16 May 2008

Can I have more salt on this wound please?

Oh Batelco.... When is it going to end?

If you haven't read my last post, Batelco disconnected my home phone line because they had issues with burnt cables, then gave me a different number by accident. So far, it's been 11 days without internet or my original phone number (read last post for the frustrating details).

I'm getting really annoyed now; i've probably called their 'report faults' line a good 30 times already this week, to which the answer to my query about when the line is going to be back is always "definately tommorow" or even "later today".

Still nothing.

I think they've started screening my number now, because as I got in the car today morning and dialled their number, I waited. "Customer services agents are busy. Please hold".

And waited, and waited.

And waited....

A good five minutes later, I figured there is probably some sort of loop in the connection that I got lost in, so I hung up and dialled again.

Same "busy" message. Same waiting. More waiting. More. More. I drove down the road and left the phone on speaker, then all of a sudden I realized;


Oh crap, it's been 10 minutes? Am I in another blackhole loop or something? Or do they just not want to answer me? I waited...


Ok this is getting ridiculous... 16 minutes already, when are they planning on picking up?


Ah yes. 20:20. As in, 20/20 vision. Or perfect vision. Or so bloody clear to see that they do NOT give a damn about you.


I reached my destination and parked the car, and it's been 25 minutes already. I didn't hang up, but let it run. It finally did disconnect when I went into an elevator, and by then it had reached a good 29 minutes. Half a frickin' hour. What are those 'customer service' guys doing there?!!?!?

Anyway, I called back a good half an hour later and I was kept waiting for 5 minutes, but I just got ticked off and hung up.

When I called in the evening, the customer service guy picked up and said it would be fixed tommorow.

Tommorow?! It's been 11 days you guys have been saying that! WTF? To which he gave me the 'real answer'. Turns out almost 100,000 phone numbers have been switched, and there are only two guys on the job of undoing the huge mess, and since each two numbers need a good few minutes to undo, it's going to take a while.

Yep. Do the math; One Hundrend Thousand numbers mixed up. Two Guys on the job.

No wonder Batelco is rolling in millions of dinars of profits. They don't actually spend money hiring anyone!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

ouch! That really blows. I would have suggested actually just visiting the company and demanding an answer!

Ammoontie said...

Good luck Ammar... I think a lot of people had enough of 'THE Batelco' experience.

paz y amor said...

That's what they call customer service these days! It's a shame that we have to wade through all the BS just to get a little help, all in the name of profits. Good luck my man...

Redbelt said...

So thats it!
I recently got my line moved from my old apartment to a new one after the Zain fiasco. Its fixed but has no line!
I keep calling them and they say my work order is open. For how long? no one knows.
Out of the frying pan into the fire.

Anonymous said...

I would have switched company! Mistake happen but I had not getting any real help from cust. service. And not picking up the phone is sooo wrong.