Looks like the startup service, PLDT Wireless Landline Prepaid is having some birth pains. Since the wireless landline prepaid service has just been introduced, many are complaining of either having been ripped off of their PLDT Wireless Landline Prepaid load balances, not getting through to call another within PLDT/Smart's network, not getting through to and fro another telco or of having to pay a sizeable amount just to buy a PLDT Wireless Landline Prepaid Sim Card.
Some of the horror stories from Pex forum:
PLDT Wireless Prepaid ripped me off!!!
I checked the balance yesterday and the voice recording said I had 103 minutes left and that my P300 plan will expire on June 03. I didn't use the phone again after I did the balance check.
Well, today as I tried to use the phone I couldn't connect anymore to any number anymore. I quickly did a balance inquiry and lo & behold, I have ZERO pesos left and that I need to re-register a new P300. What a ripoff!!!
I tried calling customer service but all it got me was a recording saying "All lines are busy now. Please try your call later." After 2 hours, my phone is showing that the SIM's status is now "Inactive SIM". This means I can't even place a call to customer service. In other words, my simcard is now utterly worthless.
Is there anyone out there with a similar experience with PLDT's wireless prepaid?
And here's another one:
i thought it was just me who had a bad experience with the pldt sim. after purchasing it, i immediately subscribed to a plan P300. so all in all, i have P350 balance. but after few days, i cannot make any calls. the system said that i haven't subscribed to their plan. i was wondering why. maybe the system picked up the current expiration of load balance which is P50 instead of the P300 plan but how come that i still have P200+ and still i cannot make any calls even sending text messages.
so i called their customer service, they said that i had to reload again that will total to P300 balance to register to the plan. well hindi sila ganun ka galing ha, parang hindi sila ganun ka aware sa technical issue ng sim nila. after reloading, i enjoyed using it for 3 weeks. unfortunately, this morning my phone cannot detect the sim. i tried switching my phone on and off.
tried the sim with another phone but still inactive. this afternoon, it's already active. but my balance went down to P50 and the system said, i have to register again to enjoy their service and that i can no longer make calls unless i will reload another P300. my gosh, sa june 7 pa dapat ang expiration. i am thinking if im going to dispose my sim or magtyaga na lang pero sayang ang pera kung ganun ang system nila. hirap kase ng walang landline..
5.29.2008
5 Steps to Speed Up Windows Vista with a USB Thumb Drive
Speed up Windows Vista just by adding a USB Flash Drive or USB Thumb Drive that you have lying around and you don't often use. You may not know it but Windows Vista comes equipped with a new feature called Windows ReadyBoost, which does just that, boost your PC's prformance. You need not use a fairly new USB Flash Drive, you can even use a USB thumb drive that has files already in it..
Here's the 5 Steps to Speed Up Windows Vista with a USB Thumb Drive:
1. Insert the USB drive into one of your computer's USB ports. The AutoPlay dialog box opens a few seconds after plugging the drive in.
2. Click the Speed Up My System button on the AutoPlay window, as shown below:
If the AutoPlay window doesn't open, you can access the same location by opening Computer or Windows Explorer, right-clicking on the device drive, selecting Properties, and clicking on the ReadyBoost tab. Then, you can proceed to the next step.
3. Select the Use This Device option, as shown below:
1. Select Use This Device
2. Use the slider to tell Vista how much space of the USB thumb drive you want to use...
3. ...or type in a specific number of MB you want to use
4. By using the slider bar or typing into the field, choose how much space you want to dedicate to Windows ReadyBoost.
5. Click OK to apply the changes and exit.
The space you specified will now be reserved for Windows ReadyBoost, which is represented by a cache file called ReadyBoost, as shown below:
Here's the 5 Steps to Speed Up Windows Vista with a USB Thumb Drive:
1. Insert the USB drive into one of your computer's USB ports. The AutoPlay dialog box opens a few seconds after plugging the drive in.
2. Click the Speed Up My System button on the AutoPlay window, as shown below:
If the AutoPlay window doesn't open, you can access the same location by opening Computer or Windows Explorer, right-clicking on the device drive, selecting Properties, and clicking on the ReadyBoost tab. Then, you can proceed to the next step.
3. Select the Use This Device option, as shown below:
1. Select Use This Device
2. Use the slider to tell Vista how much space of the USB thumb drive you want to use...
3. ...or type in a specific number of MB you want to use
4. By using the slider bar or typing into the field, choose how much space you want to dedicate to Windows ReadyBoost.
5. Click OK to apply the changes and exit.
The space you specified will now be reserved for Windows ReadyBoost, which is represented by a cache file called ReadyBoost, as shown below:
5.27.2008
Sun Cellular 3G to start soon
Digitel president and CEO James Go announced yesterday their newest endeavor, a Sun Cellular 3G and Sun Cellular HSDPA (or 3.5G) service by the end of this year. Digitel operates Sun Cellular, the third largest mobile phone network in the Philippines offering mobile phone products and services.
Digitel also announced a $300 million investment to finance Sun's 3G entrance, expand Digitel's broadband service, and increase Sun Cellular's mobile phone cell sites to 4,000 by year-end. Sun Cellular is often regarded as a poor third telco in the Philippines because of its limited network coverage.
I'm excited with Sun's 3G entrance because this would mean the further improvement and hopefully cheaper prices to be brought about by competition. Recently, Globe Telecom also reduced its 3G prices from an exorbitant per kb charging to 5 pesos for every 10 minute use of its 2G/3G/HSDPA service, to remain competitive with rival Smart Communications which offers a similar 2G/3G/3.5G service for 10 pesos for 30 minutes of mobile surfing. I hope Sun will come out with Unlimited 3G plans just like in its mobile phone value added services.
5.24.2008
Gilmore should be like this
In Bangkok, Thailand, there is a market like place but instead of foodstuff, it sells various electronic items at dirt cheap prices than the traditional PC stores. Like in Hongkong's Mong Kok, Pantip Plaza in Bangkok is a bustling marketplace for those with a passion for computers, MP3 players and other gadgets.
Pantip Plaza is very much like Greenhills but at the same time very unlike Greenhills where the stalls sell mostly cellphones and imitation apparels..sure they sell PC and other electronic items too but in Greenhills it is almost like the traditional gadget stores where the prices are almost always exorbitant.
So does Gilmore in Quezon City, although a lot cheaper than those in the malls, it is a far cry from their counterparts around Asia like Mong Kok, Tsen Zhen or Pantip Plaza or even in Singapore. The atmosphere in Gilmore is more like those in the malls so much so that their prices are at most cheaper by just several hundreds.
Pantip Plaza is very much like Greenhills but at the same time very unlike Greenhills where the stalls sell mostly cellphones and imitation apparels..sure they sell PC and other electronic items too but in Greenhills it is almost like the traditional gadget stores where the prices are almost always exorbitant.
So does Gilmore in Quezon City, although a lot cheaper than those in the malls, it is a far cry from their counterparts around Asia like Mong Kok, Tsen Zhen or Pantip Plaza or even in Singapore. The atmosphere in Gilmore is more like those in the malls so much so that their prices are at most cheaper by just several hundreds.
5.23.2008
Paypal withdraw to Local Bank troubles
I am disappointed with our local banks which does not know really what eBanking is, they should just totally scrap said serivce if they cannot do it correctly. On May 4, 2008, i availed of Paypal's Withdraw to Bank feature by withdrawing a certain amount to my Metrobank account. I got charged, in my case, 50 pesos by Paypal. When money sent/withdrawn is below 7 thousand pesos, they charge you 50 pesos, over 7K withdrawals are free.
By May 6, 2008, on my Paypal dashboard, it said my transaction is "Comleted." Excited me, the very next banking day, i tried to withdraw my money amazed that the transaction took less time than expected.
Well, to make the story short, i did not get my money, and when i contacted Paypal, it said, "Completed" does not mean the money withdrawn will be be reflected on my the bank balance when it said Completed. The money will be available only after 5-7 days after it said "Completed" in Paypal. I waited, 7 days passed, no money yet, and horrors, until now, May, 23, 2008, the money i have withdrawn to Metrobank is still not reflected on my account balance. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
On May 6, 2008, i learned that Unionbank'S EON Debit Card can also be used to withdraw money from Paypal either as Withdraw to Debit Card with a charge of US $5 or the Withdraw to Bank option with the aforementioned charge of 50 pesos for below 7K sent or free for 7K and above sent. Of course, cheapskate me, availed of the cheaper Withdraw to Bank option.
By May 8, 2008, Paypal said Withdrawal was Completed. I waited again and then all of a sudden on May 16, 2008, Paypal informed me that Paypal/Unionbank has reversed the transaction saying that i entered incorrect Bank Codes. I definitely did not.
I am pretty pretty sure that i entered it correctly as i researched and followed the Unionbank bank code used by friends who previously used their EON Card to use the same feature and were successful with their transaction. Besides, the same bank codes are posted in Ebay.ph in their forums, a company owned by Paypal itself.
All in all i lost 300 pesos plus the unnecessary waiting to withdraw my very own money for two or more freakin' weeks. When a transaction is reversed for whatever reason, Paypal charges 250 pesos then converts the currency again to US Dollars.
I also learned at around the same time that my money/transaction was reversed, Unionbank's internet banking unit was having major problems. Ebay.ph users were having problems using thier EON cards to pay for international purchases too. I contacted Unionbank's Customer Service, but i only got silence on their end.
But at least my money, or a part of it were returned, and i learned some valuable lessons on E-Commerce and eBanking in the Philippines. What still puzzles me is my Withdraw to bank transaction with Metrobank. Up to this time, i am in limbo as to where my money went. I could not complaint to my branch because my Metrobank account is based in a 800 kilometer away province from Manila..
By May 6, 2008, on my Paypal dashboard, it said my transaction is "Comleted." Excited me, the very next banking day, i tried to withdraw my money amazed that the transaction took less time than expected.
Well, to make the story short, i did not get my money, and when i contacted Paypal, it said, "Completed" does not mean the money withdrawn will be be reflected on my the bank balance when it said Completed. The money will be available only after 5-7 days after it said "Completed" in Paypal. I waited, 7 days passed, no money yet, and horrors, until now, May, 23, 2008, the money i have withdrawn to Metrobank is still not reflected on my account balance. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
On May 6, 2008, i learned that Unionbank'S EON Debit Card can also be used to withdraw money from Paypal either as Withdraw to Debit Card with a charge of US $5 or the Withdraw to Bank option with the aforementioned charge of 50 pesos for below 7K sent or free for 7K and above sent. Of course, cheapskate me, availed of the cheaper Withdraw to Bank option.
By May 8, 2008, Paypal said Withdrawal was Completed. I waited again and then all of a sudden on May 16, 2008, Paypal informed me that Paypal/Unionbank has reversed the transaction saying that i entered incorrect Bank Codes. I definitely did not.
I am pretty pretty sure that i entered it correctly as i researched and followed the Unionbank bank code used by friends who previously used their EON Card to use the same feature and were successful with their transaction. Besides, the same bank codes are posted in Ebay.ph in their forums, a company owned by Paypal itself.
All in all i lost 300 pesos plus the unnecessary waiting to withdraw my very own money for two or more freakin' weeks. When a transaction is reversed for whatever reason, Paypal charges 250 pesos then converts the currency again to US Dollars.
I also learned at around the same time that my money/transaction was reversed, Unionbank's internet banking unit was having major problems. Ebay.ph users were having problems using thier EON cards to pay for international purchases too. I contacted Unionbank's Customer Service, but i only got silence on their end.
But at least my money, or a part of it were returned, and i learned some valuable lessons on E-Commerce and eBanking in the Philippines. What still puzzles me is my Withdraw to bank transaction with Metrobank. Up to this time, i am in limbo as to where my money went. I could not complaint to my branch because my Metrobank account is based in a 800 kilometer away province from Manila..
Why is Friendster popular in the Philippines and not Facebook or MySpace
David Jones, vice president for global marketing of Friendster, revealed that a third of the traffic going to social networking site Friendster are contributed by Filipinos or at least the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are from the Philippines. An IP address is assigned for every country or city/specific location, in order to identify from where it is coming from, although a Proxy server may alter or altogether hide it.
Jones also revealed that of the 14 million Internet users in the Philippines as of 2007, 13.2 million of them logged into Friendster at one point or another.
Asia remains the biggest market for Friendster. If you mentioned Friendster to a US friend, you will be greeted with a puzzled look..Facebook and MySpace and to a certain degree Twitter, are the leaders in social networking in North America and Western Europe.
So why is Friendster lording it over the Philippines? My take is, it's not because it is the best social networking site. It is all about culture and basically it is because it has always been here first, or at least here first when the Personal Computer became more affordable to the masses. A classic case of correct timing.
In 2003, when i first signed up for Friendster, i got to know about Friendster when Digg founder Kevin Rose featured it in TechTv's Call For Help. TechTV was showing on a local channel practically on rotation, and was popular with the geekies. From there, i noticed that most of my friends also signed up for it, then the real essence of social networking caught off. Almost overnight, everybody is into Friendster, that is if you don't have one, you're an "outcast."
So there, it's all about networking and culture..Watch out, another social networking start up very popular here is Multiply, also an "aberration" than the more popular Wordpress or Blogger in the Western World.
Jones also revealed that of the 14 million Internet users in the Philippines as of 2007, 13.2 million of them logged into Friendster at one point or another.
Asia remains the biggest market for Friendster. If you mentioned Friendster to a US friend, you will be greeted with a puzzled look..Facebook and MySpace and to a certain degree Twitter, are the leaders in social networking in North America and Western Europe.
So why is Friendster lording it over the Philippines? My take is, it's not because it is the best social networking site. It is all about culture and basically it is because it has always been here first, or at least here first when the Personal Computer became more affordable to the masses. A classic case of correct timing.
In 2003, when i first signed up for Friendster, i got to know about Friendster when Digg founder Kevin Rose featured it in TechTv's Call For Help. TechTV was showing on a local channel practically on rotation, and was popular with the geekies. From there, i noticed that most of my friends also signed up for it, then the real essence of social networking caught off. Almost overnight, everybody is into Friendster, that is if you don't have one, you're an "outcast."
So there, it's all about networking and culture..Watch out, another social networking start up very popular here is Multiply, also an "aberration" than the more popular Wordpress or Blogger in the Western World.
5.22.2008
Become a citizen journalist on youtube
Almost every mainstream media outlet are now encouraging the public to send in photos and videos of news events that happen in their locality. In the Philippines, ABS-CBN was a major purveyor with its "Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo" campaign in the last local elections. YouTube has also joined the fray.
YouTube launched a new CitizenNews channel where they’ll be highlighting news content submitted on to YouTube by citizen journalists.
Unlike traditional media though where the probability of getting your citizen news story accepted are fairly low, this is not the case with YouTube. And if your channel is exemplary in the eye of YouTube's editors, it may even promote it to a larger audience.
YouTube launched a new CitizenNews channel where they’ll be highlighting news content submitted on to YouTube by citizen journalists.
Unlike traditional media though where the probability of getting your citizen news story accepted are fairly low, this is not the case with YouTube. And if your channel is exemplary in the eye of YouTube's editors, it may even promote it to a larger audience.
5.20.2008
Beware of fake Adidas Track Jackets
Beware of fake Adidas track jackets proliferating in the internet esp. eBay and Multiply and your trusted (?!) tiangges. The difference is a world away actually. Oh, btw, a basic backgrounder on the Philippine Track Jackets by Adidas. The Adidas track jackets were made in commemoration for countries that has a rich football tradition. They also made track jackets for Mexico, Bhutan, Cameroon, Guatemala etc...
The Filipino people though big basketball fans nevertheless has a small but ardent community of soccer fans esp. in the provinces. So i guess Adidas made one for the Philippines, although i'm thinking they made one for every country in the world. Adidas also made it clear that it will be a limited edition release of a 100 at least for every country they are going to release said track tops. But to Adidas surprise, it got like more than a thousand reservations on top of the limited release of a hundred or so sold. So they made the reserved orders too. The Adidas track jackets caught up the "sosyal" crowd and the celebrity clique as well, so that mayhem ensued when the reserved jackets arrived last March. Spotted celebs wearing them are Manny Pacquiao and DJ Mo.
The Adidas Philippine flag track jackets features a design resembling a ball at the back of the Philippine jacket that actually looks like a volleyball or a sepak takraw rather than a soccer ball. And that's where the original Adidas track jacket distinguishes itself from the fake ones. The original has a sepak-takraw(slash)volleyball(slash)soccer ball in place of the sun inside the sun rays in the Philippine flag design. The fake ones do not have a PH embroidered logo with the so-called ball too in the right pocket part of the front portion of the track jacket. The fake ones has a lighter color than the original and it is also lighter than the thick fabric of the original..a sloppy job really of copying..but here's the rub, the original are sold for 4.9K while the fakes are for 2.9K..that's a total rip-off..so be clever..before buying something, research...
U Mobile, Free Mobile Phone Network in the Philippines
U Mobile, a Free Mobile Phone Network in the Philippines has just been launched. Yes free, Smart Philippines bought U Mobile, formerly CURE, and as an initial enticement to the Filipino public it gave away load credits of 350 pesos for a month, U Mobile SIM card and a LG KU320 cellphone on its launch to a lot of people.. How is U Mobile going to survive with this business model, you ask? Well,for one it is owned now by Smart and will be advertising-driven, meaning everything is subsidized by advertising.
In its website, U Mobile promises to deliver the following services:
* Free P100 load every month for the first 6 months
* Enhanced communication with fring™ (mobile VoIP)
* Nationwide coverage
* Earn rewards with every ad you see
* Mobile broadband surfing
* PC calling with Virtual Phone (coming soon)
Currently, applications are by invitation only and I heard that people who have been invited to the service will be able to refer friends who can then join and avail of the free service.
I just heard that the free load credits are dependent on how many advertisements invited subscribers read on their phones. U-mobile subscribers who read the ads on their mobile phones will receive credits on their pre-paid mobile phone bill.
U Mobile will operate independently of SMART but will use some of its facilities. It hopes to carry advertising from makers of personal care products, fastfood restaurants and even financial service companies.
Subic Scandal
An email i just received of an incident and a warning about Vista Marina Hotel & Resort in Subic Bay:
Greetings of Peace!
I am Dr. Abigail Fernandez-Bautista, 31 years old, a dentist and resident of San
Narciso, Zambales. I got married to Mr. Dax Baustista, three days ago at the chapel of
San Roque inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. I should have been happy and at peace by
now that I finally married the man of my dreams. I should have been spending days with
him, right now, talking about our future children and planning our lives. But I am
not. I am angry. I am in pain.
I have been sleepless the past nights because the memory of what happened to us always
comes back to me. And the thought that I and my husband will forever remember this
unfortunate event, every single year of our anniversary, brings me great distress and
anxiety.
After months of planning and anticipation, we were able to book ourselves and our
families and guests a place at Vista Marina Hotel and Resort located at Blk 3 Lot 2,
Moonbay Marina Area, Waterfront Road, Subic Bay Freeport Zone. We were so relieved
that the hotel has everything we were thinking of to realize a dream wedding that
turned catastrophic for us. Vista Marina, through its website and brochure, promised
us this:
You've always dreamed about having a beautiful wedding. Make this very special event
an unforgettable experience at Vista Marina Hotel & Resort. The resort's picturesque
setting at the pool side is truly the ideal place for this memorable occasion. As you
work closely with our certified wedding planner, you'll choose from several customized wedding packages and services, which will satisfy your every wish and create the most unforgettable day.
What we never realized was that "memorable experience and unforgettable" day was
something that would fill us with so much anger, so much pain. We were wed on May 10,
2008 at 6:30 in the evening. We then proceeded with our relatives and guests to have
dinner at around 9 at the wedding banquet of Vista Marina. The wedding program ended
at around 11 pm. We returned to our room, 207, and found that our belongings had been
suspiciously disarranged. We frantically went over our stuff and found that my
husband's laptop was missing. We had been robbed!
When we informed our parents about the incident, we also found out that our relative,
Mrs. Butch was crying because her cell phone and her wallet with cash of about
P20,000.00, her credit and ATM cards were stolen too. We panicked and got so
frightened that this incident happened inside the hotel premises that promised
security and comfort to us and our guests.
We immediately reported the incidents at the front desk of the hotel lobby. Our frustration and anxiety only got worse when we were coldly treated by the night shift and security supervisor, Mr. Gener Pangan. We never saw alarm nor concern from him. He acted as if everything that had happened that night was routine procedure to them. He never offered words of assurance that they will do everything to get our belongings back. We were treated with ominous and disturbing silence.
They did not call the SBMA police immediately for assistance. We had to wait for three hours for the hotel staff to finish its own "operation" before they called the police in. I don't know what's the SOP in cases of hotel robberies but three hours of wait could not help us think that evidence could have been contaminated especially if done without the presence of the proper authorities.
We also approached the operations manager of the hotel, Mr. Anthony Bacunawa, who,
though he was more cooperative, could say nothing more than "sorry" and "I understand
your situation." We wanted to talk to the owner of the hotel since the time of the
incident but Mr. Bacunawa was insistent that the hotel owner, who is Korean, would not want to talk to us. This was when our suspicion grew and our anger heightened.
We were the aggrieved party, we were the victims of a crime that should not have
happened had the security been tight and properly enforced. But it seems that we can
only talk to the walls. We were not able to sleep that night mulling over how could
this happen to us, and on the night of our wedding. When it was clear that we would
not be seeing justice that we deserve, we decided to politely ask some of the hotel
guests to check their belongings before they leave fearing that the same things may
have happened to them without them knowing it.
To our surprise, three hotel patrons, who are not members of our wedding guests, volunteered information that their door was opened by a suspicious woman who also had the same key to their room. The woman exclaimed, "Ay may tao pala." And she briskly left. Also, one of our principal sponsors found out in the morning that their door was ajar when his wife swore that she made sure that she locked the door before she and her children went to bed.
Early in the morning of May 10, we asked assistance from the front desk to help us
open the safety vault inside our room because the key given to us could not open it.
The receptionist sent one of the bellboys up for assistance but still the vault would
not budge. My husband and I decided that we would no longer use the vault. At the time of our discovery of the robberies, we found out that the vault was already open.
We wanted to ask the bellboy who brought up a spare key how did this happen. My mother has a vague remembrance of his face so she went to the front desk to ask if the hotel kept I.D. pictures of its staff, Mr. Pangan flatly refused her request saying, "We could not do that because it's administrative policy." When we asked why, he merely shrugged, "We want to protect our employees." I thought we were the ones who needed protection there.
After almost thirteen hours of futile request to the operations manager to let us talk to the owner of the hotel we were ready to leave and settle our accounts. The owner suddenly appeared and went straight to his office. We wanted to talk to him, just to let him know of some of the irregularities that we experienced inside his hotel. The hotel staff refused our request. They finally yielded when my father-in-law insisted to talk to him. We were made to wait interminably. My father-in-law went directly to the administrative office and politely requested that he be given a few minutes to talk to the owner. A family friend, Bro. Noel Bava, SJ went in with my father-in-law.
We were hoping that the Korean owner would be more cooperative and helpful this time.
But he was stubborn and refused to take responsibility over the incident. He kept on
telling us that it was our fault that our belongings got stolen. And as owners of
these belongings, we were the ones responsible for our things. That it was not the
responsibility of the hotel to keep an eye on our stuff. That even in our own house,
we are not 100% safe. That it is the responsibility of the government of the
Philippines to provide security to its citizens after all, this is our country.
When my father-in-law asked for his name, he said no, he is not going to give it. He
stood up, called security, told his staff to call the police and take my father-in-law and Bro. Bava out of his office immediately. It is not really the laptop or the money that we were after. We could easily have them replaced.
But the memories that this sad and lamentable incident that happened on the day of my wedding and the fact that it will make its mark on us forever, the refusal of the hotel administration to accept responsibility and pay for it, the shabby treatment that we received from the hotel owner, a Korean, a foreigner doing business on our soil, and staff that would do anything to keep their boss blameless and free of responsibility of the crime done to us-this we could not accept.
We are aghast that such business, whom we have also learned from the Intelligence and
Investigation Office of SBMA, had a history of robberies the past months and was
requested to put up security cameras and additional locks on their rooms, is allowed
to continue operating inside Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
We asked your good office if you could help us inform your readers about this incident so that the same things may not happen to them. We would also appreciate if you could run a follow up article or news story on this.
Thank you very much and God bless.
Respectfully yours,
Dr. Abigail Fernandez-Bautista, DMD
Greetings of Peace!
I am Dr. Abigail Fernandez-Bautista, 31 years old, a dentist and resident of San
Narciso, Zambales. I got married to Mr. Dax Baustista, three days ago at the chapel of
San Roque inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. I should have been happy and at peace by
now that I finally married the man of my dreams. I should have been spending days with
him, right now, talking about our future children and planning our lives. But I am
not. I am angry. I am in pain.
I have been sleepless the past nights because the memory of what happened to us always
comes back to me. And the thought that I and my husband will forever remember this
unfortunate event, every single year of our anniversary, brings me great distress and
anxiety.
After months of planning and anticipation, we were able to book ourselves and our
families and guests a place at Vista Marina Hotel and Resort located at Blk 3 Lot 2,
Moonbay Marina Area, Waterfront Road, Subic Bay Freeport Zone. We were so relieved
that the hotel has everything we were thinking of to realize a dream wedding that
turned catastrophic for us. Vista Marina, through its website and brochure, promised
us this:
You've always dreamed about having a beautiful wedding. Make this very special event
an unforgettable experience at Vista Marina Hotel & Resort. The resort's picturesque
setting at the pool side is truly the ideal place for this memorable occasion. As you
work closely with our certified wedding planner, you'll choose from several customized wedding packages and services, which will satisfy your every wish and create the most unforgettable day.
What we never realized was that "memorable experience and unforgettable" day was
something that would fill us with so much anger, so much pain. We were wed on May 10,
2008 at 6:30 in the evening. We then proceeded with our relatives and guests to have
dinner at around 9 at the wedding banquet of Vista Marina. The wedding program ended
at around 11 pm. We returned to our room, 207, and found that our belongings had been
suspiciously disarranged. We frantically went over our stuff and found that my
husband's laptop was missing. We had been robbed!
When we informed our parents about the incident, we also found out that our relative,
Mrs. Butch was crying because her cell phone and her wallet with cash of about
P20,000.00, her credit and ATM cards were stolen too. We panicked and got so
frightened that this incident happened inside the hotel premises that promised
security and comfort to us and our guests.
We immediately reported the incidents at the front desk of the hotel lobby. Our frustration and anxiety only got worse when we were coldly treated by the night shift and security supervisor, Mr. Gener Pangan. We never saw alarm nor concern from him. He acted as if everything that had happened that night was routine procedure to them. He never offered words of assurance that they will do everything to get our belongings back. We were treated with ominous and disturbing silence.
They did not call the SBMA police immediately for assistance. We had to wait for three hours for the hotel staff to finish its own "operation" before they called the police in. I don't know what's the SOP in cases of hotel robberies but three hours of wait could not help us think that evidence could have been contaminated especially if done without the presence of the proper authorities.
We also approached the operations manager of the hotel, Mr. Anthony Bacunawa, who,
though he was more cooperative, could say nothing more than "sorry" and "I understand
your situation." We wanted to talk to the owner of the hotel since the time of the
incident but Mr. Bacunawa was insistent that the hotel owner, who is Korean, would not want to talk to us. This was when our suspicion grew and our anger heightened.
We were the aggrieved party, we were the victims of a crime that should not have
happened had the security been tight and properly enforced. But it seems that we can
only talk to the walls. We were not able to sleep that night mulling over how could
this happen to us, and on the night of our wedding. When it was clear that we would
not be seeing justice that we deserve, we decided to politely ask some of the hotel
guests to check their belongings before they leave fearing that the same things may
have happened to them without them knowing it.
To our surprise, three hotel patrons, who are not members of our wedding guests, volunteered information that their door was opened by a suspicious woman who also had the same key to their room. The woman exclaimed, "Ay may tao pala." And she briskly left. Also, one of our principal sponsors found out in the morning that their door was ajar when his wife swore that she made sure that she locked the door before she and her children went to bed.
Early in the morning of May 10, we asked assistance from the front desk to help us
open the safety vault inside our room because the key given to us could not open it.
The receptionist sent one of the bellboys up for assistance but still the vault would
not budge. My husband and I decided that we would no longer use the vault. At the time of our discovery of the robberies, we found out that the vault was already open.
We wanted to ask the bellboy who brought up a spare key how did this happen. My mother has a vague remembrance of his face so she went to the front desk to ask if the hotel kept I.D. pictures of its staff, Mr. Pangan flatly refused her request saying, "We could not do that because it's administrative policy." When we asked why, he merely shrugged, "We want to protect our employees." I thought we were the ones who needed protection there.
After almost thirteen hours of futile request to the operations manager to let us talk to the owner of the hotel we were ready to leave and settle our accounts. The owner suddenly appeared and went straight to his office. We wanted to talk to him, just to let him know of some of the irregularities that we experienced inside his hotel. The hotel staff refused our request. They finally yielded when my father-in-law insisted to talk to him. We were made to wait interminably. My father-in-law went directly to the administrative office and politely requested that he be given a few minutes to talk to the owner. A family friend, Bro. Noel Bava, SJ went in with my father-in-law.
We were hoping that the Korean owner would be more cooperative and helpful this time.
But he was stubborn and refused to take responsibility over the incident. He kept on
telling us that it was our fault that our belongings got stolen. And as owners of
these belongings, we were the ones responsible for our things. That it was not the
responsibility of the hotel to keep an eye on our stuff. That even in our own house,
we are not 100% safe. That it is the responsibility of the government of the
Philippines to provide security to its citizens after all, this is our country.
When my father-in-law asked for his name, he said no, he is not going to give it. He
stood up, called security, told his staff to call the police and take my father-in-law and Bro. Bava out of his office immediately. It is not really the laptop or the money that we were after. We could easily have them replaced.
But the memories that this sad and lamentable incident that happened on the day of my wedding and the fact that it will make its mark on us forever, the refusal of the hotel administration to accept responsibility and pay for it, the shabby treatment that we received from the hotel owner, a Korean, a foreigner doing business on our soil, and staff that would do anything to keep their boss blameless and free of responsibility of the crime done to us-this we could not accept.
We are aghast that such business, whom we have also learned from the Intelligence and
Investigation Office of SBMA, had a history of robberies the past months and was
requested to put up security cameras and additional locks on their rooms, is allowed
to continue operating inside Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
We asked your good office if you could help us inform your readers about this incident so that the same things may not happen to them. We would also appreciate if you could run a follow up article or news story on this.
Thank you very much and God bless.
Respectfully yours,
Dr. Abigail Fernandez-Bautista, DMD
Third Party Ads on Google Adsense publishers
Google Adsense just announced that third-party ads can now advertise in the Google content network. What this means is that Google Adsense now accepts display ads served from qualified third-party vendors. So that advertisers who uses OpenX or Pubmatic can now advertise in the Adsense publishers pool. This is great news for us bloggers since we may attract top brand AdWords advertisers who use third parties to create and manage their online campaigns to maybe advertise with us.
Initially, Google is saying that it will be accepting third-party ads in English only, but hopes to expand it to other languages soon. To allow third-party ads on your site, you should optimize your site to allow third-party ads.
Here's 3 Steps to Optimize your Site to allow Third-Party Ads:
1. Opt into image ads - Currently, third-party ads are only available in image or Flash, so they won't appear in text-only ad units.
2. Enable advertisers to target your AdSense channels - Most advertisers who use third-party ads are brand-conscious. They prefer to specify websites where their ads will appear in order to optimize the targeting and effectiveness of their campaigns.
3. Opt into placement targeting - Placement targeting will allow advertisers to target their ads specifically to your site.
Google Adsense guarantees that following these steps will enable your site to accept third-party ads. However, it can't guarantee where or when third-party ads will appear on your site. Since, it is still in it's infancy stage, expect it to slowly but surely be a robust and successful advertising scheme that Google Adsense is known for.
Initially, Google is saying that it will be accepting third-party ads in English only, but hopes to expand it to other languages soon. To allow third-party ads on your site, you should optimize your site to allow third-party ads.
Here's 3 Steps to Optimize your Site to allow Third-Party Ads:
1. Opt into image ads - Currently, third-party ads are only available in image or Flash, so they won't appear in text-only ad units.
2. Enable advertisers to target your AdSense channels - Most advertisers who use third-party ads are brand-conscious. They prefer to specify websites where their ads will appear in order to optimize the targeting and effectiveness of their campaigns.
3. Opt into placement targeting - Placement targeting will allow advertisers to target their ads specifically to your site.
Google Adsense guarantees that following these steps will enable your site to accept third-party ads. However, it can't guarantee where or when third-party ads will appear on your site. Since, it is still in it's infancy stage, expect it to slowly but surely be a robust and successful advertising scheme that Google Adsense is known for.
5.19.2008
Put a Related Post widget in Blogger Blogspot
There are many limitations to a Blogger Blogspot hosted website but there is no limitations to the number of hacks one can do to improve the use of Blogger.
This tutorial on how to put a Related Post widget/plugin is a cleaner version without the links to so many people in the credits. This is important in SEO or Search Engine Optimization, there should not be too many outgoing links going to another website in your post page.
You are only giving the site another way to profit from you, they increase their PageRank at your expense. A simple thank you with a blogroll link or a donation to the originating website should be enough. But don't put their links in every page and post of your blog. You unwittingly do this if you place their code with their links in your blog. You can remove them without breaking the code.
Here is an easy way to implement/put a sanitized Related Post widget in a Blogger Blogspot blog/website:
1. In the Blogger Dashboard, Open Layout->Edit HTML->Before editing your template, backup your template first. Click on the Download Full Template link and save.
2. Expand Widget Templates and find this code:
<data:post.body/>
3. Copy the code below, and paste it after <data:post.body/>:
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<div class='similar'>
<div class='widget-content'>
<h3>Related Posts</h3>
<div id='data2007'/><br/><br/>
<div id='hoctro'>
</div>
<script type='text/javascript'>var homeUrl3 = "<data:blog.homepageUrl/>";
var maxNumberOfPostsPerLabel = 4;
var maxNumberOfLabels = 10;maxNumberOfPostsPerLabel = 100;
maxNumberOfLabels = 3;function listEntries10(json) {
var ul = document.createElement('ul');
var maxPosts = (json.feed.entry.length <= maxNumberOfPostsPerLabel) ?
json.feed.entry.length : maxNumberOfPostsPerLabel;
for (var i = 0; i < maxPosts; i++) {
var entry = json.feed.entry[i];
var alturl;for (var k = 0; k < entry.link.length; k++) {
if (entry.link[k].rel == 'alternate') {
alturl = entry.link[k].href;
break;
}
}
var li = document.createElement('li');
var a = document.createElement('a');
a.href = alturl;if(a.href!=location.href) {
var txt = document.createTextNode(entry.title.$t);
a.appendChild(txt);
li.appendChild(a);
ul.appendChild(li);
}
}
for (var l = 0; l < json.feed.link.length; l++) {
if (json.feed.link[l].rel == 'alternate') {
var raw = json.feed.link[l].href;
var label = raw.substr(homeUrl3.length+13);
var k;
for (k=0; k<20; k++) label = label.replace("%20", " ");
var txt = document.createTextNode(label);
var h = document.createElement('b');
h.appendChild(txt);
var div1 = document.createElement('div');
div1.appendChild(h);
div1.appendChild(ul);
document.getElementById('data2007').appendChild(div1);
}
}
}
function search10(query, label) {var script = document.createElement('script');
script.setAttribute('src', query + 'feeds/posts/default/-/'
+ label +
'?alt=json-in-script&callback=listEntries10');
script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript');
document.documentElement.firstChild.appendChild(script);
}var labelArray = new Array();
var numLabel = 0;<b:loop values='data:posts' var='post'>
<b:loop values='data:post.labels' var='label'>
textLabel = "<data:label.name/>";
var test = 0;
for (var i = 0; i < labelArray.length; i++)
if (labelArray[i] == textLabel) test = 1;
if (test == 0) {
labelArray.push(textLabel);
var maxLabels = (labelArray.length <= maxNumberOfLabels) ?
labelArray.length : maxNumberOfLabels;
if (numLabel < maxLabels) {
search10(homeUrl3, textLabel);
numLabel++;
}
}
</b:loop>
</b:loop>
</script>
</div></div>
</b:if>
4. Click "Save Template." Want more? No, were done. That's about it. You now have a clean Related Post Blogger widget. Remember that this widget is actually "Related Posts by Categories." It will only work if you have two or more blog post in a certain category you have assigned in your blog. Bummer? I know, sorry if i told you that at this stage. But that's the best way to have a Related Post option in Blogger)...
Jollibee vs. McDo
People generally think Jollibee is doing better than McDonald’s. Nope.
McDonald’s, run by George Yang and property tycoon Andrew Tan, is actually doing much better than Jollibee, run and owned by Tony Tan Caktiong. McDo is infinitely more profitable, renders better service and its people are warmer and less bureaucratic.
Jollibee has been cutting corners, on service, on warmth of its staff, on the passion to try to accommodate the customer as much as possible. Jollibee outlets scrimp on everything they can make money on—on the catsup, on napkins, on the coffee. (In Megamall, try ordering coffee after 7 p.m.; they won’t give it to you. Why? Because it takes time to brew for just one cup of coffee and risk of spoilage is high.
By the way, at Megamall Jollibee, why does one have to queue twice, first to place an order and second, to pick up your order. This certainly gives a new dimension to the meaning of fast food. Have you ever tried driving in for an order at Jollibee? Watch out. Oftentimes, you will find your takeout bag without any napkins, without any catsup and without any spoons and forks. Spaghetti? Try eating that with bare hands. With Jollibee, you can never take things for granted.
You have to demand what is due you. That is how profit-oriented Jollibee has become.
At McDo, the customer is first. At Greenhills, McDo doesn’t bother to ask for your senior card before giving you your 20-percent discount; Jollibee does, as if you would lie on something as small as a P25 cup of coffee. Jollibee doesn’t offer free refill. McDo not only offers free refill. Its attendants go around merrily filling up your cup, unlimited.
The bottom line? Customers are turned off. As a result, McDo makes more money than Jollibee.
McDo, with 259 stores—just 15 percent of main rival Jollibee’s local and overseas network of 1,527 outlets—is beating the homegrown fast-food giant in revenue per store.
Based on first quarter of 2007, Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), local franchisee of McDonald’s, generated average revenue of P696.5 million per store, 22 percent higher than Jollibee Food Corp.’s P569.7 million per store.
During the first three months of 2007 GADC reported gross revenues of P1.8 billion, up 14.7 percent from P1.37 billion for the same period last year. JFC’s revenues stood at P8.7 billion, also up by 14.8 percent from P7.6 billion.
On the profit side, GADC saw its net income rising 50 percent to P306 million for the first three months of 2007 from P204 million a year ago.
JFC reported a first-quarter 2007 net profit of P529.18 million, up by just 18 percent from P448.44 million.
In 2006 McDonald’s gross profit rose 22 percent to P929 million from P761 million; the gross profit of Jollibee gained 7.3 percent (a third of McDo’s) to P3.48 billion from P3.24 billion.
McDo’s gross margin increased to 14 percent from 12.3 percent; that of Jollibee was stagnant, at 23 percent.
Clearly, Jollibee is losing ground to McDo and the reason I believe is Jollibee’s penny-pinching manners. Also, it now takes more time to get your food from Jollibee. It’s fast food in slowmo.
GADC’s marketing campaign has focused on branding and increasing customer awareness. McDo also has the better and better quality giveaways for kids’ meals.
The McDonald’s franchisee also introduced campaigns to increase its drive-thru and breakfast business. In addition to the five new restaurants, GADC also opened 12 new delivery hubs and two additional kiosks.
The 17 new restaurants that were opened between April 1, 2006, and December 31, 2006, also contributed to the improvement in revenues during the first quarter of 2007.
McDo’s gross margins improved due to improved cost-efficiency by, among other things, better management of its supply chain.
GADC attributed its revenue growth to successful marketing promotions and opening of 22 new licensee and company-owned stores the remodeling of 30 GADC-owned restaurants to attract customers, the introduction of new products for sale, such as the McRice Burger and the McRice Chicken Fillet, and extensive advertising and promotional campaigns beginning in the latter part of 2005.
Other innovative products—Red Hot chicken, Longa McRice burger, bubblegum and strawberry float—were introduced during the first quarter of this year.
The company says its Ang Pao coupons proved to be very effective, increasing sales of burger and chicken McDo, regular fries and spaghetti.
Alliance Global entered the QSR (quick-service restaurant) business in March 2005 through the acquisition of 49 percent of the common shares of GADC, which oversees the operations of McDonald’s restaurants in the Philippines.
McDonald’s, run by George Yang and property tycoon Andrew Tan, is actually doing much better than Jollibee, run and owned by Tony Tan Caktiong. McDo is infinitely more profitable, renders better service and its people are warmer and less bureaucratic.
Jollibee has been cutting corners, on service, on warmth of its staff, on the passion to try to accommodate the customer as much as possible. Jollibee outlets scrimp on everything they can make money on—on the catsup, on napkins, on the coffee. (In Megamall, try ordering coffee after 7 p.m.; they won’t give it to you. Why? Because it takes time to brew for just one cup of coffee and risk of spoilage is high.
By the way, at Megamall Jollibee, why does one have to queue twice, first to place an order and second, to pick up your order. This certainly gives a new dimension to the meaning of fast food. Have you ever tried driving in for an order at Jollibee? Watch out. Oftentimes, you will find your takeout bag without any napkins, without any catsup and without any spoons and forks. Spaghetti? Try eating that with bare hands. With Jollibee, you can never take things for granted.
You have to demand what is due you. That is how profit-oriented Jollibee has become.
At McDo, the customer is first. At Greenhills, McDo doesn’t bother to ask for your senior card before giving you your 20-percent discount; Jollibee does, as if you would lie on something as small as a P25 cup of coffee. Jollibee doesn’t offer free refill. McDo not only offers free refill. Its attendants go around merrily filling up your cup, unlimited.
The bottom line? Customers are turned off. As a result, McDo makes more money than Jollibee.
McDo, with 259 stores—just 15 percent of main rival Jollibee’s local and overseas network of 1,527 outlets—is beating the homegrown fast-food giant in revenue per store.
Based on first quarter of 2007, Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), local franchisee of McDonald’s, generated average revenue of P696.5 million per store, 22 percent higher than Jollibee Food Corp.’s P569.7 million per store.
During the first three months of 2007 GADC reported gross revenues of P1.8 billion, up 14.7 percent from P1.37 billion for the same period last year. JFC’s revenues stood at P8.7 billion, also up by 14.8 percent from P7.6 billion.
On the profit side, GADC saw its net income rising 50 percent to P306 million for the first three months of 2007 from P204 million a year ago.
JFC reported a first-quarter 2007 net profit of P529.18 million, up by just 18 percent from P448.44 million.
In 2006 McDonald’s gross profit rose 22 percent to P929 million from P761 million; the gross profit of Jollibee gained 7.3 percent (a third of McDo’s) to P3.48 billion from P3.24 billion.
McDo’s gross margin increased to 14 percent from 12.3 percent; that of Jollibee was stagnant, at 23 percent.
Clearly, Jollibee is losing ground to McDo and the reason I believe is Jollibee’s penny-pinching manners. Also, it now takes more time to get your food from Jollibee. It’s fast food in slowmo.
GADC’s marketing campaign has focused on branding and increasing customer awareness. McDo also has the better and better quality giveaways for kids’ meals.
The McDonald’s franchisee also introduced campaigns to increase its drive-thru and breakfast business. In addition to the five new restaurants, GADC also opened 12 new delivery hubs and two additional kiosks.
The 17 new restaurants that were opened between April 1, 2006, and December 31, 2006, also contributed to the improvement in revenues during the first quarter of 2007.
McDo’s gross margins improved due to improved cost-efficiency by, among other things, better management of its supply chain.
GADC attributed its revenue growth to successful marketing promotions and opening of 22 new licensee and company-owned stores the remodeling of 30 GADC-owned restaurants to attract customers, the introduction of new products for sale, such as the McRice Burger and the McRice Chicken Fillet, and extensive advertising and promotional campaigns beginning in the latter part of 2005.
Other innovative products—Red Hot chicken, Longa McRice burger, bubblegum and strawberry float—were introduced during the first quarter of this year.
The company says its Ang Pao coupons proved to be very effective, increasing sales of burger and chicken McDo, regular fries and spaghetti.
Alliance Global entered the QSR (quick-service restaurant) business in March 2005 through the acquisition of 49 percent of the common shares of GADC, which oversees the operations of McDonald’s restaurants in the Philippines.
5.18.2008
How To Make Windows XP Shut Down Faster
Tip 1: Stop as many services as possible.
The more services that is running on your computer the more time your computer has to close on shut down. Keeping a slimmer running computer will not only make your computer run faster but it will make Windows shutdown faster. Here is how its done:
Go to the Start menu and then select Run. Type services.msc in the Run Dialog Box and click on OK. In the services window double click on the service you wish to disable.
Be careful on what services to disable as it will cause your system to crash or not startup at all. In the properties box for the selected service choose disabled in the Startup Type dropdown box. Click on OK.
Services to Disable:
1. Smart Card / Smart Card Helper - If you don't have a smart card system, you don't need this service. As smart cards have really never taken off... i doubt you need this. Disable it.
2. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service - Unless you run NetBIOS on your system, you don't need this service. Disable it.
3. Uninterruptible Power Supply - Although I should have a UPS, I don't. If you don't, then disable this service.
4. Remote Registry service - This service allows one to remotely edit the registry through a network connection. If you are editing your registry remotely, then you are too smart to be reading this guide. The rest of us mortals should have this off for security alone.
5. Error Reporting Service - A program crashes and microsoft wants to know about it. Give up your extra CPU cycles to help Bill Gates polish his OS, or you can just disable it. Your pick.
6. Wireless Zero Configuration - Unless you use wi-fi, you can safely stop this service. If you use wi-fi, this is actually a nice little service.
7. Alerter - This is so useless SP2 turns this off for you. For the rest of you folks, you should turn it off too.
8. Clipbook - This service allows you to cut and paste across your private network. Most programs that actually allow you to do this use their own ways for doing this.Useless.Stop it.
9. Computer Browser - If you are on a LAN, keep it enabled. If not, stop it. It allows you to see the other computers on your network.
10. FastUser Switching Compatibility - If you keep multiple users/logins on your current computer, you should leave this enabled. If you always log-in the same way as the same person, you should disable this.
11. Messenger Service - Useless crap from Microsoft. Even when you use YM, MSN, Trillian or any IM app, you don't need this.Kill it!
12. NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Service - If you don't use NetMeeting, you should stop this service.
13. Network DDE/Network DDE DSDM - DDE DSDM was an excellent idea by Microsoft that flopped. Disable both of these.
14. Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Service - you should not have it enabled unless you use it.
15. Telnet Service - This allows you to use telnet to log into your system from a remote location. It's a security risk so don't keep it enabled unless you use it.SP2 disables it by default now.
Its best to restart your computer after disabling a couple of services at a time so if something undesired happens to your computer you know what disabled service needs to be re-enabled.
Windows Updates can enable services that you have previously disabled. Check which services are running after a future Windows Update is completed.
You can still do tip 2-5,if you don't know or is not willing to risk what services to disable. The most likely service to disable is theming in XP(theme), and you will get a faster speed not just on shutdown but in your PC's overall performance,but you sacrifice how XP looks.
Tip 2: Automatically kill tasks on shutdown.
Windows XP by default will ask you if you wish to end a process if an application is running during the shutdown process. This little registry change will tell Windows to automatically end the process without your confirmation.
Go to the Start menu and then select Run. In the Run box type in regedit and click on OK. Navigate to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER->Control Panel->Desktop' and double click on the 'AutoEndTasks'. Change the value to 1 and click on OK.
Tip 3: Reduce the wait time to kill open applications.
When you choose to shutdown your computer, Windows will automatically wait a little bit before it kills applications that are open. Here we will show you how to reduce the wait time.
Go to the Start menu and then select Run. In the Run box type in regedit and click on OK. Navigate to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER->Control Panel->Desktop' and double click on the 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'. Change the value to 1000 and click on OK. Double click on 'HungAppTimeout' and change the value to 1000 then click on OK.
Navigate to 'HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT->Control Panel->Desktop' nd double click on the 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'. Change the value to 1000 and click on OK. Double click on 'HungAppTimeout' and change the value to 1000 then click on OK.
Tip 4: Reduce the wait time for services to be shutdown.
Much like applications, Windows XP waits a bit for the services to shutdown before it starts killing them. Here is how to reduce the wait time:
Go to the Start menu and then select Run. In the Run box type in regedit and click on OK. Navigate to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->System->CurrentControlSet->Control'. Double click on 'WaitToKillServiceTimeout' and change the value to 1000 then click on OK.
Tip 5: Disable Exit Windows Sound
Like previous versions of Windows, it takes a long time to restart or shutdown windows XP when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled. To solve this problem you must disable this useless sound.
Click Start button. Go to settings > Control Panel > Sound, Speech and Audio devices > Sounds and Audio Devices > Sounds.
Then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows" sub-menu and highlight it. Now from sounds you can select, choose "none" and then click Apply and OK.
Now you should see some improvements when shutting down your system.
The more services that is running on your computer the more time your computer has to close on shut down. Keeping a slimmer running computer will not only make your computer run faster but it will make Windows shutdown faster. Here is how its done:
Go to the Start menu and then select Run. Type services.msc in the Run Dialog Box and click on OK. In the services window double click on the service you wish to disable.
Be careful on what services to disable as it will cause your system to crash or not startup at all. In the properties box for the selected service choose disabled in the Startup Type dropdown box. Click on OK.
Services to Disable:
1. Smart Card / Smart Card Helper - If you don't have a smart card system, you don't need this service. As smart cards have really never taken off... i doubt you need this. Disable it.
2. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service - Unless you run NetBIOS on your system, you don't need this service. Disable it.
3. Uninterruptible Power Supply - Although I should have a UPS, I don't. If you don't, then disable this service.
4. Remote Registry service - This service allows one to remotely edit the registry through a network connection. If you are editing your registry remotely, then you are too smart to be reading this guide. The rest of us mortals should have this off for security alone.
5. Error Reporting Service - A program crashes and microsoft wants to know about it. Give up your extra CPU cycles to help Bill Gates polish his OS, or you can just disable it. Your pick.
6. Wireless Zero Configuration - Unless you use wi-fi, you can safely stop this service. If you use wi-fi, this is actually a nice little service.
7. Alerter - This is so useless SP2 turns this off for you. For the rest of you folks, you should turn it off too.
8. Clipbook - This service allows you to cut and paste across your private network. Most programs that actually allow you to do this use their own ways for doing this.Useless.Stop it.
9. Computer Browser - If you are on a LAN, keep it enabled. If not, stop it. It allows you to see the other computers on your network.
10. FastUser Switching Compatibility - If you keep multiple users/logins on your current computer, you should leave this enabled. If you always log-in the same way as the same person, you should disable this.
11. Messenger Service - Useless crap from Microsoft. Even when you use YM, MSN, Trillian or any IM app, you don't need this.Kill it!
12. NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Service - If you don't use NetMeeting, you should stop this service.
13. Network DDE/Network DDE DSDM - DDE DSDM was an excellent idea by Microsoft that flopped. Disable both of these.
14. Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Service - you should not have it enabled unless you use it.
15. Telnet Service - This allows you to use telnet to log into your system from a remote location. It's a security risk so don't keep it enabled unless you use it.SP2 disables it by default now.
Its best to restart your computer after disabling a couple of services at a time so if something undesired happens to your computer you know what disabled service needs to be re-enabled.
Windows Updates can enable services that you have previously disabled. Check which services are running after a future Windows Update is completed.
You can still do tip 2-5,if you don't know or is not willing to risk what services to disable. The most likely service to disable is theming in XP(theme), and you will get a faster speed not just on shutdown but in your PC's overall performance,but you sacrifice how XP looks.
Tip 2: Automatically kill tasks on shutdown.
Windows XP by default will ask you if you wish to end a process if an application is running during the shutdown process. This little registry change will tell Windows to automatically end the process without your confirmation.
Go to the Start menu and then select Run. In the Run box type in regedit and click on OK. Navigate to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER->Control Panel->Desktop' and double click on the 'AutoEndTasks'. Change the value to 1 and click on OK.
Tip 3: Reduce the wait time to kill open applications.
When you choose to shutdown your computer, Windows will automatically wait a little bit before it kills applications that are open. Here we will show you how to reduce the wait time.
Go to the Start menu and then select Run. In the Run box type in regedit and click on OK. Navigate to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER->Control Panel->Desktop' and double click on the 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'. Change the value to 1000 and click on OK. Double click on 'HungAppTimeout' and change the value to 1000 then click on OK.
Navigate to 'HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT->Control Panel->Desktop' nd double click on the 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'. Change the value to 1000 and click on OK. Double click on 'HungAppTimeout' and change the value to 1000 then click on OK.
Tip 4: Reduce the wait time for services to be shutdown.
Much like applications, Windows XP waits a bit for the services to shutdown before it starts killing them. Here is how to reduce the wait time:
Go to the Start menu and then select Run. In the Run box type in regedit and click on OK. Navigate to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->System->CurrentControlSet->Control'. Double click on 'WaitToKillServiceTimeout' and change the value to 1000 then click on OK.
Tip 5: Disable Exit Windows Sound
Like previous versions of Windows, it takes a long time to restart or shutdown windows XP when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled. To solve this problem you must disable this useless sound.
Click Start button. Go to settings > Control Panel > Sound, Speech and Audio devices > Sounds and Audio Devices > Sounds.
Then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows" sub-menu and highlight it. Now from sounds you can select, choose "none" and then click Apply and OK.
Now you should see some improvements when shutting down your system.
5.17.2008
PLDT myDSL Call Center Agent Curses at Caller
This is one of my article that got very popular, this was quoted in all the news outfits in the Philippines and even in CNN and God knows where pa, this was published in a blog, so i am including the comments made there:
It was an ordinary day for Catherine Rossana (as she repeatedly said on the other end, as her real name) in her work as a customer service representative for PLDT myDSL.
Then came Raul Bacaldo, who came a calling one day complaining that his DSL connection is still down after 2 days and he needs it badly for an iFreedom VOIP call to the US to finalize his itenerary for his trip to the US.
Roughly, their confrontation went this line:
Catherine: Thank you for calling DSL Helpdesk, this is Cathy, good morning.
Raul: Good Morning. Yes, i called because we still do not have dsl since yesterday.
Catherine: Just a moment sir, i will check on your details.(then the usual asking of subscriber account details)..
after checking, Catherine says that there is a software adjustment in the area and will not be able to promise a definite time when it will be back.
Raul: So, i will still be paying for the days that our net is down?
Catherine: Yes, but i can help you to set up on a rebate for the days that you don't have net.
Raul, asked for a supervisor...Catherine refused saying the supervisor will report to work later in the day..
Raul: F$@k your company and the hassle it brings..
Catherine thinking that she had pressed the Mute button on her Avaya was clearly heard saying: F$@k You, why are you acting that way...
Raul: Why are you cussing at me? F$@k you too..
Catherine still did not realize that she pressed the wrong button and not the Mute button, denied repeatedly ever cursing.
Then she went hysterical and cried saying that she is just an employee and that Raul didn't have the right to curse her..
Raul said that he did not curse her but at the hassle that the situation is giving and it is uncalled for to curse him which Catherine still denied but is very clear on the tape that she cussed. Raul then repeatedly cursed at Catherine and asked for a supervisor which she replied by hanging up...
That's a rough translation so don't blame me if you sided with anyone. This was in the news on Bandila( ABS-CBN) today, headlining it as " Call Center Causes Damage to Mental Health"..
You can hear the conversation turned confrontation here:
loop=true>
or download it here, or if still not available, here (Megaupload)...
Tags: Call Center agent, CSR, Customer Service Rep, PLDT CSR, PLDT call center agent, csr curses, verbal tussle, dsl, complaint, Philippines, PLDT, Pinoy
at 10/12/2006
| Hotlinks: DiggIt! Del.icio.us
59 Comments:
Anonymous said...
i onced work in customer service and will probably do what the dsl operator did to cuss him back but with the mute button pressed.
when working in cust service dept be prepared to be cursed by irate customers.
02:06
Earl - bluethehero said...
oh my, how terrible.
Sky Cable is worse though, in terms of services. we have no cable since Milenyo!
02:15
mukhang pintura said...
Is this the one covered on GMA news last night?
My sympathy is for Ms. Catherine.
04:11
Anonymous said...
I've been a call center agent before and the job isn't easy. A lot of agents mumble expletives at customers while on mute. That doesn't mean that the agent is right for what she did though.
I believe it's her fault for not pressing the correct "mute" button.
11:05
Mang Pidong said...
Apparently, CR needs cleaning, if not retraining. PLDT dsl, on the other hand, should make it a policy to credit customers for down time, immediately.
I once had an encounter with a young bank teller. I told her in a calm voice that I am old enough to be her father and adviced her that it is to her best interest to corrrect her rude behavior.
Namalayan naman.
13:58
Amadeo said...
I'm with the customer on this one. He cursed the company not her. There is a difference. It's business not personal. Call center employees should know that.
19:06
The Shaman of Malilipot said...
Both sides were at fault.
It was apparent that Catherine was not given enough specific information to satisfy the queries of Raul. She is not with technical service. In spite of this apparent lack of information, Raul still insisted on trying to squeeze out information that Cathy didn't have - the reason or reasons why there wasn't service yet despite previous assurances. This insistence helped build up stress and frustration on both sides, leading to Raul's cussing.
Cathy, on the other hand, should have let the cussing just bounce off her. She is in customer service and at no time should she lose her composure. If she can't stand the heat, she should be out of the kitchen.
PLDT is also at fault. It should give their customer service people enough specific information to meet clients' queries, or else put in place a system where customer service can redirect clients to technical service.
19:26
vic said...
Whether on mute, service techinicians,should never use expletives as part of their vocabulary. it is a very stessful job, especially if you don't have enough info, or your serving clients not good supplier of services. i just got off the phone with my provider for my complaints about my upgrade not making any difference in my system, and he told me it is already supposed to be. we parted amicably and agreed to call again next day if the speed is still the same. The best thing Catherine could have done is to accept her cussing and apologise sincerely and not to cuss again, even if on mute. Cursing is only good spoken on smokey adult bar...
21:55
chllout_lev said...
i agree on you on that one. dapat walang mute mute button, ayan namihasa tuloy ang mga csr.it was an accident waiting to happen.
saka, sa dami siguro ng reklamo sa PLDT, nagka burnout na ang csr. this is probably leaked by a pldt employee, siguro para ipahiya both sides,pero tingin ko dapat mas mahiya ang PLDT.sana ayusin nila service nila!
23:47
Anonymous said...
Ay, sa wakas, nahanap din ni Cathy yung mute button.
Really, Raul Bacaldo didn't need to cuss to get his point across. And Cathy didn't need to cuss to vent her frustration.
They both wasted time and laway on something they had no control over. That is why the most I do whenever my ZPDee is down for a loooong time is to tell Skycable's accounting department to credit my account.
"vic" is right about closing amicably and calling again if the problem continues, but the way the conversation went, it would have been impossible for Cathy to retract her cussing because it became a onesided conversation when Raul resumed his cussing.
I have no heart for PLDT, but I will be happy if Raul does not have an alternative broadband provider in his area; Raul and Cathy might meet again, haha!
00:30
Anonymous said...
tingin ko sisante na yang si cathy!heehe
besides, isn't she being paid to take precisely those kind of calls? bufferzone nga ng mga incompetent ISP's ang mga csr e. But this girl cracked up din naman e. natural na kasi ang mga irate caller,even Americans have a very short patience towards incompetence,except for their politicians,i guess heehe.
saka software upgrade for dsl?ano yun?standard reply?
01:13
John Peter said...
"Software upgrade"? WTF?! P*tang 'na! I blame it on PLDT's technical department for giving out such a lousy excuse. I might not be so sure though, it might be part of the agent's "script".
02:11
Anonymous said...
5610695 << I think this is Raul's phone number as per the info he provided.
Care for a phonepal?
22:50
Anonymous said...
well, i guess he's in the US now..i wonder what's his reaction to this? anyone know him personally?
03:02
Anonymous said...
things will workout for the best. abs-cbn is now inking a contract with Cathy to be a voice-over of an upcoming koreanobela "I Swear" with the theme song that goes "I swear by the moon and stars above... for better or worse....". She really touch my heart. Ringtone na sya ng cellphone ko. heheheh
06:22
Anonymous said...
PLDT should install an emotion detector to so that managers can intervene before everything heats up... nice technology.
07:00
stormer4a said...
Sir John Peter,
obviously you have the same sentiments as Raul because you both use the same language. These agents only read what is reported and if you listened closely she clearly said that it is only the info she can give. I know that PLDT csr are outsourced and is not directly employed by PLDT. Technical difficulties are considered as private company info and therefore is not given outside. You both should turn gay, hook up in the U.S. and talk dirty to each other..
14:06
Anonymous said...
hahaha,care to share your ringtone here?!
14:07
Anonymous said...
I also work in a call center, and yes you will definitely get calls such as that, but you should bear in mind that the customers are not cursing/cussing "you" personally, there customers are not taking it against you, it just happens that you are the first line of defense of this company that's why you should know how to bounce the cursing/cussing made by the customers, or if you can't control your emotions due to stress of your work, then make sure to curse/cuss the customer "silently", in this way you will not offend the customer that could cost you your job.
also, if you accepted the work as a CSR, you should be ready for this kinds of things that could happen, or worst.
buti nga at kapwa mo pilipino yan, kung ibang lahi yan, may kasama pang pang lalait yan...
ciao!!
09:11
Anonymous said...
Ayos ah... hehehe. Buti na lang wala na ako sa ganyang working environment.
Parehong at fault ang dalawang panig.
Sa agent, wala naman talagang training for the psychological burden na pwedeng ibigay ng csr-oriented job. May warning na rin naman madalas na binibigay ang company about such situations; kaya kung nagsabi ka ng "oo, kayang harapin o i-handle ang mga ganung sitwasyon" dapat gawin mo ang lahat para hindi ka maapektuhan. Naka-experience na ako ng ganyan. Pasok dito, labas sa kabila. Dapat isipin na dapat mabigyan lagi ng alternative solution/s or other means of pacifying an irate customer.
At sa customer, dapat intindihin din naman kahit papaano ang trabaho ng csr. Middleman lang talaga ang mga yan, tulad ng nabanggit na before, baka nga outsourced lang at hindi talaga directly hired by the telephone company; kaya dapat pinakinggan niya yung offer ng agent about helping him to have an incidence report at mabigyan ng rebate. Marami namang ibang paraan para magawan ng solusyon ang problema niya.
Anyway, dapat kasi iniiwasan ang pagsasalita ng mga murang salita mula sa dalawang panig para walang tensyon, di ba?
Pati na rin yung company at fault for not meeting up their customer's expectation/s. hehe. ^_~
11:38
blackdragon said...
i'd side with the call center agent for a number of reasons:
1) she represents the company; a curse word thrown against her company is no different to a curse word at her.
2) the curse may be called for, but the customer could have practised a little bit of tact. it's not the fault of the call center agent; they only receive the complaints and file them -- they are not the ones who do the actual work.
3) even if the agent did curse back, she intended to do it while muted (although she made a mistake). the customer did not even think about muting but just threw out the expletive.
tao rin naman yung agent. batuhin mo ng bato, natural lang na batuhin ka rin.
poor girl. she'll lose her job (and possibly all other hope of getting employment in other call centers), just because of a foul mouthed customer and her simple mistake.
19:04
crescent said...
the customer is the idiot. not personal? you gotta be kidding me for the number of times he cussed
and the tone of his voice.
2 days without net for some cheapskate voip calls. if its really that important he should have gone to an internet cafe.
there is nothing you can do but express your frustrations once and only once! cussing so many times will not debug that software problem....what a moron.
the agent lost control but can always do a comeback without uttering a single word. I can "piss on" people without uttering a cuss word. She just needs to hone her skills and not be intimidated by the likes of "siRaulo".
the lady shouldn't lose her job on this trivial matter and the customer gets a rebate for his internet downtime.
20:21
ted francisco said...
My heart goes to Cathy the call center agent. She was calm and patient from the very start. But, the guy on the other line really drained her patience and pull the last straw. And I bet, he was not the first caller that Cathy handled that day.
But in fairness to the guy, I find merit in his ballistic attitude. I have been in the same situation for so many times. But, I never let out any cuss words of some sort. And i see to it that I apologize to the agent if I raise my voice from time to time.
Cathy is the messenger. And Raul was definitely shooting at her. This should be a wake up call to all public and private utilities -- we customers want more than just rhetorics. I think there should be a review of the DTI Customer Rights of something.
I don't blame Raul. I blame PLDT MyDSL for not preparing a crisis management module and for not treating customers the way they should be.
I pity Cathy. It was not her fault that PLDT MyDSL could not live up to customer expectations and could not be as realiable as it claim to be.
I hope Cathy and Raul patch things up for the better. I feel Raul is a good guy, victimized by inconvenience and really irritating circumstances.
As for Cathy, I hope you could move on. I know this could be traumatic and very demeaning for you.
Again, the agents and the customer are put in the frying pan by corporate giants who could care no less than earning big profits.
I would like to read in the news in the coming days how Cathy and Raul could really come to terms and settle this issue in a peaceful a manner.
Still, hy heart goes out to Cathy. and curse PLDT MyDSL for this brouhaha. I bet they released this audio material to smoke screen their shortcomings and imbalances to the public.
13:54
customer lang din said...
why the heck would she work in a call center if she couldn't handle the heat? was she expecting calls of customers who wanted to praise the services of the company? duh!
whether or not she pressed the mute button, fact remains, she cursed and went berserk...
raul had all the right to complain, if you were in his shoes, wouldn't you be pissed off at the company too?
buti nga the raul guy handled it nicely.. cus i would've done worse...
sige nga ppl, if you were either of the two, how would you have handled it?
17:33
Anonymous said...
Raul was certainly improper. Bad manners is bad manners no matter what the situation. Cursing is uncalled for in this situation, even if he was the customer. The service may have been completely terrible, but a proper civilized person will hold his temper.
Cathy, however, was even worse. Not only did she have bad manners, she was employed in a company and job where one gets paid to professionally keep one's manners. And where one should expect to deal with people with all sorts of manners. It is a wonder that the call center she works for let her through the screening process, and does not bode well for the Philippines' call center industry. It is a bigger wonder that they retain her.
Both Raul and Cathy are embarassment's to our country.
22:08
Anonymous said...
Hindi dapat ibinigay ni Cathy yung full name nya so that if worse comes to worst, she still has her anonymity to protect her against that angry client.
Another comment though is that Cathy seems to have an inferior personality which doesn't seem to fit the job of a CSR.
15:59
Anonymous said...
hmmmm. dapat sinabi na lang ni cathy tabg ina naman po din.. hastle din.. hehehe.. at list magalang...
16:12
Anonymous said...
According to some call center agents, different call center companies have been given a warning on the said agent.
Her career in the industry is now bleak, and probably in other industry as well.
21:28
P e n said...
Is that even a real recorded call?
08:46
Anonymous said...
i believe this is a real recorded conversation.. and i don't believe pldt (or whomever is in charge of the helpdesk) doesn't know that this recorded thing is already in the emails of a lot of filipinos.. probably they even gave a blessing to whomever to circulate this to get even with raul.. remember catherine rosanna is just a name.. there may be a lot of cathreine rosannas out there.. but for raul, aside from giving his surname has also given his phone number..
13:12
Ryuji said...
This is so funny!!! yung girl magdedeny pa eh rinig na rinig naman na siya talaga yung unang nagmura. Yes, nagmura yung subscriber but not to her! It is clear that the guy curses because of the lousy service of PLDT but not to her. And then suddenly she cursed directly to the subscriber that's why the guy got mad. He is a frustrated subscriber, and an agent is supposed to be ready to encounter callers like that! now tell me, is that the "very friendly" customer care PLDT promised us?! dapat agent ang mag adjust dahil yung subscriber, eh customer iyan, nagbabayad ng tama, PLDT ang may problema sa part nila kaya wala siyang karapatang murahin ang subscriber.... gosh, sinira niya pangalan niya, Catherine Rosanna... bastos na babae.... hehehehe kakatwa, binaba niya tuloy yung morality and dignity niya... ewww...
15:33
DJ RO said...
I used to work in that environment also. But nevertheless, Raul was at fault for using an expletive but I think that Catherine Call Center Agent should expect these things. If that was the middle of her shift, then she wouyld have received the same calls from everyone else and she should have known what to do that time. That is her work and she should have not cursed. Mute or no mute button, she was not a good call center agent for breaking down. This call was purely business and not personal obviously. I am sure she is now the laughing stock of the company and her family. But remember in a year, people will forget this thing. Quality Assurrance of her company should have just kept the audio tape to themselves. No point in bringing it out in the open.
18:04
Anonymous said...
Once you initiate a conversation with expletives, pinatay mo na rin yung civility between the two parties.
I blame Raul for not controlling his temper. Yes, Cathy is being paid to buffer these types of calls. But she's not being paid to be cussed at. Nobody should endure verbal abuse, kesyo ano pang situation.
Ang mali lang ni Cathy don e gumanti sya. Pero Raul was itching for a fight, and has been since the conversation started. Blaming PLDT, the mute button, etc. is all academic.
At the end of the day, it's all about delicadeza, and Raul was found wanting. Tanong ko lang, is whether his bosses in the US subject him to the same kind of treatment kaya akala nya ok lang yon. Well, hindi pare.
21:01
Anonymous said...
i have worked in the biggest call center/service provider which has offices based in manila (i'm in london now)as a quality specialist. what catherine did was wrong. actually this is a ground for termination in a lot of service provider... this is what i can say, if you want to cuss, be sure you can handle it. be smart, check everything before doing so. she was idiotic if not careless to do such a thing. she'll probably get blacklisted...if she had an american client and she did this, she'll be in deep shit.
Rules that she broke:
1. cussing-it is considered a gross misconduct and unprofessional for an agent to cuss regardless of the circumstances, cuss if you want just be sure you can play with fire and not sob and throw your sentiments to the customers which is just bull s###.
2. never, EVER RELEASE A CALL!-she was to damn afraid to escalate the call because deep within her guts she knows that she commited the mistake, i bet you, she turned white when she saw that she didn't press the right button...never rely on your avaya, press the mute on the hardphone just to play safe...
well lastly, PLDT DSL has provided poor training that is why all of these happened. poor girl though, but you can't blame paying customers especially if you're caught in the act cussing them
05:30
incurable_humanist said...
I think Cathy is stupid for fighting fire with fire. She is nothing but a mediator between the customer and the company, thus her ROLE in this whole shannanigan is to calm the customer and at the same time give the company a good rep despite their poor service. That's her role, she CHOSE that role in applying for that job. And CHOOSING to take that kind of job obligates you to be calm, nice, and respectful, how ever hypocrite that may be. She should know better.
Kudos to the customer for speaking his mind because that is his ROLE as a customer: to be serviced and reprimand mistreatment and rude behaviors.
The hell with sympathies to the underdog, I think it's all about the roles we all take. And carrying that role to the fullest.
10:38
Anonymous said...
When it comes to paid services, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT, whether CSRs like it or not. Customers who call for service-related issues pay for these services and they have every right to demand whatever is necessary to satisfy what their money's worth.
Raul the customer didn't press for information from the CSR but demanded to speak to a supervisor to escalate his issue since apparently, what the CSR know (or does not know) does not satisfy him as the customer. It's surprising that there was no supervisor at that time. Aren't supervisors, like the CSRs, go on shifts so that there's always at least one supervisor around whenever there's a need to escalate an issue?
I agree with incurable_humanist that Cathy as a CSR should be a mediator between the customer and the company. Whether the customer cursed the company or the CSR, that is not as important as her being a CSR keeping her composure, because that's what she's being paid to do in the first place.
If she can't keep her cool under such circumstances, then she shouldn't be in the customer service industry. She even had the nerve to hang up on the customer, now that is ultimately rude behaviour for a CSR.
02:55
Anonymous said...
You don't tell customers how to act like customers. These people pay for the services. They're not the ones who are being paid by the company to use the service.
As a CSR, it's Cathy's job to provide reassurance to the customer, no matter what. Because that's her job.
Spare us the excuse that she's also human, yada yada yada. If she doesn't know how to handle these kinds of situations, she should't be in this job.
You don't blame the customers ever. That's one fundamental fact in business.
05:42
Anonymous said...
cathy should not be fired but rather her supervisor and training officer who did not do a good job in preparing her in this situation.
06:35
TMX said...
well...
Cathy did some big time shit. Now... she's shitting herself...
One thing is certain, she is in no acceptable state to be in customer service. So what if the customer DID curse her? It wont be such a big deal... just smile... and wait for him to realize that both of you cant do anything about it.
used to have a local PDLT customer service officer call out house in Cavite. The girl ended up asking ME out! hehehehe....
freaky huh?
they should find more employees like that...
08:23
Anonymous said...
as far as i know there's a protocol for callers who spend time cussing you out for reasons related to the service. it looks like that won't be applicable for this case since the customer wasn't cussing the rep directly.
hay nako... cathy needs some serious stress and anger management training. if she couldn't take the heat, she shouldn't be in the call center kitchen. local callers pa lang di na nya kinaya, what more pag international?
06:58
Anonymous said...
This guy deserve to be cursed, he treated the CSR without respect and repeatedly told her that he needs the cheapo VOIP feature of the internet to make an intl call. I believe I speak for most people who have travelled all over and verified their itenerary thru emails, online bookings or using IDD's. Don't be a cheapo.
23:19
Anonymous said...
though i can see a big fault on the side of the CSR agent , particularly on the cursing that she did. It's always bean a NO NO to behave that way especially when you are one of the frontliners . Raul Bacallo ( if i spelled that right..??? ) is also not in a proper sense of mind that time. Yeah, he was pissed off with the service and things that he has been complaining for the past 2 days, but don't you think the CSR agent already explained to you ...Nth times that you can get the rebate and the reason why the service is down is due to an ongoing tech activity ? I think the CSR was provoked with the way this Raul responded to her explanation. Yes , you are the customer, but nowadays, THE CUSTOMERS are NOT ALWAYS right ... and the CSR agent is also human herself.. think bro ..if you are going to the states, you don't have to say that more than a couple of times, try calling your travel agent or have the itinerary emailed to you or if you really want to use this VOIP , that is also available in any internet cafe if you think this is really very important .. babaw ng problema mo
00:16
Anonymous said...
hoy mr raul...do not do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you. Hindi komo CUSTOMER ka you can say anything that you want...besides the CSR tried her best to explain to you what went wrong in a nice way kaso DI KA NAKIKINIG all you did is brag about you going to the states duh! di bale sana kung sa una pa lang arrogant na agad ang approach e HINDI NAMAN E! It's her job of course pero still dapat nagpakatao ka pa rin...e kaso minura mo ng paulit ulit e kalalake mong tao! Nakakainis talaga pag poor ang service na natatangap mo...pero alam mo kung ano mali mo nag EGO trip KA. Hamo malay mo one day isa sa mga mahal mo sa buhay maging call center agent tignan ko lang kung di ka magiging kalmado...bawasan mo pagkain ng baboy...para hindi ka high blood...Easy!God bless!
00:38
Anonymous said...
well im siding with cathy... i dont have to explain why
just scrutinize the conversation well and you'll know...
16:41
RichGrayson said...
the agent may have failed to react correctly in that call, but that only proves one thing. she really doesnt belong in the call center industry, or at least not ready yet. too bad she wouldnt have another chance to redeem herself..
first thing that agents are told when handling irate callers is to practice empathy, put yourself in the caller's shoes and perhaps you'd understand how they feel. it really works..
but then, when you get the same type of calls the whole day, irate ones, would take toll on the agents. no amount of training could prepare anyone for that. don't give me that crap about knowing how to handle this kind of callers, at some point, everyone would crack..
i'd understand if the customer was frustrated about the service, but that doesnt give him the right to attack that agent that way. hell, he sounded worse than a predator going for a kill. he already stated how important it was to get the internet working. the agent acknowledged it. end of story, what use would it be staying on the line knowing your just gonna be wasting your time. nah, he had to keep on asking the same questions rather than find another way to get what he needed. budget cards goes for a hundred. if it really was that important.
toopid..
10:06
Anonymous said...
tanong ko lng san and panu nag originate to? cnxa na po ah nde kc ako nagwowork sa call center...
kapanipanipaniwala in the first thought pero i come to think of it baka gawagawa lng yan... panu nila narecord to... syempre kung sa PLDT yan nde nila yan ilalabas... iniisip ko rin na baka nirecord nung customer pero nde e ...pag inquiries na ganito nde mo na maiisip na irecord un para hanapan mo sila ng fault.
16:26
Anonymous said...
Ang fault ay nasa PLDT management...napaka-BULOK ng sistema nila...kawawa ang customer service rep at mga subscribers..gahaman sa pera ang PLDT. talagang nakakasira ng araw at mood kapag nag-followup ka ng complaint at walang maisagot na tama ang CSR nila..BWISIT ang PLDT at ang kanilang sistema sa customer service..
13:09
Anonymous said...
baka may nagleak. hehe.. nafeature na din daw sa ABS-CBN's BANDILA e. sa SUunday, Pacquiao VS. Morales PART3! wooohooo! =) PEACE na mga dude. preho cla mali. hehe..
08:47
Cameron said...
Whatever was done by Mr. Raul, The agent shouldnt have done whatever she had done..
All i can say is ROSANNA shouldnt be working at any company that would give her a chance to speak with CLIENTS.. She can always work in the factories where she can curse all the pieces and sh!ts there..
As a friend of call center agents this is all I can say "QUIT YOUR STUPID JOB IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE SHITS FROM PEOPLE LIKE MR. RAUL"
I say BAN ROSSANA FROM WORKING IN ANY CALL CENTER OR ANY WORK THAT TALKS DIRECTLY TO CUSTOMERS...
14:34
Perry said...
Mukhang totoo yung conversation. Ganito rin ang comment ko sa isa pang blog:
I did a research on this customer support issue, and I found out that the conversation is most probably real.
Nagtanong ako sa isang call center QA person, and I found out that it's possible for a recorded CSR conversation (which is really confidential matter and internal only to the company) to get divulged publicly. Call centers typically use VoIP (voice over IP) technology to communicate with their clients. The agent's phone is connected to a modem in the computer, and the computer does all the communication link between the agent and the customer via a VoIP software. The call sessions get recorded and saved into audio files, which can be collected by QA people to monitor the conversations and evaluate the agent. The audio files in turn can be converted into a WAV file and potentially scatter it throughout the Internet. So malamang, isang QA person ang nagkalat ng conversation na ito.
17:36
Anonymous said...
Well, I think her boss should nominate her to a series of training on;
1. Customer Relations
2. Anger Management
3. Stress Management
4. Phone for Dummies ( to locate where is the mute button is)
To her Supervisor: She doesnt need an acting workshop...She's A Star! Iba ka sister!
For Mr. Raul you need Motolite...para "CONVINCING". Agent Catherine offered many options, i think you are not convinced on her suggestions.
21:12
Dennis Jovelo said...
Obvious naman na akala nung agent naka-mute sya kaya minura nya rin yung customer. Kahit sinong CSR (like me) alam na di pwedeng maging rude, much more magsabi ng offensive language to the customer.
Nung panay na mura nung customer dun sa agent the latter didn't know what to do anymore because she became aware of the serious trouble she had gotten herself into. Kaya ayun she totally lost control of her emotions - di nya na alam kung paano malulusutan yung situation.
00:55
RobertoPanday said...
Pag nakita ko iyang Raul na iyan bubugbugin ko!Galit ako sa mga Conyo na gaya niya!
18:55
Anonymous said...
Ive been reading all sides on this story passively but this one prompted me to reply:
"crescent said...
2 days without net for some cheapskate voip calls. if its really that important he should have gone to an internet cafe."
What kind of an argument is that? The guy is paying real money for his Internet connection and so has the right to use that service for whatever purpose, and yes including "cheapskate" voip calls.
Of course its implied that he'll find some other means of getting online, but the fact that YOU have to bring that out in your comment is totally out of line.
He's not getting his money's worth so he has the right to be upset, and it's lame to argue to just put up with it, tail in between the legs and go to an Internet cafe. It's that sort of thinking that makes service here in the Philippines pure B.S. -like that of PLDT.
21:28
Anonymous said...
To hell with PLDT MyDSL! Their service sux! That's the bottomline!
20:22
Anonymous said...
These days, the customer is always wrong. Guess who rakes in the profits?
23:23
Efren said...
so sad...
http://www.pinoycallcenter.com
15:59
SAKSI said...
Raul Bacaldo's statement of his going to the US is just a crap!!!
He's still in the Philippines up to this time... waiting to devour another CSR.
01:44
Anonymous said...
Raul Bacaldo's statement of his going to the US is just a crap!!!
He's still in the Philippines up to this time... waiting to devour another CSR.
It was an ordinary day for Catherine Rossana (as she repeatedly said on the other end, as her real name) in her work as a customer service representative for PLDT myDSL.
Then came Raul Bacaldo, who came a calling one day complaining that his DSL connection is still down after 2 days and he needs it badly for an iFreedom VOIP call to the US to finalize his itenerary for his trip to the US.
Roughly, their confrontation went this line:
Catherine: Thank you for calling DSL Helpdesk, this is Cathy, good morning.
Raul: Good Morning. Yes, i called because we still do not have dsl since yesterday.
Catherine: Just a moment sir, i will check on your details.(then the usual asking of subscriber account details)..
after checking, Catherine says that there is a software adjustment in the area and will not be able to promise a definite time when it will be back.
Raul: So, i will still be paying for the days that our net is down?
Catherine: Yes, but i can help you to set up on a rebate for the days that you don't have net.
Raul, asked for a supervisor...Catherine refused saying the supervisor will report to work later in the day..
Raul: F$@k your company and the hassle it brings..
Catherine thinking that she had pressed the Mute button on her Avaya was clearly heard saying: F$@k You, why are you acting that way...
Raul: Why are you cussing at me? F$@k you too..
Catherine still did not realize that she pressed the wrong button and not the Mute button, denied repeatedly ever cursing.
Then she went hysterical and cried saying that she is just an employee and that Raul didn't have the right to curse her..
Raul said that he did not curse her but at the hassle that the situation is giving and it is uncalled for to curse him which Catherine still denied but is very clear on the tape that she cussed. Raul then repeatedly cursed at Catherine and asked for a supervisor which she replied by hanging up...
That's a rough translation so don't blame me if you sided with anyone. This was in the news on Bandila( ABS-CBN) today, headlining it as " Call Center Causes Damage to Mental Health"..
You can hear the conversation turned confrontation here:
loop=true>
or download it here, or if still not available, here (Megaupload)...
Tags: Call Center agent, CSR, Customer Service Rep, PLDT CSR, PLDT call center agent, csr curses, verbal tussle, dsl, complaint, Philippines, PLDT, Pinoy
at 10/12/2006
| Hotlinks: DiggIt! Del.icio.us
59 Comments:
Anonymous said...
i onced work in customer service and will probably do what the dsl operator did to cuss him back but with the mute button pressed.
when working in cust service dept be prepared to be cursed by irate customers.
02:06
Earl - bluethehero said...
oh my, how terrible.
Sky Cable is worse though, in terms of services. we have no cable since Milenyo!
02:15
mukhang pintura said...
Is this the one covered on GMA news last night?
My sympathy is for Ms. Catherine.
04:11
Anonymous said...
I've been a call center agent before and the job isn't easy. A lot of agents mumble expletives at customers while on mute. That doesn't mean that the agent is right for what she did though.
I believe it's her fault for not pressing the correct "mute" button.
11:05
Mang Pidong said...
Apparently, CR needs cleaning, if not retraining. PLDT dsl, on the other hand, should make it a policy to credit customers for down time, immediately.
I once had an encounter with a young bank teller. I told her in a calm voice that I am old enough to be her father and adviced her that it is to her best interest to corrrect her rude behavior.
Namalayan naman.
13:58
Amadeo said...
I'm with the customer on this one. He cursed the company not her. There is a difference. It's business not personal. Call center employees should know that.
19:06
The Shaman of Malilipot said...
Both sides were at fault.
It was apparent that Catherine was not given enough specific information to satisfy the queries of Raul. She is not with technical service. In spite of this apparent lack of information, Raul still insisted on trying to squeeze out information that Cathy didn't have - the reason or reasons why there wasn't service yet despite previous assurances. This insistence helped build up stress and frustration on both sides, leading to Raul's cussing.
Cathy, on the other hand, should have let the cussing just bounce off her. She is in customer service and at no time should she lose her composure. If she can't stand the heat, she should be out of the kitchen.
PLDT is also at fault. It should give their customer service people enough specific information to meet clients' queries, or else put in place a system where customer service can redirect clients to technical service.
19:26
vic said...
Whether on mute, service techinicians,should never use expletives as part of their vocabulary. it is a very stessful job, especially if you don't have enough info, or your serving clients not good supplier of services. i just got off the phone with my provider for my complaints about my upgrade not making any difference in my system, and he told me it is already supposed to be. we parted amicably and agreed to call again next day if the speed is still the same. The best thing Catherine could have done is to accept her cussing and apologise sincerely and not to cuss again, even if on mute. Cursing is only good spoken on smokey adult bar...
21:55
chllout_lev said...
i agree on you on that one. dapat walang mute mute button, ayan namihasa tuloy ang mga csr.it was an accident waiting to happen.
saka, sa dami siguro ng reklamo sa PLDT, nagka burnout na ang csr. this is probably leaked by a pldt employee, siguro para ipahiya both sides,pero tingin ko dapat mas mahiya ang PLDT.sana ayusin nila service nila!
23:47
Anonymous said...
Ay, sa wakas, nahanap din ni Cathy yung mute button.
Really, Raul Bacaldo didn't need to cuss to get his point across. And Cathy didn't need to cuss to vent her frustration.
They both wasted time and laway on something they had no control over. That is why the most I do whenever my ZPDee is down for a loooong time is to tell Skycable's accounting department to credit my account.
"vic" is right about closing amicably and calling again if the problem continues, but the way the conversation went, it would have been impossible for Cathy to retract her cussing because it became a onesided conversation when Raul resumed his cussing.
I have no heart for PLDT, but I will be happy if Raul does not have an alternative broadband provider in his area; Raul and Cathy might meet again, haha!
00:30
Anonymous said...
tingin ko sisante na yang si cathy!heehe
besides, isn't she being paid to take precisely those kind of calls? bufferzone nga ng mga incompetent ISP's ang mga csr e. But this girl cracked up din naman e. natural na kasi ang mga irate caller,even Americans have a very short patience towards incompetence,except for their politicians,i guess heehe.
saka software upgrade for dsl?ano yun?standard reply?
01:13
John Peter said...
"Software upgrade"? WTF?! P*tang 'na! I blame it on PLDT's technical department for giving out such a lousy excuse. I might not be so sure though, it might be part of the agent's "script".
02:11
Anonymous said...
5610695 << I think this is Raul's phone number as per the info he provided.
Care for a phonepal?
22:50
Anonymous said...
well, i guess he's in the US now..i wonder what's his reaction to this? anyone know him personally?
03:02
Anonymous said...
things will workout for the best. abs-cbn is now inking a contract with Cathy to be a voice-over of an upcoming koreanobela "I Swear" with the theme song that goes "I swear by the moon and stars above... for better or worse....". She really touch my heart. Ringtone na sya ng cellphone ko. heheheh
06:22
Anonymous said...
PLDT should install an emotion detector to so that managers can intervene before everything heats up... nice technology.
07:00
stormer4a said...
Sir John Peter,
obviously you have the same sentiments as Raul because you both use the same language. These agents only read what is reported and if you listened closely she clearly said that it is only the info she can give. I know that PLDT csr are outsourced and is not directly employed by PLDT. Technical difficulties are considered as private company info and therefore is not given outside. You both should turn gay, hook up in the U.S. and talk dirty to each other..
14:06
Anonymous said...
hahaha,care to share your ringtone here?!
14:07
Anonymous said...
I also work in a call center, and yes you will definitely get calls such as that, but you should bear in mind that the customers are not cursing/cussing "you" personally, there customers are not taking it against you, it just happens that you are the first line of defense of this company that's why you should know how to bounce the cursing/cussing made by the customers, or if you can't control your emotions due to stress of your work, then make sure to curse/cuss the customer "silently", in this way you will not offend the customer that could cost you your job.
also, if you accepted the work as a CSR, you should be ready for this kinds of things that could happen, or worst.
buti nga at kapwa mo pilipino yan, kung ibang lahi yan, may kasama pang pang lalait yan...
ciao!!
09:11
Anonymous said...
Ayos ah... hehehe. Buti na lang wala na ako sa ganyang working environment.
Parehong at fault ang dalawang panig.
Sa agent, wala naman talagang training for the psychological burden na pwedeng ibigay ng csr-oriented job. May warning na rin naman madalas na binibigay ang company about such situations; kaya kung nagsabi ka ng "oo, kayang harapin o i-handle ang mga ganung sitwasyon" dapat gawin mo ang lahat para hindi ka maapektuhan. Naka-experience na ako ng ganyan. Pasok dito, labas sa kabila. Dapat isipin na dapat mabigyan lagi ng alternative solution/s or other means of pacifying an irate customer.
At sa customer, dapat intindihin din naman kahit papaano ang trabaho ng csr. Middleman lang talaga ang mga yan, tulad ng nabanggit na before, baka nga outsourced lang at hindi talaga directly hired by the telephone company; kaya dapat pinakinggan niya yung offer ng agent about helping him to have an incidence report at mabigyan ng rebate. Marami namang ibang paraan para magawan ng solusyon ang problema niya.
Anyway, dapat kasi iniiwasan ang pagsasalita ng mga murang salita mula sa dalawang panig para walang tensyon, di ba?
Pati na rin yung company at fault for not meeting up their customer's expectation/s. hehe. ^_~
11:38
blackdragon said...
i'd side with the call center agent for a number of reasons:
1) she represents the company; a curse word thrown against her company is no different to a curse word at her.
2) the curse may be called for, but the customer could have practised a little bit of tact. it's not the fault of the call center agent; they only receive the complaints and file them -- they are not the ones who do the actual work.
3) even if the agent did curse back, she intended to do it while muted (although she made a mistake). the customer did not even think about muting but just threw out the expletive.
tao rin naman yung agent. batuhin mo ng bato, natural lang na batuhin ka rin.
poor girl. she'll lose her job (and possibly all other hope of getting employment in other call centers), just because of a foul mouthed customer and her simple mistake.
19:04
crescent said...
the customer is the idiot. not personal? you gotta be kidding me for the number of times he cussed
and the tone of his voice.
2 days without net for some cheapskate voip calls. if its really that important he should have gone to an internet cafe.
there is nothing you can do but express your frustrations once and only once! cussing so many times will not debug that software problem....what a moron.
the agent lost control but can always do a comeback without uttering a single word. I can "piss on" people without uttering a cuss word. She just needs to hone her skills and not be intimidated by the likes of "siRaulo".
the lady shouldn't lose her job on this trivial matter and the customer gets a rebate for his internet downtime.
20:21
ted francisco said...
My heart goes to Cathy the call center agent. She was calm and patient from the very start. But, the guy on the other line really drained her patience and pull the last straw. And I bet, he was not the first caller that Cathy handled that day.
But in fairness to the guy, I find merit in his ballistic attitude. I have been in the same situation for so many times. But, I never let out any cuss words of some sort. And i see to it that I apologize to the agent if I raise my voice from time to time.
Cathy is the messenger. And Raul was definitely shooting at her. This should be a wake up call to all public and private utilities -- we customers want more than just rhetorics. I think there should be a review of the DTI Customer Rights of something.
I don't blame Raul. I blame PLDT MyDSL for not preparing a crisis management module and for not treating customers the way they should be.
I pity Cathy. It was not her fault that PLDT MyDSL could not live up to customer expectations and could not be as realiable as it claim to be.
I hope Cathy and Raul patch things up for the better. I feel Raul is a good guy, victimized by inconvenience and really irritating circumstances.
As for Cathy, I hope you could move on. I know this could be traumatic and very demeaning for you.
Again, the agents and the customer are put in the frying pan by corporate giants who could care no less than earning big profits.
I would like to read in the news in the coming days how Cathy and Raul could really come to terms and settle this issue in a peaceful a manner.
Still, hy heart goes out to Cathy. and curse PLDT MyDSL for this brouhaha. I bet they released this audio material to smoke screen their shortcomings and imbalances to the public.
13:54
customer lang din said...
why the heck would she work in a call center if she couldn't handle the heat? was she expecting calls of customers who wanted to praise the services of the company? duh!
whether or not she pressed the mute button, fact remains, she cursed and went berserk...
raul had all the right to complain, if you were in his shoes, wouldn't you be pissed off at the company too?
buti nga the raul guy handled it nicely.. cus i would've done worse...
sige nga ppl, if you were either of the two, how would you have handled it?
17:33
Anonymous said...
Raul was certainly improper. Bad manners is bad manners no matter what the situation. Cursing is uncalled for in this situation, even if he was the customer. The service may have been completely terrible, but a proper civilized person will hold his temper.
Cathy, however, was even worse. Not only did she have bad manners, she was employed in a company and job where one gets paid to professionally keep one's manners. And where one should expect to deal with people with all sorts of manners. It is a wonder that the call center she works for let her through the screening process, and does not bode well for the Philippines' call center industry. It is a bigger wonder that they retain her.
Both Raul and Cathy are embarassment's to our country.
22:08
Anonymous said...
Hindi dapat ibinigay ni Cathy yung full name nya so that if worse comes to worst, she still has her anonymity to protect her against that angry client.
Another comment though is that Cathy seems to have an inferior personality which doesn't seem to fit the job of a CSR.
15:59
Anonymous said...
hmmmm. dapat sinabi na lang ni cathy tabg ina naman po din.. hastle din.. hehehe.. at list magalang...
16:12
Anonymous said...
According to some call center agents, different call center companies have been given a warning on the said agent.
Her career in the industry is now bleak, and probably in other industry as well.
21:28
P e n said...
Is that even a real recorded call?
08:46
Anonymous said...
i believe this is a real recorded conversation.. and i don't believe pldt (or whomever is in charge of the helpdesk) doesn't know that this recorded thing is already in the emails of a lot of filipinos.. probably they even gave a blessing to whomever to circulate this to get even with raul.. remember catherine rosanna is just a name.. there may be a lot of cathreine rosannas out there.. but for raul, aside from giving his surname has also given his phone number..
13:12
Ryuji said...
This is so funny!!! yung girl magdedeny pa eh rinig na rinig naman na siya talaga yung unang nagmura. Yes, nagmura yung subscriber but not to her! It is clear that the guy curses because of the lousy service of PLDT but not to her. And then suddenly she cursed directly to the subscriber that's why the guy got mad. He is a frustrated subscriber, and an agent is supposed to be ready to encounter callers like that! now tell me, is that the "very friendly" customer care PLDT promised us?! dapat agent ang mag adjust dahil yung subscriber, eh customer iyan, nagbabayad ng tama, PLDT ang may problema sa part nila kaya wala siyang karapatang murahin ang subscriber.... gosh, sinira niya pangalan niya, Catherine Rosanna... bastos na babae.... hehehehe kakatwa, binaba niya tuloy yung morality and dignity niya... ewww...
15:33
DJ RO said...
I used to work in that environment also. But nevertheless, Raul was at fault for using an expletive but I think that Catherine Call Center Agent should expect these things. If that was the middle of her shift, then she wouyld have received the same calls from everyone else and she should have known what to do that time. That is her work and she should have not cursed. Mute or no mute button, she was not a good call center agent for breaking down. This call was purely business and not personal obviously. I am sure she is now the laughing stock of the company and her family. But remember in a year, people will forget this thing. Quality Assurrance of her company should have just kept the audio tape to themselves. No point in bringing it out in the open.
18:04
Anonymous said...
Once you initiate a conversation with expletives, pinatay mo na rin yung civility between the two parties.
I blame Raul for not controlling his temper. Yes, Cathy is being paid to buffer these types of calls. But she's not being paid to be cussed at. Nobody should endure verbal abuse, kesyo ano pang situation.
Ang mali lang ni Cathy don e gumanti sya. Pero Raul was itching for a fight, and has been since the conversation started. Blaming PLDT, the mute button, etc. is all academic.
At the end of the day, it's all about delicadeza, and Raul was found wanting. Tanong ko lang, is whether his bosses in the US subject him to the same kind of treatment kaya akala nya ok lang yon. Well, hindi pare.
21:01
Anonymous said...
i have worked in the biggest call center/service provider which has offices based in manila (i'm in london now)as a quality specialist. what catherine did was wrong. actually this is a ground for termination in a lot of service provider... this is what i can say, if you want to cuss, be sure you can handle it. be smart, check everything before doing so. she was idiotic if not careless to do such a thing. she'll probably get blacklisted...if she had an american client and she did this, she'll be in deep shit.
Rules that she broke:
1. cussing-it is considered a gross misconduct and unprofessional for an agent to cuss regardless of the circumstances, cuss if you want just be sure you can play with fire and not sob and throw your sentiments to the customers which is just bull s###.
2. never, EVER RELEASE A CALL!-she was to damn afraid to escalate the call because deep within her guts she knows that she commited the mistake, i bet you, she turned white when she saw that she didn't press the right button...never rely on your avaya, press the mute on the hardphone just to play safe...
well lastly, PLDT DSL has provided poor training that is why all of these happened. poor girl though, but you can't blame paying customers especially if you're caught in the act cussing them
05:30
incurable_humanist said...
I think Cathy is stupid for fighting fire with fire. She is nothing but a mediator between the customer and the company, thus her ROLE in this whole shannanigan is to calm the customer and at the same time give the company a good rep despite their poor service. That's her role, she CHOSE that role in applying for that job. And CHOOSING to take that kind of job obligates you to be calm, nice, and respectful, how ever hypocrite that may be. She should know better.
Kudos to the customer for speaking his mind because that is his ROLE as a customer: to be serviced and reprimand mistreatment and rude behaviors.
The hell with sympathies to the underdog, I think it's all about the roles we all take. And carrying that role to the fullest.
10:38
Anonymous said...
When it comes to paid services, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT, whether CSRs like it or not. Customers who call for service-related issues pay for these services and they have every right to demand whatever is necessary to satisfy what their money's worth.
Raul the customer didn't press for information from the CSR but demanded to speak to a supervisor to escalate his issue since apparently, what the CSR know (or does not know) does not satisfy him as the customer. It's surprising that there was no supervisor at that time. Aren't supervisors, like the CSRs, go on shifts so that there's always at least one supervisor around whenever there's a need to escalate an issue?
I agree with incurable_humanist that Cathy as a CSR should be a mediator between the customer and the company. Whether the customer cursed the company or the CSR, that is not as important as her being a CSR keeping her composure, because that's what she's being paid to do in the first place.
If she can't keep her cool under such circumstances, then she shouldn't be in the customer service industry. She even had the nerve to hang up on the customer, now that is ultimately rude behaviour for a CSR.
02:55
Anonymous said...
You don't tell customers how to act like customers. These people pay for the services. They're not the ones who are being paid by the company to use the service.
As a CSR, it's Cathy's job to provide reassurance to the customer, no matter what. Because that's her job.
Spare us the excuse that she's also human, yada yada yada. If she doesn't know how to handle these kinds of situations, she should't be in this job.
You don't blame the customers ever. That's one fundamental fact in business.
05:42
Anonymous said...
cathy should not be fired but rather her supervisor and training officer who did not do a good job in preparing her in this situation.
06:35
TMX said...
well...
Cathy did some big time shit. Now... she's shitting herself...
One thing is certain, she is in no acceptable state to be in customer service. So what if the customer DID curse her? It wont be such a big deal... just smile... and wait for him to realize that both of you cant do anything about it.
used to have a local PDLT customer service officer call out house in Cavite. The girl ended up asking ME out! hehehehe....
freaky huh?
they should find more employees like that...
08:23
Anonymous said...
as far as i know there's a protocol for callers who spend time cussing you out for reasons related to the service. it looks like that won't be applicable for this case since the customer wasn't cussing the rep directly.
hay nako... cathy needs some serious stress and anger management training. if she couldn't take the heat, she shouldn't be in the call center kitchen. local callers pa lang di na nya kinaya, what more pag international?
06:58
Anonymous said...
This guy deserve to be cursed, he treated the CSR without respect and repeatedly told her that he needs the cheapo VOIP feature of the internet to make an intl call. I believe I speak for most people who have travelled all over and verified their itenerary thru emails, online bookings or using IDD's. Don't be a cheapo.
23:19
Anonymous said...
though i can see a big fault on the side of the CSR agent , particularly on the cursing that she did. It's always bean a NO NO to behave that way especially when you are one of the frontliners . Raul Bacallo ( if i spelled that right..??? ) is also not in a proper sense of mind that time. Yeah, he was pissed off with the service and things that he has been complaining for the past 2 days, but don't you think the CSR agent already explained to you ...Nth times that you can get the rebate and the reason why the service is down is due to an ongoing tech activity ? I think the CSR was provoked with the way this Raul responded to her explanation. Yes , you are the customer, but nowadays, THE CUSTOMERS are NOT ALWAYS right ... and the CSR agent is also human herself.. think bro ..if you are going to the states, you don't have to say that more than a couple of times, try calling your travel agent or have the itinerary emailed to you or if you really want to use this VOIP , that is also available in any internet cafe if you think this is really very important .. babaw ng problema mo
00:16
Anonymous said...
hoy mr raul...do not do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you. Hindi komo CUSTOMER ka you can say anything that you want...besides the CSR tried her best to explain to you what went wrong in a nice way kaso DI KA NAKIKINIG all you did is brag about you going to the states duh! di bale sana kung sa una pa lang arrogant na agad ang approach e HINDI NAMAN E! It's her job of course pero still dapat nagpakatao ka pa rin...e kaso minura mo ng paulit ulit e kalalake mong tao! Nakakainis talaga pag poor ang service na natatangap mo...pero alam mo kung ano mali mo nag EGO trip KA. Hamo malay mo one day isa sa mga mahal mo sa buhay maging call center agent tignan ko lang kung di ka magiging kalmado...bawasan mo pagkain ng baboy...para hindi ka high blood...Easy!God bless!
00:38
Anonymous said...
well im siding with cathy... i dont have to explain why
just scrutinize the conversation well and you'll know...
16:41
RichGrayson said...
the agent may have failed to react correctly in that call, but that only proves one thing. she really doesnt belong in the call center industry, or at least not ready yet. too bad she wouldnt have another chance to redeem herself..
first thing that agents are told when handling irate callers is to practice empathy, put yourself in the caller's shoes and perhaps you'd understand how they feel. it really works..
but then, when you get the same type of calls the whole day, irate ones, would take toll on the agents. no amount of training could prepare anyone for that. don't give me that crap about knowing how to handle this kind of callers, at some point, everyone would crack..
i'd understand if the customer was frustrated about the service, but that doesnt give him the right to attack that agent that way. hell, he sounded worse than a predator going for a kill. he already stated how important it was to get the internet working. the agent acknowledged it. end of story, what use would it be staying on the line knowing your just gonna be wasting your time. nah, he had to keep on asking the same questions rather than find another way to get what he needed. budget cards goes for a hundred. if it really was that important.
toopid..
10:06
Anonymous said...
tanong ko lng san and panu nag originate to? cnxa na po ah nde kc ako nagwowork sa call center...
kapanipanipaniwala in the first thought pero i come to think of it baka gawagawa lng yan... panu nila narecord to... syempre kung sa PLDT yan nde nila yan ilalabas... iniisip ko rin na baka nirecord nung customer pero nde e ...pag inquiries na ganito nde mo na maiisip na irecord un para hanapan mo sila ng fault.
16:26
Anonymous said...
Ang fault ay nasa PLDT management...napaka-BULOK ng sistema nila...kawawa ang customer service rep at mga subscribers..gahaman sa pera ang PLDT. talagang nakakasira ng araw at mood kapag nag-followup ka ng complaint at walang maisagot na tama ang CSR nila..BWISIT ang PLDT at ang kanilang sistema sa customer service..
13:09
Anonymous said...
baka may nagleak. hehe.. nafeature na din daw sa ABS-CBN's BANDILA e. sa SUunday, Pacquiao VS. Morales PART3! wooohooo! =) PEACE na mga dude. preho cla mali. hehe..
08:47
Cameron said...
Whatever was done by Mr. Raul, The agent shouldnt have done whatever she had done..
All i can say is ROSANNA shouldnt be working at any company that would give her a chance to speak with CLIENTS.. She can always work in the factories where she can curse all the pieces and sh!ts there..
As a friend of call center agents this is all I can say "QUIT YOUR STUPID JOB IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE SHITS FROM PEOPLE LIKE MR. RAUL"
I say BAN ROSSANA FROM WORKING IN ANY CALL CENTER OR ANY WORK THAT TALKS DIRECTLY TO CUSTOMERS...
14:34
Perry said...
Mukhang totoo yung conversation. Ganito rin ang comment ko sa isa pang blog:
I did a research on this customer support issue, and I found out that the conversation is most probably real.
Nagtanong ako sa isang call center QA person, and I found out that it's possible for a recorded CSR conversation (which is really confidential matter and internal only to the company) to get divulged publicly. Call centers typically use VoIP (voice over IP) technology to communicate with their clients. The agent's phone is connected to a modem in the computer, and the computer does all the communication link between the agent and the customer via a VoIP software. The call sessions get recorded and saved into audio files, which can be collected by QA people to monitor the conversations and evaluate the agent. The audio files in turn can be converted into a WAV file and potentially scatter it throughout the Internet. So malamang, isang QA person ang nagkalat ng conversation na ito.
17:36
Anonymous said...
Well, I think her boss should nominate her to a series of training on;
1. Customer Relations
2. Anger Management
3. Stress Management
4. Phone for Dummies ( to locate where is the mute button is)
To her Supervisor: She doesnt need an acting workshop...She's A Star! Iba ka sister!
For Mr. Raul you need Motolite...para "CONVINCING". Agent Catherine offered many options, i think you are not convinced on her suggestions.
21:12
Dennis Jovelo said...
Obvious naman na akala nung agent naka-mute sya kaya minura nya rin yung customer. Kahit sinong CSR (like me) alam na di pwedeng maging rude, much more magsabi ng offensive language to the customer.
Nung panay na mura nung customer dun sa agent the latter didn't know what to do anymore because she became aware of the serious trouble she had gotten herself into. Kaya ayun she totally lost control of her emotions - di nya na alam kung paano malulusutan yung situation.
00:55
RobertoPanday said...
Pag nakita ko iyang Raul na iyan bubugbugin ko!Galit ako sa mga Conyo na gaya niya!
18:55
Anonymous said...
Ive been reading all sides on this story passively but this one prompted me to reply:
"crescent said...
2 days without net for some cheapskate voip calls. if its really that important he should have gone to an internet cafe."
What kind of an argument is that? The guy is paying real money for his Internet connection and so has the right to use that service for whatever purpose, and yes including "cheapskate" voip calls.
Of course its implied that he'll find some other means of getting online, but the fact that YOU have to bring that out in your comment is totally out of line.
He's not getting his money's worth so he has the right to be upset, and it's lame to argue to just put up with it, tail in between the legs and go to an Internet cafe. It's that sort of thinking that makes service here in the Philippines pure B.S. -like that of PLDT.
21:28
Anonymous said...
To hell with PLDT MyDSL! Their service sux! That's the bottomline!
20:22
Anonymous said...
These days, the customer is always wrong. Guess who rakes in the profits?
23:23
Efren said...
so sad...
http://www.pinoycallcenter.com
15:59
SAKSI said...
Raul Bacaldo's statement of his going to the US is just a crap!!!
He's still in the Philippines up to this time... waiting to devour another CSR.
01:44
Anonymous said...
Raul Bacaldo's statement of his going to the US is just a crap!!!
He's still in the Philippines up to this time... waiting to devour another CSR.
Korean Student's Essay about the Philippines
MY SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES
Jaeyoun Kim
Filipinos always complain about the corruption in
the Philippines. Do you really think the corruption
is the problem of the Philippines? I do not
think so. I strongly believe that the problem
is the lack of love for the Philippines.
Let me first talk about my country, Korea.
It might help you understand my point.
After the Korean War, South Korea was one
of the poorest countries in the world.
Koreans had to start from scratch because
entire country was destroyed after the
Korean War, and we had no natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines ,
for Filipinos were very rich in Asia .
We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off
like Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine.
My father & brother also died because of
famine. Korean government was very corrupt
and is still very corrupt beyond your imagination,
but Korea was able to develop dramatically
because Koreans really did their best for the
common good with their heart burning with
patriotism. Koreans did not work just for themselves but
also for their neighborhood and country.
Education inspired young men with the spirit
of patriotism.
40 years ago, President Park took over the
government to reform Korea . He tried to borrow
money from other countries, but it was not
possible to get a loan and attract a foreign
investment because the economic situation of
South Korea was so bad. Korea had only three
factories. So, President Park sent many mine
workers and nurses to Germany so that
they could send money to Korea to build
a factory. They had to go through horrible
experience.
In 1964, President Park visited Germany
to borrow money. Hundred of Koreans in
Germany came to the airport to welcome him
and cried there as they saw the President Park .
They asked to him, "President, when can we be
well off?" That was the only question everyone
asked to him. President Park cried with them
and promised them that Korea would be well
off if everyone works hard for Korea , and the
President of Germany got the strong impression
on them and lent money to Korea . So, President
Park was able to build many factories in Korea .
He always asked Koreans to love their country
from their heart.
Many Korean scientists and engineers in the
USA came back to Korea to help developing country
because they wanted their country to be well off.
Though they received very small salary, they did
their best for Korea . They always hoped that their
children would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places
where poor and physically handicapped people
live. They wanted me to understand their life
and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church
when I was in the army. The only thing I learned
from Catholic Church was that we have to love
our neighborhood. And, I have loved my
neighborhood. Have you cried for the Philippines?
I have cried for my country several times. I also
cried for the Philippines because of so many
poor people. I have been to the New Bilibid
prison. What made me sad in the prison were
the prisoners who do not have any love for their
country. They go to mass and work for Church.
They pray everyday.
However, they do not love the Philippines .
I talked to two prisoners at the maximum-security
compound, and both of them said that they would
leave the Philippines right after they are released
from the prison. They said that they would start
a new life in other countries and never come back
to the Philippines .
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so
that we were able to share our wealth with our
neighborhood. The owners of factory and company
were distributed their profit to their employees
fairly so that employees could buy what they
needed and saved money for the future and their
children.
When I was in Korea , I had a very strong faith
and wanted to be a priest. However, when I
came to the Philippines , I completely lost my faith.
I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable
situations in the Philippines . Street kids always
make me sad, and I see them everyday. The
Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia ,
but there are too many poor people here. People
go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing
has been changed.
My parents came to the Philippines last week
and saw this situation. They told me that Korea
was much poorer than the present Philippines
when they were young. They are so sorry that
there are so many beggars and street kids.
When we went to Pagsangjan, I forced my parents
to take a boat because it would fun. However,
they were not happy after taking a boat. They
said that they would not take the boat again
because they were sympathized the boatmen,
for the boatmen were very poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took a boat
and enjoyed it. But, my parents did not enjoy
it because of love for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic
Church since I was very young told me that if
we just go to mass without changing ourselves,
we are not Catholic indeed. Faith should come
with action.
She added that I have to love Filipinos and do
good things for them because all of us are same
and have received a great love from God. I want
Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country
as much as they love God so that the Philippines
will be well off.
I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos
should remember. We cannot change the sinful
structure at once. It should start from person.
Love must start in everybody, in a small scale
and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we
open up to love. Let's put away our prejudices
and look at our worries with our new eyes.
I discover that every person is worthy to be
loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes
possible. Love changes you and me. It changes
people, contexts and relationships. It changes
the world. Please love your neighborhood and
country.
Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others
we do to Him. In the Philippines , there is God for
people who are abused and abandoned. There is
God who is crying for love.
If you have a child, teach them how to love the
Philippines. Teach them why they have to love
their neighborhood and country. You already
know that God also will be very happy if you
love others.
That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Jaeyoun Kim
Filipinos always complain about the corruption in
the Philippines. Do you really think the corruption
is the problem of the Philippines? I do not
think so. I strongly believe that the problem
is the lack of love for the Philippines.
Let me first talk about my country, Korea.
It might help you understand my point.
After the Korean War, South Korea was one
of the poorest countries in the world.
Koreans had to start from scratch because
entire country was destroyed after the
Korean War, and we had no natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines ,
for Filipinos were very rich in Asia .
We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off
like Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine.
My father & brother also died because of
famine. Korean government was very corrupt
and is still very corrupt beyond your imagination,
but Korea was able to develop dramatically
because Koreans really did their best for the
common good with their heart burning with
patriotism. Koreans did not work just for themselves but
also for their neighborhood and country.
Education inspired young men with the spirit
of patriotism.
40 years ago, President Park took over the
government to reform Korea . He tried to borrow
money from other countries, but it was not
possible to get a loan and attract a foreign
investment because the economic situation of
South Korea was so bad. Korea had only three
factories. So, President Park sent many mine
workers and nurses to Germany so that
they could send money to Korea to build
a factory. They had to go through horrible
experience.
In 1964, President Park visited Germany
to borrow money. Hundred of Koreans in
Germany came to the airport to welcome him
and cried there as they saw the President Park .
They asked to him, "President, when can we be
well off?" That was the only question everyone
asked to him. President Park cried with them
and promised them that Korea would be well
off if everyone works hard for Korea , and the
President of Germany got the strong impression
on them and lent money to Korea . So, President
Park was able to build many factories in Korea .
He always asked Koreans to love their country
from their heart.
Many Korean scientists and engineers in the
USA came back to Korea to help developing country
because they wanted their country to be well off.
Though they received very small salary, they did
their best for Korea . They always hoped that their
children would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places
where poor and physically handicapped people
live. They wanted me to understand their life
and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church
when I was in the army. The only thing I learned
from Catholic Church was that we have to love
our neighborhood. And, I have loved my
neighborhood. Have you cried for the Philippines?
I have cried for my country several times. I also
cried for the Philippines because of so many
poor people. I have been to the New Bilibid
prison. What made me sad in the prison were
the prisoners who do not have any love for their
country. They go to mass and work for Church.
They pray everyday.
However, they do not love the Philippines .
I talked to two prisoners at the maximum-security
compound, and both of them said that they would
leave the Philippines right after they are released
from the prison. They said that they would start
a new life in other countries and never come back
to the Philippines .
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so
that we were able to share our wealth with our
neighborhood. The owners of factory and company
were distributed their profit to their employees
fairly so that employees could buy what they
needed and saved money for the future and their
children.
When I was in Korea , I had a very strong faith
and wanted to be a priest. However, when I
came to the Philippines , I completely lost my faith.
I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable
situations in the Philippines . Street kids always
make me sad, and I see them everyday. The
Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia ,
but there are too many poor people here. People
go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing
has been changed.
My parents came to the Philippines last week
and saw this situation. They told me that Korea
was much poorer than the present Philippines
when they were young. They are so sorry that
there are so many beggars and street kids.
When we went to Pagsangjan, I forced my parents
to take a boat because it would fun. However,
they were not happy after taking a boat. They
said that they would not take the boat again
because they were sympathized the boatmen,
for the boatmen were very poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took a boat
and enjoyed it. But, my parents did not enjoy
it because of love for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic
Church since I was very young told me that if
we just go to mass without changing ourselves,
we are not Catholic indeed. Faith should come
with action.
She added that I have to love Filipinos and do
good things for them because all of us are same
and have received a great love from God. I want
Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country
as much as they love God so that the Philippines
will be well off.
I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos
should remember. We cannot change the sinful
structure at once. It should start from person.
Love must start in everybody, in a small scale
and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we
open up to love. Let's put away our prejudices
and look at our worries with our new eyes.
I discover that every person is worthy to be
loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes
possible. Love changes you and me. It changes
people, contexts and relationships. It changes
the world. Please love your neighborhood and
country.
Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others
we do to Him. In the Philippines , there is God for
people who are abused and abandoned. There is
God who is crying for love.
If you have a child, teach them how to love the
Philippines. Teach them why they have to love
their neighborhood and country. You already
know that God also will be very happy if you
love others.
That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)