Dissatisfied with service received from GT&T

Aug 05, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Please allow me the opportunity to express my dissatisfaction with the Internet service received from GT&T combined with the poor quality of Customer Service that was extended to me. I have been a happily satisfied customer with the company since 2011 until April this year when I upgraded to an iPhone.
Ever since, I kept activating the one month plan, only to have it last no more than 14 days on average. Every time you call customer care, the representatives would repeat “you are allocated 600 megabytes and you would have exceeded the amount of data allocated to you”.
Every time my service ended prematurely I promised myself to switch to Digicel but my loyalty to GT&T kept dragging me back. I admit I was at fault the first two times my service ended prematurely. The very first time I activated the one-month plan, I downloaded a number of apps and my service was terminated within 12 hours! The next time around, I used the Skype app on my phone which caused my service to be terminated within two weeks.
I have learnt my lesson from those previous mistakes and ever since, avoided downloads or the use of Skype, but it still doesn’t work for me.
On Thursday July 17, 2014 GT&T finally pulled the plug for me, with my one-month service which was only activated on Friday July 04, 2014. Only 13 days! This happens to every time I activate the one-month plan. All I did within this short space of time was to download the “Rising Star” app and visit a few shopping sites. I was prepared to have my service terminated maybe 2-3 days before the set time. It is just not economical to be paying $2200 – $2300 for the one month service and having it last only two (2) weeks. I feel as if I am not having value for my money. There is absolutely no point in having an iPhone/Samsung smartphone and you are only limited to only a few basic Apps or activities.
On July 18, 2014 around 7 a.m., I called Customer Care on 0488 and was connected to (female name provided). I calmly, politely expressed my frustration with the Internet service and notified her that since it is an ongoing problem, I may have to switch to the other network if the problem persists. Her response was “well that is your choice” with a trace of bad attitude. I thanked her for reminding me of my freedom of choice. Although that may be her personal opinion, as a paid customer service representative, I think she should have expressed the views of the company she is representing. She should have offered tips on how to best utilize the data allocated to me. Even though I have been a loyal customer for the past three years, the young lady’s attitude makes me feel as if my support/loyalty is not valued by the company. It gives one the impression that GT&T has thousands of customers, so if they lose one, it is not that big of a deal.
I later called the Supervisor on (telephone number provided) at 9:30 a.m. to report the incident. I got no satisfaction. On behalf of GT&T, she endorsed what her staff said about me having a “choice”. She even went on to say “When we lose one, you never know how much more we gain.” I was left in utter shock! Seriously GT&T?! There’s an old saying which goes “wan wan dutty build dam”. Individually, the loss of one customer will go unnoticed but collectively, it will affect the company.
I was well aware of my freedom of choice from the inception but I chose you! I chose GT&T! Isn’t that why you advertise? I thought you advertise because you want to be the “preferred” choice. You spend thousands of dollars daily to attract new customers and this is how you treat a loyal customer? So your Internet package for iPhone/ Samsung smartphones is awful combined with horrific customer support? Those two just don’t go well together! I was once in the Customer Service field where I was taught, it is more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to maintain the old ones. I guess that part was omitted from GT&T’s Customer Care books.
I enquired from many of my peers that have iPhones or Samsung smartphones and are on GT&T’s network, they are encountering similar problems with their Internet. If everybody makes the choice to switch to Digicel because they cannot have redress, eventually it is going to affect GT&T’s bottom line. I certainly did not expect such a careless, laid back, lackadaisical approach to customer service from the telephone giant, especially when there is a competitor on their heels.
The supervisor had the nerve to tell me that she hopes I continue to use the service. Why should I? The data allocated by GT&T is only 20mb per day (600 per month) while Digicel offers 50mb per day for a few hundred dollars more. At the end of the conversation, the supervisor advised me to take my device to the Blackberry store and have the technicians check the settings. This is what the supervisor and her staff should have advised from the inception. The damage is already done. I’m no longer desirous of using that service. I have joined the “Bigger, Better Network” since I’m NOT having the “Best Value” for my money from GT&T.
Companies need to be cognizant of the fact that no matter how big they are, they need to be more appreciative of the support they receive from their customers. Each and every one of your customers counts. When your customers call to give feedback about a product or service, it should serve as an indicator that they are not pleased. Try your best to make it work for them. At the end of the day, the success of your company depends on that same support.
Dissatisfied Customer
(Name and Phone number provided)

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