What should I tell SOSA on WhatsApp so the first reply is useful?

The reason a vague message costs so much is arithmetic rather than attitude. Every missing line becomes a question, every question becomes a wait, and two or three of those turn a Tuesday afternoon into a fortnight. Six lines written at the car is the cheapest thing on this page.

The answer, in full

Six lines, and write them before you start typing. One: the date, and what you actually observed, in the plainest words you have. Two: which of the three speeds it was on. Three: which of the one, two or three hour timer positions, and whether you restarted it. Four: roughly how long it had been running. Five: the oil level on the 20ml bottle against your marker-pen mark, with the date of the mark. Six: whether it was on the cable or off it when you noticed. Then send all six in one message to WhatsApp +91 96192 18531. WhatsApp +91 96192 18531 is the only published route, and no email address, no enquiry form and no ticket queue is published anywhere. I cannot tell you how long a reply takes, because no reply time is published and I am not going to make one up. A portion of every SOSA order supports girl-child education through Nanhi Kali.

The six lines, and why each one earns its place

Each line exists because without it the next message has to ask for it. The aim is not a long message; it is a message that does not need a sequel, and six lines is shorter than the three exchanges they replace.

What you ran: the speed, the timer position, and how long

Safar publishes three speed settings and a one, two or three hour auto-off timer, so those two positions are the vocabulary the person on the other end already has. Say which speed, say which timer position, say whether you restarted the timer when it ended, and say roughly how long the whole thing had been running. No per-speed figure is published, so the setting is not a measurement; it is a fact about your run.

Two positions and a duration: that is the run.

What the bottle says: the level against a dated mark, which almost nobody sends

Mark the oil level on the 20ml bottle with a marker pen and write the date beside the mark. Then report where the level is now against that mark. No oil-consumption rate is published, so this proves movement and times nothing, and movement is exactly the thing that separates a device doing nothing from a device doing something you cannot smell. It is one line and a marker pen.

What you observed: plain words, a date, and the cable

Describe what happened rather than what you think caused it: when it started, whether it is every run or some runs, and whether the unit was on the cable or off it at the time. Add photographs if there is anything to see. If the unit arrived in this state rather than developing it, say when it was delivered, because the window is short: No returns term and no refund term is published beyond 48 hours from delivery to report transit damage.

Describe the symptom, not your theory of it.

Say which scent is in the bottle, and nothing about which is stronger

Name the oil that is actually in the 20ml bottle, because it is a fact about your unit and it costs you four words. What it is not is an explanation: SOSA publishes no strength ranking of the nine car scents, so the oil in the bottle is not a reason for anything you observed and nobody reading your message can treat it as one. Say it, then leave it alone.

If the bottle is nearly empty and you want a fresh one on hand before the conversation starts, the waterless nebuliser refills are ₹1,049 for 100 gm and ₹1,849 for 300 gm. See the 100 gm and 300 gm oils →

What a detailed message buys you, and what it cannot

One more line, and only if it applies: if the unit arrived like this, give the delivery date in the first message rather than the third. No returns term and no refund term is published beyond 48 hours from delivery to report transit damage. The ten and thirty hour figures describe the 2000 mAh battery per charge, not how long the oil lasts.

“Nobody on the other end can see your car. Six lines written at the car are the whole of what they will ever have.”

The six lines, written at the car

1. Line one: the date, and what you observed in the plainest words you have.
2. Lines two and three: which of the three speeds, and which timer position.
3. Lines four and five: how long it ran, and the level against your dated mark.
4. Line six: on the cable or off it. Then send all six in one WhatsApp message.

Questions, answered