Dear Editor,
Do you remember when CaribServe first opened shop under Roy Richardson, a small entrepreneur who waded into a field of corporate giants like Telem and UTS when Internet was in its budding stages on the island? Despite their financial power, he was able to kick their butts and rose to be the premier internet provider on the island for as long as he was at the helm.
Sadly for company CaribServe those days of customer service and fair play appear to be gone, with their corporate takeover by UTS. As a result, people are leaving in droves to whoever else, because of slow speeds, a mere fraction of what they are purporting to provide.
What is worse is that management knows and is indifferent and unapologetic.
I tried getting them on the phone; a recording comes on declaring “Your call is important to us, some French and then perpetual ringing. I tried calling via UTS, the operator said she could patch me through, I was on hold for ten minutes when I finally gave up. Obviously the strategy seems to be to ignore all calls around the start of the month when people have to pay their subscription and problem solved.
For a company that claims to be “your no. 1 telecommunication provider” some communication would be nice.
Why I say it stinks, is because insiders tell me that the company is well aware of the problem for months now and is feverishly working to repair it, but in the meantime continues to charge high rates for sub standard service. Because here on Sint Maarten our options are limited, and will continue to be so because of ineffective (or should I say deliberate) government action and mutual back scratching. Such policy continues to prevent any real service provider competition that would reduce fees or improve service to bring us on par with the rest of the world.
The thing is, that while initial investment in companies such as this might be substantial, once set up, (which CaribServe has been for years) their running costs should be low; we are all basically paying for air time in cyberspace. With the exception of large salaries for management and huge dividend payback to investors, what else are ISPs really paying for? From the looks of things it certainly does not appear to be on network improvement.
In other countries their major hurdle is competition. But couple those attributes with a virtual monopoly of the wireless market, such as exists on Sint Maarten and you have a perfect storm against the consumer.
Despite this, I urge the management of CaribServe to do the right thing and follow the golden rule “Do unto others like you would have them do unto you” and not simply what “Thou can get away with”. Give your customers a rebate now until such time as you have resolved your issues. It’s the right thing to do!
Disappointed Customer
Name withheld at author's request.
