Wednesday, April 8, 2009

My Problem with Globe Teleco

I'm a loyal Smart mobile service subscriber. When I was working outside the country for the past two years, first in Chicago then in HK, I kept my post-paid Smart line on roaming so people could still reach me without paying for long-distance charges.

Coming back home to Manila, I discovered that Globe has been making a lot of new innovation in their services: I'm a fairly-satisfied subscriber of their 2MBPS Globe DSL broadband. A good friend of mine, Pao Pena, has joined Globe to do some exciting developmental stuff for them. I'm witness to the Headshot Clinic movement Globe has sponsored with Niccolo Cosme.

Their latest innovation is their Globe Duo service which bridges mobile telephony with the landline network. YugaTech writes about it here: http://www.yugatech.com/blog/telecoms/globe-offers-plan-duo-service/. I'm also posting content from the Globe website below. It's about time. In HK, there's no difference calling a mobile number from a landline number. It's all local calls and you don't pay long-distance charges. But, I'm not rushing to switch to Globe. I'm expecting Smart to follow suit, but only if you Globe subscribers pick-up on this service. So, please do. This country needs it. I survived HK without a landline. And I think that's the way of the future.

I appreciate Globe's efforts, but here's my problem with Globe: They need to get their basic services working perfectly first. I'm hearing all sorts of horror stories from my Globe-subscriber friends, and I've experienced difficulties in calling and texting them. Messages are delayed, or don't get thru. Call quality sometimes sucks, and/or gets cut-off. Calls don't get thru.

Innovation is good. But, Globe, you can't leave your basic services behind. That's not good business.

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DUO allows you Unlimited Calling to and from any landline number as well as Unlimited Calling to and from any DUO postpaid mobile subscriber!

With DUO's Unlimited Calling, you can:

  • Gossip with friends about the hottest events!
  • Call far-away family and friends without worrying about the length of the call!
  • Collaborate with business partners to efficiently coordinate a project!
  • Chat with your special someone for as long as you want!

Hurry, subscribe now by going to the nearest Globe Business Center or register by sending  DUOINFO to 8888! Promo period is from April 5 - July 3, 2009 only!


How it Works

  1. Subscription to DUO Service is P399.00/30days on top of a Globe Plan.
  2. Once you are subscribed to Duo, you will be given your Duo Landline number. Now, your mobile phone and SIM will have two (2) numbers: your current mobile number (i.e. 0917-XXX-XXXX) and your Duo Landline number (i.e. 02-XXX-XXXX).
  3. Upon activation, the following calls are rendered free of charge: DUO to any Landline calls, any Landline to DUO calls, and DUO to DUO calls. Calls made to other mobile numbers are charged regular mobile rates.
  4. Everytime you call, no need for a keyword or special prefix:
    1. To call any landline just dial the area code and the landline number
    2. To call another DUO number just dial the area code and the  DUO number of the person you are calling
    3. For any landline to call you, a person will just dial your DUO landline number
  5. Service is initially available in NCR and Cebu only. All other calls outside the area code (02 for NCR or 32 for Cebu) will be charged regular mobile NDD rates.

How to Avail

  1. Promo is open to all Globe Postpaid subscribers.
  2. Subscriber can avail of the service through the Business Centers or Register via SMS (with required SMS acceptance of Terms and Conditions). Simply text DUOINFO to 8888.
  3. There will be an initial 90-day holding period for new activations, subject to pre-termination fee of P1,200.00.
  4. You can only avail of one (1) active DUO landline number for every active Globe line, at any one time.
  5. After the holding period, subscription is auto-renewed on a monthly basis unless otherwise requested by the subscriber.
  6. In cases of fraud, Globe reserves the right to discontinue the DUO service, and any of the subscriptions. DUO is not available for International Service Resale.
  7. Duo is currently not available for prepaid or corporate accounts.

This promo is open to Postpaid subscribers only! Subscribe to a Postpaid Account now!

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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 8, 2009 at 7:53 PM

    Nice post Law. I completely agree with you that Globe has been very consistent on two things:

    1. Their complacency in providing firm resolution to the most basic of their services (most of them you mentioned above.)

    2. Their dedication in setting new trends in the mobile telephony business.

    Overall, it seems that their thrust is to keep their hip market by bombarding them with perfectly timed trendy releases before this segment of their market comes to its senses. As far as basic services go, well, it seems that for Globe those can wait. Definitely not good business, like you said.

    I've been with Globe since I owned my first mobile phone in the early '90s and through all the problems with their most basic services I stuck it through with them. But I think I've had it. In fact last night my family had a longish conversation on dropping Globe and switching to Smart. After all that we've been through with Globe, I have all the reasons to believe that this will be a smart move. =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. PaoApril 10, 2009 at 2:21 PM

    Law- I'd like to Digg this post but can't. Where's the link? :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lawrence VillegadApril 12, 2009 at 4:20 PM

    @Les: Good to know that my observations are not unfounded.

    Pao: http://practicalmagicianpost.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-problem-with-globe-teleco.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. PaoMay 26, 2009 at 12:51 PM

    Time to get your Duo, Law :-)

    ReplyDelete

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