When Their Lips Are Moving

It’s a case of same shit, different year again. I wonder if people ever mean what they say or they say it because once you walk out of the shop, they think it is improbable that the customer will return to complain that they didn’t get what was promised. It’s so easy to say something & forget about what you promised after you have replied to someone’s email or even face-to-face.

Another Celcom problem as my prepaid account was suspended yesterday. Okay, so I haven’t reloaded the number in more than 50 days but that’s because I think their service sucks BIG time and I got fed up with them. I had to reload RM30 at any Celcom Exclusive or Blue Cube outlet or face the account being terminated and the balance forfeited.

No choice, had to reload RM30 at Blue Cube which was easy enough and the lady who handled the matter promised the account would be re-activated within 4 hours. I was skeptical, 4 hours? Maybe in another country but here? I’d eat my hat if that was true.

Sure enough, my skeptic radar was right in target because 4 hours later, I could make calls but I couldn’t send any sms nor receive them and my friend informed me that she couldn’t call me on that Celcom number either (that was a few hours later). What exactly is their meaning of re-activated within 4 hours? That’s only partial re-activation and only 1/3 re-activation at that.

So I called their Customer Service and made a report that I couldn’t send out any sms. I didn’t mention the part about not being able to receive calls since I only learnt about that a few hours later. The lady who took the call gave me the usual spiel about it taking 3-7 working days to attend to.

Later when I found out that calls could not be made to the number, I made another call to Customer Service and the man said that it’d take at least 24 hours to re-activate the account fully and NOT 4 hours as mentioned at Blue Cube. So which is which? He said the re-activation would be restored in stages. My cynical friend said that of course they’d restore the being able to make calls out first as that was money-making for them whereas they made little money if I sent out sms.

Money has been paid and one would expect full restoration within the same day but no, here things move along slowly as if nothing is urgent. Little wonder then that I am so reluctant to reload this number. Their service sure hasn’t improved since last year.

Oh and top it off, to call their Customer Service number 1111 from my mobile now costs 50 sen when previously it was free. It’s free if you have a landline but for those with only mobiles, they have no choice but to have their balance deducted by 50 sen every time they call Customer Service. I wasn’t able to disconnect in time so had my balance deducted for no good reason.