Customer (Dis)service

Customer (Dis)service

Recent readers' letters in The Jakarta Post prompted me to
write this letter. You can add me to the surely long list of
unhappy souls who naively expect good customer service when
dealing with large, high-profile companies here in Indonesia.

In 1994, I bought a new Kijang from Astra 2000 in Kalimalang.
Everything seemed so well-organized. We chose the car at the
showroom, the salesman called in the credit staff from Astra
Credit to discuss financing, and we paid three years insurance
with Astra Insurance to cover the period of the loan. So far, so
good.

Four and half months later our car was stolen from outside
church. The nightmare started.

I called the Astra showroom to ask what to do. Tell the
dealer, they said. I did. "My car has been stolen," I said. "Oh,
your radio?" he answered. "No, my whole car." "Oh, well, go to
Astra Credit down the road," he answered. Thanks for the
sympathy; all smiles and charm when selling, but no interest at
all outside that sphere.

I went down the road to Astra Credit. There, I met with a
similar lack of respect, interest and attention. "Go to Astra
Insurance," was the only comment. I asked if I needed to take any
paperwork, but they didn't care and only wanted to get on with
their conversations.

As Astra Insurance is far away in South Jakarta, I was
fortunate to have an Indonesian friend taking me around. We duly
struggled through the traffic jams, and waited to be seen at
Astra Insurance. Again I was met with supreme indifference and a
total lack of respect.

It turned out that Astra Credit hadn't given me the paperwork
Astra Insurance needed. "Go and get it," I was told. Only the
original was good enough, a fax wouldn't do. "How am I supposed
to go chasing all over Jakarta for you when my car has been
stolen?" I asked, tired of all the problems. Use your husband's
car was the answer.

Talk about supreme indifference. We only had one car and that
was gone. Had I not been in shock from the theft, the treatment
from the police and the incredible lack of concern and
coordination from Astra (they are only coordinated taking your
money), I may have committed murder at this point.

To cut a long story short, eventually I found all the
paperwork. Friends with friends in high places got the signed
paperwork out of the police station, and three months later Astra
had finished all the paperwork to process my claim.

I was so disgusted with the Astra group that I wanted to sever
our relationship totally. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible. I
planned to pay off the loan and start fresh somewhere else, only
to find that I would have to pay the majority of the interest for
the remaining two and a half years of the original loan, even
though I was paying it off early.

That would not leave enough money for a down payment for
another car. If I wanted to be mobile again I would have to stick
out the loan and replace the car. OK, it could be worse ...

I went to Astra Insurance to give them the details of the
replacement car. "Now you must insure it," they said. I had
already paid three years insurance when I took out my loan, what
was this for? "The car you insured no longer exists, so you have
to buy more insurance -- and you can't have a rebate on the old
one, we paid to replace your car."

So, not only was I trapped into the relationship with Astra
Credit, I could not replace this rude, incompetent and lazy
insurance company either.

AMANDA AMOY

Jakarta