'Thrice Beaten, Four Times Shy?' - Kotak MF MD Nilesh Shah Leads Chorus of Criti

[Michael Gonsalves]

Mumbai: Nilesh Shah, the Managing Director of Kotak Mutual Fund, has severely criticized consumer durables company Eureka Forbes, detailing a series of frustrating experiences with their products and, more significantly, their customer service. Shah's public critique, shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), quickly triggered a wave of similar complaints from other users, painting a concerning picture of the brand's deteriorating post-sale support.

Shah's thread, titled "Power of Brand," recounts a three-part saga of disappointment. The first incident involved the purchase of a 'Dr Aquaguard' water purifier in October 2021, which he bought "for the promise of herb infused water." That promise, however, remained "unfulfilled as the product was stopped immediately thereafter."

Undeterred—or as Shah put it, "Once beaten twice shy? No"—he later purchased a 'zerobend MOP N VAC' vacuum cleaner. This device, according to the MD, began leaving scratches on his marble floor. Despite complaining multiple times, he received no solution and had to stop using the product.

The third and most recent incident concerns a new water purifier ordered on September 13th for immediate delivery. Shah detailed the company's sluggish process, stating they only "deposited our cheque on Sept 29th" after follow-up. The issue then shifted to delivery, where the company, initially "kind enough to reply and give dates," has now "stopped replying even on what's app." Shah concluded his post with a rhetorical question: "Thrice beaten four times shy? Well who knows! Brand can win over customer service."

A Torrent of Similar Complaints

The thread rapidly became a platform for other customers to share their own disappointing experiences, suggesting Shah's complaints are far from isolated incidents.

    Prateek Jain described the service as "incredibly poor," detailing how a technician, instead of fixing an issue under an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC), advised him not to buy from the company anymore and instead purchase new filters directly from him at a lower price. Jain ultimately "ended up throwing the purifier."

    Amit Kumar called Eureka Forbes "The worst consumer brand today hands down," accusing the company of installing a "timer based limit on their filters" to slow down water flow and force consumers to pay for new filters every 6-9 months—a sign of "early signs of brand demise."

    ML Gupta recalled that Eureka Forbes "used to be among the best for service" but has now "lost their key advantage." He cited an unsatisfactory change of tubes and "smelling water" after recently purchasing a two-year AMC.

    GAUTAM shared a story of a robotic cleaner that stopped working just two months after purchase. A lodged complaint has been met with "no satisfactory reply" for 35 days, leaving him "highly disappointed."

    Mandar Natekar concluded that it is "only a matter of time," noting that "Eureka Forbes has the worst customer service and now their product quality is also slipping."

The strong market reaction and the sheer volume of detailed negative experiences under Shah's post indicate a significant challenge for Eureka Forbes in maintaining customer trust. One user, Mr. X in Bombay, directly advised consumers to switch brands, suggesting LG for water purifiers and Philips for vacuum cleaners due to their "excellent service since last 5 years."

The rare positive note came from a user, Investors Cafe, who mentioned their Eureka Forbes vacuum cleaner purchased from Amazon was "perfectly working," suggesting the company's delivery and product quality is inconsistent, though the overwhelming focus remains on the poor post-sale experience.

The conversation has brought to light a critical problem for the storied consumer brand: a perceived failure in product quality follow-up, coupled with a collapse in customer service, which, as Nilesh Shah noted, tests the very "Power of Brand" to retain loyalty.