My stay with Globe telecom was pleasant for years. Emphasis on the term 'was'. I was a strong advocate of that service company. To be honest, i like the innovations like the very informative balance check sms messages and the call back alerts. The signal was not as good as smart in the provinces but i think they are catching up.
My discontent started when i left for the states last year. Before leaving, i went to their business office and inquired about the costs involved when roaming abroad. I did not consider bringing my postpaid sim because, with the taxes and added charges, it would be too expensive. With the prepaid, i was "supposed" to just pay Php 15.00 per text back to the Philippines. I confirmed this with their Customer Service staff and it was even printed in their roaming brochures. I even went to a different Business center and asked if it really was just Php 15.00. I figured that since two offices and a printed brochure indicated it, that it was what i would be charged.
I was wrong. When i got to the states with my prepaid sim, i got messages without problems but after checking my balance after sending some messages home, i found out that i was being charged Php 25.00. I had someone ask the customer service people about this and it was only then that they told me about the Php 10.00 service charge. I felt deceived. Still, i had no choice but to bear with it. I spent thousands and yet i couldn't even call home since when i would try it, i would get an error stating that i cant perform that operation in that phone.
When i got back in 2005, i decided to process the transfer of a number that my friend doesn't want to my name. I went to the Globe Business Center in Robinsons Metro East and inquired. They were enthusiastic. They gave me the requirements and what hooked me was that if i performed the transfer, it would be tantamount to applying for a new line and that i will be qualified for a new phone.
I went to all the trouble of gathering the necessary signatures and proof of identification plus my own data then went to the Business Center near my office. I was surprised when they said that i was NOT going to get a new phone. I went back to Metro East and they confirmed it. The girl who misinformed me would not even look me in the eyes. I had the impression that they just told me what i wanted to hear just to hook me. Just to get it over and done with, i processed the papers, paid the PHP 550.00 and then went to Sun Cellular and got me a Post Paid line. I also got me a good smart prepaid sim with an amazing number. It was that day when Beeps.net was made.
When i got home, i checked my globe load. I had about 200+ free text messages (from all the loads in the states) and about 180+ regular credits. I started texting my friends about how i was changing to smart and soon after, i had a check operator services error. Apparently, globe used my regular credits instead of my free text. Imagine that. Smart and sun would first use up the free text messages before the regular credit. I went to their business center and what the CS staff said was that there would be days when the free credit will be used and some days when the regular credit will be used when texting. What kind of policy is that?!?
Suffice it to say, globe just lost a client. Im sure they dont care much for low end clients like me but hey, i wonder how they would feel if a few hundred people finally realize what i found out and switched.
A month after the transfer, i called customer service to inquire about the transferred account which i gave to my mother to use. They said that the account was still in the name of my friend. I asked them to follow up the transfer which i settled in february. In april, the transfer was still not processed. When i checked this month, it was still not in my name so i convinced my mother to give it up and just switch to her smart number.
May 9, 2005, i went to the Business center in Gateway mall and requested the termination of the account. They said they cant do that because the account was still not in my name. They called up Metro East and told me that they will process it tonight and that i can terminate the next day.
On May 10, the Gateway people called me to tell me to settle the problem in Metro East and that i can get a refund of the tranfer fee if i wanted since it was not accomplished. That same day i went to Metro East and after a long discussion, they said they will process it. When i got home, i had a nagging feeling of being had so i drew up a certification that i will bring to them to sign the next day.
On May 11, true enough, the Metro East people seems to have botched things up again and was not going to process it for one reason or another. After a lengthy discussion, they again said that the problem will be fixed and a refund will be sent. The certification was signed by the staff. It is good to have it all in black and white.
May 13, Metro East calls up to say that they cant terminate the account. How crazy! I asked them to just give me the name and number of the person i needed to talk to. If they dont want to terminate the account, i would simply not pay for it. Why should i be forced to pay for something i do not want. It was not as if i wasnt willing to settle all outstanding bills. They gave me an option of actually processing the transfer then terminating it. What do they think of me? Im not stupid enough to give them 550 then get nothing out of it.
Anyway, the girl called back and said that it was 'again' all set and that my account will be temporarily disconnected. They will call me next week for a final termination and my refund will still be in the mail.
I'll see what happens. Im so glad i put things in black and white.
My discontent started when i left for the states last year. Before leaving, i went to their business office and inquired about the costs involved when roaming abroad. I did not consider bringing my postpaid sim because, with the taxes and added charges, it would be too expensive. With the prepaid, i was "supposed" to just pay Php 15.00 per text back to the Philippines. I confirmed this with their Customer Service staff and it was even printed in their roaming brochures. I even went to a different Business center and asked if it really was just Php 15.00. I figured that since two offices and a printed brochure indicated it, that it was what i would be charged.
I was wrong. When i got to the states with my prepaid sim, i got messages without problems but after checking my balance after sending some messages home, i found out that i was being charged Php 25.00. I had someone ask the customer service people about this and it was only then that they told me about the Php 10.00 service charge. I felt deceived. Still, i had no choice but to bear with it. I spent thousands and yet i couldn't even call home since when i would try it, i would get an error stating that i cant perform that operation in that phone.
When i got back in 2005, i decided to process the transfer of a number that my friend doesn't want to my name. I went to the Globe Business Center in Robinsons Metro East and inquired. They were enthusiastic. They gave me the requirements and what hooked me was that if i performed the transfer, it would be tantamount to applying for a new line and that i will be qualified for a new phone.
I went to all the trouble of gathering the necessary signatures and proof of identification plus my own data then went to the Business Center near my office. I was surprised when they said that i was NOT going to get a new phone. I went back to Metro East and they confirmed it. The girl who misinformed me would not even look me in the eyes. I had the impression that they just told me what i wanted to hear just to hook me. Just to get it over and done with, i processed the papers, paid the PHP 550.00 and then went to Sun Cellular and got me a Post Paid line. I also got me a good smart prepaid sim with an amazing number. It was that day when Beeps.net was made.
When i got home, i checked my globe load. I had about 200+ free text messages (from all the loads in the states) and about 180+ regular credits. I started texting my friends about how i was changing to smart and soon after, i had a check operator services error. Apparently, globe used my regular credits instead of my free text. Imagine that. Smart and sun would first use up the free text messages before the regular credit. I went to their business center and what the CS staff said was that there would be days when the free credit will be used and some days when the regular credit will be used when texting. What kind of policy is that?!?
Suffice it to say, globe just lost a client. Im sure they dont care much for low end clients like me but hey, i wonder how they would feel if a few hundred people finally realize what i found out and switched.
A month after the transfer, i called customer service to inquire about the transferred account which i gave to my mother to use. They said that the account was still in the name of my friend. I asked them to follow up the transfer which i settled in february. In april, the transfer was still not processed. When i checked this month, it was still not in my name so i convinced my mother to give it up and just switch to her smart number.
May 9, 2005, i went to the Business center in Gateway mall and requested the termination of the account. They said they cant do that because the account was still not in my name. They called up Metro East and told me that they will process it tonight and that i can terminate the next day.
On May 10, the Gateway people called me to tell me to settle the problem in Metro East and that i can get a refund of the tranfer fee if i wanted since it was not accomplished. That same day i went to Metro East and after a long discussion, they said they will process it. When i got home, i had a nagging feeling of being had so i drew up a certification that i will bring to them to sign the next day.
On May 11, true enough, the Metro East people seems to have botched things up again and was not going to process it for one reason or another. After a lengthy discussion, they again said that the problem will be fixed and a refund will be sent. The certification was signed by the staff. It is good to have it all in black and white.
May 13, Metro East calls up to say that they cant terminate the account. How crazy! I asked them to just give me the name and number of the person i needed to talk to. If they dont want to terminate the account, i would simply not pay for it. Why should i be forced to pay for something i do not want. It was not as if i wasnt willing to settle all outstanding bills. They gave me an option of actually processing the transfer then terminating it. What do they think of me? Im not stupid enough to give them 550 then get nothing out of it.
Anyway, the girl called back and said that it was 'again' all set and that my account will be temporarily disconnected. They will call me next week for a final termination and my refund will still be in the mail.
I'll see what happens. Im so glad i put things in black and white.