Scorecards and e-mail for PLDT

After all is said and done, there is more said than done.

This is exactly my sentiment concerning the actions or inaction taken by the LTFRB and other authorities about the need to enforce the law on paying salaries to bus drivers and not commissions. While Assistant Secretary Thompson Lantion applied the full force of the law in terms of punitive measures, he remains suspiciously silent about bus drivers not being paid salaries but commissions.

It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that Lantion’s punitive measure of suspending operations of guilty bus companies is less than ideal if not unjust. By suspending operations, Lantion punished drivers who earn the least but suffers the most while the operator who makes all the money simply has to sit it out, can afford the loss of income and does not have to pay a fine or pay for his irresponsibility or culpability.

So once again we have six more dead people, a driver in coma, and a bus company shut down which means several good people are out of a job and no food to feed their kids! When the attention falters, there will be a “new” bus company with the same old owner. By the way how come Lantion and the LTFRB never post the names and co-owners of the erring or deadly bus lines? I think there would be a greater interest in who owns the bus more than who drives the bus!

*      *      *

If the LTFRB is too politically correct to bust up the bad operators, then maybe the LTO under Asec. Bert Suansing can implement the “Scorecard system” for driving or vehicular infractions or violations.

Many countries in Europe as well as the US and Asia have adopted such a system where drivers are given “penalty points” for every traffic violation or accidents. The more points you generate the closer you are to a “BIG FINE”. After this the stakes get bigger as you become entitled to a one week, one month, or one year suspension of your driver’s license. The ultimate reality prize is when you become the top scorer and top violator which will then earn you an all expense paid vacation to your nearest City Jail!

Another good policy to adopt is the one from the City of Makati where they require traffic violators to pay their fine and redeem their licenses within 24 hours after being issued a “ticket” or pay additional fines. Not only does the policy fast track things and avoid pile-ups, this also makes sure that the offender does not go on driving using a traffic violation receipt or citation!

By doing this, operators and drivers become more responsible because the fines and the inconvenience will ultimately affect operations. At the moment, the offenders just continue on driving, the operator continue on collecting, while the arresting agency sits waiting and wondering when the tickets and licenses will be redeemed. It is high time that if a driver is arrested and found to be driving on a TVR, both the driver and the operator should pay a fine!

*      *      *

Unlike the good old days when PLDT was not such a humongous organization, it has now become difficult to determine who to call concerning consumer complaints or plain and simple lousy service. There was a time when you could still reach a vice president, a senior manager and certainly a supervisor.

But with the advent of “Customer Service” and call centers, even the formerly “very available” PLDT supervisors can no longer be reached. As far as getting a “lineman” to fix a problem, the common practice among many PLDT subscribers is to include a lineman in their personal directory.

After patiently trying to follow the process, my wife Karen sent me a copy of her email to PLDT Customer Service in the hope that their boss, Mr. Manny Pangilinan gets to read it.

E-mail addressed to PLDT Customer Service:

In June, I sent you a letter asking you to downgrade these two lines from trunk lines into regular lines as our PBX was no longer working. Since then nothing has been done and you continue to bill me for trunk lines.

I have since called your call center on eight separate occasions, however, still without any effect. On the last five occasions I asked to speak to a supervisor, as obviously your regular call center staff are not in any position to do anything about the problem. However, apparently your supervisors are constantly busy with other irate customers as each time they were taking another call and unable to come to the phone despite the fact that I was willing to hold. On two occasions, a lady called “Lace” (Oct 21) and a gentleman called “Red” (Oct 23) promised to call me back but never did. The minimum I would expect from a communication company is the ability to communicate and if staff promises to call back with an update they should do so!

Today at last someone was willing to give me your e-mail address and hopefully this will now have the desired effect of

a) getting my lines downgraded as well as refunding me the overbilling for trunk lines I have not used for the past four months;

b) letting you know what an abysmal customer service you have! What is the point of having a call center whose staff can only tell you that my concern has been forwarded to the appropriate department? One complaint to your call center should be enough to achieve some action on the part of your company and it should definitely not take eight calls, one email and it remains to be seen what else, to achieve a simple request!

Karen Vogelsang-Beltran

Mind you this is not the first time she has had to deal with PLDT corporate obesity. Many years back she asked PLDT to disconnect a telephone line she no longer required. The PLDT rep said it was done. Two years later a lawyer called her to collect on “unpaid” bills. They have become so big, they don’t even know what’s going on! I pray to God that Mr. Manny Pangilinan gets to read the e-mail.