Typhoon Quiel

As Typhoon Quiel passed by the Philippines yesterday, I went to the rooftop of my condo building and snapped some pictures of the very low clouds and very little visibility caused by the second storm to hit us inside a week.

Overlooking Mandaluyong City.

Overlooking North.

Manila Bay takes the cake!

Thank God this storm has passed, and did not deliver a nature-smackdown the way Typhoon Pedring did.

Jay~

Globe Postpaid

I finally have a post-paid mobile number, but I have to say, the experience was less than charming. In the end though, throwing some weight around fixed some problems (permanently, I hope).

On September 19, I applied for my post-paid line at the Globe website (the plan I availed was the P299 line + P599 unlimited call/text to Globe or TM). The company emailed me, and said that my SIM card would be ready within twenty-four hours. True enough, they delivered on this promise (it was delivered to my doorstep), and by the evening of September 20 (when I was out of town for work) I was making phone calls and sending out my usual ungodly amount of text messages. I was on unfamiliar territory, having a line and all, so the next day, I called Customer Service, just to check if I was being billed for my usage. The answer was "No". 

The next week, on the 27th, saw Typhoon Pedring make landfall. Rains were heavy, winds were wild, and my line was cut. Yes; in the middle of a natural calamity, my means of communication to the outside world was taken away. Why? Because apparently, I have not been on any unlimited call/text service - note, one which I paid in advance for. For the next three days, until yesterday, I spoke with customer service a total of fourteen (14) times, a ridiculous amount of "helpful and eager" assistants.

And NONE of them looked like this.

Here were my three problems with Globe post-paid.

1. My P299 plan with the add-on of P599 totals at P898. My line was cut because I went over my credit limit (more on that later) of P600. If the system automatically cuts lines that go over a credit limit, then why was my initial application for the line (which amounted to P898, mind you) approved in the first place?
2. My credit limit was set at P600, a limit when an applicant's monthly salary is P10,000 or less. Since I was not earning that amount at all, where did they pull that number out from?
3. Why did my requests for information, customer support, and assistance reach fourteen instances? Shouldn't any number more than one be too many, and thus reflect gross incompetence in their customer service department?

How about UNLIMATH to 8888?

Anyway, at my wits' end (and a little beyond), I emailed Globe's president.

I receive a call from the office of the president and guess what? Globe will fix everything. Currently, my credit limit has been increased in reflection and in parallel to my actual salary, and my unlimited call/text package has been activated. The company has also promised me that they will investigate the customer service issue.

Moral of the story:

Sometimes, you gotta go all the way.

Jay~