Consumer Dreams

Consumer Dreams

I read with great interest the article Consumer rights remain a dream in The Jakarta Post, May 11. It came just when I was letting off steam about a typical "Indonesian" case of service with no service, where customers are completely ignored by the provider.

I hope to make it short but detailed for you to understand. We have been running our business south of Jakarta, where the lack of telephone lines forced us to rely on the service of PT Radio Telephone Indonesia (Ratelindo).

Part of the initial investment in this telephone system equipment was despite the empty promises (same quality as the normal line - it is very inefficient and overwhelmed by problems like echoes, delayed voices, stuttering words, robotic sounds, clipping, etc.) that generally affected 70 percent of any telephone conversation.

Even if we asked for problems to be fixed this was never seriously attended to and almost two years after we got it, it had only improved a little, leaving us with a stuttering tool to support our business that relies on good telecommunication.

We believe we are a good customer (we pay an average of Rp 5,000,000 a month) and are punctual in payment. Therefore, my next request was a discount on the rates. If a phone call that should last five minutes actually lasts twice as long because both parties have to keep repeating themselves, why should I pay full rates?

After months of faxes and phone calls on May 6, 1997, we even had the lines disconnected as "we did not pay the bills since January." After providing full supporting documentation they have been reactivated, but, of course, no apologies.

On May 19 we received a fax from Ratelindo announcing a 5 percent discount in May. What do we do with it? We are not looking for charity.

After so many months of struggle we have no option but to look for more reliable sources ... Therefore my questions are as follows:

1. How important is a customer in a service providing industry such as telecommunications?

2. How can such a company survive in the long run in this extremely competitive market and intense capital investment?

3. How can such an industry move forward when the base of its philosophy is completely neglected: "The customer is always right." In Indonesia consumers' rights remain a dream.

JEAN PIERRE SEVEKE

Jakarta