Saturday, January 19, 2008

Does Globe roaming make sense to you?

I refused to use Globe's global roaming service in the past because of the tedious bureaucratic procedure you had to go through. But recently, the multi-billion dollar Ayala telecompany automatically activated the roaming service for all post-paid subscribers. So, in preparation for upcoming travel, I asked about rates in my destination and found that Globe does not credit one's allowances for roaming texts and calls. Thus, one will be paying the minimum plan obligation simply for the privilege of receiving messages and calls from friends in the Philippines.
How come? Rica, the Globe customer care agent replied that I can opt to have my subscription suspended while I'm away, but friends who attempt to reach me would be told that I'm unreachable. So if you want to be within reach, especially in emergencies, you have to pay the plan amount even if you don't make calls or send messages. The charges billed by Globe's partners in the destination are on top of that plan minimum. Does that make sense to you? It clearly doesn't to me.
While I was on a long holiday in Cebu in December, Globe subscribers with 3G capability had problems making and receiving calls and sending and receiving messages. When I went to the Nokia service center in SM to have my brother's phone fixed, the center was swamped with Globe subscribers who thought there was something wrong with their phones. Then someone from the center said that there was something awry with Globe's 3G network. So I went to the Globe center in the same mall and was told Globe's 3G service had indeed been 'down' in the past few days. I told the personnel there that for an allegedly world-class communications company, Globe did not know the value of communicating with its customers. Imagine the waste of time and anxiety customers had to suffer because of its failure to communicate. I am not even talking yet of rebates for customers for unrendered services.
Back in Quezon City, I had difficulty making calls and sending and receiving text messages. Rica admitted that there were network problems in QC areas. The same problem of insensitivity again. Shouldn't a cell phone service company advise its customers of network problems routinely to prevent anxiety and misunderstanding among friends and relations?
Back to the roaming policy. Rica just kept repeating it was company policy. I asked her to tell management that customer care people should be trained to explain policy and not just parrot the company line like brainless birds. But I suspect that big business exposes its customer care people as the frontline where the buck stops because it does not want to deal with valid questions on policy. What do you think?