Wecome to TMnet Malaysia

كتبهاأ.د. ريما الجرف ، في 27 يوليو 2007 الساعة: 02:47 ص

August 16, 2007

I have been using TM net as my internet service provider for about 6 weeks. During those 6 weeks, I have experienced the worst internet service I have ever seen in my whole life. In just 6 weeks, the system was down three times. The first time it was down for more than 48 hours. A couple of weeks later, it was down again for a day. Tonight it is down for the third time. In the past week, I have been having a hard time browsing. If I want to open “Yahoo”, I get “Google” or “affordable tours” or a webpage that I used two days ago. If I want to check my e-mails (which I have been using for more than 4 years), I either get a message telling me that I am not authorized to check my e-mail, my username and password are wrong or page cannot be displayed. I have been having a hard time trying to open the Lycos homepage or Lycos Mail. I cannot even use the ERIC database which I badly need for my research paper.

When I applied for a phone line with Telecom Malaysia back in June, I wanted to apply for the internet service. But I was told that the internet service contract is for a whole year whether you use it for a year or not. Since I will be staying in Malaysia for 6 months only, I thought why should I pay money for something I am not going to use. So, I bought a kit consisting of a TM net prepaid startup card and a reload card. I called the TMnet Customer Care Hotline to help me configure my computer and start the internet service. One of the support people helped me do the settings. But when I tried to connect, the connection did not work and I could not browse. I was calling and calling the TM net specialists, and every time I called, the new specialist would reconfigure and change the previous settings until it finally worked after 5 hours of calling and waiting on the line. I do not understand why every time you call, no matter when you call, you have to wait on the line and listen to the same boring message that asks you to press 1 if you want to continue waiting, as if callers are idiots and they do not know what to do if they want to wait or quit. In the past couple of weeks the service was improved by directing callers to a new number, and by telling the caller “there are 4 people ahead of you and your wait time is 8 minutes” after which you wait for at least 5 more minutes. If you are lucky, they answer the phone, otherwise you will be disconnected or nobody answers the phone. Then, you hang up and redial and you go through the same vicious circle over and over again, as if customers have nothing to do but wait and wait on the line. Many a times, I got frustrated and tired of waiting and would simply quit without having the problem solved. When I am lucky and someone answers my call, the first thing I am asked is “Where do you live”. Do you live in “Jalan Ampang” or ”Do you live in Jalan Ipoh”? What a question and what a telecommunications Company that is unable to handle the internet service in the different part of one city, let alone different cities in the same country?

What is worse is how TM net keeps track of your account. I was surprised to find out that I exceeded the limit of my card by MR 8. If TM net charges one cent per minute, this means that I have used the internet for 800 minutes, i.e., 13 hours non-stop which is impossible as I leave for the university maximum at 10 a.m. and never get home before 7:30 p.m. So how can I use the internet for 13 hours non-stop? When I used the second card, I was told that I exceeded the limit by only MR3+. This time I over-used the service by 300 minutes, i.e. 5+ hours non-stop. If I exceed the card limit, why doesn’t TMnet disconnect me?

The last absurd thing about TM net is that when you call to start your service or reload, the support people ask you for your password and they insist that you give it to them. Why is called a password if you are going to give it to the TM net agents? Who guarantees that they do not use our accounts? I tried to change my password several times, but I kept getting a message telling me that my old password was wrong, although I used the same password to log into the TM net site.

What made me write this letter is that, I tried to use the internet today at noon and I could not browse. I tried to use tonight and could not browse. So I called and the TM net agent told me that the system is under maintenance and asked me to call tomorrow to get my problems solved. I called yesterday and complained. I called the day before and they did not do anything about the problem and so on. I think what TM net likes to do is sell prepaid cards to customers, have them dial and connect to the internet without actually using the internet, lose time and lose card money while trying and trying to browse in vain. They get our money without providing us with any service. Why not, if there is no law to protect the customer and they can get away with it. TMnet has hired employees who are good at coming up with excuses like: “may be there is something wrong with your phone line”, “you need to check your settings every now and then”, “may be there is something wrong with your computer” and she does not know anything about my computer. Well, in my country, once I configure my computer, I can use the internet without checking my settings at all. I change the settings only if I change the company. When I buy a reload card, I can enter the username and password myself without even calling the company. If the system is under maintenance, I get an e-mail message in advance telling me what time and how long the system will be under maintenance with an apology for the inconvenience.

I hope TM net reads my complaint about their service and tries to do something to fix those problems. It does not take much to solve those problems. All it takes is some effort and willingness to provide good service in return to the money paid by the customers they are supposed to serve. Otherwise they should close and another company that can handle IT better should take over.

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