Wednesday, August 15, 2012

How to request for a SMARTBRO REBATE

Smart, which claims to be the "Nationwidest" and "strongest" network, still has a lot of glitches in its system and proof to this is the everyday clamor of subscribers regarding lost of signal particularly in its internet service (SmartBro). (This is evident in Smart's FB and Twitter account)

I'm a Smart Bro subscriber (the one with the canopy on the roof) for about 4 years now and an all fairness to them, I had good internet service in the past years and it is just recently (May of this year to date) that I have experienced "regular" intermittent internet connection.

When I have free time, I would really try to contact them and report about these disconnections. I also took down the Report Numbers that the call center agents would tell me.

However, it was only last August 13 that I learned about the possibility of requesting for REBATE! YEP, folks! You got that right! You can get your money back since we are paying for a certain monthly postpaid fee for "UNLIMITED" internet and we don't really get the service we are paying for. It was just unfotunate that SMART does not exert a lot of effort to inform its subscribers about this option. Aside from that, I find it unfair that the subscribers will still need to report and request when in fact, they should be responsible enough to monitor their connections and automatically issue rebates.

At any rate, WE HAVE AN OPTION to get our money back, and that's positive enough in itself.

If you are a Smart Bro subscriber and you want to request for a REBATE , here's how:


  1. REPORT DISCONNECTIONS- Every time you experience loss of internet, be sure to report it to SMART by dialing *1888. It takes a lot of time waiting for connection, so I suggest you "dovetail" e.g. do something else, put your phone on speaker mode so you don't waste time waiting. Once you have connected, inform the call center agent and they will be able to monitor if there really is a disconnection or if there's just a problem in your computer.
  2. RECORD REPORT NUMBERS- Upon confirmation that there really is a disconnection, ask for the REPORT NUMBER. All agents are required to submit reports and these reports have reference numbers for easier retrieval in the future. Be sure to take these numbers down and keep them in a notebook, which you can retrieve anytime.
  3. REQUEST FOR REBATE WHEN INTERNET CONNECTION RESUMES- When internet resumes, call *1888 again and request for a rebate. I suggest that you do this prior to your Bill Cut off. But if in case you weren't able to do this before, they will issue rebate on the next month's bill. You'll need your notebook in this process to tell them the report numbers and dates when the internet connection was lost.
  4. RECORD REPORT (for rebate) NUMBERS- The agent will again issue another set of report number. This time it's for the request for rebate. They will submit this to the accounting department of SMART who will then compute for the necessary amount that will be deducted to your next month's bill. 
  5. WAIT WITHIN 48 HOURS FOR CONFIRMATION- They will call for confirmation. That's what the call center agent told me, but they never did. I never stopped bugging them through twitter and FB because I felt it was my right as a consumer. Finally, last October 14, they replied to me and told me that my request was granted. It was a long wait but it was worth it because the total rebate i got is more than 2 months of internet bill. I think I'll enjoy my internet til December for FREE!
Let us be responsible consumers/clients. Let us not let these capitalists benefit from our lack of vigilance and indifference toward the services that we pay for. We work for the money that we pay for these services. It is just necessary that they work for theirs too.


P.S.

Since the rebate request, SMART seems to have been "shaken" because my internet connection is now flawless. I haven't experience disconnection for two months now.

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