Take this telco customer service rep I got on the phone when I reported non-service in our compound re Internet and land line services. In a very well-modulated voice and with perfect diction, he tells me that due to technical issues, they are monitoring services in the area for now and that they cannot yet give an estimate as to when services will be restored. He says this in three or more sentences.
When I ask what technical issues these are, he mouths off almost the exact same thing. I ask if a technical team has been deployed in our area and when. With diminishing conviction, he does a version of the same spiel.
I cut him short with, “So, all you can tell me is that the telco is looking into the matter and that you cannot give me an estimate as to what time services will be restored, is that right?” There is a momentary silence and then, “Yes, ma’am.”
I press on. “Have there been other reports re non-service coming from my area?” The pause is longer this time. I hear some talking in the background. I feel pity for the poor guy when he awkwardly tries another version of the spiel on me. I hang up.
I’d almost forgotten the exchange when a customer service rep from a budget airline calls. She wants me to confirm acceptance of a change in sked re the Manila-Cebu-Manila flight I had purchased two or three months ago.
I decide to test if this airline’s customer service is better equipped to handle complaint specifics. I ask if I have any choice in the matter. Yes, of course, I could choose a flight schedule to my liking. Just check their website, she tells me.
I tell her that it is part of her role to make it easier for me because first, she has access to the info and second, it’s not like I want any change in flight sked. I remind her that it’s the airline imposing the change “because of operational concerns”.
She rattles off the flight skeds during the day. I ask for the same info for the return flight. I realize that the new skeds the airline is offering are the ones closest to my original flight schedules. The rest are in the afternoon and evening.
What else can a paying customer do but confirm acceptance of a new flight schedule that poses the least inconvenience?
I am not over my irritation when my mobile rings again. It is a domestic airline asking me to confirm the email address they have in their records. They want to give an email response to a concern regarding a Manila-Cebu flight that I purchased for my sister, who is visiting from the US.
I ask if this is about the refund that my sister asked for her two-year-old son, who she was forced to carry on her lap when the airline refused to board the tot’s car seat because it was not aircraft-grade or something.
There’s a lot of babbling and a lot of stuttering but I get the rep’s drift. They are not likely to refund the tot’s ticket because the car seat did not have a clearance sticker on it or something to that effect. Never mind if my sister had been able to use the car seat on her Cathay Pacific flight from the US to Manila.
“Are you telling me that you have higher standards than Cathay Pacific?” I ask. Without hesitation, the domestic airline rep says, “Yes ma’am.”
Cathay Pacific recently received the Airline of the Year 2014 award during Skytrax's World Airline Awards, based on the votes of close to 19 million travelers from around the world. It is the fourth time the Hong Kong-based airline has received this award.
Pakibaba nga ng kilay ko.
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