Broadband service subscribers in the Philippines can again take stock in the power of consumer action against abuse and misinformation in the marketplace. I found this recent entry in newmedia.com.ph (quoted below) about NTC's (National Telecommunications Commission) decision to require Telcos to indicate in their advertisements the minimum broadband connection speed that they can actually deliver:

"...Filipinos have been complaining about how misleading the advertisements are of broadband providers....billboards, commercials, and ads stating that you can get “up to 2 MBPS” but you rarely even hit 1.5 MBS on a good day. Thanks to all of the complaints flooding the Department of Trade and Industry the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) finally is working on a revised Memorandum Order that will force telcos to state the minimum speed of the connections they are offering. This should be included in all forms of advertising regardless if it’s on TV or in print."

This is something to celebrate. Although a small victory, it's a step towards better consumer protection in the Philippines. So for those who posted comments (rants) in my article comparing Globe WiMAX, SmartBro and PLDT MyDSL about how these telcos betrayed their trust by not delivering their advertised connection speed, your complaints somehow got to the right ears or at least embolden those who actually filed complaints with the NTC.

So perhaps my new article exhorting PLDT, Smart, Globe and other telcos to improve customer service first instead of focusing on marketing and hype would not be all in vain. The lesson, therefore, is instead of merely avoiding poor customer service, consumers must confront these companies who are supposed to provide quality products and services. As I mentioned in that article, customer is king.

Cheers!

We made a decision to try PLDT MyDSL broadband service about five months ago. This was after shopping around, comparing and attempting to subscribe to Globe WiMAX and SmartBro. Two months later, I complained about PLDT's poor customer service after a bad experience while attempting to pay our bill in one of its business centers, which then reminded me about past encounters with and inefficiencies of the PLDT system and its personnel.

Today, after two billing cycles since and about five months of generally good broadband connection, I am writing this "how to" advice so others may also lessen the chances of encounter with PLDT's poor customer service as I thankfully have so far and instead just focus on their reliable internet connection (cross my fingers).

First is to altogether avoid any relationship with PLDT if you can.  This company is well-known for its inefficiency and poor customer service ever since I can remember.  There's no other surefire way to avoid frustrations and headaches than to not establish any relationship at all.  Back in Davao City, we went for the alternative telephone and broadband service provider, Bayantel, and this newcomer lived up to its promise of good service.  However, here in Laguna and after the failed attempts to connect to wireless broadband services of Globe WiMAX and SmartBro in our location, we had no choice but to go for PLDT MyDSL and to wait for weeks for installation when the wireless broadband providers can hook us up within a couple of days!

Second, when you cannot help but subscribe to PLDT broadband service (i.e. you don't have any choice like what happened to us), lower your expectations! You might then be pleasantly surprised just like we were that unlike earlier customers that waited for two to three months for installation, it was ONLY two to three WEEKS...now that's progress! (just don't compare this with installation time of Globe and Smart, which is only one to two days).  Also, lower expectations when you call or personally go to PLDT business centers for assistance. Who knows, you might also chance upon the very few (most likely the young and well-trained ones) who'd surprise you with courteous and efficient service.

Third, hope and pray that something like a typhoon will not cause any interruption to your good broadband connection. Response time is known to be less than desirable, so refer to the second tip above just in case something bad happens to your broadband connection.

Fourth, pay your PLDT bill online. I have done it through BPI Express Online, which saved me a lot of hassles. I enrolled our PLDT, SMART and Meralco accounts through our friendly local BPI branch. With this arrangement, I avoided unnecessary contacts with PLDT personnel, thus sparing me from needless vexations.

We must learn to adjust to things we have no control over... learn to live with them and be happy despite of them. In the end, I am grateful for small favors like finding ways to avoid aggravations and freeing myself to appreciate the bright side of life.

I tolerated PLDT's past customer service transgressions, like i) our application gotten misplaced on a supervisor's table that caused one week delay in installation, ii) misleading items (and explanations) in the application form that led to an inconvenient suspension of NDD calls, and iii) plain lack of concern for customer's needs by PLDT representatives, and it's because we've been getting reliable broadband internet service in the two months of subscription.  Read about our search for broadband service by clicking here.

But not today...I cannot just let the day pass without telling everyone about another encounter with PLDT's poor customer service.

It happened in a business center that houses both SMART and PLDT (these two being sister companies).  I found many customers already standing and a backlog obviously piling when I entered the center mid-afternoon today (not the first time I personally witnessed this, by the way).  The security guard, embarrassed with the malfunction of the machine that dispenses priority numbers, politely continued to accommodate incoming customers and keep it organized at the door.  It eventually became clear to me that it was not really a malfunction but the device probably got overwhelmed with the flow of customers as it would respond to the guard's prompting and dispense new numbers when few older numbers are called to be served.

Of course, when the service is slow and customers keep flowing in, the system gets flooded.  The contrast is so stark between these sister companies.  SMART customers get served faster as priority numbers are called with more regularity.  In fact, there was no backlog in SMART's cashier.  In contrast, PLDT's cashier (and there were two counters open, compared to just one for SMART) has backlogs that reached more than 30 customers when I arrived.

To illustrate, I got served by SMART's cashier within 5 minutes of arriving and within 15 minutes after I was transferred to SMART's Customer Service by the cashier.  So I was already finished with two transactions with SMART when my PLDT priority number was called a little under one hour of arrival!

If that was not bad enough, when I reached PLDT's cashier, I was informed that I cannot use my credit card that time as the device has been out of order since this morning.  This after waiting for almost an hour and to think that I specifically asked the guard that I am going to pay using a credit card (which was accepted with no problem at all by SMART).  As the wait was really long, I even got the opportunity to double check with a PLDT representative (who was not really pleased to answer me) to make sure that I can use my credit card and that my wait would not amount to nothing.

So all I could say in exasperation was "why didn't the guard inform me that payments using credit cards cannot be facilitated today." All the cashier could say is "try na lang ninyo uli bukas, sir".

I replied in a soft voice but not hiding my disappointment: "I waited for a long time...I waited for a long time".  She has this to add "di na kayo kailangang pumila bukas."

It's lack of concern plain and simple...and the attitude of most PLDT representative is not of service but of an official dispensing favors that the customers would be lucky to get and should be thankful for.

I've been avoiding any relationship with PLDT or with other monopolistic companies of the past ever since I had the power to purchase or subscribe. But as elaborated in my story about comparing broadband service installation, I had no choice but to settle for PLDT and now I have to live with poor customer service.