Open letter: At Fastlink, the customer is not always right

This is an open letter to all Fastlink personnel, specifically to their Customer Care division, and to the company’s client base in Jordan. I shall write out of personal experience and will not attempt to criticize in empty words. My account is not meant to bash the company or its employees, but to bring back to their attention that I, as their customer, have the full right to complain of lack of professionalism and manners. The name of the Fastlink employee who needs additional training will be disclosed in this account, as well as in the official complaint I shall make at Fastlink HQ, and possibly in other materials.

I had the chance to visit Fastlink’s corner in Jubaiha Safeway stores at precisely 4:20 PM, today, Thursday December 29th, 2005. The purpose of my visit was to finish a transaction concerning the changing of a pre-paid offer into a post-paid one. Had I known any better, I would have saved myself the money, the time, and the patience I lost in this call.

The procedure was pleasant enough, official enough, until the Fastlink employee named Tareq Ershaid handed me two papers to sign. A quick look at the papers proved that the printer was obviously jammed when they were produced, and this caused the very words contained in the contract to be like a game of crosswords. I refused to sign the papers and demanded another copy, and at this point, Mr.Ershaid said nothing. He proceeded with the official steps, took my money as could be expected, and asked me again to sign the papers.

I refused to sign, again, and asked for a proper copy of the contract. It should not be so strange to ask for a copy of your contract printed out properly, no? Apparently this is unheard of at Fastlink. Mr.Ershaid, and praised be his manners, then resorted to another tactic. He literally told me that he has other customers to tend to, and has no time for this. My shock was unspeakable, and he did not stop at that, having a bad hair day no doubt. He added that he would change something in the contract to make my deposit five JDs instead of three, if I do not sign the paper.

Customer Care has no limits. Mr.Ershaid even said that he would take the papers without my signing them if the need be so, and that my signature is not really that crucial. I was scandalized by this. Yet I was very short on time and did not wish to make a scene because things on such occasions get ugly, so I signed with the full intention of filing my complaint anywhere it may be read.

Following is a picture of the contract that I received, I shall be writing about this to any source that may wish to hear of it. Should additional information be needed to prove this case, I will provide any data without hesitation.

I find it hard to digest that a printer is not functioning properly, and a firm as gigantic as Fastlink cannot replace it. The case maybe so, but shouldn’t Mr.Ershaid have known better than to print out a blurred contract and hand it in to a customer? At the very base of professionalism is respecting clients, and I see no respect in what he did. He could have told me that the printer is not functioning as should be expected, and I would have left with no hard feelings. He could have, at the very least, apologized for the mess of words he generated. Yet he did not, and he added to that his insolent comments and semi-threats. Funny how he only said those words after he took my money, don’t you think?

I would have guessed such people undergo certain training courses on how to deal with the public, how to promote the company’s products, or say – and I am just guessing here, how to show some respect to perfect strangers after you take their cash. I was obviously mistaken, and I am extremely unimpressed.

My sister called Fastlink’s customer service number, and the girl who answered was gentle enough. She urged us to take measures to make this known to the company, and by God, take measures I will.