TM's Consumer Service means consumer self-service, ok?

I don't think Telekom Malaysia can survive without monopoly. Its consumer service means no action on their part because the equipment are there and call centre is the answer to all problems, ok? Don't expect staff to lift a finger to help.

What do members of the public expect from Customer Service?
I believe any reasonable person would expect some help by those whether directly or indirectly involved in the front line.

I was asked by a friend running a busy cake shop to check on their complaints to Telekom over a faulty line. I was told to check her house line as well. It seems Telekom checked and said that the fault was with the telephone set. She brought her house set to check, and now both the shop and house phones have the same problem of people on the other line cannot hear them.

I went to the local TM centre, which was on my usual way, to check. To be honest, I was not expecting good service, such was the image of TM. I took a queue number for Customer Service. Seeing that a young Malay lady was free, I asked if she would help to inform about the faulty lines. She directed me to some phones next to a wall directly opposite her to do it myself. I was not pleased and commented, ‘No more personal touch?’

I called 101 as given by the information next to the phone which directed me to press the number of the faulty lines, followed by a response from a lady informing me that it has been reported earlier and that the fault lies with the set which the customer has to take it to the centre. I told them of what happened and insisted that a serviceman be sent to check further.

Then I called again to inform about the house number. I was asked the name of the subscriber which I did not have with me. I told them I am willing to give my name and handphone number but she insisted that she needed to verify the correct name, without which she cannot take down the complaint!

As I was leaving, I saw the staff members were actually listening to my telephone conversation and I left the premises with the comment, “Bagus lah, ini service!” (This is good service!) sarcastically.

Just imagine, a nice big building with pleasant interior, but the service sucks big time. What happened to customer service? Are the employees programmed not to be helpful to customers in need? They are unable to call on behalf of customers who might have problems doing so? Why can’t the call centre accept complaint by another party who is willing to provide his personal details? I feel sorry for those who are hard of hearing or illiterate.