First impression lasts.
I bought a house in Binangonan where I intend to stay in the next months. Naturally since my life and work rely being connected to the Internet, my first major concern is to have a DSL connection.
I called their customer service and asked if PLDT has DSL service in the area where I bought the house.
The agent said, “‘Pag nag apply ka saka mo malalaman kung may available service dun sa lugar.”
I don’t understand why she can’t find out if there’s a DSL service in that area. And I still have to apply first? What’s the point of having a customer service number if a very simple inquiry like mine could not even be answered?
Kailangan ko pang mag-apply muna para lang malaman ko kung may serbisyo sila sa lugar namin? Hindi ba nila kayang sabihin agad kung meron o wala?
Okay, granted that she doesn’t know, so I asked to talk to her supervisor or manager hoping to still get a satisfactory reply. She told me she would put me on hold as she needs to call her supervisor first.
She did put me on hold… until I got cut off.
I am aware of call center operations and normally, a customer should be put on hold for only 30 seconds, more than that then the agent should inform the customer why it is taking the call too long.
I called again, this time I insisted to talk to the supervisor immediately. The supervisor told me the same thing. But my point is, customer service should go beyond simply saying, “I’m sorry sir, we don’t know”.
Find ways on how to supply the information. Find ways on how to win that customer’s business and don’t let that customer simply walk away.
So I made a few suggestions on how I think he can help me. I asked him if he can check their database if they have customers in Binangonan, specifically in the area I was talking about.
Do you know what he said? Yes, they can check their database. He put me on mute and got back to me telling me:
“Yes sir, may customers po kami dun.”
So there you go. Napaka-simple lang hindi ba? Kung may customers sila dun it means may service sila sa area na yun.
Haay naku, common sense lang hindi pa nila magawang mag-isip.
Basically their customer service is like this: if the customer asks something and you don’t know the answer, reply no. Don’t exert any effort to find ways to help the customer with his/her inquiry.
Trabahong tamad talaga.
======================
For the record, I’m a very satisfied BayanTel DSL subscriber for almost a year now. I only experienced one downtime and when I first asked if they have service in the area I’m living right now, the agent I talked to told me, “Can I get your contact number, sir? Ask ko pa kasi kung may service kami sa area nyo.”
So there you go. That’s customer service.
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Hello,
I came across your post. My husband and I will be moving to Binangonan in St. Monique in June. I’m also searching for a reliable Internet provider. I’d love to know which subscriber you chose. I’ve been reading some forums and some people in Binangonan have been recommending Cheetah Broadband which provides cable Internet, Have not inquired with them yet though, Good Day. Hope to hear from you, thanks
he he he , You sound really p_ _ _ _ d off MJ. The top most man should know that. Madali lang iyan, report mo lang sa main office…he he he..
Congrats!
Jena Isle´s last blog post..ENTRECARD MARKET : My Call for Articles for an Upcoming Inspirational Book
Hi MJ,
This is about the book. The story can be the experience of other people, as long as you wrote the story and you’re authorized to use the material.
I hope you would be able to join.
Thanks to you both.
that is the sad truth about customer service in our country… very inefficient. “I don’t know” is such a convenient answer, but it’s a definite no-no!
Either PLDT is too cheap to provide enough training for their employees, or you encountered employees who were only smart during interviews.
Unfortunately, you can’t really report them. We all know that most customer service hotline employees do not give out their real names.
Roy´s last blog post..Where to find jobs after graduation
You got that right!
i would agree with roy, the only thing you can do is to get the service of the “other” company and pray that they have a better customer service.
zorlone´s last blog post..Rejuvinating Siesta
You got that right!
i would agree with roy, the only thing you can do is to get the service of the “other” company and pray that they have a better customer service.
zorlone´s last blog post..Rejuvinating Siesta
How true! kaya ako di ko na tinuloy yung PLDT DSL ko. Nag dial up na lang ako. bagal nga lang.
dennis´s last blog post..Here And Now
PLDT customer service? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
I just came across your post right now and honestly I COMPLETELY AGREE that PLDT customer service (or the lack of it) really sucks to the HIGHEST level. You would think they no longer want customers. We just moved in to a subdivision here in Cavite and we also went to all the trouble of applying for an account here, making follow-ups until we even have to go to their office. In the end, they just said they can’t process our application – they couldn’t even give a valid reason. The most annoying part? The subdivision is located directly beside a main road very near a commercial area and town proper (both walking distance) where they provide service. And to think that a lot of people are moving in to this new subdivision looking for ways to get landline and Internet services. It’s a shame they don’t know opportunity when it hits them right on their faces! I hope many more small players come in and offer better services. I WISH!
hey guys,
I can only empathize with you. It seems PLDT does not know the meaning of “customer service”. I am one of the dissatified PLDT customers. I had experienced the same with what you went through. I was w/o an internet service from 15th to the 18th of Aug 2009. It took them 3 days before my connection was restored, after a series of phone calls. It happened again recently, from the 14th to the 20th of September, my internet was down again, including my telephone line. Both lines were restored after 6 days. I had to take a leave of absence for a day just to be able to wait for a technician to come to the house. A technician came and the phone line problem was restored after an hour. Immediately after he had left, the same problem occured: no dial tone, and of course no internet service. I made several phone calls again ( I had to go out to use a landline phone) in which you have to repeat over and over again your name, telephone no and what was the problem. Of course, their standard and rehearsed replies, to paraphrase: “sorry for the inconvenience, we take note of your concern and we will report the same to proper authorities, a technician has already been assigned to you…..” On the 19th of September, last Saturday, I lost my patience and demanded a supervisor to talk to. My call was put on hold for a while, a minute I guess (t’was a long wait) only to be told that he/she was on another call. I requested that my call be returned after giving my cellular no. Expectedly, i never got a return call. Six days of waiting without any information at all what’s wrong. That was the height of PLDT’s insensitivity to the needs of their customers. For a company that prides itself as the most stable and best performing entity in the industry, I can easily understand how the state of affairs are conducted here in the Philippines. Nothing works down here…NO WONDER WE ARE LISTED AS ONE OF THE LEAST COMPETITIVE ECONOMIES IN ASIA, AND IN THE WORLD.
uhm sali lang po sana ako with regards d2 sa mga concern bout good customer service..1st i want to commend most of the csr’s in call center engaged with diffrent area of reponsibilities meaning to say they cannot disclosed any info kung ang concern was d naman bout sa product nila..i mean kung anu lng ang nkatoka xau yun lang ang gagawun mu.wla po akong kikamphan kc laht nman tau already experienced bad customer service but kung tau b ang nsa kantayuan ng mga csr maiintindhan kya?,,laht naman tau simpleng tao lang kahit anu kapa..laht ng mga nagtatrbaho ay napag uutusan lamang gawin ang kanilang trbho..dont take this too much aginst them..laht nman kung maari lang magbgay ng magndang serbisyo at cnu b namng tao at kumpanya ang gusto ma commend ng bad customer service.
@Jocelyn – Thanks for sharing your experience. I know exactly how you feel.
@helow man – Hi! Thanks for sharing your opinion and I believe you’re right that tech support/call center agents are just doing their jobs. I have nothing against them per se, specifically because of your point, what I don’t like is how they are taught to answer our inquiries. Take me for example. I make my living online so if I can’t connect to the Internet for two or more days (which happened before), it would really affect my work and my earnings. What I want to hear from them is a concrete answer to my problem, and an immediate fix of course.
i really agree with you PLDT customer service is really got worse everyday.they will give you run around im just wondering why they exists anyway??they dont even know the PLDT office numbers and even suggest to call 187 to ask for the pldt office numbers?their making fortunes out of thousands of subscbers but they dont care if the customer satisfied or not
siguro namn, kelangan natin gawin ang trabaho natin ng maayos diba, ang to answer logically yung customer..use our logical brain. para di rin magmukhang tanga yung mga customer, na di na nila malaman gagawin nila…they only want straight answer, right..
PLDT customer service really sucks. I can’t say Globe is not the same. I’ve dealt with both of them. Bottom line is customer service training in big local companies is completely substandard.
Speaking of PLDT, they are a bunch of liars. I was applying for dsl and i was told that the process – including checking of service area, payment, and actual installation – would take only two to three weeks (which is already too long if you ask me). I kept following up on my application even in the second week just to find out what its progress is. Up to the third week, i had called probably four times. And everytime, i got the same answer – they are still checking the service area – a concept i don’t truly understand especially when i live on P Burgos, part of makati business district. I called yesterday (which was already a day after three weeks since i applied). Nung napuno na ako, i asked for a supervisor. The agent after putting me on hold returned on the line and said, “Sir, na-brought up ko na po yung concern nyo.” Of course to that i said, “No, i didn’t ask that you tell your supervisor my concern. I want to speak to one.” I had to tell the supervisor “If you say two to three weeks, that means at least two weeks and the at most three weeks. You shouldn’t say that because it’s not true.” To make the story short, the supervisor said she’d call me within the day or the next morning. I got her call in the afternoon telling me that I can already make my payment, after which installation can be done. And that can be done within the next 5 days.
I’m on my way to pldt now to make the payment. Time for me to see if that “5 days” is actually true. Wish me luck.
Same problem here, PLDC sucks. I’m going to their office tomorrow in valenzuela and ask for a manager. I told them already that I will not pay unless they’ve fixed my freaking latency. Now they’ve cut my dsl and phone, it’s really service. They make issues you call them you pay them they ignore you and don’t pay them coz of the issues and they cut your line. How annoying and freaking service they have. Even their ENGENGneers …. engineers sorry for that cannot figure the issue about their high latency. ….. hayzzz ..
I’m gonna ask for a sup and rip his/heart :devil:
It’s a part of their marketing. Could be.