Share the load

I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with Gulf News's report on etisalat's customer dissatisfaction; the newspaper has boiled the problem straight to the salt. Heavy bandwidth activity is a recipe for slow connections and it obviously drives customers up the wall, given that they are paying for a premium service and getting a sub-standard one. Introducing more competitors would distribute the load, and the numbers shows that with a lower number of subscribers, we are likely to get a better surfing experience.
From Mr Waleed Sarwar
UAE

Bad service

The service by etisalat has become completely inefficient and I often wonder why we pay for it. I applied for a broadband internet connection in December, but received no response. After about two weeks, I called etisalat to check on the status of my application, but discovered that they had cancelled it altogether. Nobody even bothered to inform me. I had to register again and underwent further problems with their customer service department. When my connection finally came through a month later, the internet bill came with it!
From Ms Ashby Abraham
UAE

Crippling effect

As a company employee, I recently experienced long delays and inefficiency from etisalat. Our company's landline number has not been working for the past five months and ever since then, we have logged a complaint with etisalat almost every alternate day. The worst scenario was when our internet and fax lines were disabled due to cabling work in the area. The telecommunication provider promised to send in technicians on the same day but we didn't hear from them after that. Emails, faxes and phone calls are the primary source of corporate communication. It is disgraceful how etisalat's inefficiency has had a crippling effect on the business.
From Ms Anita Machado
Dubai

False promises

I applied for etisalat's Al Shamil broadband internet service and was told I would receive it within two weeks. It has been a month since then. I have made more than four phone calls to check the status of my application, with each call taking about 10 minutes to get through to the customer service centre. Every time I call, I receive the same response: that there are some technical problems in the area and they are working on it. It has become extremely frustrating. My question to etisalat is: Why promise to provide us with internet within two weeks when it actually takes months?
From Mr Ajmal Patel
UAE

Poor response

I am one of the most dissatisfied subscribers of etisalat's Al Shamil internet service. I have had several bad experiences, wherein my call was put on hold by their customer service centre for more than 15 minutes. In fact, I have even waited for as long as 35 minutes on a particular day. Therefore, it is not correct for etisalat to say that the average waiting time per call is only about 2 to 3 minutes. I also filed complaints on intermittent internet connection problems, but the response has been extremely poor. The only thing prompt about etisalat is their bill, which we receive on time, month after month.
From Mr Babu Samuel
Sharjah

Giving up

I am in full agreement with the view that etisalat's customer service has been very poor, especially with respect to internet and web services. However, I cannot vouch for the 30 minutes delay in response because after about 15 minutes, I usually give up.
From Mr M. S. Alkaff
UAE

Facing delays

As a subscriber of etisalat's Al Shamil internet service, I have had some bad experiences with the service provider. No one at the customer service desk could tell me why setting up the connection was facing so many delays. When I went to their office in Ajman, I received rude, dismissive responses and nobody was interested in helping me. I soon realised that the connection was not going to happen anytime soon and returned to etisalat's office to cancel my subscription. It is time for etisalat to do something to improve its services, as customers are suffering.
From Mr Rajesh Pillai
Ajman

Give them time

Like many others, I too have faced problems with etisalat. But I have noticed that with increased competition in the market, etisalat has improved its services. They have made major efforts to reach out to the public and have even altered their office timings to suit customers' schedules. Although the long waiting period that customers are subjected to is unacceptable and unreasonable, we need to give them more time to improve. They have come a long way and can only get better. It will need to focus on increasing the number of support staff and reducing time delays.
From Ms Riddhi Sagar
UAE

Wrong information

I recently subscribed to etisalat's Al Shamil internet service. However, in a span of three days, I had to contact them numerous times just to set up my account. Each time I called, I had to wait for about 25 to 30 minutes before anyone answered, and most of the time, I hung up after waiting for half an hour. They repeatedly gave me wrong information, which forced me to call again and wait some more. I have never experienced such bad service before.
From Mr Milad Yousuf
UAE

Subscriber woes

Gulf News's report about the woes of etisalat subscribers made me happy just to know I was not alone. I have lodged many complaints with them and know for a fact that it takes between 30 minutes to an hour to get through. When I decided to go to their office to personally share my disappointment, their own customer service representatives told me that they do not know anything. It was absurd. If etisalat cannot give us the service we expect, why don't they free us from the hassle of follow-ups? Our efforts are useless, as we don't receive any help at all.
From Ms June Ann Montecillo
Sharjah

Negative image

The waiting time that etisalat puts customers through is never-ending and their service has become very bad. More than once, I had to wait for about 30 to 45 minutes before someone answered my call. When we finally get through, the customer service representatives make customers feel as if we are disturbing them. This lack of professionalism needs to be addressed by etisalat. It is a very good service provider, but it needs to reflect a positive image by making sure its customers receive prompt service.
From Mr Reda Zerrouk
Dubai

Lost time

When I read about etisalat's deteriorating customer service in Gulf News, I remembered my own bad experiences. I had applied to transfer my telephone line to another location, but the process took a lot of time and all my patience. Whenever I called etisalat, I had to wait for ages before someone finally answered my call. I then received different solutions for my problem, as the customer service representative had no idea what was going on. If the representatives cannot help customers, they should at least transfer us to someone who can. Otherwise, it is just a waste of our time and energy.
From Ms Suraiya Khan
Sharjah

Still waiting

My experiences with etisalat have been some of the worst I have ever dealt with. I have been waiting for over a month for etisalat to disconnect my Blackberry subscription so that I can transfer to my company's Blackberry account. I have been to their customer service department more than 10 times, and was sent from floor to floor, from person to person. I then had to fill out three forms to request for disconnection, but my subscription status is still the same. During my visits, I was told the service would be disconnected within an hour or two, but I am still waiting.
From Mr Hai Tran
Abu Dhabi

Dreadful service

I was traveling so disconnected my local unlimited Blackberry service for the global unlimited option. It took about four days to achieve that! I lived with that. Then when I attempted to cancel my global for a local unlimited service, etisalat completely lost itself. For nearly 10 days they have been processing the request — apparently engineers are working on it!
From Ms E.M. Alex
Dubai

Throw in the towel

The timing of Gulf News' report on etisalat was perfect. I recently applied for a broadband internet connection but after logging more than 20 complaints with etisalat's help desk, I have yet to receive follow up calls or updates on my application. If etisalat is not able to provide a service, why doesn't it throw in the towel? The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) should allow more capable hands to take care of this burden. Opening up the market to other providers will help customers get faster and more efficient service.
From Mr Abbas Ali
Dubai

Breaking point

Having registered to move my existing internet broadband connection to a new residence, I have called etisalat more than 17 times and visited their main offices about four times — with no result. The help desk could not even offer me any explanation for the delay and did not provide a tentative time frame for the problem to be resolved. To make matters worse, I am paying rental fees on a service that I have not even had for the past month. It should remember that customers can make or break a business, and it is essential to keep them satisfied.
From Mr Melvin Simon
Abu Dhabi

Pay to wait

I add my voice to those who have tried and failed to get prompt solutions from etisalat's customer service representatives. In order to resolve my internet connection problems, I tried calling etisalat at varying intervals through the weekend. Each time, I would wait for 10 minutes for someone to answer before redialling. This went on for two days without any response. The worst part is that when we call, the recorded message plays over and over again, and we have to pay while we wait. However, I was lucky to have my problem resolved soon after and did not have to wait for weeks.
From Mr Laxman Sridhar
Dubai

Refund please

I read with interest Gulf News's report on etisalat and its customers' woes. Last summer, I set up a wireless internet system in my apartment. During this period, I lost my connection with etisalat and was without internet for nearly a month. When they reconnected me after numerous daily phone calls, I asked for a refund on my monthly bill, as I did not use internet for the whole duration. It has been more than nine months and I am still waiting. I am not asking for the world — I just want my money back!
From Mr Duncan Hardie
Ras Al Khaimah

Dissatisfied

My dissatisfaction with etisalat's services is due to the fact that I had previously requested an internet connection transfer to my new residence but I have not heard from them for over a month. I called the customer service agents at least five times, but never received a satisfactory reply. No one from etisalat follows up on customer complaints or bothers to explain the delay. I am sure I am not the only one in this position. It is dreadful that etisalat is treating its customers so inefficiently.
From Mr Alsajir M. B.
Al Ain