My meeting with an executive from Smart’s Public Affairs office went well and I got the juicy details about how the service was brought about.
The discussion revolved around the new strategy to approach the growing problem and apparent inadequacies with Smart Wifi. Now that it’s re-branded as Smart Bro, a new team was also put in place to oversee the entire operation.
An explanation from an earlier email to me is posted below:
We’re currently undertaking measures to improve network facilities by deploying advanced radio base stations and terminal equipment, and installing upgraded routers. We’re also expanding the wireless broadband network’s core transmission backbone capacity up to 10 Gbps and the regional backbone capacity to 1 Gbps. International transmission capacity has also been increased significantly to further improve access to servers overseas.
On the customer care end, we are improving the customer service systems and processes that handle queries regarding the wireless broadband service. The number of call center seats dedicated to broadband customers has been increased to 370. On the business end, Smart Bro is now directly managed by a combination of PLDT and Smart executives and technical professionals.
Concurrent to these measures, we intend to expand our customer interaction and feedback mechanisms by partnering with journalists, editors, technology users groups and active bloggers who regularly encounter customer feedback (good or bad) on our Smart Bro service . As such, we would like to invite you to form part of “Smart Bro Big Bro ” core user group. We can discuss this opportunity at length at a your most convinient time.
From what was told to me, their original support personnel was just 70 and it was only now that they added 300 more (after the Meridian mass-walkout?). Oh, well.
Anyway, they will be installing Smart Bro at my place so I can have first-hand experience with the service, provide them direct feedback and suggestions for improvement. Along with the other members of the core group, we will ahve direct access to all department heads, especially their network operations manager.
I also mentioned that this move (tapping active bloggers among others to “beta test” such services) is a first in the Philippines. More on this at PTB.
[tags]broadband, telco, isp, wi-fi, wireless fidelity[/tags]
smart bro totally sucks. especially the plug-it. two minutes of online time, and after that there will be no connection anymore. but the time will still be rounded off to thirty minutes. it’s always like that.
Naku!!! Kuya arigato… It was stated in the contract that there will be fees… :_
guys…may bayad ba pag nagpakabit ulit ng cable sa smartbro kc naputol ung cable conection ko…
guys..may charge ba ang cable pag nagpakabit ulit kc naputol ung cadle ko.
Ganun tlaga.. im a Computer Science Student in Puerto Princesa… i got connected yesterday to smart bro.. ang ganda ng connection ung download speed ko is on an average of 45-55kbps.. ambilis.. kasi mga 2km lng halos ung layo ko sa upgraded router nila.. kya kung magpapakabit kayo make sure na maganda ung signal sa lugar nyo para di kayo nagsisisi, nkakainis tlga, tapos SA MGA TAGA SMART trabaho nyo na ideliver ung service, kaya kung hindi kaya ng signal wag nyo nang ikabit para kumita lang kayo. see my point? now do something about it.
You guys are lucky enough to have that kind of connection. I’m reading this blog via a GPRS-enabled cellfone connection (my only way, being 3 kms. away from a cellsite) and I’m not complaining. Even DSL connection have their own
set of problems. By the way, Wi-Max is coming, hopefully next year. And surely will also have its own set of problems. Good Day.
SmartBro Sucks. at first the connection that i am having was good for the past 2 months. then last week i dont have any connection at all. i called teir tech support a couple of times but still the same problem. its already been a week now and i don’t have any connection yet. It really sucks. mabagal na nga minsan poor service pa. It took them more than a week to figure out that they need a technician to fix my canopy.
They should better improve their service and maintain customers loyalty if they want to maintain their business.
Wala parin ako internet!!!! bad trip na to… we shoudl all file a complain about sa pan loloko nila sa advertisement nila.
I have had first hand experience with the total lack of customer support from Dumb Bro (ok, they prefer to be called Smart Bro).
I ended up paying for 6 months service with promises and promises to come and fix the service.
I have written the money off (and the approximate 5 hours of international phone calls to Dumb) as a bad experience and I would never use Dumb (Smart) for any service, ever.
I explained to them that they will lose my loyalty but they did not seem to care.
They are driven only by money and promises and no action.
I am sure some people have had a good experience. I would rather go without internet all together if there was no alternative… thats how serious I am when it comes to loyalty or disloyalty.
I hope nobody else gets burnt like I did.
Rgds,
John
bt wla connection sa e-games ang smart bro pero ung mga DSL meron……!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!kawawa nmn kami lugi negosyo pero kumpleto bayad namin sa inyo…
I had my share of SmartBro’s bad connection. After the installation, everything was so smooth. I thought to myself “I made the right choice.” I spoke too soon. A little over a month after I had it installed, I experienced intermittent connection. I called their tech support several times and all they could say is that they’re fixing the home base. Such a crap! I even experienced 2 days of no service. I decided to call, complain and ask for an adjustment on my bill for the days I haven’t had service. The next day, a contractor was calling me to set an appointment in fixing the canopy. Everything’s smooth and sailing from thereon.
hello there peeps!
im smartbro plan 999 subscriber. so far so good. my connection is 350 up to 800+ kbps with smartbro.
got tweaks for it at www.testmy.net
try my post entitled “20 Steps to Faster Smartbro”
why don’t you give it a try?
regarding bandwitdth, so far i average about 270 kb/s sometimes i reach as high as 390 kb/s, is this good enough for wi-fi 999/mo or wut? problem is, intermittent ang connection. wut good is a high bandwidth reading if your connection is in and out? Hey SmartBro! please be truthful about your advertisement and try to keep up with your promises. Listen to your conscience. Have a heart for those people who trusts in your services. what we’re paying you is hard earned money. if all subscriptions are beyond your facility’s capacity, then stop marketting for the moment until you upgrade..
the hard truth is, no matter what ISP we choose to subscribe, there will always be problems, inevitable problems. before i applied for a smart bro connection, i first observed how the smartbro connection of my neighbor went so far, so far so good naman for atleast 7 months. just last month i decided na magpakabit na rin. took me 3 days lang online na ako, bilis ng internet, bumilib ako, tapos the other day lang i went to post my first blog at yugatech praising smart bro’s “amazing” service, out of the blue naisipan kong mag ping sa DNS Server checking kung stable ba ang connection ko, pagtingin ko bigla nalang intermittent na ang connection ko putol-putol na! naku hindot naka pag post pa naman nako ng maganda about smartbro nyeta!!! sabi ko na nga ba naisahan ako!!!
ok lang yan…
I have globe visibility.. 1.4mbps ang promise.. 14 kbps lang kuha ko. P2k a month pa! badtrip..
hay nako asar n rin ako sa smartbro//pohtah 30kbs ang speed ng net ko..akala ko 384kbps amp mas mabagal p ako sa dial up ah..pohtah tlga
alam nyo mga bro at sis….
ang tawag nga ng karamihan sa smart bro ay smart broken… grabe kasi ang kabagalan ng service…
imagine kapag tumawag ka sa kanila…
Ping
Ping
Ping
Ping
yan lang ang gagawin sayu…
ito ang speed ko sa bahay using smart broken..
56 kbps… faster that dial uP!!!!
have you noticed? try visiting all of smart wireless offices. Lot’s of people right? why? majority ng tao dun ay nag re-reklamo sa bulok nila na service! are you not surprised!
Smartbro? Just paid 3 months salary on a service that sucks! Bandwidth promised not given. Downtime is prevalent. No rebates given to customers for the downtime experienced. Watch out for the interest rate if you don’t pay on time. On thing I hate about smartbro service is when they cut/disconnect your internet 2loy pa rin ang bayad mo + interest! Talo pa interest rate ng banko. I just wish the government/dti will investigate pldt and smart for services that are not given as promised. Monopoly is the goal of smart/pldt aka “the devil”. If the devil succeeds, God help us. The devil will own us 4ever.
Mag-isip kayo!
smartbro connection speed is 20 kbps… kalokohan nagbabayad kme d b… wag kyo magcheck ng speed s 2wire madaya dn yn… dun kyo s iba magcheck…. minsan 14 kbps… kala ko b 384 kbps kyo..
come guys improved your services if you want your customer to be loyal to you….
The actual service wasn’t all that bad when I had it. It wasn’t slow. I have a bone to pick with their customer service though. Their cs agents keep dropping the calls. They keep giving the wrong information, never get anything done, and the supervisors won’t take escalation calls even when I repeatedly ask for one.