From: Alice Gouveia On the thread of Vivian's D'Sousa's post, I would suggest that consulates or embassies should have an information counter with an educated "civil servant" to inform the applicants the exact documents needed... in Lisbon the people queue on the foothpath ... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RESPONSE:
Agreed, it is very bad PR to have irate PIOs spilling into the streets. The situation got so bad in London that corporates like BBC, LSE, etc in adjacent buildings launched formal protests to the Indian High Commission (IHC) and new regional visa application centres were created. However, the scenes at the IHC continue to be chaotic as personal visits are essential to make any kind of enquiry with regard to passports, OCI and PIO cards, etc. Visitors find the visits frustrating, giving vent to their anger on hapless, underpaid, over-worked, imported, junior counter staff who have to be rude as they are under considerable pressure to process the queues rapidly. There is a sore need for call centres and/or email communication to deal with the routine enquires. Multinationals have call centres, many of the India-based. Why cannot the IHC? The cost could be met by making access via a premium rate number 0844 in the UK (5p per min). It would be preferable to PIOs to spend a few pence and a few minutes on a telephone call rather than £s and hours on a personal visit to the IHC. The phone call would also bring in some revenue to the IHC. If the IHC websites were more user-friendly and enquiries could be made by email and telephone, it would greatly reduce queues at the IHC and counter staff there would feel less harassed. Eddie Fernandes