Headaches of using PLDT WeRoam

By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone (PLDT)’s WeRoam wireless Internet broadband service is supposed to make my work convenient and faster. But it has been more of a headache lately causing delays and inconvenience.

I experience good service usually before 12 midnight. It get around 60 kbps (kilobits per second) of wireless Internet speed but the wireless signal is weak. It is just teeny bit faster than dial up at a higher cost. A100-percent signal (based on the service’s indicator on the laptop) won’t even reach the promised 1.8 Mbps (megabits per second) speed.

PLDT and Smart are both boasting nationwide service coverage. But how come I am having signal problems in my area which is in Manila. I called the PLDT corporate customer care service (177) several times until they referred me to a WeRoam expert who admitted that I couldn’t use 3G (third-generation mobile service) in my area because of the “walled area” in Supreme Court and the Department of Justice. They said even users in the Office of the Chief Justice are complaining about their WeRoam connection.

They said they would be installing a hub inside the Supreme Court to resolve the 3G signal problems but that would take time. So I just had to rely on slower GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), which is what is usually available if WeRoam can’t deliver the promised 3G speeds. Fine, but it has been weeks now and my GPRS signal is nothing but annoying. Sometimes, I just couldn’t use my WeRoam. I would call the hotline. But no one could give me a straight answer. They promised to call me back but they didn’t.
Their promised of a strong, wireless, faster signal, is really no more than “so many feet of the blue sky.”

I started complaining about the service in 2007. At that time, I had problems with my 3G signal. Every time I called, they gave me a ticket number which they said would be the indicator of whether my complaint was resolved or not. If the ticket number was closed, it meant the complaint was resolved. They would always promise to call back and update me about my complaint. They didn’t.

I couldn’t call them every time I had problems and bombard them with my complaints. I later learned that they closed my ticket number after they assumed my complaint was resolved. But I was too busy at that time to do more follow-up calls. On the other hand, why do I have to call? I am a subscriber and isn’t it supposed to be their jobs to resolve my complaint within 24 to 48 hours?

Last May 14, I called the hotline again and, as usual, I was given a new ticket number: 378628. I told them not to close it until I am satisfied with my WeRoam service. For a few weeks, I was a bit satisfied with slight improvements because I could open my Gmail and do some work online. But my short-lived happiness was instantly gone when the service slowed down again. While I was able to use Gmail, I had no choice but use the “Gmail html version,” which is a version used when Internet speeds are slow. I also noticed an intermittent connection. The service was on and off — connected now but in a matter of minutes pfft, the signal drops.

My office has provided me with WeRoam to enable us to work from anywhere. (I’m a journalist covering the Justice beat). But the service proved to be inconvenient. I usually type my report from where I am on my laptop and send it via e-mail to the office. But since I often encounter bad signal in my area, I have to retype everything on my Blackberry and send it from this device. In my line of work, minutes or seconds of delay is really a big darn deal.

Four days ago, I called the “Smart NOC” who again supplied me ticket number and promised that an expert would call after 30 minutes to one hour. As usual, they didn’t. Again I called the PLDT Corporate Customer Service hotline the next day and was promised that a WeRoam expert would call me the following morning. Again, they didn’t.

Every time I called the Corporate Customer Service, they would give me the following answers:

• An expert will get to me as soon as possible
• Smart NOC is still following it up
• They are waiting for a response from Smart NOC (since I made my complaint last May)
• Smart NOC is still doing some “rolling on checking.” I don’t know what that is.
• The agent will apologize and tell me that all they can do is to take note my complaint
• They will tell me to refresh my wireless device (remove it from my laptop and remove the SIM –yes it works like a mobile phone– and then put it back in and then turn on my laptop). No change.
• They will tell me that probably my GlobeTrotter is corrupted and I have to remove it and reinstall it, which I did for several times. Nothing.
• They tell me to keep my WeRoam connected so that Smart NOC will be able to detect it which I did.
• They detected a signal of another user in another area.

And here’s an experience that tops it all: the agent from the Customer Care hotline told me that Smart NOC was checking my case. They gave me the Smart NOC number. Smart NOC told me that a team is doing the checking. To sum it up, there is the “177” hotline, the Smart NOC and another team, so which is which?

While I was doing this article, I called the hotline. The agent told me there was a new development. Sometime on Nov. 16, a certain “Leila” from the Smart NOC would reportedly give the update. Well, it was not clear if Leila would call me and give me the update or she would include the update on my ticket record. At this writing, I haven’t heard from Leila.

The agent from the hotline again promised that “Leila” would give an update but admitted there was no development in my earlier complaint. The agent also told me that he would note my complaint and promised someone would call me tomorrow morning. The cycle goes on and on and on. My office is currently paying for this service and yet we don’t get the service it promises.

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