I am a disgruntled consumer

Yes, I am a consumer. I am a disgruntled consumer when annoyed or provoked. Think this will be my 3rd entry on making a complaint.

Take for example, today, after receiving the umpteenth time of SMSes from my phone provider on so-called promotion with other businesses e.g. gym, retails and restaurant, I decided to give the hotline a call. The call went something like this. I cannot remember the exact words.

*Mxis operator: Hello, this is *******, may I help you?
Me : Yes, you may. Can Mxis please stop sending me annoying sms on promotion and freebies?
Mxis operator : When did you receive the sms?
Me : I have just received one just before I called you.
Mxis operator : What is the sms about?
Me : It is about a free trial usage with *Tru fitnes. I have already deleted that sms. Can you please stop sending the smses?

Mxis operator : Yes, you have to go to the Mxis Customer Centre to do that.
Me : You mean I can’t do it through the phone? I can’t do it through Mxis hotline?
Mxis operator : I’m sorry, ma’am. You can’t.
Me : You mean I have to wait someday when I am free and go all the way to Mxis Customer Centre to ask them to stop sending SMSes to me?
Mxis operator : Well, ma’am, we can put a request for you.
Me : How long would that take?
Mxis operator : 3 working days.
Me : Please go ahead and do so.
Mxis operator : Ok.
There was a silent pause.

Me : Please do it now.
Mxis operator : Ok ma’am. Please hold on. After a few minutes and confirmation of my personal details…

Mxis operator : All right ma’am, you should not be getting those SMSes within 2 working days.
If you still do, you can contact us.
Me : Does this mean if I still get any SMSes from Mxis, I should call you on the 19th Dec, this Friday?
Mxis operator : Yes.
Me : Ok.
Mxis operator : Is there anything else I can do for you?
Me : No, that’s all.
Mxis operator : Thank you for calling Mxis hotline….

Hence, the lesson I learnt, I have to be assertive and a tinge of upset/angry to get something done.

If I were not so, I would have stupidly find a time to go to Mxis Customer Centre in person and queue up to meet a Customer Service person to get some service which will not be guaranteed; based on my last experience with them.

In fact, sometimes, the server is down, or the person will direct you to the main Customer Service Centre all the way to the centre of Kuala Lumpur. Sometimes, they don’t understand you, or sometimes they don’t want to help you.

Sometimes, life just isn’t fair especially if you don’t have deep wallets and huge vaults in the bank. If you were one of these people, customer service would give you a nice comfy chair and smile sweetly at you while ignoring the “poor” customers just to give you VIP service too. Not being prejudice to the rich but just stating the blunt fact of human kind.

Meanwhile, lets see if I still receive any of those SMSes…

p.s. I have 2 strikes against this service provider. This will be the 3rd strike but I am too lazy to change provider… yet.

*Real names are modified for obvious reasons