CUSTOMER SERVICE

"Shiny" pictures are here

No internet ! catastrope, even the mouse couldn't help !

On wednesday morning Mr. Gattino wanted to make a phone call, but the phone was dead. As we have all together, phone line, internet connection and extra TV channels, the whole thing had broken down. He called the complaint service with his mobile and told them. As he was the only who complained they said they would repair it for monday ! Imagine me six days withoutInternet ! He went over to our neighbors and they had the same troubles. So the others called too and suddenly they promised to come the same afternoon. Mr. Gattino had checked in the street and down our street new houses are being built and an intelligent crane operator had cut a cable !

At 3.30 pm I called again. Now you probably know that you can't talk to a person anymore but you have to listen to a recorded voice. In Belgium they first ask you "for flemish push 1" "for french push 2" you choose your language and then hop we go :

Please type your telephone n° followed by a square (#)
For customer service push 1
For accounting department push 2
For log in problems push 3
For TV problems push 4
For telphone problems push 5
For technical service push 6
For commercial information push 7
etc.

After 5 min I finally choose technical problems, what else could I choose I had the problem with all three items ! Then a voice informed me that all the lines were busy but in 2 min I would get an answer. I listened to an awful music and wait. After again about 5 min suddenly somebody shouted in the phone "Technical service" I was so surprised to hear a real person that I jumped back.

I described our problems and the lady informed me that it would be repaired the next day afternoon ! I protested and told her that I needed internet absolutely that I am a at home working person and all my clients need to get in contact with me (you are my clients !) she told me a schedule is a schedule and there were nothing to do I should call customer service they did the schedules.

I called customer service, and had to go through the above described procedure again. No, I was told, all technicians were busy, nobody there and it would be done the next day afternoon. I told her that I would write a letter and ask for damages and made a scandal on the phone, but she became a robot and answered always the same.

The moment I banged the phone on the sofa, Mr. Gattino told me that Belgacom (that's their name) had just arrived for repairing. While I discussed on the phone and always got the answer the technician would come the next day, he was actually standing at our door ! That's cooperation ! But the poor man had thought that only a little cable in our house was cut and didn't expect that it was a cable in the street ! He started to dig then, because the guy who had cut the cable had closed the hole, he had thought it was an old unused cable ! Unused !! yes and the whole street was down !

As there was quite a deep hole to dig, he called another technician to help him and it took them 2 h until they finally found the damaged cable. Neighbors gathered around and also the future house owners and all complained about bad services. Mr. Gattino as a retired person was very busy for 2 h too.

Finally at 7.30 pm the cable was repaired and I had my internet back and Mr. Gattino his favorite TV channel !