Very bad DSL service connection

I no longer remember how many years we’ve been making pasensya with a very bad DSL internet connection courtesy of PLDT. Minsan we don’t have internet for a week. Minsan two weeks we have intermittent connections. Minsan naman parang slow-motion sa bagal. Minsan ten minutes lang disconnected na agad.

Last October I complained and complained through the DSL customer service hotline 171. The guys answering were courteous and reassuring. The process is the same. They tell us to switch off the modem for a few minutes while they tinker with something from their end and in a few minutes, our internet starts working. This is what they call conducting enhancement.

The following day, it goes back to having intermittent connection again or zero internet. Many times, we don’t call 171 and just accept our fate. One by-product of being extremely busy and occupied is we always forget that we have an internet problem. Or we forget to complain. Or we have no more energy to give them a call when we get home. We just want to slouch and rest. It’s been like that for years and we’ve become very tolerant and forgiving of PLDT.

Last October 2019, we were having trouble again and this time the operator suggested that we
switch to Fiber Optic which according to him costs half of what we pay monthly. So sige. We completed all the requirements to switch to this fiber optic and we’ve made several follow-ups and what month is today? February. Still, no fiber optic.

In the meantime, our internet connection is still intermittent, or zero.

When did we leave for the US? December 19. Edmund and Oyen were back on January 17. Still no internet. Edmund made two follow-ups regarding the switch to fiber optic, wala rin.
I arrived almost a week ago and I have made at least four follow up calls to 171. I have memorized already their standard answers “Mam, ako ang bahala. I will take charge….”
Yes, those boys are courteous and reassuring, but that doesn’t cut it. We need action. We are not expecting VIP treatment. We expect the standard of service we should receive for the amount of money they collect on the dot every single month.

Last night I called to complain twice. The first person who answered was female. She sounded like she didn’t know what to do and what to say. She was the least helpful. After 15 minutes I called again hoping that someone more resourceful would answer. Yes, a little bit better but he gave me the same answers. Naibigay na sa technical yung request. He couldn’t give me a timeline. Aba eh ilang buwan na ito. Internet lang ito ano? Hindi naman ito overhaul ng engine ng Ford Expedition.

Some of my recent calls to 171 excluding Oyen’s and Edmund’s:
Feb 4 (the day I arrived from the US), Feb 8, 9, 10 (2x), Feb 11, 12, 13.

This morning Edmund called to follow up the switch to fiber optic. They couldn’t find our reference number so they created a new one. Back to step one.

Finally today, the DSL technician arrived and fixed the cables somewhere out there, not inside our premises.
So far we have internet, not strong and stable but at least meron. I am not confident that the internet connection will last until tomorrow. Let’s see. This is not yet the fiber optic.