If you’re a prepaid subscriber, you’re a loser. If you’re missing an intersecting line in a given coordinate, you’re a loser. If you’ve tried all broadband sticks in a single year, you’re definitely a loser. At least that’s what I think, when in just a year, I put away money to purchase broadband sticks from Globe, Sun Cellular, and thanks to a good friend, I was able to borrow a Smart Bro stick.  These telecomm companies are making it hard to even start appreciating them. Well, in a more cordial way of telling me that I’m a loser, I get a message on my screen saying, “This webpage is not available.” It has been happening for over an hour now. This prompted me to write this piece.

Sir, your Internet connection depends on your location. OK. I’ve had that confidence when I got my Globe Tattoo. I was living in Makati that time and apart from the Fair Use Policy, I haven’t had any problems. Then things got a bit frustrating. So I called and that’s the answer I got. I thought that he thought I was in the mountains. I’m in Taguig for meat’s sake!

Sir, your Internet connection depends on how many people are online. OK. At least this person explained that there is a certain allotment per place and per user. It only meant that there are a lot Globe prepaid subscribers in the area. It also means that regardless of the provider, they kept on creating demand but they fall short in supply.  How fair is that?

Sir, I will get back to you after <the line was dropped>. The nerve! I experienced this when I called Sun Cellular from someone who is taking calls in Ortigas. I heard a lady ask him loudly, “NAG-BREAK KA NA?!#@” (“Have you taken your break yet?”) The guy placed the line on mute intermittently, until after figuring I wasn’t going away, he had a light bulb appear over his head and pressed the Release Call button. Let me emphasize this: I’m not a rude caller.

Tip: I heard a lot about dropped calls from friends, colleagues, and strangers. The Big Three need to mind the people they are hiring. It reflects too much on their business image. So get the person’s name, location, employee ID if possible, and a Manager’s name. If they drop the call in your face, you have my blessing to wreak havoc.

Sir, if you go postpaid, you’ll get a faster and better connection. So…everything makes sense now. This is what’s wrong with capitalists: they leave shit for the masses to consume and they willingly give the better share to those who put up with their tricks. See, I was happy when I was using Sun Cellular because the light was blue. But after a few months, the light turned green forever. And they offered me a postpaid plan for me to pay a call center agent who knows nothing but to drop a call. No way!

You have to make sure that you are not connected before loading Smart Bro. Dear good friend Clarice told me that after P50 of my load vanished into thin air. I feel sorry for my ignorance. Is this just a ploy that adds to this company’s reputation of cell phone loads vanishing all of a sudden? I’d like to think yes because as far as its predecessors are concerned, I manually connected to the Internet.

Stop using sticks and get a line. So I tried PLDT. Fine; I know about that lock-in period and the possibility of fighting over something but I thought it better than to keep up with magical sticks. After paying, PLDT told me that they did not have the facilities to get a line for me. So I asked my roommate to allot some of his valuable time and effort to get the refund for me. Tell me how can a company as large as this not know where facilities are available before they move people around? No one has explained that so far – yet.

Let’s try another one. The same guy who got my PLDT refund advised me this. So I sent an email to Sky Cable. I got an auto-response saying that someone will call me. That was a month ago. I had been in the call center industry long enough to know that a company who is unresponsive means bad business. Still, I sent a follow-up request and it has been weeks since I’ve done that. No one even bothered to tell me to go away. That’s it. Maybe I can try another…?

The telecommunications industry in this country is too complex and greedy that small customers like me are left with no choice but to write in my blog. People tell me that this is a part of life and I should bear with it because I’m living in this country. People tell me that life is unfair and sometimes I lose some because I live in this country. Well, if I keep my mouth shut, who would speak for me, since I live in this country?

---

Thanks to Orlando for the featured image.