A shrill call from PLDT

I am writing this in response to the column of your columnist (and Chairman I guess?) Mr. Primo Esleyer dated December 5, 2007 . In that piece Mr. Esleyer cited among others, 1) a complaint of his British friend “Mr. Neil Honeyman” about the undersigned's office's alleged “ever incompetent, arrogant, untruthful and most of all, unhelpful and not addressing the issue effectively”; and 2) for the undersigned to “take some refresher course in customer relations”. And that “If he can not address the problems of PLDT customers, that office is not for him”.

May I answer the above items in my own humble way.

On the first item: Mr. Honeyman's complaint was actually about his telephone bill. He questioned some calls reflected in his bill that were allegedly erroneous. Our staff who handled his account told him by phone that his complaint was already being looked into. He was also assured that he did not have to worry about getting disconnected since his telephone would not be included in the disconnection process pending resolution of his case. Because of the uniqueness of the dispute, it had to be endorsed to another independent group within PLDT for further study. Unfortunately, this process would necessarily lengthen the resolution timeline. But this we had to do if only to properly identify the problem and to be fair to the customers. It is therefore sad to read adjectives describing the undersigned's office such as the ones cited by Mr. Esleyer in his column.

On the second item: PLDT has been reminding its staff including the undersigned that customer is always first and foremost and that we exist because of the customers. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world. So, much as we would want to satisfy all our customers, issues once in while would arise that affect customer satisfaction. But rest assured that PLDT is doing all it can to address the complaints of its customers promptly.

Lastly and on a personal note though, I hope Mr. Esleyer does not judge people based on one side of the story alone if only to be fair to all concerned. Being an influential media personality, I believe his opinion is being respected by many people in Bacolod . Because of this he has all the tools to make or break a person's reputation. But what an injustice it would be if Mr. Esleyer succeeded in unjustly tarnishing someone's credibility because the Visayan DAILY STAR (the number one local daily in Bacolod ) consented to it.

I hope this letter finds space in your prestigious newspaper.

Very truly yours,

(Sgd) RENATO C. SANTILLAN
Head – PLDT Bacolod

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