Another Sister not paying the bills

[thekfc]

For the past few days Ahya's sister cafe have been having internet connection problems - no internet connection.
I have been trying to help her with the equipments - resetting the router & switch to no avail.
On Saturday she told me they are looking into putting a "new DSL line". At the time I said to myself why would you need a new line, just trouble shoot the line or get a new router/switch. She also told be that she want to get "the USB" to get internet for just her laptop.

This morning I was talking to one of her nephews on facebook & was about to give him some instructions on how to trouble shoot the router & switch.
He told me that the equipment wasn't the problem - his aunt (sister #1) wasn't paying the DSL bill so PLDT cut off the service.
The internet cafe is attach to sister #1 house & the other sisters houses are next door.
Sister #3 owns the cafe & Ahya manages it and every month they would give sister #1 money to pay the DSL & electric bill.
The nephew told me that both sister #3 & Ahya are "angry" with sister #1. They just found out on Saturday what the problem was after the other sister call PLDT herself to send a "technician".
 
The cafe have been "upgraded" and it is crowded for almost the entire day. The online games like WOW, DOTA, etc were a hit. And they were in the process of adding a PS3, Wii & Xbox 360.

Ahya was also thinking of getting either the PLDT bundle (internet/telephone/watchpad) for herself php1299/$28 or just unlimited internet alone for php999/$22.

I told her not to get the bundle because everyone would want to use her telephone & watchpad (TV), they would be coming to her room all the time thus her "privacy" would be gone.

I now know what "USB" Ahya was talking about: It is the PLDT WeRoam Mobile Broadband. They have 3 different level of services but I would like her to get the WeRoam Unlimited 3G INTERNET which is Unlimited 3G Mobile Broadband internet access and the service fee are:
Monthly Service Fee -  P 1,500 ($30)
One-time Fee - P 1,500 ($30)

That would be better for her because we can communicate anytime & she wouldn't have to stay "late" in the cafe for us to chat and more privacy.

Anyone know how reliable PLDT WeRoam service is?  Dave H. do you use it?

I didn't get a chance to ask how would the put the other DSL line. Would it be to the sister # house & run a line to the cafe or straight to the cafe and bill in sister #3 name.

Piglett, you are now not the only one in here who have a sister-in-law who doesn't pay the bills.  

[z_k_g]

Kfc,

What city are you in?

There are 3 mobile USB stick Broadbands that my sweetie told me about.

Globe tatoo works better in the outlying areas like bohol and leyte, Sun works great in manila, and Smart Buddy works well in Cebu, Davao city.

Might want to do a google on those 3 and get an update.

Good Luck

Zulu

[thekfc]

I already did a check on them & I wanted some input from someone who is using it/ have used it in the past or is familiar with it as "hands-on service" is the best review.

There are a few companies that offers USB broadband service - PLDT, Smart, Globe, Sun Cellular, Sky, BayanTel Broadband.

She is in Metro Manila and PLDT, Sun, Smart & Globe all have great service in Manila. The PLDT-Smart network is said to covers 99.9% of the Philippines.

She want to go with Smart Bro as she already have cellular service with them but I think that PLDT would be better as they have a greater coverage & their speed is 3.6 Mbps (1 Mbps for Smart) but we all know that you never get the advertised speed. 

For anyone who is wondering, I am not talking about telephone/cellular - I am talking about internet/DSL service.

Also PLDT (Philippines Long Distance Telephone Company) is the largest telecommunications company in the Philippines.

[piglett]

Piglett, you are now not the only one in here who have a sister-in-law who doesn't pay the bills.  

Ya i got nicked for $330 & i am still "salty" about it
hell that would have almost covered the cash for the G325's 
i would have asked Marily to talk to her farther to straighten out the problem but,
he had just got out of the hospital & still looked to be in rough shape.

oh well what can you do ?
piglett

[Jeff S]

Sorry guys, but there's another legacy of being a colony of Spain - family businesses with a few working their butts off while others are sabotaging the rest. Yet another cultural thing that drives me nuts about ex-Spanish colonies. You'd never see that in Hong Kong or Singapore... Someone would be in charge and if the others didn't hold up their end, they'd be out.

Well kfc, please tread lightly. and trust your wife's judgement, because my guess is that if you follow your instincts, you may be on the outside looking in.

[Dave H]

Anyone know how reliable PLDT WeRoam service is?  Dave H. do you use it?

Hey thekfc,

Sorry, I don't have a clue! I use Bayantel DSL at home, not mobile.

Dave

[thekfc]

Sorry guys, but there's another legacy of being a colony of Spain - family businesses with a few working their butts off while others are sabotaging the rest. Yet another cultural thing that drives me nuts about ex-Spanish colonies. You'd never see that in Hong Kong or Singapore... Someone would be in charge and if the others didn't hold up their end, they'd be out.

Well kfc, please tread lightly. and trust your wife's judgement, because my guess is that if you follow your instincts, you may be on the outside looking in.

Her family is a "working family".
She have 4 sisters & 2 brothers - 5 of the 6 works & also ALL their spouses work. Ahya and all her sisters are college educated as well as the youngest brother.

Oldest sister works (in HK): her husband also works, has 4 kids - both sons work, oldest daughter works & youngest daughter in college. The 2 sons & their respective wives also work.

Second oldest (the one who didn't pay the bill): she works, her husband works, had 3 kids- the oldest son works, the daughter is in college & the other son is 6yrs old. She is one of two sister with a post graduate degree.

3rd Sister (cafe owner):  she works & her husband work (government job), no children, she is the one who travel all over Asia & speaks a few different languages. She also have a post graduate degree.

4th sister: doesn't work but her husband works, has 3 children. She wanted to work but her kids are very young (oldest one is 13), that sister is the "nanny" of the family as she takes care of all the young ones.

Oldest brother is in the province - the family have 2 huge farms & he manages them. His wife also works. He has 6 kids - 3 oldest works, 1 just started college & other 2 in school. He is the only one without a college education.

Other brother: he works (in Bahrain) - single & no children.

I haven't gotten the full details yet as to why the bills wasn't paid.

[thekfc]

She have decided to forgo the USB modem - too expensive & they also wanted a contract (12 & 24 months). She is getting wifi on the laptop I gave her in January.

After chatting with Ahya, she decided to get the landline + internet combo for herself. She haven't decided which company to go with yet but it will be between Globe, Bayan & PLDT. She will check them out tomorrow. She may go with BayanDSL because of better customer service & speed per plan.

Some of the suggestions I gave them before, they are now taking them into serious consideration.
I told them instead of having 2 lines of service from the same company - they should split the 2 lines between different company. So if the speed on one company is slow or the connection on one is down then you have the other one as a backup. the cost is about the same.
I also wanted them to add wifi & put a password so there is no unauthorized access - they will do that when the cafe is up & running again.

[Ray]

kfc,

Is it your intention to pay the bill for them?

I asked because since you have shown an interest in and made suggestions concerning the business, they may very well have taken that as a sign that you are willing to assume the financial responsibility for the expenses, including the phone bills. If you help them once with the current bills, then that will reinforce their thinking.

If that is not your intent, then I would advise staying completely out of the business and let her family figure it out for themselves.

Ray

[thekfc]

kfc,

Is it your intention to pay the bill for them?

I asked because since you have shown an interest in and made suggestions concerning the business, they may very well have taken that as a sign that you are willing to assume the financial responsibility for the expenses, including the phone bills. If you help them once with the current bills, then that will reinforce their thinking.

If that is not your intent, then I would advise staying completely out of the business and let her family figure it out for themselves.

Ray

No, I have no intention of paying the bill - and they know that. I did not even ask how much the bill was. And I have never help them with any bills.
The only thing that I am/will pay for is the land/internet line Ahya will put in her room. What I am helping Ahya with right now is for her own personal use.

I did show interest because Ahya want to open a cafe of her own & I was showing her (actually teaching her) the "technical" aspect of computering - I showed her how to set up a network, how to set up wifi & passwords, how to restore a computer to an earlier stage, how to upgrade software/hardware, prevent outside attacks, how to set things up & having a backup plan, etc, etc,. I was teaching her/taught her what to do if something happened & there is no one around to help her. Computers is one of my strong point.

This, I am staying completely out of.

[Dave H]

. She may go with BayanDSL because of better customer service & speed per plan.

Hey thekfc,

When I was considering an Internet service provider, customer service was my main concern. Globe (and others) had MANY salespeople all over the place, even walking through my neighborhood almost daily. They wore very nice looking polo type shirts and looked very professional. But, I heard from several of their customers that their customer service wasn't so good...at least in my area. I have no complaints with Bayantel (DSL) support and customer service. We have used them since 2005. As to the DSL connection, not too bad for the third world...when my land line rings, my DSL sometimes gets disconnected and I have to reconnect.

Dave