Google has long treated the Indian market like a second-class citizen, and to be fair, it had its reasons. It wasn’t selling nearly as many phones as Samsung, Apple, or even OnePlus. That’s the reason only the A-series Pixels made it to India for years. But things have been changing slowly but surely. Google recently announced an assembly line in India, and around mid-2025, it finally launched its own online Google Store here, complete with first-party accessories and trade-in options.

Naturally, I headed straight there to pre-book a Pixel 10, trading in my old Pixel 6a that I had lying around. Everything went smoothly at first — the phone shipped on time, and Google gave me ample time to move my data before the old Pixel was scheduled for pickup.

The only problem? Nobody ever came to pick it up.

If there were a physical Google Store, I could’ve simply walked in, traded my Pixel 6a, moved all my data, and walked out with my new phone without any drama or delay. But with Google, things are never that straightforward.

A couple of days after my Pixel 10 was delivered, Google’s collection partner, Cashify, scheduled the Pixel 6a’s pickup. Cashify, in turn, had its own pickup partner, but that’s a rant for another day. I got the usual email and SMS confirmations, so I backed up my data, factory-reset the phone, boxed it up, and waited. The pickup date kept getting pushed forward day after day, every day.

My first instinct was to reach out to Cashify directly. They responded quickly with an apologetic message, assuring me that my case was being handled “on priority”. That sounded nice and definitely reassuring — but nothing changed. The pickup dragged on for twenty goddamn days.

By the second week, I decided to loop Google into the conversation. They, too, assured me the issue was being handled on priority, no less — the same template empathy that buys time but solves nothing.

And then came the breaking point. After a few back-and-forth emails, Google Store support blamed me for not handing over the device — when no one had ever shown up for the pickup. Being accused of negligence after chasing both Google and Cashify almost every single day was a new level of customer disservice.

At that point, I lost patience and gave up. After chasing them for some twenty days, I raised a fresh pickup request directly with Cashify, and guess what? The phone was picked up within two effing hours! It wasn’t Cashify’s fault. It was Google’s complete lack of coordination.

And just when I thought it was over, things got even funnier.

It’s been nearly two months since this ordeal began in early September, and Google’s support team still emails me, assuring me they’re handling my case “on top priority.” And this isn’t the India team, it’s Google’s global support that’s involved. That’s despite my having told their official partner that the issue no longer exists. At this point, I’m just curious to see how far Google’s miscoordination can go. And the answer seems to be limitless — proof attached above!

If I were to ask Google this question, I’m convinced it would use itself as an example.

The root problem here isn’t just a missed pickup; it’s Google’s lack of communication with its own store and its own partners. When a pickup is scheduled, a shared ticket number should ensure that both sides can track progress and associated issues. But not with Google.

The disconnect between its departments was simply baffling. Why involve global support for a local pickup issue? Wouldn’t a local team understand the nuances better — how logistics work in India, how customers expect accountability, how long they can reasonably wait? I’m certain they’d have understood my situation better, maybe even empathized with me. Adding another layer to an already complicated chain of communication didn’t help anyone.

Instead, even after my ticket was closed with Cashify, Google had no clue the issue was resolved. That’s when I ended up fixing the problem myself while still getting blamed for the delays.

Google seems to be going through teething troubles that other brands — Samsung, Apple, even OnePlus — ironed out years ago with their local stores. Involving third parties might be necessary early on, but if Google wants to offer a premium and reliable experience when it’s already competing with the likes of Apple on price, it needs to either bring these processes in-house or enforce stricter quality control over its partners.

From a customer’s point of view, the experience leaves a bitter aftertaste. Whenever someone now asks me about buying a Pixel, I recount this story — not to rant, but to warn them. After-sales service isn’t often talked about while making the purchase decision (even though it should be), but it defines the ownership experience, especially when people keep their phones for three or more years now.

And this isn’t new. Google’s India support has had a shaky history. Until recently, its third-party service partner had only a single service center for an entire country of 1.4 billion people, along with a handful of collection points. That meant your phone would travel to a central hub, and you’d be without it for at least a couple of weeks. Things are improving, but not fast enough.

So, here’s my decree, on behalf of every customer who has ever had to chase Google for any kind of pre- or post-purchase support: if I buy a phone from the Google Store, I should never have to chase a partner. It should be on Google to coordinate, communicate, and close the gaps.

There’s a difference between stepping up your game and starting a new one. In India, Google definitely needs to do the latter.