don’t  in all Elevators. Attached copy.
·         PWD License  copy will fix in Elevators by Builder.
·         We will check Duplex operation of  E wing  & display problem of F wing.
·         We will check Fan, Lights & Load test of all Elevators .

Thanking you & assuring you our best services at all times.

Thanks & regards,
Dinesh Gandhi.
Area Manager.

M-9850070209

_________________________________________________________________

Kiran Chitnis 8/23/12

to D, bhagwan, cb, arvindjain, milind.pride, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, Anil, Duryodhan 

Dear Mr. Gandhi,

Kindly update us with the status of parts procurement for the elevator in C' building. We are already two days past the date you promised. Also ensure the other issues are fixed on priority, I haven't seen the lights fixed in elevators as yet. 

·         We will update  C Building material status on 21/8/2012.

Thanks,

Kiran Chitnis

_________________________________________________________________

Endless date assurances by OTIS representative.

Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com>  8/23/12

to me, bhagwan, cb, arvindjain, milind.pride, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, Anil, Duryodhan 

Dear sir,

Till I have not received material confirmation date. Will update today evening.
Also sending Technician today for other balance points.

Thanks & regards,

Dinesh Gandhi.

_________________________________________________________________

Pride group person did write in on the same date for seeking an update.


bhagwan singh <bhagwan@pridegroup.net>   8/23/12

to D, me, cb, arvindjain, milind, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, Anil, Duryodhan 

Dear Gandhi,

Pride house elevators are giving jerks and its duplex system and some call switches are also not working. We had paid you C building of Pride Platinum elevator advance then why we are not getting material because its repair is most urgent for us. Pl do the needful as soon as possible.

Thanks & Regards,
Bhagwan Singh

Pride Purple Group
_________________________________________________________________

Just like Pride group, their vendors are equally lethargic. 

Kiran Chitnis   8/27/12

to D, bhagwan, cb, arvindjain, milind.pride, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, AnilM, Duryodhan 

Dear Mr. Gandhi,

Please let me know the status. Couple of evenings passed by since you last replied.

Thanks,

Kiran Chitnis
_________________________________________________________________

So, until a customer raises a concern, the builder doesn't bother utilizing their various company departments to fix a fault that was theirs:

bhagwan singh 8/27/12

to me, D, cb, arvindjain, milind, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, AnilM, Duryodhan 

Dear Gandhi,

Please forward the plan of action and target date to rectify the break down elevator of C building as it is Most urgent. Please reply soon . If, you have any problem than let us know, we will find out the way but do not keep mum on the issue .

Thanks & Regards,
Bhagwan Singh

Pride Housing
_________________________________________________________________

A seriously big yawnnnn. I had by now lost all hope of the elevator getting fixed. Do note that the only elevator in the apartment kept failing as all these issues are happening. 

Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com>  8/27/12

to me, bhagwan, cb, arvindjain, milind.pride, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, Anil, Duryodhan 

Dear sir,

I am doing follow up to get subject material at the earliest.
But till ,material confirmation date is not received from our factory.

Our Service Technician is at site. But mobile is not reachable.  Other  work completion status will update shortly.

Thanks & regards,
Dinesh Gandhi.

M-9850070209

_________________________________________________________________

We are at the end of the month of August. Issue still persists. Any sane person by now would lose hope but Pride group was positive that their apartments will still sell and "bakras" will still come. 

There is an obvious lack of quality assurance from Pride as well as OTIS. But, the main subject here is Pride. The elevator is not the only third party thing that fails. The sewage treatment plant, the garbage disposal unit, their water sources, et al. Everything fails. I have emails as document proofs for each of these occurring events. You will see them shortly.

Elevator issues. That is the customers problem!

When you invest your hardearned money in a project you bestow upon them unconditional trust. However, almost all of them will turn their backs to you the moment an issue arises. The choice of brands and quality of products rests upon the builder and his team. So you do not have a direct interface to see or choose what is being used to construct your apartment. One such important aspect in todays world of high rises is an elevator. Pride group obviously had the liberty and chose OTIS as a vendor for elevators. Now, as a buyer you do not have any say in this but when it is installed and it does not work, it directly becomes your problem.

Be prepared to face such issues in Pride group projects. They will stand on an altar and scream their lungs out saying "top quality products" but what you get in the bargain is sub-standard low grade, lifeless and untested products.

You get possession of your apartment and the elevators don't work and how? They just fail abruptly and neither Pride group engineers nor the vendor for the products have any clue for months. What entangles in this bargain is a clear fight between the two but you obviously suffer for you don't care who is right anyway. The elevators were dysfunctional from day #1. As you'll see in the email trail below. Headers and genuine email information can be emailed privately upon request:


Email # 1:

Sent: 09 July 2012 19:26
To: C B Kulkarni; milind bhoite
Cc: Arvind Jain
Subject: Elevator Problems in C building


Dear Mr. Milind Bhoite and Mr. C B Kulkarni,

I hope you are doing well. I write to you to make you aware of some serious issue we have been facing in C # Building of Pride Platinum. The elevator has broken down for the 12th time out of  30 days of me residing here. Actually make that 38 days to be precise. There is no backup elevator for the primary and it has been causing me great inconveniences. Today being no different.

I can only convince myself to walk up 6 storeys to reach my apartment if it is 6 am in the morning and I am craving to keep myself fit and not when I am back home at 2:00 am after gruelling 18 hours at work or when I am back from the grocery store carrying heavy loads. I hope you understand that my mother is past 60 years old and this activity doesn't constitute as an exercise per se.

Please let me a know a final date by when this issue will be resolved in totality and not as a stop gap temporary arrangement.

Regards,
Kiran Chitnis
_________________________________________________________________________________

Not so convincing reply: Obviously because the elevators are down since January 2012 when possession was given. And due to a tussle between the vendor and the builder, elevators were not serviceable and down!

From: Bhagwan Singh [mailto:bhagwan@pridegroup.net]
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 12:48 PM
To: 'C B Kulkarni'; Gandhi, D K
Cc: 'Arvind Jain'; 'milind bhoite'; Samarth, Anil M; Pipre, Virendra Bhaskarrao;
Subject: RE: Elevator Problems in C building

Dear Gandhi/ All representative of OTIS,

You just put yourself in the shoes of Mr. Kiran Chitnis & such other gentlemen  and imagine that how much  such type of gentle men are facing problem in their day today life due to your product which is known for best quality. We had install U P S  in one elevators and waiting for your reply that, it is suitable for your elevators or not and myself and our personal are continuously following up for same but not able to get suitability report for further order which is your requirement as per your advice to run all elevators smoothly. We had paid Rs.85000 before a month which is total repair cost of C building one elevator as per your quotation. This elevator is un-serviceable since last two months and you are promising us that it will be serviceable within  a week since last one month but could not fulfill your promise till day. As on 10/07/2012  our 03 elevators out of 08 elevators are un-serviceable at Pride Platinum although, these all 08 elevators are newly installed. Just think the quality and service of your company which is known for best service and best quality.

You are requested to give target date to make our all elevators serviceable or raise your hand that you cannot do it , so , we shall do some alternative arrangement to make the elevators serviceable because due to your non-performance, we cannot allow our client to suffer any more.

Please Treat it MOST URGENT and Reply Soon.

Thanks & Regards,
Bhagwan Singh
Pride Housing

_________________________________________________________________________________

Reply from OTIS: Big bomb because the issue here is unpaid amount of 7 lakh rupees that kept the customers hanging and suffering. 

From: Gandhi, D K
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 3:00 PM
To: 'Bhagwan Singh'; 'C B Kulkarni'
Cc: 'Arvind Jain'; 'milind bhoite'; Samarth, Anil M; Pipre, Virendra Bhaskarrao;
Subject: RE: Elevator Problems in C building - Pride Platinum

Dear sir,

We regret the inconvenienced caused to you & users. I have already given confirmation about UPS for 230 Volt.
Except C building ,other two Lift we will start  on 16/7/2012. ( Monday. )

C building issue is different issue.  Because of water seepage in controller, some parts are damaged of subject Lift. Based on our first inspection we have given quotation.
We have received Rs. 85000.00 for the same.  Last week we have tried to start this Lift . More than 2-3 days our Engineers were trying to start the Lift.
But as per report ,again following parts are require to be change.

·         OVF 20  Main Drive
·         SPBC PCb
·         Main Transformer.
·         3 Phase MCB.

Cost for the same is Rs. 7 Lac.

Thanks & regards,
Dinesh Gandhi.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Email sent by customer on vendors "sorry email" seeking an update on the situation: Note that 17 days have passed! No action is seen. So much for "Customer service". And do not wonder. This email was not replied to either:

On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 9:52 PM, Kiran Chitnis <kiranchitnis@gmail.com>wrote:

Dear Mr. CB Kulkarni & Milind Bhoite,

What is the stand taken by Pride group in this regard. Why can't the convenience of your customers be of paramount importance to you? I request you to please provide us an update on whether replacing the entire lift is an option. At this rate, I don't see this elevator to be reliable in the long run. 

Your response in this regard will be highly appreciated. 

Regards,

Kiran Chitnis

On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 7:07 PM, Gandhi, D K <gandhi.dk@otis.com> wrote:

Dear sir,

We have tried our best. Minimum quotation will be Rs.3.5 Lac for C building.

Kindly approve.

Thanks& Regards,

Dinesh Gandhi.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Customer decided to report every fail for primary elevator LIVE: Be prepared for the biggest skyfall in performance:

From: Kiran Chitnis
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2012 8:25 AM
To: Gandhi, D K
Cc: Bhagwan Singh; C B Kulkarni; Arvind Jain; milind bhoite; Samarth, Anil M; Manishkumar pathak; girish@pridepurplegroup.com
Subject: Re: Elevator Problems in C building - Pride Platinum

Update on 07:00 am till now (08:30 am) at C-building Pride Platinum. Primary elevator stopped working. The persons staying across the door from me is a heart patient at over 60 years of age and had to climb up 5 storeys to get to his house after the morning walk. I have to get to office by moving down 5 storeys. 

Great job Pride Group and Otis!!

Regards,

Kiran Chitnis

_________________________________________________________________________________

Reply from Vendor "OTIS". Please note, now the builder has taken cover and chosen not to give a single reply:

On 01-Aug-2012, at 8:45, "Gandhi, D K" <gandhi.dk@otis.com>wrote:

Dear sir,

Regret the inconvenienced caused to you & users. I am sending Technician.

You are requested – In case of emergency please contact  directly -

·         H.A.Petkar -  Service Engineer – M-9850980892

·         D.H.Birajdar – Service Superviser –M-9850070221

·         D.K.Gandhi – Area Manager – M-9850070209

·         Otis –Pune – 020-24227518/6090/1672 – All days -9am to 9pm.

Thanks& Regards,

Dinesh Gandhi.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Customer is pissed and rightly so:

On 01-Aug-2012, at 11:37, Kiran Chitnis wrote:

Thank you for responding. But is it of any help during crisis? No! 

I am seeking a long term solution and not something that will be a temporary fix each and every time. Please fix our problems permanently. We are losing our patience at a steady rate and your organization continues to test our decency. 

Kiran Chitnis

_________________________________________________________________________________

Continuous emails. NO RESPONSE. Later I figured that this is their trait and chosen method of doing business:

On Fri, Aug 3, 2012 at 8:20 AM, Kiran Chitnis wrote:

Lift not working since 7 am again. 

Forwarding this email to all my friends in the media industry for further action unless I get a positive response by end of day today.

Thank you,
Kiran Chitnis

On 02-Aug-2012, at 21:13, Kiran Chitnis wrote:

Lift was not functional for more than 1 hour today evening. My mother walked up 5 storeys after her evening walk. Last email to you. I have never encountered such insensitive people ever!

Kiran Chitnis
_________________________________________________________________________________

Now we are a month down since the issue was reported:

From: Gandhi, D K [mailto:gandhi.dk@otis.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 10:32 PM
To: Kiran Chitnis
Cc: Bhagwan Singh (bhagwan@pridegroup.net); cb@pridegroup.net; arvindjain@pridegroup.net; 'milind bhoite' (milind.pride@gmail.com); Manishkumar pathak; girish@pridepurplegroup.com; rajesh@pridepurplegroup.com; Samarth, Anil M

Subject: RE: Elevator Problems in C building - Pride Platinum

Dear sir,

We  have noted the contents with concern.

We apologize for the inconvenience . We have taken corrective actions.

Thanks & regards,

Dinesh Gandhi.

M-9850070209

From: Kiran Chitnis [mailto:
Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 8:20 PM
To: Gandhi, D K; Bhagwan Singh; C B Kulkarni; Arvind Jain; milind bhoite; Samarth, Anil M; Manishkumar pathak; girish@pridepurplegroup.com; rajesh@pridepurplegroup.com
Subject: Re: Elevator Problems in C building - Pride Platinum

Elevator fixed at around 08:00 pm India time. 

Kiran Chitnis

On Thu, Aug 16, 2012 at 6:52 PM, Kiran Chitnis wrote:

Lift not working since 5 pm. Walked up with more than 15 kgs of grocery in tow. Your professionalism is commendable. Keep up the good work. Hope to see you at the meeting on Sunday.

Rajesh Narang, please be prepared to answer this in complete detail on Sunday. This stupidity cannot continue and our patience has exhausted with your nonsense. 

Kiran Chitnis

_________________________________________________________________________________

Someone from Pride Group just woke up and dropped a one liner email: 

bhagwan singh <bhagwan@pridegroup.net>  

to D, me, cb, arvindjain, milind, Manishkumar, girish, rajesh, Anil 

Dear Gandhi,

Why you are so slow on your action? I had called you yesterday and you replied that you will call me with in little time but that little time does not end up to now. Pl take corrective action urgently.

Thanks & Regards,

Bhagwan Singh

Pride Housing

_________________________________________________________________________________


Stay tuned. To be continued in part two as I'll break down each month individually. 

Engineers and Delayed engineering

How many engineers does it take to deploy a functional STP?

That is exactly what you'll experience with Pride projects. Why don't you take a lead and visit their famous project named Pride Platinum. There's a "well engineered" (read as well outsourced) STP (Sewage Treatment plant), the treats all excreta and makes sure the same water is pumped into your homes and all the flora and fauna around you.

A well thought of vendor (read as cheap supply for blame shifting) has deployed a remarkable STP in their premises. One that causes your nose hair to burn in despair. Something that you can smell from a mile. 

An easy direction to reach Pride Platinum would be "Follow the smell", yes, the one that is not so pleasant. 

Reference: http://www.indianrealestateforum.com/607034-post17.html

[QUOTE]1) They use sewage treatment for flush tank water. Most of the times their plant goes bad and you get Black brackish water in your flush. It stinks like a gutter.

2) They gave possession to the residents since November 2011 and the place is still not complete. They haven't provided the following amenities as yet:
- Piped gas.
- Working elevators (Only one is functional while the second is powered off for life).
- Corporation water line.
- They get water from tankers and mix it with bore well water for drinking purposes. They say that they are getting tankers from PMC which is a lie.
- Their amenities have changed and their layout has changed for the 3rd time. They promised a lot of things and delivered half of it.
3) They forcefully installed Videocon D2h common antenna without consulting the residents and then asked every one to remove their personal antennas. That includes connections for which people had paid in advance for a year.

4) Garbage chutes have been installed but are not operational.

5) The so called club house is still grey in colour without any walls and floor.

6) And they still have the guts to ask for Rs. 5800/- per square feet.

7) The water in bathrooms doesn't go through any treatment and you get ultra solid hard water that stains all the bathroom fittings and tiles. They say it is excellent water!

8) The work will take another year or two to complete.

9) And without any amenities they are charging maintenance from November. Wonder what maintenance they are doing when their lifts are failing every 4-5 hours.
[/QUOTE]

Sample Flat and Obvious Deviations

Let's start with their rosy and grand sample flat to begin with. There is an sense of must haves that have been rightly placed in the sample flat to attract the buyer. Fair enough the prospective buyers get lured in to actually go for the flat without much ado. But hold on to your horses what you see and what you get is going to shatter your dream home.

There is a vast difference in their so called sample flat that they promote to advertise and what they actually deliver to you for bestowing your hard earned and trusted money on them. I do not speak in thin air. There is a complete documentary evidence to show you the differences. 

Therefore my advise to you will be to not fall in for their marketing gimmicks and at best avoid their projects. It is not personal vendetta but a human advise to not waste your money and repent later. 

Introduction

I hope when people search for Pride group , Pride Purple Group , Purple Group , Arvind Jain , Shravan Agarwal , Pride Platinum , Pride Valencia , Park Grandeur , Pride Aashiyana , Aloma County , Park Titanium , Pride Panorama , Pride Crosswinds , Pride Horizon , Pride Pristine , Pride Pavillion , Pride Picassa , Pride Springfields , Park Royale , Park Turquoise , Park Springs , Pride Panorama on google, this is the first page they visit to save themselves from all the troubles they might face if they invest in any of the projects. I have taken this up for my friends who have suffered because of Pride Group and their dirty business tactics. 

What is the purpose of this blog? It is simply to highlight the issues faced by residents of one of Pride group's ambitious projects. The way Pride group works and their ethics and business practices that impact citizens heavily. I had once heard that they care a damn about social media and will continue to sell 400 flats per annum. 

Moreover, I hope that people do not lose their hard earned money by investing in their projects. Don't believe me? Stay tuned on this blog as I unfold them each week. 

Thanks for viewing.