The Consumer
Questions customers could ask hotline
By Linda Bolido
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:50:00 11/11/2008
Filed Under: People, Lifestyle & Leisure
JUST what kind of information can you get from Ask PLDT 101-811?
Reacting to last week’s column, Paolo C. Lopez, assistant vice president for retail voice usage of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), wrote to explain what the service was all about and what questions customers could ask. Here is the list of information available to callers of 101-811:
Fast food delivery hotlines; directory services and public advisory; news (breaking news, sports news, lotto results); foreign exchange rates; weather forecast and international time; church Mass schedules; daily updates; horoscope; inspirational events and special occasions (PLDT promos, general events, Manila and Cebu happenings, shopping feature list, sales and promos and school tips); entertainment (show biz news, movie schedules, television schedules, jokes); top five travel destinations; visa information; Philippine passport and embassy information; travel agencies; transportation and accommodations; travel tips and calendar of festivals; home and lifestyle tips; beauty and wellness; and around the house (tips around the house, plumbing services, electrical services, appliance service centers and car maintenance).
I encourage readers to try dialing the number and give us feedback on how informative it is so I can pass it on to PLDT. Only by giving feedback can we make sure the service is as efficient as we want it to be. I will certainly try the number again one of these days to see if the information listed above can really be obtained through the hotline.
In his letter, Lopez also explained that the number 187, which the operator at 101-811 told me to call, “actually puts you in touch with PLDT Directory Assistance, which is a completely different consumer service.”
Lopez said “ask PLDT 101-811 is an ‘automated’ concierge service with advanced voice recognition capabilities, while 187 directory inquiry is operated by ‘live’ agents who provide the telephone numbers of various residential and business establishments.” But here he had me confused because the person who took my call when I dialed 101-811 was a “live” one who suggested I called 187. May be the machine was on a break when I called. That certainly gives me more reason to try the hotline again—and soon.
For pickup
As for the phone directory, Lopez encourages subscribers to just go to the PLDT office nearest to them and pick them up when they transact their various businesses. That may be a problem for people like me who do not go to the PLDT offices, as I pay my bills through phone banking. I know many people now pay through Bayad Centers and other payment facilities precisely because they want to avoid the hassle of going to PLDT offices.
On this same topic, somebody from Directories Philippines Corporation, publisher of the PLDT phone books, called to say they had the directories delivered to PLDT subscribers who lived on main roads. I am one of the unfortunate ones whose apartment is not on a main road. But when I asked a colleague who lives on a main road in Mandaluyong City, she said they always had their directories picked up, even without any notification from PLDT, because they would not get them otherwise.
It would be interesting to hear from ordinary PLDT clients—not business or commercial subscribers—who actually had their phone books delivered.
Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph.
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