pecks & fans, 4

smart and nokia

ive been a smart user ever since i had my first fone (nokia ringo anyone?). for the most part, i did not have any problems with them.

december last year, i decided to inquire about my retention benefits. i went to sm for 3 or 4 times but left unattended because i couldnt stand the waiting time. considering their size, they really should add more counters for customer service!

last month, i was able to get through at last. i decided to get a new unit (nokia 5800). kathleen, the customer service rep, was very accommodating. i wanted to get the white one but it seems they dont have it. she gave me her number for when i do decide to get the new unit, so i dont have to queue again. nice.

when i did decide to contact her, she didnt return my texts or calls. hmmmmm.

i finally did get through, and she accommodated me even if she wasnt on duty. got my new phone and started toying with it.

i could move my messages and calendar entries from my old one (e6500) to the new phone via bluetooth. but my contacts were lost in the migration.

so i went back yesterday. kath was there and she tried to do it but couldnt. she immediately brought me to nokia care, and hurried back to smart to get me my referral.

i was called to counter 2. i explained the problem.

immediately after i did, the slicked-back chub said that we couldnt do anything about it. if my unit was for repair, they would "flash" it and everything would be erased.

i explained again. it was a 2 day old fone so there was nothing to erase. so could they flash it and move my contacts?

no sir, sometimes that happens. we cant do anything about it. if your unit was for repair.....

i explained yet again, this time in more detail. and again is showed him what i did so he can follow.

no sir, sometimes that happens, we cant do anything about it. if your unit was for repair.....

that was it. i raised my voice a bit and said he wasnt providing the technical support he is supposed to provide.

i guess it worked because he went inside, came back out soon after and said they will have to erase everything so we can try again. be back in an hour.

after an hour, i came back. i did the bluetooth migration once again. he went back inside. and voila! my contacts, close to 2000 entries, were successfully moved!

then i asked about one of the things he kept repeating, that i should use my computer to do file transfers. i told them i read the literature and there was no mention of apple/mac. does he know if i can download something that is for mac?

sir, its automatic. when you insert the cd, or download software, it will ask you what operating system you are using, just check vista or xp and you are done!

i said, im using apple.

he said, sir its automatic, when you insert....

i cut him off and told him to go back inside and ask.

when he came back, he said, no sir, i dont think we can do macs but there might be a new release soon.

i left. i think i said thank you faintly. but he was obviously relieved i left.

NOKIA Cares. i think they do.

but in my case, the 'they' are kept inside. and their counter people need a whole lot of re-tooling. in the case of counter 2, i have a feeling no amount of re-training will work.

he just has to go.