Meralco’s 2-4 hours means 24

I called up the Meralco emergency hotline (16211) last Nov. 9, 2011, to report that we had a brownout in our house in Cainta. There were sparks, and I heard a loud noise in our electrical lines that might have been the cause of the outage.

The representative advised me to wait for two to four hours for their technician to come. I asked if he and his team could come earlier than that as I have a less than 2-year-old grandson. But those two to four hours became more than 24 hours. Their technicians came at 4 p.m. the following day. I wasn’t able to sleep the entire evening waiting for them, for I was hoping and thinking that something was just delaying them. And to make things worse, I could no longer get through the Meralco hotline—in the wee hours!

Do all Meralco customers call during this time, or do they go through the same problem that I experienced? I started calling at 9:45 p.m. to make a follow-up, but I was only able to talk to a representative at 4:30 a.m. the following day!

With this experience, I would just like to report to Manny Pangilinan this very poor performance of a company of his. He should not only concentrate on acquiring many businesses, he should also focus on how his companies are providing the quality service they promised to their customers.

—VIOLETA P. MERCADO,

6 Bejar St., Vista Verde,

Cainta, Rizal