Yesterday, the 13th of March, was one of those days when I felt like my whole energy was getting sucked out of my body. I was awaken at 3 AM by the sound of our landline phone crashing against the floor followed by my husband’s voice speaking to someone on the other end of the line. He was obviously upset. As I start to fully wake up, I realized he was speaking to a Globe customer support. Yes, at 3 AM. The landline phone had apparently fallen off of my office desk as he tried to do the instruction given by the technical support; to turn off the modem and to turn it back on, commonly called ‘powercycling’. Our Globe modem and router are a few steps away from the phone, but our phone cord is not long enough for him to be able to hold the phone receiver and be in front of the router at the same time, hence the fall.
I felt sorry for whoever took the call because I know my husband’s temper when the internet is disrupted and he’s not given the proper solution. I am the same way, actually. Most of all, I feel sorry to all technical support who get to handle him because my husband is not a novice to network engineering; he just doesn’t always have the tool needed to restore his own internet connection when Globe Broadband screws up.
Anyway, the agent was making him do two things at a time so I moved up from the bed to my desk just so I can be of help, if any, although there was no way I was meddling with his conversation, as I already had the feeling it was going to blow up anytime soon. He was getting more upset by the minute and I just didn’t want him to start raising his voice too high to the point of waking up everyone including my father whose room was just right below our office area.
But nothing was working and he was already so pissed off so I took the phone and hung it up, ending the call. He got so upset with me for doing that. I ended the call because they were not going anywhere. The agent was probably so scared of him already that her instructions were not making any sense anymore. I’m sure she was thanking all the heavens that the call got cut. Moreover, I ended the call because I wanted to start a new one with an agent who was not already demoralized.
So I dialed (02) 730 1000 again and spoke to an agent named Crystal. She was very calm and patient. My call didn’t last long, and I didn’t make Crystal’s life miserable (I was once an AT&T agent, mind you, so I really know the feeling). The internet was still not back, but we were given a job order reference number because I asked that we be serviced by their on-site repair technicians.
Because the call was made at 3AM, the technicians were supposed to come the next day but because we have made a series of follow ups, they were pressured to send their men in the afternoon. The advantage of getting irate sometimes is that these agents will actually do something!
So we got a call from the on site-repair people who came by the house at 2PM. They simply replaced the modem with a brand new one. DUH! They said it was getting so hot and that the lifespan of their modem doesn’t really last that long. Oh, thank you Globe! While they were there, we grilled them about the issue of their 100MBPS advertisement and how annoying that it only serves selected areas within Negros Occidental. We even proposed that we’re willing to pay more if they can just make it possible for us to even get at least 15MBPS. They informed us that the issue is the cabinet location. Currently, our account is in a cabinet located in Gargato, a barangay in Hinigaran which is kind of far from where we live. They explained that we can’t have an upgrade because of the distance.
So I asked, “Are you saying that if we are near the cabinet, or if we live in Gargato, we can have 15MBPS?”
“Yes mam. You can even have up to 100MBPS.”
I felt my jaw dropped so low it almost reached the floor. “That’s crazy!” I blurted. “It doesn’t make sense! Most businesses and people who need the most speed are located in the heart of town! Why wouldn’t Globe put a new cabinet for accounts that need really fast internet connection?” At that point, I’ve never been more envious of the people that live in Gargato. And never have I ever imagined myself living there, not because I don’t like it there or I have something against the place, but I’ve always lived my life here in the town proper.
The technicians just kept shrugging their shoulders off. I know they were probably feeling so annoyed at all our questions but we needed them answered! We have been subscribed to their service for almost a decade and our account is on auto-debit for crying out loud. We don’t even look at our bill anymore. The least they can do is assure us we’re going to get something good from their service somehow!
“But is there anything we can do? Can we talk to people in higher position to be able to make this cabinet be in the town proper?” asked Ralph. It was so cute how persistent he was.
Again, the technicians just shrugged. They were the master shruggers. “We are just contractors sir. It is still up to Globe.”
The internet worked fine after minutes of configuration and phone call exchanges between the technicians and some people working in their local office. It turned out that the modem was the culprit, and they seemed to have anticipated that because they just brought a new modem when they came in with no questions asked. We did not expect it to be the modem because it was replaced less than a year ago which means Globe’s modem lifespan is so short.
When is China Telecom going to get here? We will definitely subscribe to a better internet provider whose focus is mostly to PROVIDE fast internet. Globe Broadband, as it turns out, actually has the facility to provide up to 100MBPS UNLIMITED (not capped) to the Hinigaranons, but the cabinet space rent in Gargato is probably in their favor. So what do you call that then? Cheaping out at the expense of its subscribers?
A good ISP really provides the best service to its subscriber. That’s not what Globe Broadband does. What it does is simply saying “well, we’re your only choice here and that’s the best that you’re gonna get.”
Your time will soon be up Globe Broadband. Just wait.
