Bug in Vodafone India’s “HELP” Sms Services irritates Customers

Follow Us

Most of the times it’s not necessary for the users to remember SMS KEYWORDS for any operator to seek information or HELP.

For the interest of the users along with adding comfort, Operators should design their sms navigation system in such a way that whatever keyword user has sent they should be able to get suggestions for correct KEYWORDS or required help in the form of a return sms. This feature benefits both the users as well as the Operators as it’s not necessary to maintain or provide services on some particular KEYWORDS.




We have checked this type of functionality on all of our AVOID Operators along with Aircel.

AVoId HELP

If we observe Airtel(AP Circle Number) has set it very clear and simple,what ever wrong keyword user sends the sms system asks to send 'AIRTEL' to 121 to get required suggestions and the same way with Idea cellular(AP Circle Number) to 1234 as seen from the image.

But I was surprised to see the response from 111 of Vodafone IN(AP Circle Number).You can clearly see from the message that the SMS system of Vodafone failed in this case. They tried to provide a similar kind of service but it was utter flop and no way useful for users.

So,we decided to check if the fault exists in other circles as well.

For Vodafone IN Karnataka Circle:

vodafone Karnataka

I have come across a special keyword - NULL in the beginning for every reply sms.For every try i failed to get any useful response from the sms system of Vodafone.Pity on them for such a poor SMS response system.

For Vodafone IN Chennai Circle:

Vodafone Chennai

 Wow! That's an amazing response this time. For our HELP message we received a response "Hello,Your Request is Received.Will be processed shortly".

I was wondering what is that the system will be processing shortly for my sms HELP request on my number :( ?

 And oh that's not the end of the message,even we have a VAS Promotional message included too ;) Clever ah.

Two blunders at a stretch and are the customers expected to tolerate such stuff ?

Aircel: Initially I'm happy that Aircel too provided similar kind of Services.

Aircel Help

It can be clearly seen that User needs to reply to 121 but Aircel system responds from DA-Aircel which can't be used to directly reply. So,every time we need to go out of Message thread and reply to 121 which is very troublesome and spoiled the entire user experience. Dear Aircel please improve user experience.

Regarding Vodafone, I have complained long back on twitter handle of @VodafoneIN to which they responded but never cared to rectify their defective system till date.Vodafone Twitter

Dear users, have you faced any such issues with your operator in your circle? Do you like to tolerate this kind of services from premium operators? Do let us know any of your such experiences via comments.

Reported By

Telecom Analyst

Passionately following the Indian #Telecom Industry for over a decade from Business, Consumer and a Technical perspective. My primary focus area is Consumer & Digital Experience.

Recent Comments

Faraz :

Does Bharti Hexacom provide Airtel 5G services in N.E and Rajasthan Or Both are offering 5G seperately ? Who bought…

Bharti Hexacom IPO Set for April 3, TCIL to Sell…

Faraz :

Nice.. & BSNL 60 Mbps is even perfect plan for many if there are more than 5 devices connected. Many…

BSNL 60 Mbps Plan is Likely One of the Best…

Faraz :

Budget phones have degraded more than any other budget phones since pandemic. They are still selling some craps like Helio…

POCO C61 to Launch on March 26, 2024

shivraj roy :

i feel Vi has improved than what it was in 2022 i usually get around 8-10mbps in very heavily dense…

5G Users Consuming 3.6 Times More Data than 4G Users…

biswadeepmondal :

JioAir Fiber is working very well in KPA & HLR. Sadly they don't have any data only plan.

REP: Airtel Expands Network Footprint in Bankura District of West…

Load More
Subscribe
Notify of
19 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments