Bhavish Aggarwal vs Kunal Kamra: Netizens slam Ola chief’s ‘rude, arrogant, ignorant’ remarks

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal faced backlash from netizens for his confrontational responses to comedian Kunal Kamra's criticisms against the company's products and services on social media.

Livemint
Updated7 Oct 2024, 01:39 PM IST
Ola Electric and Ola Cabs founder Bhavish Aggarwal.
Ola Electric and Ola Cabs founder Bhavish Aggarwal.(Reuters)

Netizens and customers of Ola Electric have called out the company's founder-CEO Bhavish Aggarwal for his “rude… arrogant… ignorant…” responses in the social media feud with comedian Kunal Kamra.

The back and forth began after Aggarwal slammed a post by Kamra on X (formerly known as Twitter), for criticising the way Ola electric scooters were kept outside what appeared to be an Ola dealership. Aggarwal said that if Kamra was so concerned about the scooters, he would be happy to pay him to come and help the company, and if not, the Ola CEO urged Kamra to “shut up” and let Ola fix the “real customer issues”.

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In a post on X, Aggarwal wrote, “Since you care so much @kunalkamra88, come and help us out! I’ll even pay more than you earned for this paid tweet or from your failed comedy career. Or else sit quiet and let us focus on fixing the issues for the real customers. We’re expanding service network fast and backlogs will be cleared soon.”

The response came after Kamra posted asking Ola customers to flag their complaints in a post where he tagged officials, writing: “Do indian consumers have a voice? Do they deserve this? Two wheelers are many daily wage workers lifeline… @nitin_gadkari is this how Indians will get to using EV’s? @jagograhakjago any word? Anyone who has an issue with OLA electric leave your story below tagging all…”

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Battle of Words Escalates

However, the issue went on into a series of posts, with each exchange escalating the "feud" between Aggarwal and Kamra and getting "uglier" as netizens watched on and commented.

"Chot lagi? Dard hua? Aaja service center. Bahut kaam hai. I will pay better than your flop shows pay you. Show your audience how much you truly care and whether you’re only gas and BS," wrote Aggarwal after Kamra called the businessman an "arrogant, substandard prick". The comedian also challenged Aggarwal to prove that his initial complaint was "paid".

"...If you can prove I am paid for the tweet this or anything else I must’ve said against private companies, I’ll delete all social media & sit quietly forever," Kamra challenged.

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‘Give Customers Refunds vs Armchair Criticism’

The two went at each other more, when Kamra questioned Ola's refund policy, asking, "Instead can you give a total refund to anyone who wants to return their OLA EV & who’s purchased it in the last 4 months? I don’t need your money people not being able to get to their workplace need your accountability. Show your customers that you truly care?"

To which Aggarwal responded, “We have enough programs for our customers if they face service delays. If you were a genuine one, you would have known. Again, don’t try and back out of this. Come and do some real work rather than armchair criticism.”

To this, Kamra responded with a refund suggestion for Ola to implement. "So you can’t offer a 100 percent refund to people who have purchased your OLA in the last 4 months who are genuine customers… But you want to pay me who’s not a costumer. let me give you other options. Can you do 85 percent refund for 1/ 2 months? Can you do 75 percent refund for 3 months? Can you do 65 percent for 4 months? Don’t run away, I can help you by compiling the list of genuine customers & making sure their refund is processed. Their delight will be enough to pay me… I’ll give an email ID in my next tweet once you stop trying to hire me & focus on your actual customers," Kamra wrote.

But Aggarwal was not amused. “Comedian ban na sake, chaudhary banne chale. Do your research better next time. And the offer to come and help us out in our service center remains open. Take up the challenge. Maybe you’ll learn some real skills for a change.”

Also Read | Ola Electric stock slumps 10% after spat between CEO and comedian Kunal Kamra

Netizens Blast Aggarwal for 'Rude, Arrogant, Ignorant' Remarks

Reactions to the Aggarwal vs Kamra exchange heavily favoured the latter, with many claiming to be Ola customers and backing the comedian's posts. Many netizens also slammed Aggarwal for being rude in his response to complaints.

One said, “I don’t know how to cook but that doesn’t mean I can’t say if the taste is good or not. How good a comedian is he has no relation whatsoever to how bad your OLA service is.”

Another added, “The worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. Wake the f up and read the writing on the wall.”

One other said, “Deshbhakti ka dhong krke, Elon musk banne chale. Next scam series would be on OLA. Khud research krke product launch krlete to itni complaints ni aati. You take up the challenge and refund consumer’s hard earned money.”

Another user stated, “Imagine the culture this man must have enforced in his company. Now, imagine the quality of products coming out of it. All self-explanatory.”

One more netizen backed Kamra, saying, “maybe you should just read the comments on your posts to get all answers.”

Another rebutted, “Kamra didn’t take your customers money and deliver sub standard service. You did that. Take some accountability for it instead of shamelessly fighting with celebrities on Twitter.”

A customer posted, “Sir, I am also an old user of OLA S1 pro and the service thing is true your service centre guys don't behave well with the customer. The software is the biggest mess here to be honest. Instead of these statements try to resolve & optimise the software issues.”

Another fired at Aggarwal, “Such an arrogant person you are. Stop flaunting your wealth—there are plenty of examples of arrogant CEOs who went from riches to roads. Focus on fixing your failed products and service model.”

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First Published:7 Oct 2024, 01:39 PM IST
Business NewsCompaniesNewsBhavish Aggarwal vs Kunal Kamra: Netizens slam Ola chief’s ‘rude, arrogant, ignorant’ remarks

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