There was a time when sending SMS in the Philippines was free. It was a good privilege. But, as usual, some scheming and greedy profiteers preyed on Philippine culture. Business and marketing executives capitalized on the importance of family among Filipinos and how communicating with loved ones is equally - if not more - important than eating rice.
A few years ago, I was a Smart pre-paid subscriber. You see, the country is haven to a few oligarchs whose influence reaches almost every aspect of society, from business to politics. There are 2 or 3 (sometimes 4 or 5) companies vying for a considerable market share given a certain industry. In the field of mobile communication, we used to have 3: Smart, Globe, and Sun. Now, it's down to two, with Smart's acquisition of Sun from a rich Filipino-Chinese clan.
I decided to shift to Globe after realizing that Smart was "stealing" my pre-paid credits. There's no way to retrieve these text and call credits or to complain about how seriously bad their business practices are, particularly in duping customers of what they are supposed to have after paying for it.
Several times I experienced not using any of my pre-paid credits even only after buying them because Smart's "smart" machine already ate them up. And poor me. I had no other recourse but to rationalize that a technical monster was lording it over Smart's infrastructure. It's a pain in the b#** to call customer service when there was none. Or had there been one, it took forever to speak to an agent. When it comes to customer service, many businesses, including government agencies, in the country fail to achieve a good mark. It's very rare to talk to some people who genuinely listen and serve you regardless of one's concerns.
Several times I experienced not using any of my pre-paid credits even only after buying them because Smart's "smart" machine already ate them up. And poor me. I had no other recourse but to rationalize that a technical monster was lording it over Smart's infrastructure. It's a pain in the b#** to call customer service when there was none. Or had there been one, it took forever to speak to an agent. When it comes to customer service, many businesses, including government agencies, in the country fail to achieve a good mark. It's very rare to talk to some people who genuinely listen and serve you regardless of one's concerns.
Aside from stolen pre-paid credits, Smart's signal in my area was poor even though we use a Manila line. I had to go outside of the house just to talk to somebody. This company is technically a close affiliate of the country's telecommunications giant, PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company), whose landline and Internet services I prefer to use. Smart, however, seems to be the conglomerate's top earning firm with its many subscribers and mobile text and call products.
I told a good friend about my sorry experience with Smart. She told me that even though there are similar cases with Globe, her experience with the company was different for she was able to file a complaint and recoup her lost pre-paid credits. The signal's also clear. The next day I bought a Globe pre-paid SIM. A few weeks after, I experienced the same stolen pre-paid credits. But, just like what my friend said, I was able to recoup what I lost. Thanks to an efficient Globe customer service. This did not happen once, however. Of course, it's better for these companies to do something with their "technology" to deter unscrupulous individuals from stealing credits from a paying public. Nevertheless, I had to be thankful just the same that at least, unlike with Smart, Globe is able to return a subscriber's stolen credits.
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| Globe Telecom does reimburse stolen pre-paid credits. |
When seeking help from Globe's customer service, by the way, it's best to have a documented account of when the credits were bought and how many times did a subscriber used them for texting and calling purposes. It used to be that Globe would record the complaint and return the stolen credits in less than three days. That changed however. Globe now investigates the veracity of credit "reimbursement" claims. This is only fair, but I just hope its technical people are not doing some monkey business stuff the way Smart's people do.
I'm sure there are those who have complaints against Globe. I'm not one of them, however. After buying my first Globe pre-paid SIM in 2007, I continue to be one of their millions of subscribers simply because there's a service available to lodge complaints and reimbursement demands. I'm just hoping Smart is as efficient as PLDT, with its greed tempered by the fact that the main reason why a business continues to grow and stay in the game is because customers are satisfied; otherwise, one's loss is a competitor's gain.
