I never thought I’d be writing something like this.
For years, I associated the Tata name with trust, reliability, and a certain pride in being Indian.
But today, as I sit inside a house that’s hotter than the streets outside, feeling abandoned and seething with anger, I have to say it out loud:
Croma, a Tata company, has utterly, heartbreakingly failed me.
My Story: A Warranty That Promised Peace, Delivered Only Pain
When I bought my air conditioner from Croma, I chose to invest in their Zip Care 4-Year Extended Warranty.
It was pitched as the ultimate solution — no worries, no delays, priority service even during peak season.
It sounded perfect, especially considering Delhi’s unforgiving summers.
I paid extra for that peace of mind.
But when the moment of truth arrived — when my AC broke down during one of the worst heatwaves in recent memory — that warranty turned out to be nothing but a cruel joke.
Instead of fast, efficient service, I was handed a spiral of helplessness, false promises, missed technician visits, and endless waiting.
To make it clear just how devastating this experience was, let me lay out exactly what happened:
The Timeline of My Agony
- 12th April:
Raised an official complaint at my nearest Croma store regarding my non-functional AC. - 14th April:
Received a call from the store asking me to wait 24 hours due to “peak time load”. I accepted it, understanding the season. - 16th April:
No call, no technician. I called again — they raised a fresh service request on 17th April. Despite feeling angry, I remained patient. - 19th April:
Still no response. I called customer care again. Was told my request had been “highlighted” and I would get a call soon. - 21st April:
Walked into the Croma store myself to push the matter. They reassured me it was escalated. - 23rd April:
Finally received a call from Croma service provider or something. A technician visit was scheduled for 5:30 PM. I took an early leave from work, commuted 35 km from Gurugram to Delhi, waited — only to be ghosted. My calls to the Croma service provider went unanswered. - 24th April:
Final the technician called. We agreed on 6 PM. I confirmed again in the afternoon. Rushed home — waited — no technician arrived. No response to the calls. - 25th April:
Dejected, I called the toll free helpline call. Another escalation. No results. Took half-day leave hoping someone would turn up. Suffered inside a roasting house. - 26th April (Saturday):
Called the helpline again, pleading for urgency. Was given the same robotic reply — wait 24 hours. - 26th April (Saturday):
Called the helpline in the evening and strictly asked for refund, voucher or compensation. I was given the same robotic reply — wait 24 hours. - 27th April (Sunday):
Called again, now demanded ₹10,000 in compensation for the harassment and trauma. The response? Please wait another 24 hours.
And that was how my weekend was spent — being slowly roasted alive in my own home, treated like a number, with not even a basic sense of urgency from Croma.
It Wasn’t Just the Heat — It Was the Betrayal
It wasn’t merely the 42°C temperatures that made this unbearable.
It was the added emotional toll.
The sheer mental exhaustion of raising complaints, following up endlessly, trusting promises that were broken time after time.
I was not just suffering because my AC broke down — I was suffering because a company that took my money for an extended warranty couldn’t care less when the real moment of need arrived.
Since, I already purchase an extended warranty plan, I was not ready to pay extra for repairs from another service provider or a local AC technician. Above all, I trust local AC technicians can repair ACs in a couple of calls.
Croma’s toll-free numbers, their glossy store-fronts, their cheerful Twitter replies — all meaningless.
Because when the system behind it doesn’t work, when there is no real accountability, everything else is just corporate wallpaper.
Croma and Tata Motors: Two Sides of the Same Rotten Coin
As the days passed, and the suffering mounted, an old realisation resurfaced:
Croma is truly a Tata company — in the worst sense possible.
Because what I experienced here mirrors the horror stories many Tata Motors customers share:
- Exciting advertisements, big promises countless features at the time of sale.
- Poor product quality, recurring issues, and worse reliability once money changes hands.
- Abysmal after-sales service that leaves customers begging, pleading, and fighting for basic attention.
The common thread is unmistakable:
Glorious promises before purchase. Sheer abandonment after.
This rot isn’t isolated. It’s systemic.
The Bigger Problem with Big Indian Brands
Croma’s failure is not an outlier — it is a symptom of a larger, more worrying disease.
Many big Indian brands have fallen into the same trap:
- Treat customers like royalty before the sale, and like beggars after.
- Invest in fancy ads, slogans, and campaigns — but not in fixing their broken backend.
- Assume that the Indian customer will tolerate anything because they “don’t have options”.
They forget:
We, the customers, are evolving faster than they think.
We have options. We have voices. We have platforms.
And we are no longer willing to be silent.
What Croma (And Tata) Need to Understand — Urgently
When you sell an extended warranty, you’re not selling a piece of paper.
You are selling peace of mind.
You are promising trust.
And when you break that trust — especially at critical moments when your customer is most vulnerable — the damage is far deeper than a cancelled warranty.
- You lose credibility.
- You lose loyalty.
- You lose future business.
Trust, once shattered, is harder to rebuild than any brand campaign.
In Closing
Today, I sit inside my oven-like house, physically drained, mentally battered, and emotionally scarred by Croma’s sheer indifference.
I write this blog not merely as a rant, but as a warning.
If you are considering buying from Croma — think twice.
If you are banking on Tata’s old reputation — think again.
Because when push comes to shove, when life inside your home turns into hell, you will be alone.
Your “extended warranty” will be nothing but an empty piece of paper.
And your faith — once broken — will never return.
Big Indian brands need to wake up. Or risk losing the very people who built them.
#Croma #TataGroup #BrokenTrust #CustomerServiceFail #IndianBrands #DelhiHeatwave #ACFailure #CromaZipCare #TataMotors #CustomerExperienceMatters
