TL; DR
- Rahul Srinivas booked a Panasonic AC installation for April 20 but was stood up entirely.
- The local agency tried to reschedule without consent and quoted rates that did not match Panasonic’s official card.
- Delays often stem from third-party agencies, not brands directly, but the reputation damage falls on Panasonic.
Rahul Srinivas, a fellow technology journalist and a long-time user of Panasonic air conditioners, recently bought not just one but two new ACs. One was from Flipkart, and the other was from Amazon. Although things moved smoothly until the delivery, his experience took a sharp, inexplicable turn from there.
What exactly happened with a loyal Panasonic AC customer?
The first air conditioner arrived on April 18, while the second came on April 20. Post the delivery of the first one, he received a WhatsApp prompt from Panasonic’s automated system for booking the installation at a convenient time; pretty good. However, when I booked an installation slot for April 20 between 12 PM and 2 PM, nobody showed up.
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Instead, at the end of the day, Srinivas received a call from a Panasonic-authorized local installation agency. On the call, the representative asked him to tap “confirm” on a message that read: “Appointment for attending Job No. I19042627099271 is being rescheduled as per your request to 27-Apr-2026, 4 PM to 6 PM.”
His request, the message mentioned, when he had actually made none. The next available date, per the message, was a week away. Upon pushing back, the agent claimed that the installation would happen “on or before” April 27, 2026. To top it off, the rates quoted on the call didn’t match Panasonic’s official rate card.
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Is this a Panasonic problem or an agency problem?
To make sure that I’m being absolutely fair while writing this story, I’ll give a brief yet important context. Panasonic, much like any other large appliance manufacturer operating in India, relies on a network of third-party local service providers, or agencies, to handle installation and after-sales services.
These agencies are often juggling multiple brand contracts simultaneously, particularly in the smaller or non-metro markets, where the total volume of business from one brand isn’t enough to provide salaries and run operations. As one X user pointed out in the comments section of Rahul’s tweet, “Service is purely dependent upon the agency appointed.”
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With the staff stretched thin and demand high, delays cascade quickly. Rahul himself mentioned that he has experienced better service from the brand in Ahmedabad, but currently, he is facing the issue in Kerala. In the most recent update published earlier today, the journalist mentions how spend another day waiting for someone from the brand to call and install the ACs.
It’s a classic case of local service providers tainting a brand’s reputation
He closed the detailed thread with a message that reads more like a plea than a complaint: “I absolutely love your products and recommend them to people all the time. But this is not the service I expect from a brand like you. Please pull your socks up.” It’s hard to argue with that, especially since I know quite a lot of people who use Panasonic’s ACs on a daily basis.
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However, at the same time, I’ve experienced installation and after-sales service issues personally from a variety of brands, not just air conditioners but other home appliances as well, including washing machines, television sets, room heaters, etc. We’ll update the article as and when Rahul shares and update regarding this.
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