Monday, August 9, 2021

Dear Sky,

For the past few days, I've been really hot-headed and my temper would just flare up at the slightest inconveniences that I get. But it's definitely not about you or anything else. This only happens when I do not get the services or products that I'm supposed to be getting. 

Some people may say that I am feeling entitled because of what I'm doing. But I say that it's not about feeling entitled. It's about asking these businesses/companies to give me what I should be getting. It's not absurd to ask for faster service when the service is too slow. It's not about not being able to understand other people when you've done your part and it's time for them to do theirs. 

A good example would be the two instances where I felt my temper really go up this week. 

The first case was with Globe Telecom. I have been a subscriber for three years now of their Globe At Home plan. I lost my connection on a Thursday and reported it immediately. I reported three different ways - phone, website, and chat. The following day, I was expecting to wake up and see my connection restored but nothing has changed. 

So I did a follow-up and was informed that they will do a follow up with the team that handles technical issues. I told them how long should I wait for them to get a call from them and they told me 24 hours. 24 hours after waiting for 24 hours already. So if I didn't do a follow up, I wouldn't be getting the call? And it would take over 24 hours to get my internet connection fixed. 

Again, call me unreasonable or feeling entitled but I don't think it's fair that they would give you an estimated time and not be able to follow through. Plus, they're a telco and they should be able to communicate better. I also do not understand how they would rather have the customer waiting and doing a follow up when they could try to have a one-call/contact process where everything can be given a solution in just one call/chat/email as much as possible. This keeps customers a lot less upset. 

With nothing happening on their end despite everything I've been doing, I decided to call the technician that gave me his number. He said that they'd come over as soon as they're able to within the day. Mind you, it was already afternoon by that time and they still were able to come over by 3:30pm and the issue fixed in less than an hour. 

The second case was with the Shopee page that I had bought some stuff from. They sent everything right except that one thing I really needed was missing. That item, bedsheet clips, was the very reason why I bought from that shop. To save up on shipping costs, I added two more items. 

When I received my package, I went to the Shopee app and clicked on the button that says "Received order" or something like that. Then I went downstairs to open my package. Lo and behold, the item I really needed was not in there. 

So I contacted the seller and told them of what happened. They asked me to send photos of the list and the items I received which I promptly did so. They then asked me if it was okay for me to get a voucher instead. I said no, because I don't need the voucher nor the money but it was the item I ordered that I needed.

They said that they couldn't send me the item. The only thing they could offer was either a voucher or a Gcash refund. I told them that I don't need those. Plus, I do not have a Gcash account and it would be stupid to just create an account just for the sole purpose of getting a refund. I then sent them my Metrobank account info and they told me that they can't send me payment that way. 

See, the thing here is that I ordered the right item and it was their fault that they didn't get it right. It was their error and they should be able to do something about it. But they'd rather not. It was just a measly amount but it's still money that I worked hard for. 

Anyhow, it all ended with me telling me that it'll be my donation to them since it's so difficult for them to do something about it when it's all their fault. 

The lesson here, my dear son, is not to just take things told to you when you deserve the right service/product. Know what you deserve and what you paid for and demand for it. If you just keep on saying yes, it'll make them think that it's okay to get away with doing that. But if you do make things hard for them, it'll make them think that not all people just say yes to what they say and it'll help them rethink about their processes and make it better next time around. 

But, of course, you have to choose your battles. If you think and believe that you're right, go ahead and do it. I trust your instincts and your decisions. I know you'll know when it's right and when it's time to stop. 

xoxo