Yep, I had this when I signed up for Etisalat broadband. Because their system couldn't take my du number, they couldn't contact me when there was a (small) hitch with my 'application'. Result: it took four two-hour trips to the Etisalat tower to get connected. Genius.

Hi Tom,

in which world would this happen:

- it is possible to enter any phone number
- if it is no etisalat number a friendly customer service rep calls you and asks you why you are not with Etisalat and what Etisalat could do to win you back

The fact this email was send is the perfect mirror image of the sense of what Etisalat thinks is customer service. At least they did not lie this this time and told the truth. The website is not able to handle VALID UAE phone numbers.

No solution is given, no apology, no promise to fix it. The state of customer service with big E.

How can you possibly create more damage to your brand?

Shaking my head in disbelieve....

Etisalat really does not know how to be fairly competitive, and are ignorant of customers and their situations. I ran up a phone bill on my GSM of AED12,000 from Prague. Etisalat cut the line, and I can't blame them as its not usual. I called them and told them its ok to re-connect. They said "no sir you have to pay the bill". Thank god I was with a friend and had an internet connection, I paid it all off and called them again. They said "You have to come to the branch to activate your account". I told them I am still in Europe, and the people could not care less. I have more horror stories. Now they are trying to act friendly through their campaigns, too little too late.

One of the Etisalat kiosks swallowed my Dh 50 while I was trying the highly efficient machine to accept my monthly payment. I made a written complaint to the company at their centre adjacent to the kiosk, which was prompltly faxed. I received a call the next day from Etisalat informing me that the amount had been credited to my account. Next month, I go to pay the bill and notice that the amount hasn't been credited. When I call back their awesome customer service, they tell me they have no record of the complaint or any such call placed by the customer service to me. After my disbelief, I said I didn't care anymore. Etisalat could have my 50 bucks and the operator tells me its recession and every penny is important. Now how the hell does one deal with such jokers??

Am I reading a newsletter here or an advertisement? (The du's and don'ts)!!! Are you kidding me? Should I suppose du is paying you for this title or what exactly is going on with you? Am I supposed to hate etisalat now only because you do?
Oh please just publish news and let us decide, don't try to push us to favor things according to your preferences.
About the famous customer care issue in etisalat, of course it's not perfect, and we all know that, don't we? I remember how it was 5, 10, 15 years ago, and how it became today, and I see lots of improvements, slow ones however. But have you even asked yourself why? Have you sat down for a moment and questioned yourself why a big company like etisalat has a poor customer service? Well, the reasons are obvious, except for you maybe, that when etisalat was the only player, when they were responsible for the telecom sector in UAE, when they were a "government" entity, their main obligations were to develop UAE's telecom infrastructures in order to put UAE in front of the world to invest in, You, The National, might have not been existed if etisalat acted differently. Then when du came, etisalat continued to do those obligations because they were the masters and the government could't count on du. Because etisalat has been doing this for more than three decates, it had lead to a corporate culture that is focused on other things than customer care, and to change the whole culture at once requires huge investments, doesn't it? Suppose they have put this huge investment in customer care 5 years ago, what would've happened would be a lower quality telecom networks, which would have slowed down the development of UAE. To conclude, look how etisalat distributes its budget, and look how du does, then what I've written above becomes a clear picture in front of you.

Hi Emirian,

The "du's and don'ts" headline was just meant to be a joke on the point of the post, which is that they don't allow customer service people to contact their own customers on a du number.

Having covered Etisalat for the last year and a half, I don't have anywhere near the same perspective on the company as you do. But I do agree that it is a company that is trying to shift its culture from a technical / engineering driven government utility to a private sector services business.

That takes time, and there will be lots of bad customer experiences in the meantime. Trust me, if I posted every email I got from readers, friends and collegues complaining about a bad experience with Etisalat, I could probably fill a newspaper once a week.

But I don't publish those "typical" bad stories ("they said they would come at 5pm, never showed up, now its two weeks and I still don't have internet..."etc).

In this case though, the reason I thought it was worth mentioning was the anti-competitive nature of the problem. This isn't just a mistake in the customer service business. This is a deliberate policy to not talk to their own customers if the customer chooses a du mobile phone. When they have an internet monopoly in most of the country, that is a very aggressive tactic that I think deserves to be talked about.

Im not sure about the laws in Abu Dhabi - but in the states you could immediately sue Etisilat for being anti competitive and monopolistic - why doesnt Du file a case?

Well this certainly isn't the states - and given that both companies have the same shareholders, there is no chance of a legal fight. Wouldn't be surprised if du is complaining about it to the regulator though.

One of my friends tried to recharge his mobile phone number 50 2089791 and due to some reason he is getting a reply that the connection is suspended due to non-recharge. He says he is having a balance of 114AEH. Could you please check and revert the reason for this. His name is Mr.Hitesh Mistry and we are on a rig off Dubai

how to have facebook in english version pleeeeeeeeeeeez

It really doesn't make sense to argue that Etisalat has a better service quality and hence, poor customer care is ok. Is this really good "quality" service? Starting with the rates, everything Etisalat provides is just something that is usually available for a much cheaper rate elsewhere. I have seen regional or local networks with very little marketshare provide exceptional customer experiences in developing countries like India.
Personally, I'm an Etisalat user, and I don't like du. I dont believe that what exists between the two networks is anything like "competition". Whether I choose any one of them, it doesnt make much of a difference to the boards of the 2 companies - its like, money in a different pocket.
Etisalat makes more money than most other networks its size. How? One of the oldest trick in the book - Monopoly. And monopoly in businesses is never good for consumers. Hence, its never good for any real development.
However, it is refreshing to hear that companies like Vodafone are coming to UAE (even though, its in partnership with du).
I guess, in time, even Etisalat will realize that it either improve its game, or risk losing the battle.