Globe, Globe, Globe… Why Do you have to go this far?
If you are a subscriber of this blog, you are well aware of my bitter-sweet relationship with Globe. You probably remembered my previous post regarding Globe Telecom and how I think they value your Loyalty. There was quite a stir and it generated quite a number of hits highlighting the fact that there a lot of Globe Subscribers out there who share the same sentiments with me. In fact, that post even reached Globe’s HQ and after which, they provided immediate assistance. But we all know, we need more than that and the issue goes way beyond that.
Here are Some Snippets from my previous email conversation with a Globe Manager:
“Hi Dencio,
A member of my team saw your blog and reported the post to me. Just want you to know that we have escalated your concern to the SME team and they will coordinate with you one of these days.
Thank you for supporting Globe.”
—————-
“Hi Paul,
First of all, thank you for taking action regarding the concern with my account. It was relatively fast, faster than the usual.
Second, I got a call this morning from one of the Loyalty Team’s representative. THANKS TO YOU! They offered to waive my cash out for the 16GB iPhone 4 for the Business Plan 1,499. I declined the offer, I told her that I will just wait for the release of the iPhone 4s – hoping that the offer still stands by that time.
Third, Of course the main reason I wrote the blog is to air out my concern and frustration with Globe. BUT it does not end there. I am also hoping that what happened to me will not happen to other Globe Subscribers. I hope that you or the departments involved will take time to review the current system. Clearly, there is something wrong with the offering, paired with a lousy group of customer service people. Something really needs to be done. This is not good business practice. I hope this courtesy and fair offering will also be extended to millions of other loyal subscribers, some of which wishing that they could just transfer to Smart if only for their number which they have been using for the past 10 years!
Lastly, I appreciate your help on this issue. I hope that the offer will still be available when the iPhone 4S arrives. If not, I hope I can still ask for your assistance. This email may come as an unsolicited advice but I hope you guys pay attention. A good product is not enough, after sales customer services can really make or break your reputation. I will update my blog in a few days, some of my readers may be affected as well – they need to know.
Dennis”
——————
“Hi Dennis,
Glad to hear this bro. Just to let you know that it wasn’t just me who followed through, but mostly a combined effort of Globe Business’ SME Marketing and the Loyalty group.
I understand and agree to most of your points. We will review existing processes and programs to provide better customer experience.
There is no definite date for PH’s release of Iphone4s yet. I am not particularly sure if the offer extends to the new version, but rest assured that we will keep you posted on this matter moving forward. I am just an email away if there’s anything I could do to assist, or you may opt to contact me via mobile indicated in my signature below.
See you around!”
(Image courtesy of Google Images)
iPhone 4s and the Competition
I thought (and hope) that when Smart gave Globe a run for their money by offering the iPhone 4s to their subscribers, they will be pushed to step up their game, provide better service, better pricing schemes, better customer service, and VALUE their loyal customers now more than ever. I was hoping they will say “#TODAYIWILL Value our existing clients by providing excellent customer service”. But I guess, that is off my Christmas Wish List. In fairness to Globe, the service is quite ok, they and launched a better pricing scheme for the iPhone 4s. But as for the other issues, I am not quite sure if there are improvements.
A Broken Record
I am writing again because as most of you know, there’s no point of debating with their outsourced customer service team. They can only give as much help and information as what Globe will provide them. No more, No less. If it is not in the handbook, they can’t make an exemption, bend the rules a bit, or decide on their own. In short – A waste of time! Its like talking to the wall! So, I just share this with the rest of the world and hope that this gets to the right people – again!
From Bad to Worst!
Monday, 12 December 2011: My Friend signed up her interest for the iPhone 4S via Globe’s registration page. She signed up for a Contract Renewal AKA Globe “Loyalty” Rewards Program.
Wednesday, 14 December 2011: She Got a confirmation email from Globe that She can pick-up the iPhone 4S at the Glorietta Business Center on Friday 16 December 2011 with Zero Cash Out! YEY!
Friday 16 December 2011: She went to Glorietta, as scheduled, to pick-up her iPhone 4S.
Now comes the Worst Part.
She arrived on time, excited. The whole Business Center was dedicated to those who will claim their iPhone 4S that day. She was greeted and assisted by the business center’s friendly and enthusiastic representatives. My Friend presented them the confirmation email and they checked their guest list for her name. It was not there! Instead, they just checked the system using the transaction number in the email. They were able to find it BUT, SURPRISE! It was not as straightforward as she would have expected. First, she has to upgrade her plan to 1,799 then Pay the cash-out price of P4,800 – WHICH, IN CASE YOU DID NOT NOTICE, IS THE SAME CASH OUT AS FOR ALL NEW SUBSCRIBERS! HELLO GLOBE, THIS IS FOR A LOYALTY RENEWAL REMEMBER? Also, this was not previously communicated to her in any way. It was a total surprise.
Moving On, she asked why she had to upgrade and pay when in fact their letter explicitly says, P0.00 Cash Out. The Globe representative told her that “Ma’am, May tumawag po ba sa inyo para sabihin na mag-uupgrade po kayo ng plan, dapat po kasi may tatawag.” Isn’t it obvious na wala? Few minutes of Argument and that was it, My friend gave Up! There was no point arguing since this person from the business center is not part of the loyalty team who evaluates and approves these kind of requests. Super Pissed, My Friend declined the offer and did not renew her contract. Way to go Globe! Another Pissed Subscriber added to the looooong List!
Is this some kind of a Joke? A System Glitch? An Honest Mistake? Or a bad case of miscommunication? I don’t know what exactly happened here but it was a very unacceptable business practice! If this email was a legally binding contract, we would have gone to court! (OA MODE!) 🙂 I am not sure if this was an isolated case of sending the wrong Information gone wrong but I do hope that no other Subscriber experienced the same. It was frustrating, Annoying, and not to mention very Deceiving!
We called the Globe Hotline, and they did not have any explanation either! See? USELESS!
Dear Globe, Why Do you have to make it so hard for your subscribers? Really? Why?!
Why did you let this happen? Why mislead a client? Again, this is for a Loyalty Contract Renewal, why did you offer the same Cash Out as the new Subscribers? Why Oh Why?! I know life is unfair, but do you really have to be on the unfair side? C’mon, you can do better than this!
Get a Grip! Smart is literally at your doorstep waiting for “Switchers”. Aren’t you bothered at all?
As for me I have not received any feedback yet from the “Loyalty” Department regarding my registration. But based on this, Optimism is totally out of the picture. Number 1 in postpaid? Nah! Make that Number 1 in having the most number of pissed postpaid subscribers!
Phone Number Portability Act, we need you now!
Pardon the occasional rant. I’ll make it up to you guys in my next posts! 🙂 I know it’s the season to be Jolly… But we just have to be heard! Merry Christmas Peeps, I hope you get your iPhone 4S the smoothest way possible, in time for the Holidays!
_________________________________
By: DENCIO
Originally Posted On: www.DENCIO.com
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I'm totally understanding how you feel. I've been a post paid subscriber since 1996. However, I am not a heavy user. The most I've paid per month was not more than 1,500. But I've never gotten any love (rewards) from them. I finally had my line cut when they charged me for gprs/edge that reached almost 5k (not much, but still a lot for me). They reversed it after a couple of months, seeing that I am not a data user. But I was really disappointed. But (another but) I got a prepaid line from them bec all of my family members are globe users. So I'm against the wall here. At least , I can opt not to spend so much on Globe Telecom and I have that option to still switch providers eventually. sigh.
Same thing happened to me. As a globe subscriber of gflex 800 for 7 years, i can avail of the iphone 4s as a loyalty, with the SAME cashout and lock in period of 2 years for the plan 1799. There is not even a slight edge over new subscribers!
Same here dennis, I kept on ranting regarding Globe's loyalty scam. Check the Iphone 4s reservation on the website, whether you choose to renew your contract or a new application the next page that will be displayed contained their new plans. And in the mysuperplan, a compulsory powersurf option to be added to your plan. I had several Iphone 4s reservations since Dec.1, some were reserved by the customer service reps. themselves but its already new year but no one called. I received an email from Globe that Iphone 4s are already available on their stores and I can avail it there even for recontracting or new application but I was not entertained by the customer service rep and insisted that I call 211. For us SME Globe subscribers, it's only now that sinked in that they are not entertaining us because it's not easy for us to change our contact nos. because we use it in our business. maybe we're just all victims availing this SME offer from Globe. Happy New Year!:)
experiencing the same thing with Globe rewards. Applied for recontracting Dec2011; was processed Jan2012 *after* I asked a friend who works at Globe for help. They told me i could pick up the phone Feb 3, but Feb 14 nalang, wala pa rin ang phone.
What makes this worse, is that they've already upgraded my plan from 800 to 1799. and when I asked them to revert it to my old plan or downgrade it, they said hindi na pwede. Pure BS. I'm paying for a service na hindi ko nagagamit.
True. Kailangan pa kumausap ng someone from Globe para asikasuhin nila yung concern mo.. very frustrating..
Hi
I've read this post and I share the same thing. They just need our money, more money. I wished that we have a telecom here just like in the states where the base cost of the handset in a plan is gets lower every time your contract renewal approaches. They also have NO CASH OUT! Literally if you decided to renew your plan. Some carriers also offer some freebies if you renew your contract earlier than the end date.
Now this is my rant. First I tried asking if i can renew my plan and at the same time upgrade my phone (since my iphone 4 got stolen). They said no what i can only do is upgrade my plan. So fine i said can I just buy another one so i'll have two numbers. Then here's the stupid part if your working in a BPO you are now required to pass a credit card statement with at least 30K credit limit, although i have one but common. I'll just cash out 6k plus (plan 1799 plus the cash out of 4k something for the 4s 16gb)I said "So i need to give you a statement with a credit limit of 30k just for a cash out of 6k plus?" they said yes. Then I said "and another thing i'm not a call center agent i'm a graphic artist" they said thats the info that they have. I said to my self when did I put that there? as far as I know i was a data analyst then a graphic artist in the same company. Anyway I left and went to smart, I thought they where different nope they are worse they need 50k credit limit then they said they cant accept a combined credit card limit. I was dumb founded. Grabe! Anyway their plans are not that attractive their unli data plan doesnt have any consumable its just freebies of calls and text then their iphone 4s is not available in their all unli plans so madaling salita hndi flexible and plans nila.
I said to my self ill just buy an open line android phone (HTC, S.E. or Samsung and just upgrade my plan from globe) They dont do on what they advertise in their commercials. its so true good to be true. but i have to commend smart's retention plan. NO CASH OUT talaga. My dad is enjoying his smart phones. sometime he would give it as a present to my niece and nephews. hahaha..
Hindi ba 4,800 lang cash out sa Plan 1799. Bakit daw 6,000?
I hate Globe loyalty rewards, if there were any. It is no different than applying as a new user. I am still thinking twice if I have to pay for my outstanding balance for the last month of my contract. I feel I am over-billed every month, with a 2490 plan, I usually pay nearly 4k a month.
Now that my iphone4s smart plan has been approved, I am leaning towards closing my Globe account and just replace it with a prepaid. That means I just have to give my old globe number away.
At the end of the day, it just boils down to which one can cut a lot of unnecessary cost. Mobile phone gets depreciated a lot faster these days, not to mention, the launch of new iphone models almost yearly. The predecessors' value gets cut in half yearly as well.