EPM

msaucey says on Nov 6, 2007, 08:26:

WOW... That's just wrong... But I hear it's typical in Colombia.... and in 6 months, they'll tell you a different story....

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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vicshere says on Nov 6, 2007, 08:29:

woow never ceases to amaze me

listo

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Lowell says on Nov 6, 2007, 08:47:

Welcome to the Club. Try and reason with people pushing this kind of all too often crap, they will only get pissed off and you'll be in worse shape. Nowadays, I just shrug, say bueno,gracis and walk out. This week I'm going to do the open a bank account thing one more time. Been here 2 yrs,own property and a motorcycle, so maybe this time. Plus this time I know more of what's necessary.

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

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vicshere says on Nov 6, 2007, 08:51:

hey lowel try getting a colombia Visa card......its a joke....a card for 1,000,000 and they wouldnt give me one have to have a job for 2 years solid.....i show them my 5 cards form canada and it dont mean shit to them

listo

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Lowell says on Nov 6, 2007, 08:56:

At times I'm just speechless when trying to conduct regular bussiness transactions, buy goods, arrange for service............ I really don't get it.

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

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Grateful Dead says on Nov 6, 2007, 08:59:

"At times I'm just speechless when trying to conduct regular bussiness transactions, buy goods, arrange for service............ I really don't get it."

They're idiots what can I say ,

Lowell , what part of Southern California are you from ?

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HolandaPaisa says on Nov 6, 2007, 09:06:

Hey Usher,

I never had a problem with EPM and didn't need a bank account to get tripleplay. Just my cedula de extranjeria was enough. I did everything by phone and send them a fax of my cedula. I did have to call several times but they installed tripleplay within 8 days.

You can check prices on their website. They have a big promotion going on now, so the line may be busier than normal. You should however inform yourself through the website and then call them. Call centre represantatives do not always have the accurate infomation so it helps if you inform yourself and be clear what you want, but this is the same all over the world. I sometimes hang up the phone and call again because the represantative does not know what he is talking about.

Good luck

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robi666 says on Nov 6, 2007, 09:08:

Same thing here HolandaPaisa, except that I did not have to fax my cedula...

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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Morrongo says on Nov 6, 2007, 09:20:

It does get frustrating, lots of companies will be no different in complicating something that appears straightforward,nothing is straightforward here. I tried to get a post pago with tigo,had all the documents you can imagine,certificado de Tradicion ,registered company details,Carta of income signed by contador,all was well until he told me,sorry cannt do it as I am a class D..a person without credit,yes USHER you are a class D.Join the club.
The stupid thing was an empoyee of mine suggested he would get a post pago for me,a great guy,but does not have two pesos to rub together....got one for me no problem...commonsense there is none.....

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Bunyipcatcher says on Nov 6, 2007, 10:04:

Its not just EPM, we have had a similar problem with ETB. The unit we rent is owned by my wifes parents. Before we came back from Australia it was rented through a company. The previous tenants set up an internet account through ETB on the line. No problem. Except that when we went to move in we kept receiving the bills for the previous tenant and we needed the previous tenant to sign a form saying they didnt want the service anymore....How the hell are we to find the previous tenant. We have finally stopped the bills coming through, but not without inside help in ETB. So after waiting probably about 2 months, we will finally have internet tommorrow. Its been a long wait. Life is a mystery here, I think they based the program LOST on Colombia.

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Waterdawg says on Nov 6, 2007, 10:54:

Living and running a Biz here I have to deal with the lunacy of Colombian Biz all day long . They show me a new trick every week . I think thats why I laugh at all the folks on the board , pissing on the States so much.
I go to trade shows and get buyers attention with my wares , and then they ask where I am from .. They smile and walk away . A huge number refuse to do Biz with Latin America . Every time they do , they get burned !

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Grateful Dead says on Nov 6, 2007, 11:22:

If they spent at least 10% in effort in getting things working in Colombia out of the 100% they spend on creating new ways to ship coke and launder money, those fools would be a South American power house.

lol


si o no ?

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scotty says on Nov 6, 2007, 12:33:

i have heard similar stories. someone does not have their act together.

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

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Robert Jorge says on Nov 6, 2007, 14:13:

I am laughing out loud - mostly because I realize somebody else has experienced the same things that I did. I rented an apartment fairly easily in Villavo last year. But the next day, when I wanted to get Internet service, the reality of Colombian utility services entered the picture. I am a better person for it, because I learned to be patient and control my temper beyond the point I ever thought possible.

My favorite excuse during the month plus waiting for any company to hook me up with Internet service was provided by Avantel. A two man crew showed up after 2 or 3 missed appointments, started working, and then came back to the apartment and said they wouldn't work in the rain. I finally got Internet service through Telecom. That required meeting the landlord at the main Telecom office, and them having to give me permission in front of the Telecom person that I could have Internet.

My advice is unless you are truly fluent, do not attempt to get services on your own. At least in my case, it was essential that I had a local Colombian next to me to do the talking. I was convinced, that there was no Internet provider in Villavicencio that wanted to open a new account.

BEWARE of gold diggers.

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chadandmoni says on Nov 6, 2007, 18:08:

This is in regard to the DELETED that goes by "Grateful Dead"

'They're idiots what can I say'
'If they spent at least 10% in effort in getting things working in Colombia out of the 100% they spend on creating new ways to ship coke and launder money, those fools would be a South American power house.
lol
si o no ?'

Wow, buddy. Are you serious...I sure as shit hope that you are joking. I understand you may have encountered some bullshit, but to undermine a country/people as a whole is unacceptable. Pack your stuff and take your DELETED back to where you came from, because it's ....REMAINDER OF POST DELETED

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vicshere says on Nov 6, 2007, 18:12:

woow a personal attack woohooo wonder what will happen

listo

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chadandmoni says on Nov 6, 2007, 18:15:

It's not personal, my man. The fact that everyone else lets this cat get by with this bullshit is interesting. Joking is one thing, talking out of your ass is another.

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vicshere says on Nov 6, 2007, 18:17:

monkey says
No personal attacks.

Attacking someone’s argument is accepted, even encouraged. Attacking the person who made the argument is unnecessary. We are all here to learn, and none of us can do that while we’re calling each other names or questioning one another’s intelligence. Read other members’ arguments carefully and respond to the points they make, not to their wording or to them personally. Everyone will learn more that way.

We also don't allow attacks on groups of people (women, men, americans, colombians, ...). You can talk about groups of people, that's fine, just don't attack them.

listo

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Robert Jorge says on Nov 6, 2007, 18:25:

"monkey ass", "prick", "dildo", "stupid ass", "faggot", "worthless life", "ass", "cabron" .... Yep, I would call that a personal attack. And you claim that you are censoring yourself - because of the desire to use "harsher" words? Jeepers.

BEWARE of gold diggers.

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Grateful Dead says on Nov 6, 2007, 18:43:

Wow, buddy. Are you serious.."chad and moni"

Kinda

I sure as shit hope that you are joking."chad and moni"

in a way


I understand you may have encountered some bullshit, but to undermine a country/people as a whole is unacceptable. "chad and moni"

I haven't encountered anything read the whole thread.


Pack your stuff and take your monkey ass back to where you came from,"chad and moni"

ok and where do you think that would be?

because it's stupid pricks like you that ensure that hatred and ignorance dominate the world, Colombia and where I sit right now in New York, EEUU. "chad and moni"

now based on your choice of words to critique my post you are surely contradicting yourself.

" I want to use harsher words but I maintain a bit of composure" "chad and moni"

I think you already lost it buddy ! lol, lol, lol, lol ,

because I am positive that you have had your stupid ass kicked more than once in your worthless life and know that if I encountered you, and heard you talk out of your ass like you do on here, I would push your ugly nose in for sure "chad and moni"

oh really ??

The fact that you go by "Grateful Dead" is laughable. lol,lol,lol...silly faggot

oh what about " chad and moni " is that like chachi and Joni from Happy Days

LMAO !!!! LMAO !!!!!!! LMAO!!!!!

"Shut your stupid mouth and mind your manners, cabron. -Chad"

NAH !

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Grateful Dead says on Nov 6, 2007, 18:45:

And then chad and moni e-mails me and says:


chadandmoni says on Tuesday November 6th, 2007 18:11:

Kick this little faggot's ass if you ever have the misfortune of meeting him. You are a piece of shit, juebon. Don't ever come around me.


lol

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Alma del Norte says on Nov 6, 2007, 18:58:

Well, F***'n hell, missed all that, glad to say! GD you seem alright by me, man...or am I wrong?

La vida es una rutina

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vicshere says on Nov 6, 2007, 19:00:

If they spent at least 10% in effort in getting things working in Colombia out of the 100% they spend on creating new ways to ship coke and launder money, those fools would be a South American power house.

lol


si o no ?

i can see a lot of truth about GD statements

listo

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Grateful Dead says on Nov 6, 2007, 19:02:

LETS SEE: FROM ANOTHER "CHAD AND JONI" POST

"does anybody have any info about the safety in bogota for gringos?" "chad and joni"

dude you are going to need a gang of bodyguards with that attitude.


my colombian fiancee and i are moving to colombia in june '04 and i have been doing research. her mom says that bogota will likely be the safest place for us to live, but that is where her parents are from so they are probably biased towards bogota. anybody agree/disagree on the safety??? obviously, we want to be the safest. thanks for your time, any responses will be appreciated. "chad and joni"

oh are you scared ? lamo!!! , lmao!!!, lmao !!!!!...

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eywed says on Nov 6, 2007, 19:11:

I made the same statement myself but said if there was someone on mars to sell coke to the Colombians would be the first there with the work they put into that business. It's a shame they dont put the effort they do in the Cocaine business into making Colombia a better country. There I said it , There is a lot of truth to it. But let me follow by saying I wish it were not true.

Ay Hombe!!!!!

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pedro says on Nov 6, 2007, 19:27:

Now getting back on topic...

Show me someone who believes polite and obliging customer service goes hand in hand with being a developed country, and I will show you someone who's never lived in France.

que nota!

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pedro says on Nov 6, 2007, 19:33:

Oh, and I sympathise with the OP. I've been on the receiving end of an EPM clusterf-ck that dragged on for months.

That doesn't mean they are consistently like that. Sometimes they deliver well.

I *wish* I had an EPM quality cable modem connection here in Cartagena. Here we get frequent power failures, and Costanet often does maintenance during the small hours while I'm trying to work, which causes all internet activity to drop. Too bad if you're on a work related Skype call or something.

que nota!

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usher127 says on Nov 6, 2007, 19:50:

Well, actually my original post was never meant to be a specifc attack on EPM or Colombia. This madness could easily happen in the US or UK... In fact, I can recollect far far worse stories with Continental Airlines or Natwest bank in the past 2 years. Maybe I bring the worst out in people, but this madness seems to be a common trait in many big corporations that dont give their staff responsibility to sort things out for themselves.

Anyway... after all this... i've signed up for Broadband and Cable. Horaay! I had to transfer my existing telephone line into my name... and after another argument and then... the sales clerk gave in. Thanks again to Robi.

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john_stark says on Nov 6, 2007, 20:29:

I read the thread and I thought, yeah, tipico. All you PBHers imagine that gringos are going to flock to a joint like this? It's fine for Colombians - they're used to it but I can't imagine any substantial number of gringos putting up with this nonsense. There are too many other Third World countries out there that have their act way more together than Colombia.

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robi666 says on Nov 6, 2007, 21:58:

In other words, you guys forget that in Colombia anything can be worked out...
Need a bank account without a cedula? There's a way.
Need more days at DAS over the 180? Done.
They get you at 150 km/h on the road? No problem.
Do you want a gun permit? 24 hours to have it.

That with the EPM was easy.
You're not in Europe or US where rules are rules...

After some bad experiences, you begin to be creative....
Colombia is absolutely lawless and people are willing to help.
I love it. One of the reason to be here.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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Robert Jorge says on Nov 6, 2007, 23:40:

Great point Robi.

BEWARE of gold diggers.

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Ctg Bound says on Nov 7, 2007, 02:22:

usher127, try another office, the only thing you should need is your cedula and a copy of your last EPM bill from the place you are connected the broadband to, I connected up to EPM broadband a month ago, thats all they asked from me.

I tend not to do things by phone here along these lines as you are always better going to an office, they will always ask for a dozen signatures, so a telephone is generally a waste of time.

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rocinante says on Nov 7, 2007, 09:11:

It is difficult for foreigners in a just about any country to acheive what locals can do effortlessly -open accounts, gain credit, trade stocks... you name it.

Just because you have carte blanche in your own country doesn't mean that extends to other countries.

I remember being a bartender during college and receiving a traveller's check from a foreigner who was ready to leave the joint. I never saw a Traveler's Check in my life but heard about them. The poor guy had to wait until I could find a manager and figure out what the procedure was. Does he get change in cash? Does he have to spend the whole thng? What is the procedure to find out if it is authentic? He needs one or two forms of ID? Do we have to make photo copies? The transaction from beginning to end lasted about 20 minutes. Bottom line is my day to day business as a bartender was cash and credit cards and when the one guy a year comes in with a travelers check he's is going to have to wait. If this guy comes in another day and the bartender is in a bitchy mood she may not accept the traverlers check and tell the guy "cash only". The next day the bartender may know everything there is to know about travelers checks and the transaction takes 30 seconds.

Is is worth it for the bar manager to hold a meeting and offer training in traveler's checks to the staff when the staff changes avery 3 months? Is it worth it to perfect the procedure for those 1 or 2 foreigners every year?

Try putting the shoe on the other foot. The country has enough to worry about instead of catering to, implementing and altering policies to make the lives of a handful of whining foreigners easier.

Obviously public services and their policies are much more complicated than cashing a simple travelers check....

The world does not revolove around you and if the infrastructure was to your perfect liking then Colombia would be the country you moved from. Feel free to move back or put up with the way things are - the way things are are the reason you moved. Don't try to change it - go with the flow.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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Grateful Dead says on Nov 7, 2007, 09:29:

Where's my buddy " chachi and joni"


LMAO !!!!!!!

se me prendio el hijueputa !!!

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ColombianoGringo says on Nov 7, 2007, 09:31:

The problem of awful customer service from utilities in Colombia is hardly limited to foreigners. In Neiva, my wife's family had their phone cut off as a result of a clerical error on the part of Telecom. It took nearly two months of phone calls and visits to the Telecom office to get it straightened out. Her brother and and a family friend went and stood in line over 4 hours on two occasions and they called at least three times a week. Each time, they were told that a service order was in place for next day. Eventually, they came out and reinstalled the line.

On a previous occasion, her office changed locations and needed to transfer their business internet service. They waited over a month for Telecom to install broadband service at the new location until they finally gave up and got the service from a new competitor.

There are many occasions where you receive great customer service in Colombia (especially outside of Bogota), but the utilities and public services there are joke whether you are Colombian or not.

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minina says on Nov 7, 2007, 11:12:

Try to get a Cedula de Ciudadania Colombiana

You first have to make an appointment, last time I checked the appointment took at least 2 months. Now the give you wath is called "contraseña", which is a receipt that demonstrates that you applied for your cedula, because your actual cedula you won't get it until at least 2 years later. What it gets me is that everything gets deleyed because all the cedulas got to go to Bogota. They should put an office in each major city that processes de cedulas, but NOOOO they cannot do that. They got to do it the hard way. And with many other things is like that as well, everything has to go to Bogota. That is why I don't like Bogota. Bienvenidos a Locombia. GOOD LUCK

DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS...

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rocinante says on Nov 7, 2007, 14:24:

"The problem of awful customer service from utilities in Colombia is hardly limited to foreigners. In Neiva, my wife's family had their phone cut off as a result of a clerical error on the part of Telecom. It took nearly two months of phone calls and visits to the Telecom office to get it straightened out....."

Also the water shuts off in many neighborhoods a few times a month for an hour or two, the power goes out, and also at times the cable as well. Colombians are used to this and they don't get all bent out of shape because it is part of the way of life. Also the Colombians you mention may not have been as pissed off as you, an outsider looking in. I remember once a roof leaking during a big rain storm - the water was almost pouring in. No one's feathers were ruffled, there was no talk of lawsuit. The water was swept down the stairs (tile floors) as the rain stopped. Someone came to fix the roof a few days later.

This is why I love Colombia.

My first trip 10/14/2005 I was in a plane in JFK AV043 7:00 AM. Waiting to take off. The temp was about 90 degrees inside the cabin - people were fanning themselves. The plane was filled with chatting Colombians - happy to go home or happy to visit their old home. No one was pissed of or frustrated because of ths stiffling heat. If there were normal Americans from anywhere in the US on the flight they would have been pissed off and raising holy hell - FACT. This is the difference between NorthAmerican/Europeans and South Americans.

This thread is testament to that. North Americans, and I am one, are used to a certain luxury and level of service that just does not exist in the 2nd or third world.

It's the people who move to a third world country to reap the benefits - the benefits that exist are a part of exactly what you all are complaining about - and then complain about the bad parts, that make me wonder why did you all move in the firstplace? Please embrace the entire country. If you try to change things and succeed you will see the very beauty that enticed you from the beginning start to diminish.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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ColombianoGringo says on Nov 7, 2007, 14:43:

Well, I think that Colombians have their limits when it comes to awful service. There has been a major public uproar in Neiva about the massive problems with Telecom. I have read many articles about the subject in recent weeks. I'm sure even the most laid back Colombian would get a little peeved about having to wait in line four hours and get absolutely no results.

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john_stark says on Nov 7, 2007, 17:06:

You're right, Rocinante. I can't imagine that the vast majority of gringos would put up with it so I doubt we'll be seeing hordes of gringo retirees and tourists going to Colombia. The ones married to Colombians just let their spouses or other family members deal with it so they get a free pass.

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usher127 says on Nov 8, 2007, 08:11:

EPM just turned up unannounced and installed the broadband and cable... all within 48 hours... damn good service!

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robi666 says on Nov 8, 2007, 08:45:

Maybe you should edit the title of the thread... The Madness of EPM later turned into a good service.
Frankly, I shouldn't say it but I always tought that EPM was very good if compared to Italian Public Utilities companies. Paisas are very proud of EPM.
And I also know that Electricaribe and Metroagua (Santa Marta) may easily be the worst in the world. You can't imagine the mess I was into with them...

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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usher127 says on Nov 8, 2007, 10:55:

It's true, Colombians always tell me EPM is the best Colombian company... as I said I have experienced worse in the UK. All is forgiven EPM!

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Ctg Bound says on Nov 8, 2007, 15:19:

usher127, EPM are a dam site better than any UK utility, who may answer the phone, but getting anything else done takes for ever.

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