JEDDAH, 6 JUNE 2003 -- Both the Saudi Electricity Company and Saudi Telecom are two public utilities in Saudi Arabia that lag behind in terms of efficiency and in responding to customer complaints. Hence, it is no surprise that I receive a complaint letter about faulty mobile phone service almost every other week.
The latest one landed in my e-mail inbox on Tuesday from an OFW who works for a large company in the Kingdom. He asked that I not use his real name, so let's call him Felipe. The problem he has been facing was the initial inability to send text messages to certain mobiles in the Philippines and in Europe.
When he complained to STC, by repeatedly phoning their 902-customer service number, the problem was only partially solved after a wait of several months. He could now text all of his Philippine contacts. One major problem remained: Felipe has relatives in Belgium, whom he is in contact with regularly.
The problem is that although he can text them, because of some sort of connectivity problem, he cannot receive any of their messages.
''From January 2003 to March 30, I kept on calling 902 about it,'' writes Felipe. ''My relatives in Belgium called me to complain why I wasn't responding to their text messages. To which I answered, 'How can I reply when I did not receive anything from you?' In short, they were receiving my text messages, but I couldn't receive the reply from their side! Calling STC's customer service is futile, as they just keep on saying, 'Inshallah, after one week it will be OK.' The weeks have now turned into months!''
Looking for a way to solve the problem, Felipe asked his sister in Belgium to check with her cell phone provider, Proximus Belgacom, to check if their was any problem with connections to Saudi Arabia. The company replied that everything was fine from their end.
Frustrated, Felipe bought a new prepaid STC SIM card, in the hope that a new number might solve the problem. But no such luck! He still couldn't receive text messages from Belgium.
At his wit's end, Felipe asked his sister to try sending a text message to a colleague's phone that starts with the digits 0524. Sure enough, the message went through.
Now, every time Felipe's sister wants to text him, she has to do so through the colleague's phone.
''Now I wonder, how come my colleague can receive text messages from Belgium and I cannot? It seems STC's recent or new mobile numbers are not properly activated with all the features they are supposed to have, like sending and receiving SMS to and from anywhere in the world,'' concludes Felipe.
What's up STC? Do you have a solution to Felipe's problem?
Watching Miss Universe at 4 A.M.
As usual, fans of beauty pageants around the world made a point of staying up late, or waking up early, to watch and record the Miss Universe contest. Because it is aimed at a US television audience, the show is always broadcast in an American primetime slot, which means that if you live in Saudi Arabia, you had to stay up until 4 a.m. to watch it live!
This year's Miss Universe beauty pageant was slightly different for being held on June 3 instead of in late May, and because the US television network NBC was broadcasting it worldwide instead of CBS Television. I don't know the story behind the network switch, but the co-owner of the pageant, millionaire businessman Donald Trump, was there in Panama City to watch the pageant, sporting what looked like a very cheesy hairpiece!
I stayed up late to tape it, but instead of having a group of friends with me to watch it I was alone as it was being held on a weekday. Most of my friends don't have the luxury of going to work every day at 2 p.m. like I do, so I understood when most declined to watch it live, opting to watch it later at a civilized hour on tape.
When the finalists had been whittled down to the top five, two contestants stood out for making that far: Japan and Serbia. Both, I think, have never made it that far before in the pageant. Miss Japan was not beautiful, but she was confident, extroverted, trendy and daring. The usual coy and demure Miss Japan that we were used too was clearly a thing of the past. In the evening gown competition, Miyako Miyazaki, stunned everyone by wearing a daring bustier top and a low-cut long skirt in shimmery silver fabric.
But it was the charm and beauty of Miss Dominican Republic that won the judges over. Amelia Vega, a towering 6-foot-1 beauty, was crowned Miss Universe 2003, and deservedly so. Her story of growing up helping her grandmother run a store, showed both intergenerational love, and a resourcefulness in times of need.
My only real complaint is that unlike in previous pageants, a running total of all the judges' scores were not flashed on the screen. Viewers like to see how certain judges are voting, and also so that they can predict which candidate has an edge over the others. Since Miss Dominican Republic won, that means the pageant next year will also be broadcast from Central America. So, all you Miss Universe fans set your alarm clocks again for 4 a.m. It's going to be a long night!
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