Dear Editor,
I wish to register my disgust to Mr R K Sharma, CEO of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), about the unsatisfactory service being provided by this utility company under his stewardship. I have noted the same disgust being expressed by customers from Essequibo and East Coast Demerara, through social media and in the letter pages of the Stabroek News in particular. I live on the East Bank Demerara, so it’s obvious GT&T’s difficulties in the delivery of quality service to its customers, are not confined to one geographical area.
During the first week of January 2015, I visited GT&T at 69 Brickdam, to inform them of my change of address and apply for a transfer of the existing landline service. The necessary paperwork was done, I was advised to clear my outstanding account which I did, and was assured that the new line and service would be installed in about three weeks. About two weeks later I dropped by again at that same office to check how my application was proceeding, and lo and behold the application could not be found in their computer system; instead it was tucked away in a folder somewhere in the office. I spent in excess of an hour there to sort out what needed to be done, and the service was installed at the end of January. But what if I hadn’t followed up and had simply waited?
Some time around mid-March I called Customer Care and pointed out that I had DSL internet service on my previous line and asked what I needed to do to re-activate same. I was told to re-apply for a new service. I told the customer agent that my first application was done at GT&T’s office closer to Cuffy Square, and asked whether I needed to go back there again; she said I could go to 69 Brickdam, or the BlackBerry office. So it was on Friday, 20th March 2015, I visited the BlackBerry office and joined a long line of customers, took about an hour to be attended to, only to be informed that I must proceed to 69 Brickdam since the BlackBerry office does not attend to landline internet services. So much for relying on information from Customer Care!
Shortly after 15:00 hrs on the said date I arrived at 69 Brickdam, and was speaking to an agent in a short space of time since there were hardly any customers there. He took my application and entered it into the computer and asked me to wait a short while. However, I ended up waiting till up to the end of their business hours at 16:30 hrs, and then was asked to return the following Monday. A little annoyed but exercising some patience, I returned on Monday 23rd March to complete the transaction. By then GT&T had sent me an additional bill of $103 on the old account as a service charge for the few days in January up to when I surrendered the service. I paid that bill along with my new DSL bill and was issued receipt #2-2056157. All things considered, the agent assured me I would receive my internet service in about three days, since GT&T’s policy is to install within 5-10 working days. I felt rewarded for my patience, but boy was I wrong!
The entire week passed with no service, the following week I called the agent and from then on I’m provided with one excuse or another. I called him again on Tuesday 7th April, and was told he’s not in the office but I should leave my contact number and he will return my call, this I did and once again no one from GT&T saw it fit to call and explain what’s causing the delay. Angry and frustrated, on 9th April I once again called Customer Care and requested to speak with a Supervisor or the Manager. Miss Shania Gomes, Customer Care agent said it was her duty to hear my concerns first before I could get on to either of the persons I requested. Once again I repeated my issue of GT&T’s failure to install my internet service. Miss Gomes called me back shortly after and said that the company is having some difficulties in the area where I now live, and her Supervisor will call me shortly to explain in detail. Of course that promised phone call never materialized, neither has my internet service been installed up to the time of writing this letter. I think that excuse of existing problems in the neighbourhood is a big fat lie; in all the previous calls to query the failure to install, I was never told that the area is lacking the service I have been charged for, plus my neighbours are getting the same service through GT&T, so what exactly is causing mine to be held back?
Editor, as alluded to above GT&T values every dollar that is owed to it, but sadly that same yardstick is not used to provide a satisfactory service to its customers. Or maybe ordinary citizens are not seen as being of importance to the growth of the company, since we’re not from the crème de la crème of society like those who own seaside villas. However, my message to GT&T is that I’m a hardworking Guyanese who values my hard-earned dollars and I expect them to deliver the services I’ve paid for. They promote their company under the slogan ‘Getting Better All The Time’, but are they as a corporation living up to those bold words? I think not. In fact GT&T’s delivery of services to its customers is totally unsatisfactory.
Yours faithfully,
S Sarius
