Its a beautiful day
Its a beautiful day. The heat may be unforgiving, problems may abound, money may be low, dreams may fade…
Don’t worry, its still a beautiful day. The fact that you are still alive, your families and friends are beside you, and God will never leave you no matter what you think.
You may cry, you may whine, you may tear your clothes and your hair but remember hope will never fade, it will always be there hiding until you have the temerity to open your eyes and notice the simple things, the little, inconsequential things of life. More often than not, these are the things that abound in hope and hope abounds in them.
There may be times that failure is more easier to accept than hope. It may seem that failure is more tangible than hope, which makes it all the more convincing. Don’t be convinced. Failure is just the culmination of your fears, of your lack of faith in yourself, lack of faith in the people around you who loves you more than you think possible. Failure is failure if you let it be. Take charge of your life and look at failure as a bitter pill to swallow. Accept it, and see it as it really is - A Challenge. Remember, failures are just challenges in wolves’ clothings. You just need to open your eyes and your heart and everything will fall into place.
You do not need to do anything, just open your mind, open your heart and the realization that it is always a beautiful day no matter what will come. Failures are challenges and problems are merely detours on your way to success. It is a beautiful day.
Update on BayanDSL
We went to the BayanTel Office and told them about our concerns. We got to talk with their Manager, Sir Glen and told us that we were misinformed. Almost everything that the agent told us was a lie, the speaker phone with the caller ID is not sold for PHP 880.00, the PHP 300/month phoneplan does not have a caller ID feature, it is just a basic phone plan with a basic phone and the basic unit is sold for PHP 600 plus.
So we had the PHP 880.00 credited to our account instead of it being use to buy a phone unit from them. We opted for that because a refund would take too long according to them as it has to go through a lot of process. They apologized and promised us that they will resolve everything ASAP. I got a phonecall at around 7PM from Sir Rogy, the head of their Engineering Department, he apologized and told me that he will personally go here tomorrow morning to have our DSL line installed. Sir Glen texted me that the contractors will be here at 9AM tomorrow to install our line.
I just hope they make good on their promise…
Update April 04, 2008
They came here at a little pass 10AM and installed our DSL line. Although off by an hour, they made good on their promise, so now I have a decent connection. I do have to buy a phone unit though… 
BayanDSL Spells Frustration
We have been on SmartBro for over a year and although the service is good enough (with disconnection problems about 1-3 times a week which lasts anywhere between 30 minutes to four hours) it is just not sufficient for our needs. So we decided to try out BayanDSL, we availed of their Plan 899 for 786kbps bundled with a phoneline. We paid exactly PHP 3,078.50 upfront, broken down as follows:
* Plan 786 - PHP 899.00
* Phoneline - PHP 300.00
* Installation Fee (2 installments) - PHP 999.50
* Phone Kit (speaker phone with caller ID) - PHP 880.00
We paid last Thursday, March 27, 2008. They told us that it will be installed after 5-7 business days. Although it is a long wait for us, we decided to wait it through. I did a few follow-ups and finally, after the long wait their contractors came to our house yesterday to install our phone and DSL line. We were anxious to have our line installed because we do not like to pay another month for SmartBro before we have it disconnected. They arrived at around 3PM, installed the cables and left without telling us where they are going. The cable was left dangling in our front gate for over two hours posing a hazard for our very active toddlers and I even prepared a snack for them! So, I contacted BayanTel and told them that their contractors are nowhere in sight and we do not know where they are. They just told me to wait. So being the patient person that I am, I waited. They finally called, they asked me if my plan is bundled with a phoneline and I told them that that was what we paid for. They said that they are going back to their office to get the phone because their order was just to install the DSL line. So we waited again, at pass 6PM they finally went back with the phone.
The phone - now what was shown to us when we paid for the service was a white speaker phone with caller ID. It was quite big compared to regular phones, the agent we dealt with told us that it would be better if we buy the handset from them because a similar set would cost around PHP 1,500 up outside while it is just PHP 880.00 if we get it from them. That clinched the deal, we bought the phone. When the contractors went back to our house, one of them was carrying a small box which will never house a unit as big as the one shown to us. So I asked to see the unit before they install it and true enough it was not what we paid for. The unit they brought is a regular phone with no caller ID and will never be a speaker phone no matter how you look at it. It is just ordinary and not something that I will pay PHP 880.00 for, and it was not brand new! If that was the handset that was shown to us we would never have opted for the add-in phoneline. So I texted the agent again, he told us that he will have the phone replaced.
So they installed the line, not the DSL line but the phone line. They tested the line if it is working, it was. They told us that they will be replacing the phone, all the while I thought that they are going to leave the unit behind so that we can use it and just return again with the right unit to replace it. But no, they took out the phone, wrapped it up in all it’s secondhand used glory and left us with a phone line with nothing but a phone jack at the end. Now you tell me, how the hell are we going to use a phonejack for outgoing and incoming calls? But I kept my mouth shut.
Then they gathered their things getting ready to go, we asked them about the DSL line. That is when they informed us that the service order for the DSL connection has been returned because it was wrong, so they have to wait for the DSL service order before they install it and that could take another week! They said that they will be back with the phone unit when they install the DSL line.
That is pure BULLSHIT!!!
I know that telling them exactly what was on my mind then was useless because they are not really employees of Bayantel but contractors out to do their dirty work (aka installation and repairs). Instead we texted the agent we dealt with and he responded with an apology. Apology accepted - NOT!!! We are going to their office in a little while to tell them exactly what we think. We signed up for their DSL service and the phone line was just an add-on. We specifically told them that we need the DSL line installed ASAP because we could not afford to lose work time with our SmartBro line about to expire. They told us that they are going to do their best to have it installed ASAP. Their best would be the installation of a phoneline with no phone and nothing about the exact date of our DSL line installation. If that is their best, I dread to know what their worst service is.
BayanDSL could not keep their promises. We paid for a DSL and phone line bundle, but got a phoneline with no phone instead. I will rant and rave unless we got what we paid for and some. To Bayantel - do not promise anything, just do it. Promises are very bad for business.
