Wi-tribe Internet Connection issue

I went to wi-tribe Manila branch a few days ago to return their wi-tribe modem due to internet issues / problems (after my 2-month long disappointment with their internet speed). My internet connection was too slow. I was at that shop for only 30mins,  and I'm not so surprised when 2 other customers walked-in in to return theirs as well (who knows how many people came to return their modem if I stayed longer).  I was leaving that center, I told myself I'm going to share my experience to my friendly friends online and  offline.

Quick recap - 4 months ago, I signed up for Wi-tribe because a friend recommended it. Immediately, Wi-tribe tech guys came to my place to set it up. I'm at the 14th floor of a condo in Mandaluyong. On the day of the setup, my internet connection was about .54 mpbs (download speed using speedtest.net) but I was told that after 24 hours I would be able to get the promised 2mpbs. But the promise was never fulfilled and much to my disappointment, my internet connection NEVER ever hit at least 1mpbs. I was using it for two months and there was at least 5 days I had no internet connection at all. I had to go out and go to a nearby internet cafe inorder to submit a late-at-night report for work. I'm paying wi-tribe PHP998 per month and this is what I get from them. Add to add fuel to the fire, I payed wi-tribe a full amount of PHP2,500 for their modem because I signed-up for a 12-month contract instead of 24-month (to get the modem for free, which I'm lucky enough not to sign-up for 24months).

During my 2-months-use of this wi-tribe modem, I constantly had internet signal issues and problems. No week passed that I did not contact their customer support regarding my problem. Yes, in all fairness wi-tribe has polite customer support though I called them over a dozen times for technical support and concluded to have my unit checked by a field technical guy from wi-tribe. As expected, when the technical guy came, he claimed that my particular condo unit is a dead spot. No or not enough coverage by wi-tribe. This ofcourse really was so disappointing because the wir-tribe who did the setup were the ones who checked my internet connection during the day of the setup. And yes the problem was, the wi-tribe guys promised that my internet speed would be better. So why the heck was  my internet speed was too slow? Anyway, after calling wi-tribe for several times I "requested" to have my wi-tribe internet be disconnected. I also told the customer support I'd like to have a refund for the PHP2500 modem I paid. So the customer support told me that it will take time (?) before my request will be reviewed/granted.

Two months passed and I never heard from the wi-tribe guys regarding my request for disconnection and refund for the modem. Until the other day I decided to give them a call already. I was told my internet disconnection has been granted (yeah right, ofcourse you should as your wi-tribe service never met my expectations -- your promise of fast internet rather). And about my refund,  the customer support said it is still being reviewed (?) by their department and the way to get the favorable (?) response - to get my refund approved, is  to return the modem to a nearby wi-tribe shop. So I did, I went to a wi-tribe shop to return my 2-month-old modem and only to find out right at the counter that, according to the wi-tribe crew in front of me, that THEY DON'T DO REFUND. So I was really disappointed. There I was, confused, disappointed, irritated. Luckily, I was able to control my emotion and I told the crew infront of me why would I waste my time coming down to a wi-tribe shop to return a modem and don't get a refund. That is a waste of time and waste of money. I told the crew to give a note to the system that I would to make a petition.

I wish wi-tribe will be transparent with their services and to their clients. Please educate your customer support properly regarding your policies. Most importantly, please advise your technical/set-up guys to be honest and truthful on checking your coverage for a particular location of a potential customer. Be upfront if the service will only cause internet trouble / problems. Compared to me, mine was later checked thoroughly after I signed up and only to find out I have the worst internet coverage.

I admire wi-tribe's fascinating marketing efforts, your beautifully designed shops, your friendly customer supports... but please, make critical improvements on your internet services and be truthful. Last but not the least, please return the refund for clients whom you have not been able to provide what they have paid for.


How about you, did you have a good or bad experience? Share.