The Disputed TM Bill

It all started when I received my bill statement from my telco provider TM last friday 25 July 2008. Immediately when I came back after friday prayer and had a quick lunch, I drove to the nearest TM Point at Kelana Parkview. I had to wait for about twenty minutes before my number was called and a timid looking lass at first politely greeted me. She must have read from my facial expression that I was not in a good mood. When I told her that my monthly bill for July shocked me because there was a debit of RM543.90 on the current charges side, I could not figure out where did I go wrong, because I by force of habit cleared my bills without fail every month. Previously it was by auto-debit but due to the cancellation of my credit cards, I decided otherwise. Just because I omitted to settle an arrears of RM1.50 due to TM for the month of May, could not have exploded the bank of TM! Thus I paid the stated balance and left in a huff. When I studied all my past bills for the year 2008, there was no single month that I did not settle my bill except for the one ending on 16 May 2008. So how come I had to pay almost double the monthly average? So I sent an e-mail to TM the following day. Then the automated reply came which angered me, and again I asked for an explanation on my latest position after having paid the latest bill. Again the answer was like a recorded one which you normally come across when you call a service provider. I thought when the govt decided to corporatise it's departmental entities it was claimed that they would be more efficient and client-oriented. But after more than two decades, things had taken for the worse and mind you, they have mostly been privatised. Some did better, but on the whole, the exercise was a futile one, where more and more complaints from the public are heard about service providers who doesn't care for the general interest of the public.Then I followed by a phone call to TM 100. This was a disaster, and I blew my top. The lady on the other end simply could not answer my query with satisfaction. Every query was answred nonchalantly and that drove me to the wall. Finally I shouted at the top of my voice and she hung up. I was fuming to say the least. The following day I decided that enough was enough. I went to the Maxis service centre in Tmn Tun Dr Ismail, KL to enquire about their services. I thought they as a leading service provider in the telco business would fare better, but alas I was again disappointed. There wasn't any fixed line service in SS3 but there's a broadband coverage. So I asked for a maxis broadband to be registered under my name. But the service was unavailable now because they had run out of the modem. Can you imagine that coming from Maxis? What is happening here, I began to ask myself, it looked like everything seems to be collapsing, or is it just my imagination? The answer seemed to be within and not without. By that I mean, we are having people who looked good on the outside but downright rotten on the inside. It's like the "Buah Bachang" which always looked smooth and succulent albeit it's abrasive 'getah' if you happen to touch it, then it can develop sores on your hands, which I found out as a small boy in my placid Kampong 16 miles from tha State capital of the nine states. My offensive on the telco provider ended in a letter to the CEO of TM which I wrote at length, outlining to him the facts and figures. I know that he would have no time to read such a trifle because he's dealing with billion ringgit deals here and overseas. But a Company who failed to attend the tiniest of details is asking for trouble. Unless the telco industry is a monopoly this will spell the doom of the leading telco provider. We have seen it happening in the world market where respectable behemoths crumbled by the wayside because they failed to attend to customer satisfaction. I am not an industry wizard, but common sense tells me that Customer is King, and unless this mentality is adopted woe betide those whom the clients are disgusted with the service provided no matter how powerful the Corporation appears to be. In this world of free markets and cut-throat competition, a giant can just fold up as easily as a "roti canai" which I am fond of, but has to cut down my intake due to its high calories. I am under medication for hyper-cholesterol and also blood sugar. My asthma seemed to be mild and hope that the appointment to consult Dr. Aziah from the Jalan Pahang Hospital next week would put me back on the normal plane again. Otherwise my fuse is getting shorter by the day and I supplicate to ALLAH S.W.T. to give me the good in this world and also in the hereafter and prevent me from being thrown into hellfire. Jazakallah Khairan.