The news over the past 10 days has been about Etisalat's Blackberry patch fiasco that has drained the batteries of many BB users. And to add insult to injury, it turns out that the patch is not really a "sofware update patch", as originally claimed by Etisalat...it was, in fact, a spyware patch that gave Etisalat access to BB users' email and messenger information (which should have technically been secure).
Now, the fact that Etisalat is trying to "spy" on its users is disturbing to begin with, but what's even more disturbing is Etisalat's ridiculous response to the whole fiasco. If ever there was a PR case study made out of this, it would be to showcase how NOT to handle a crisis situation.
Newspapers, the blogosphere, Twitter, word of mouth...EVERYONE was talking about this, but how did Etisalat choose to respond? By avoiding the situation. By not releasing a statement until a few days later, downplaying the story, saying only "300 customers were affected".
In an era where dialog with the consumer, transparency and honesty are key in ensuring a brand's credibility, Etisalat has got it all wrong...really!
I was not affected by this because just a week before the patch was released, I switched my BB service to Du...Yep...Du...And in all honesty, I am very happy with their service so far.
1) The coverage is good (there was only 1 location where I had Etisalat coverage but no Du coverage at all).
2) They are MUCH cheaper than Etisalat...even their international calling rates are better.
3) Turns out that changing my number to a Du number is not so complicated after all...All it took is one email and a few messages to advise my contacts that my number has changed. I still have my Etisalat number for a couple of months, and then I plan on completely discontinuing it.
I do hope Du benefits from the whole Etisalat mess. Not because I love Du (refer to some of my previous posts), but because any company that acts in such a moronic manner NEEDS to suffer some consequences!
Showing posts with label Du. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Du. Show all posts
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
I did not sell out...
...I am still here (unlike what Mory and Coloman insinuated in their comments to my previous post). I've just been busy over the past month due to:
1) A weeklong work trip
2) Coming back to a pile of work at the office
3) A move
Ever since my sister moved in with me, we've been in dire need of a bigger place. Poor girl was sleeping on a not-so comfortable sofa bed, and had not place to hang her clothes! We searched for a good 3 weeks before my lease was about to run out. We waited till the last minute because people said that it is very easy to find apartments...and cheaper...especially now.
I guess the above applies to people who are not as picky as we are. We wanted the right place with the right view at the right price. Took a while but we found it eventually (3 days before my lease was over).
Within the span of 24 hours, movers were contacted (EuroMovers...they were wonderful, helpful, super quick and super cheerful), Dewa was called and Du was advised of the move.
Can I just say how impressed I was with Dewa's customer care department. When I called, the man on the other end of the line was very helpful in providing me with all the documents I needed to make the transfer from the old to the new apartment. Now, of course, the process itself is still very much archaic:
- You have to fax a copy of your old lease, passport copy, visa copy, and a note asking for a final bill (who uses faxes anymore these days! I always worry that my faxes never reach their intended destination...and this was the case with Dewa, who never got my request for final bill)
- I then had to go to Dewa to create a new account for the new location. And pay a new deposit. Why could I not do this over the phone? Or Internet? Oh, and can I point out that Dewa does not accept debit or credit cards? Only cash!
- Of course, since they had not received my final bill request, I had to go to DEWA AGAIN a couple of days later to pay my final bill and get my deposit back.
Du's customer care department, on the other hand, was a disaster to deal with. I was on the phone for 20 minutes with the person at Du who was trying to explain to me what I needed to do in order to switch my services over to the new location (again, fax a letter, visa, passport copy, new lease copy, bla bla bla), and trying to book an apointment for the service guy to come activate my services. The conversation ended with him telling me that someone would contact me within 48 hours to set up an apointment.
55 hours later, no one had called so I called again to check that they had received the fax. They had (hallelujah!) and said that someone would call me by end of day to confirm apointment time. No one called.
So I call again the following morning, and they promise to call back within 15 minutes, which they do. We set the apointment for the service guy to come over. The good thing is that the service guy was extremely punctual and efficient (I was so worried I'd have to wait an hour for him to show up!).
The apartment's still a mess but we are slowly settling in... and at the very least we have electricty, water, internet and cable!
1) A weeklong work trip
2) Coming back to a pile of work at the office
3) A move
Ever since my sister moved in with me, we've been in dire need of a bigger place. Poor girl was sleeping on a not-so comfortable sofa bed, and had not place to hang her clothes! We searched for a good 3 weeks before my lease was about to run out. We waited till the last minute because people said that it is very easy to find apartments...and cheaper...especially now.
I guess the above applies to people who are not as picky as we are. We wanted the right place with the right view at the right price. Took a while but we found it eventually (3 days before my lease was over).
Within the span of 24 hours, movers were contacted (EuroMovers...they were wonderful, helpful, super quick and super cheerful), Dewa was called and Du was advised of the move.
Can I just say how impressed I was with Dewa's customer care department. When I called, the man on the other end of the line was very helpful in providing me with all the documents I needed to make the transfer from the old to the new apartment. Now, of course, the process itself is still very much archaic:
- You have to fax a copy of your old lease, passport copy, visa copy, and a note asking for a final bill (who uses faxes anymore these days! I always worry that my faxes never reach their intended destination...and this was the case with Dewa, who never got my request for final bill)
- I then had to go to Dewa to create a new account for the new location. And pay a new deposit. Why could I not do this over the phone? Or Internet? Oh, and can I point out that Dewa does not accept debit or credit cards? Only cash!
- Of course, since they had not received my final bill request, I had to go to DEWA AGAIN a couple of days later to pay my final bill and get my deposit back.
Du's customer care department, on the other hand, was a disaster to deal with. I was on the phone for 20 minutes with the person at Du who was trying to explain to me what I needed to do in order to switch my services over to the new location (again, fax a letter, visa, passport copy, new lease copy, bla bla bla), and trying to book an apointment for the service guy to come activate my services. The conversation ended with him telling me that someone would contact me within 48 hours to set up an apointment.
55 hours later, no one had called so I called again to check that they had received the fax. They had (hallelujah!) and said that someone would call me by end of day to confirm apointment time. No one called.
So I call again the following morning, and they promise to call back within 15 minutes, which they do. We set the apointment for the service guy to come over. The good thing is that the service guy was extremely punctual and efficient (I was so worried I'd have to wait an hour for him to show up!).
The apartment's still a mess but we are slowly settling in... and at the very least we have electricty, water, internet and cable!
Friday, August 01, 2008
Random stuff
Been back from my vacation for around 3 weeks now, and it feels like I've never left! Good thing I have anoter small vacation coming up in 3 weeks...Yay!
A few random things that I just want to get off my chest:
- Damn it's hot! Is it just me, or has it gotten hotter and more humid MUCH earlier this year compared to previous years? I mean, I remember that in previous years, it was the months of August and September that were really bad.... Maybe we just forget!
- I am sick and tired of the fact that the exit that leads to the Greens, which is where I live, is the last free exit before Salik. This means that all the construction vehicles go through it to avoid paying 4Dhs, because the companies they work for are probably too cheap to pay the Salik tolls. This means that traffic at the entrance of the Greens usually moves at snail's pace, at any given time. Last time, I got stuck there for 30 minutes at 8:30PM! There's not supposed to be any traffic at 8:30PM!!!
- I've noticed that there are a couple of cars in my car park that have been there for a couple of years now, untouched. It's as if the owners just picked up and left. And the cars are still there, gathering dust. I know that if a car is left untouched for a few months on the main road, cops eventually will tow it away. But what happens to cars in car parks? Who's responsible for them?
- My Du saga is still ongoing. It's gotten worse actually. They cut my line while I was away on holiday. I've called them again twice since I've been back. The problem is unresolved as of yet.
- After living in Dubai for more than 3 years, I had forgotten how it feels when you get great customer service. Especially when it comes to banking. While in Montreal, I had to call my bank there for some information. Here I was thinking I had to get an appointment, go to the bank and spend time with some advisor....But no. All I had to do was speak to a very knowledgeable customer service representative on the phone, who then told me that any transaction I needed to make could be done immediately on the web! A far cry from banking in the UAE, where you have to go the bank to fill up a form to get access to online banking!
- Here's a great thing about living in the UAE: low cost of telecommunications! I got a Montreal number while I was there, and it was so expensive! I wasn't making many calls... only necessary ones to get in touch with friends... But I must have spent around $100 on phone cards in 10 days! Ridiculous! And the other ridiculous thing is that you pay for the calls that you make as well as the calls you receive!!!
- Does anyone know if August 6th is an official day off (the day HH Sheikh Zayed became president in 1966)? I wouldn't mind another long weekend :)
That's it for now. I've rambled enough as it is. Be back soon!
A few random things that I just want to get off my chest:
- Damn it's hot! Is it just me, or has it gotten hotter and more humid MUCH earlier this year compared to previous years? I mean, I remember that in previous years, it was the months of August and September that were really bad.... Maybe we just forget!
- I am sick and tired of the fact that the exit that leads to the Greens, which is where I live, is the last free exit before Salik. This means that all the construction vehicles go through it to avoid paying 4Dhs, because the companies they work for are probably too cheap to pay the Salik tolls. This means that traffic at the entrance of the Greens usually moves at snail's pace, at any given time. Last time, I got stuck there for 30 minutes at 8:30PM! There's not supposed to be any traffic at 8:30PM!!!
- I've noticed that there are a couple of cars in my car park that have been there for a couple of years now, untouched. It's as if the owners just picked up and left. And the cars are still there, gathering dust. I know that if a car is left untouched for a few months on the main road, cops eventually will tow it away. But what happens to cars in car parks? Who's responsible for them?
- My Du saga is still ongoing. It's gotten worse actually. They cut my line while I was away on holiday. I've called them again twice since I've been back. The problem is unresolved as of yet.
- After living in Dubai for more than 3 years, I had forgotten how it feels when you get great customer service. Especially when it comes to banking. While in Montreal, I had to call my bank there for some information. Here I was thinking I had to get an appointment, go to the bank and spend time with some advisor....But no. All I had to do was speak to a very knowledgeable customer service representative on the phone, who then told me that any transaction I needed to make could be done immediately on the web! A far cry from banking in the UAE, where you have to go the bank to fill up a form to get access to online banking!
- Here's a great thing about living in the UAE: low cost of telecommunications! I got a Montreal number while I was there, and it was so expensive! I wasn't making many calls... only necessary ones to get in touch with friends... But I must have spent around $100 on phone cards in 10 days! Ridiculous! And the other ridiculous thing is that you pay for the calls that you make as well as the calls you receive!!!
- Does anyone know if August 6th is an official day off (the day HH Sheikh Zayed became president in 1966)? I wouldn't mind another long weekend :)
That's it for now. I've rambled enough as it is. Be back soon!
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Someone at Du obviously doesn't care...
...because I called again to explain my situation after not hearing from them for about 10 days. That was towards the end of last week, and the customer service representative listened to my story and said that he will make sure someone calls me back regarding the outstanding amount of Dhs 1200 that magically appeared on my bill.
I'm not going to even think of paying that bill until I get an explanation from someone, somewhere....And I don't care if they cut my phone line...I'll still have my mobile...with good ol' Etisalat :)
I'm not going to even think of paying that bill until I get an explanation from someone, somewhere....And I don't care if they cut my phone line...I'll still have my mobile...with good ol' Etisalat :)
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Maybe they'll block this? The Du saga...
I've been a Du subscriber for 3 years now...Actually, I was a SAHM subscriber and then became a Du subscriber when Du came to life.
They've been crediting my account directly, from my credit card, every month.
Last month, I get a bill from them (I guess they changed their bill format because the bill looked different), and I notice a Dhs 1200 overdue amount. I was slightly stunned because I had not seen such amount before, so I go back to my 2 previous bills, and in fact, the amount was NOT there.
So I call them, asking for an explanation of the amount. "It seems like we have not credited your account since June 2007" says the woman at the other end of the line. "Why is that" I ask. "I'll file a complaint with the complaint department" says the woman, "they should call you back within 48 hours".
OK, fine.
50 hours later and no answer. I call back. Same thing "your account has not been credited since June" says the man. "Yes, I know that, but I was waiting for an explanation and no one called back". "OK I will file a complaint and we will get back to you" was the answer again. This time,he gives me a complaint number.
Later that same day, I get an e-mail, saying that my credit card details have not been updated, which explains the amount. And they send me a new credit card form to fill out.
I write back saying that I understand that my credit card details have not been updated, but I want to understand why it took 10 months for them to reflect that on my bill. I get another e-mail asking me to fill up the form again.
A little frustrated, as you can probably imagine, I send off another e-mail asking for further explanation.
I get another e-mail asking for my customer ID number "in order to assist you farther (sic) in your query". I do not respond, but I do get another e-mail a day later stating that "your query has been forwarded to our Collection Team who will be responding to you shortly."
That was a week ago....and I have not heard anything since.
They've been crediting my account directly, from my credit card, every month.
Last month, I get a bill from them (I guess they changed their bill format because the bill looked different), and I notice a Dhs 1200 overdue amount. I was slightly stunned because I had not seen such amount before, so I go back to my 2 previous bills, and in fact, the amount was NOT there.
So I call them, asking for an explanation of the amount. "It seems like we have not credited your account since June 2007" says the woman at the other end of the line. "Why is that" I ask. "I'll file a complaint with the complaint department" says the woman, "they should call you back within 48 hours".
OK, fine.
50 hours later and no answer. I call back. Same thing "your account has not been credited since June" says the man. "Yes, I know that, but I was waiting for an explanation and no one called back". "OK I will file a complaint and we will get back to you" was the answer again. This time,he gives me a complaint number.
Later that same day, I get an e-mail, saying that my credit card details have not been updated, which explains the amount. And they send me a new credit card form to fill out.
I write back saying that I understand that my credit card details have not been updated, but I want to understand why it took 10 months for them to reflect that on my bill. I get another e-mail asking me to fill up the form again.
A little frustrated, as you can probably imagine, I send off another e-mail asking for further explanation.
I get another e-mail asking for my customer ID number "in order to assist you farther (sic) in your query". I do not respond, but I do get another e-mail a day later stating that "your query has been forwarded to our Collection Team who will be responding to you shortly."
That was a week ago....and I have not heard anything since.
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