I’ve been very unlucky with my Blackberry Bold2. First, it took me a few days to have my Blackberry Internet Service activated and on my birthday last month, the earpiece decided to go kaput and I couldn’t hear the other party when I make/receive calls. Very timely. Then I took it to the DiGi 360 store at SOHO Mont Kiara and when the DiGi personnel tested my phone, it was alright! I swear, it was as if the phone decided to play a prank on me on my birthday.

On Friday (June 18), I had the same problem again and I thought it was just going to be temporary. The problem continued until Sunday morning and I decided to bring the BB back to DiGi SOHO. Before I drove off, I tested the phone again, just to make sure that I couldn’t hear anything when I make/receive calls.

Showed it to the DiGi personnel. He tested the phone and had a microscopic inspection of the phone just to make sure I didn’t drop the phone and I came back home with a brand new Blackberry Bold2 unit. So much for Googling “Where can I fix my blackberry in Kuala Lumpur?”

Smartphones have a lot more application and there are more things you can do (send/receive emails, Facebook, Twitter, blog, listen to music, etc.) but sometimes I do feel that smartphones are more ‘fragile’. Technical glitch can happen if it is not taken care well.

I wonder… why are the old phones more reliable than the current smartphones? Do you still rely on an old phone because your current smartphone sometimes gives you trouble?

PETALING JAYA: Subscribers to Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s high-speed broadband service UniFi are vulnerable to exploitation due to a router setting that leaves it open to outside attack.

A hacker could take control of the router remotely and could, for instance, surf using the owner’s account, open ports that could leave the computer vulnerable to further attacks and spy on the user’s Internet activities.

“rizvanrp,” who posts on the LowYat Forum discovered the vulnerability and went public with it on May 29. His discovery was also posted on Twitter.

According to him, the vulnerability is due to TM leaving each router’s remote management capability switched on, thus making it possible for others to remotely access the router using a username and password that is now easily found on the Internet. – Source: The Star / Click here to read more.

I am not a tech expert but when I saw “spy on the user’s Internet activities”, I am sure the hackers going to have one hell of a good time checking out some interesting sites. “Ooooooo…. check out the history,” says the hacker. But when we are in Malaysia, we don’t “abuse” the internet, right?… RIGHT???

But on a serious note, I do pity innocent UniFi users who might not have a clue (especially if the user happens to a pakcik or makcik! Ada ke?). I was contemplating about using UniFi but upon reading the above article, I guess I have to think twice, unless Telekom Malaysia Berhad can rectify this issue ASAP.

After days of waiting, I finally have my line and Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) activated by DiGi. Since the previous post, I was just to lazy too rant and call DiGi. I was too tired to listen to the same excuses and too tired to raise my voice asking for immediate activation. After a while, I just got bored and I told myself, “If there’s service, fine. Otherwise, I have to wait again.”

On Wednesday (March 10) the Digi Roadshow person-in-charge called me for my details and the following day (March 11), I received a call from Dyna Communications. Again, asking me for my details (receipt number, SIM card serial number and IMEI number). I swear I memorize all the numbers now!

On Friday (March 12), one of my phones vibrated. I usually place my Blackberry in my left pocket and my Nokia E72 in my right pocket. I felt the vibration on my left leg so it must be my Blackberry. True!!! For the first time, I received a message telling me that my BIS has finally been activated!

I put my work on hold for a second and decided to play around with the Bold2: dowload UberTwitter, Facebook application and activated my Blackberry Messenger. I can BBM again!

I received a call from DiGi apologizing for the delay and asking me if I had any concerns and she said that they are working towards improving their services. This, I agree.

For my case, I seriously do not know who to blame: Digi or the vendor? Furthermore, whenever I called the customer service, they gave me the same excuses over and over again (“Your number has not been registered”, “Please wait for for 24 hours”, etc.)

Anyways, it was really a long wait. I expected to wait for 24 hours but I waited for around 10 days. It was a memorable experience dealing with the hard-working and friendly (I am being genuine here, not sarcastic!)  DiGi customer service staff and the people behind DiGi’s twitter account (www.twitter.com/digi_telco). A lot of sarcasm from my side, eh? Well, I am not a difficult customer to please. Give me service and I’ll shut up! Give me a crappy service and I’ll yell and rant over and over again.

I’m happy now. *Syaf hugs Digi Yellow Man*

TOP 5 EXCUSES

Today, I have decided to stop calling Digi because I know for a fact that the Customer Service staffs hate me now, especially since I’ve yelled at a few staffs. You see, I seldom yell at people. Who am I to actually raise my voice to another individual that I respect? But then again, I was given the same excuses countless of times, I feel like I can just remember the script. Here are some of the frequently excuses given to me.

1. Your number is not in the system (Well, I’ll give you the details, put it in the system)
2. I have submitted your application and you have to wait within 24 hours for activation (THANK YOU but still no services until now!)
3. You have to go back to the roadshow (this excuse was given to me on Monday and the roadshow ended one day before. I yelled at the staff, “The roadshow ended yesterday. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO NOW????”)
4. Please go to the Digi Centre, as we can’t activate your SIM here (Well, I called the centre at SOHO and they can’t do anything, too)
5. I will check the issue. Please give me your phone number and I will call back (I do not know if there is something wrong with my phone but they never call me back!)

You can also follow my rants at www.twitter.com/syafique! I am going to blog and tweet about this issue until I get my Digi line and Blackberry Internet Service!

My message to Digi Roadshow’s Person-in-Charge:

Hey, Tuesday already. Can you resolve this issue with the vendor Dyna Communications. This is embarassing!

The Reply:

Fully agree… My team has stopped all other work and are concentrating on fixing these issues. I am working out an appropriate compensation plan for all parties affected.  Really sorry about this. This turnaround time is completely unacceptable.

I called Dyna Communications, a Digi vendor, but was told to leave my Digi number and my contact number. He promised to call me back but obviously, he didn’t. And why should I be the one chasing this? Shouldn’t this be part of Digi’s service? Why do I have to call the vendor and beg them to activate my service? As far as I am concern, I have paid RM 550 in cash to Dyna Communications. I do not know what happened to my application form. It is not my responsibility if they lost it or something.

I then decided to contact Digi Roadshow’s person-in-charge. Was told about some “compensation”. To tell you the truth, I do not care about some compensation and whatever that offer might be. All I want is my line and BIS.

Enough said.