A Smart/PLDT response
THE first change I noticed after I wrote the Oct. 14, 2014 column about my problem with my MyBro internet connection happened on the next day. One of the monthly billing statements that vanished for months finally reached me. I was actually more amused than surprised. This was followed by a visit last Friday of the contractor, who said he was probing why I didn’t receive my billing statement for months.
On Oct. 16, I got a text message from Lourdes Gocotano of the Smart Public Affairs Group-Visayas and Mindanao (headed by its senior manager Atty. Jane Paredes). We eventually talked by phone where I gave her a rundown of my complaints, foremost of which was the loss of my Internet connection via MyBro’s WiMax system.
Ms. Gocotano clarified that MyBro is a service that is already with the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and that she still had to check with the latter the status of my complaints. I thought it was par for the course and that I was better off waiting for her next call.
In the meantime, I decided to temporarily cancel my application for connection to another Internet service provider while I was still completing the process of disconnecting with MyBro. This, even if I had endured the lack of Internet access for three weeks already.
A PLDT representative, Peachy, called me up by Friday (Oct. 17), informing me of what they had decided regarding my concerns. But first she asked for apology for the hassle the problem created. She ad- mitted that something was amiss with the MyBro service in our area and that I could migrate to PLDT’s other wireless Internet service, the Home Bro Ultera.
PLDT is marketing Home Bro Ultera as “ultra-fast LTE for the home.” LTE (LongTerm Evolution) is supposedly the most advanced wireless Internet technology in the country today.
I grudgingly gave in to the suggestion to “migrate,” which actually means I would leave my previously problematic Internet service but not the Internet service provider. That decision was also partly an expression of gratitude on my part of the effort by Smart’s public affairs unit and PLDT to look into my complaint and solve it.
Last Saturday, I was finally with PLDT Home Bro Ultera after years of using MyBro (formerly Smart Bro). On the first day, the service didn’t disappoint. Let’s see how this will pan out in the coming days.
There are still kinks that need to be ironed out, like the payments. Overall, however, I can say all’s well that ends well. But I won’t move on without mentioning a few things.
The incident told me that officials of PLDT/Smart should be constantly monitoring signs of slackening of their service. I like the use of the phrases “customer care” and “customer support” but the emphasis should always be on “care” and “support,” especially for ordinary folks that are paying for the services the firm is providing.
One problem with its “hotline” is that it is sometimes difficult to link up with, wasting customers’ time, money and effort. And its people need to be forthright with its customers, especially when answering complaints. In this case, it was only weeks later that I was told that there was a problem in the system in our service area.
Also, PLDT/Smart’s customer support crew should not hesitate to send its technicians/contractors once it has become apparent that solving technical problems by phone is not effective. Customers should not be made to go through the hassle of fixing their own Internet connection problem because they are paying for the service in the first place.
In sum, I would thank Ms. Lourdes Gocotano and the Smart public affairs unit headed by the firm’s senior manager Atty. Jane Paredes and the PLDT people for finding a solution to my Internet access woes.