Telephone consumers among most critical

Telephone consumers among most critical

JAKARTA (JP): The classic complaints about telephone services
keep cropping up because telephone users are among the most
critical of consumers, a consumer advocate said.

Zoemrotin K. Soesilo of the Indonesian Consumers' Foundation
(YLKI), compared complaints her office had received in its survey
last year at a seminar on telephone service yesterday.

She said people still report problems with new phone lines and
slow repairs, and complaints about bills are on the rise with her
office receiving 11 cases in one month.

"(State-run telephone firm) PT Telkom can only try to improve
its services although critical consumers keep increasing their
demands," she said. The seminar was at the West Jakarta office of
PT Telkom on Jl. S. Parman.

One of the problems PT Telkom should fix is making local phone
call charges clear to consumers, as well as charges on distance
calls, she said.

YLKI's content analysis of media reports in February last year
found 637 readers writing on consumer complaints. Transportation
complaints ranked first with 141 entries while telecommunications
ranked second with 133.

Seventy-eight dealt with new phone lines and slow repairs, 45
were PT Telkom's responses and 10 were compliments to the company
about its services.

Meanwhile the deputy head of Region II of the PT Telkom
oversees Jakarta, Jimmy R. Villanueva, promised thousands of
clients would see improved connections this year.

"We are doing major repairs in many areas," Jimmy said, for
example flood prone areas in Jelambar, West Jakarta. (anr)