After Sales Service - Part 1

Rewind...

The faulty ASTRO decoder

Day 1 : Called 1-300-82-3838. After a few seconds, line get connected.

Me : The decoder (Nokia) is faulty. 'Invalid smart card and to contact ASTRO customer service.'

Recipient : Go to menu. Press 'Installation set up'

Me : ok

Recipient : Press 'technical parameters' Scroll to number 16.

Me : Smart card 'Unavailable'

Recipient : Confirm, decoder faulty.

I had two choices, either engaged the ASTRO in-house technician with professional fee of RM50 or bring the decoder to the ASTRO service dealers. My husband decided on a third option - get a second hand decoder from a 'moron'...(refer to earlier entry 'warranty').

Day 2 - Frustrated as the decoder 2 gave the same output 'invalid smart card bla...bla...'

Day 3 - Day 5. Watched the channels from the functional decoder 3. Luckily we subscribed 2 decoders.


Day 6 - Took both the smart card and decoder 1 to ASTRO customer service office in Damansara Utama. After checking the smart card, the person in change replaced it as according to her the card was 'problematic' and could not check the decoder(not within scope of work). To cut short, agreed to change to new card even though confirmed that the card worked well on decoder 3.
The card only could be used after 5 to 6 hours been activated.

Returned home and tried the card after 7 hours. Decoder 1 went blank. Decoder 2read 'invalid smart card' and decoder 3 indicated 'the card need to be activated. Contact Astro customer service'.

Let me summarized : Decoder 1 - faulty
Decoder 2 - moron
Decoder 3 - good

So now, the problems added.

Day 7 - Returned decoder 2 but was frustrated with the policy.

Day 8 - Dialled up 1-300-82-3838. Informed on the new smart card failure.

Recipient : Have you registered the new card in your decoder?

Me : No. What do you mean?

Recipient : You must to register first then only can work. Press menu and bla-bla...

Me : Item 16 . Yupp, the smart card no :xxxxxx.

Recipient : Returned to menu.

Me: Hmm...still gave me "the card is not activated"

Recipient : " Press menu and bla..bla"

Me : Ok. AGC 68, BER 0.

Recipient : Back to menu.

Me : Still the same.

Recipient : Ok, you have to switch off the decoder. After 1 hour, please get back to us ASAP if you still fail to watch anything.

After 1 hour...1-300-82-3838

Recipient : What's wrong?

Me : I have to repeat from A to Z.

Recipient : ok, go to menu, press ok 2 times.

Me : Aahhh....menu again!!!No simpler way??..

Recipient : Ya, you have to try this before we send a technician over...

Luckily, after 'down loading', the system worked.

Shall continue tomorrow ...