Smart is holding a whole-day Independence Day Sale today. This is a nationwide sale for folks who subscribe to their postpaid line, the Smart Freedom Plan. However, reports are coming in from around the country that the sale was in complete chaos and disarray.
We received reports via Twitter, SMS, Facebook, Email and in the blog comments about what’s happening on the ground.
Im the first in SM City Cebu Freedom Booth and no supplies for ip4s, sgs2 and others. Please yuga help us investigate to stop this very irresponsible promotions of smart! I heard of some sort of early reservations but it was very clear from their official site that first come first serve basis. I hope also DTI will look into it! – Ruel Quidato
deception is what they did! pipila ka tapos walang ibibigay na unit dahil checheck muna kung my record ka? anu yun? san ung freedom jan? mga po***!!!! e bayan mo patrol mo na yan pra matauhan yang msart na yan.. lokohan na yan eh… nagka stampede na – Asih Lumah
I was in Galleria and it was crazy. – Pipo del Rosario
10:30am pa lang ubos na mga units, nagkakagulo pa sa pila.. – Gilbert Morallos Cruz
Hi yuga! i believe that smart did this deceptive act to draw a lot of customers. I’m the third customer in their business Center in sm cebu and first sales person who I talked to said they ran out of stocks because of people who reserved yesterday. I didn’t buy into that BS and asked another person who gave me a different answer. Kesyo la pa daw stocks and they did not accept reservations. When I started to voice out, no one could give a straight answer. I asked to speak to their manager and no manager showed up. – Joshua Dungog Dabatos
– With my family in tow at around 9:30 we arrive at Rob Galleria basement 1 parking.
– At exactly 10am people started running I was forced to run as well.
– Running with my slippers on moving escalators was difficult as hell.
– It took 5 escalators to reach Level 4.
– At this almost all people were running for their lives.
– A guard who was not aware of the situation panicked an started to blow his whistle.
– I managed to comtinously run non- stop just to reach the booth.
– To my dismay there were already 50 people in the booth.
– I quickly secured an application form and started operation singit.
– After 3 minutes the smart people announced that the 4s was not anymore available.
– Pissed I continued to observe the scene:
People were mad and shouting at the staff especially the 4th person on the line.
At the back of the booth I can see othe staff from smart openning boxes of iphone 4s as if checking the unit.
– Unless you had access inside you did’nt have a chance of getting the 4s when the doors openned.
– I believe there were only 10 units or less available iphone 4s that time.
– I spent gas, parking, coffee just for nothing. Thanks Smart!– from Ric
A friend of mine was at Galleria this morning. Same experience as the above post. A lot of people were angry kasi kahit maaga sa pila, wala ding stocks. Grabe. Diba dapat nirereport ito sa DTI? Sales and promos like this are regulated diba? -biboy
wala po stock mga iphones at samsung sa lahat daw po ng branch ng Smart, ang meron lang daw po mga stocks yung nokia units. pumunta po sister ko sa SM dasma bago magbukas, maaga pa sila pumila ayun pala wala daw po stocks sa lahat, tinawagan mga ibat ibang branches wala daw po! sayang lang ang pagpunta – Alden
10am nag open mall. 1020 out of stock na iphone 4s. Ito ay kahit na wala pa kahit isang unit ang narerelease. I do hope that promos like this are monitored. Ginagawang joke ng smart ang oras at pagod ng mga taong dumayo dito. And sana sites like yugatech wont just publish such ads kahit na bayad sila. Lumalabas kasi ginagamit din ang site sa panloloko ng mga telcos. – anonymous
SOBRANG MAGULO, WALANG SISTEMA. MGA MANLOLOKO LANG. PAASA. SA ARANETA GATEWAY WALA NA DAW UNITS! WALA PA NAMAN NARELEASE. PAN 10 LANG AKO SA PILA,,, WALA NA UNIT! BOOOOO SMART COMM. – anonymmous
I was #6 kanina sa SM Cebu. Wala na daw stock kac few days ago marami na daw nag pareserve. Then confirm pa daw nila ang warehouse if my incoming stock. – Early Bird
i wasted so much time going to smart wireless center cagayan de oro! they said they’re not included kamo sa promo! kakainis i even told them how come na di kasali kayo eh andito ata kayo sa listing since all venues nakasaad for iphone4s promo! malaking kalokohan! – julz
Same here in SM pampanga wala daw stocks ng iPhones and Galaxy Tabs… SHAME SYANG ANG EFFORT! – Used Tindahan New
Same scenario with Smart Business Center at SM City Fairview. As soon as the entire mall opens at 10AM, people were rushing upstairs (as if there’s a marathon of sorts) and the guards were unable to control the crowd. Only to be greeted with a bad news that the coveted units are already “out of stock” due to prior reservations made. – Noel Selarde
Hi Yuga- Just an update. i already contacted DTI and I have been endorsed to their Cebu Office. I will not stop until all victims of this unfair and deceptive business practice is given justice. We Filipinos should fight for our rights and we should not be a victim of this Corporation who’s earning millions in profits from consumers (US) and especially not today which is considered our day of FREEDOM which they used and took advantage of.
P.S. I encourage everyone who were affected by this deceptive campaign to contact DTI Call Center
(+632) 751.3330
(+63917) 834.3330– (if need be, contact your local DTI office)
One voice will be part of the millions.. – Joshua D. Dabatos
********************************
We originally reported this story yesterday based on Smart’s website and while we only posted what is available information, we play no role in whatever marketing strategy the telco was planning. We also apologize to readers if they feel we misled them about this event.
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
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zoan/jongskie says:
OKAY! buti nalang kamo, walang SM sa bukidnon! hahaha
anonymous says:
its not yuga’s problem anymore. this is smart’s fault. iphone 4s here is on sale too, but no big deal. just sayin.
chanel says:
super palpak ng freedom promo wala akong masabi! we were there around 9:30 am pa lang and not even 1 iphone was available! sana di na lang sila ngpalabas ng ganyang ad kng wala nman pla kahit 1 stock! where’s the common sense of the people responsible for this promo? next time before dapat magpalabas ng ganyan ads icheck muna nila kng my sufficient na stocks. wala nman pala sana hndi nlng nag announce ng freedom day promo!
vince says:
all the ff are excusable specially since we were warned like in yuga’s previous blog post on the freedom day sale. if you didnt notice the warning, its your fault
* not all branches have the promo. yugatech listed the branches that are included
* some models of phones are only available in some branches. again meron list sa yugatech sa previous post
* limited stocks, pag naubos wala na. that is very understandable.
the ff are not excusable
* meron pala reserve reserve. dapat first come first serve
Kazu says:
Vince alam mo ang problema pangalawa ako sa pila kahit yung nauna sa akin wala daw stocks ng iPhones and Samsung devices ano tawag mo doon? Hindi bat lokohan? Wala pa ngang nabenta tapos sold out na?
vince says:
“Kazu says:
June 12, 2013 at 2:37 pm
Vince alam mo ang problema pangalawa ako sa pila kahit yung nauna sa akin wala daw stocks ng iPhones and Samsung devices ano tawag mo doon? Hindi bat lokohan? Wala pa ngang nabenta tapos sold out na?”
if the branch you went to was one of the ones listed in yuga’s blog that did not have iphones and samsung, then thats not smart’s fault.
if however there were iphones and samsungs but they were reserved so you didnt get them, its smart’s fault kasi afaik we only found out about the reserve reserve thing today
Quacker says:
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is! Boo Smart for advertising things like this and not being able to deliver.
Marc says:
Demand underestimated. Just like the LG Optimus One 50% off promo 2 years ago.
http://www.yugatech.com/daily-dose/lg-optimus-one-preview-sale-faq/
vince says:
if they are clearing inventory then they are under no obligation to meet demand. syempre clearing out unsold inventory automatically means limited stocks. as long as they inform us in advance na limited ang stocks. did they?
SmartSaleFale says:
And 2 years after that sale, LG is now struggling to sell their phones in the PH market. #Karma
I wonder is this would happen to Smart as well? ;)
Empoy says:
Haaaay nako… as if naman palalampasin yan ng mga empleyado ng smart… its supposed to be first come first serve but siempre may sinabi bang bawal ang mga empleyado ng smart sa mga posters nila? Then ubos na yan bago the day or even 3 days before. May kumita pa nga diyan eh. yup, my sources are from within smart themselves. May mga Store Managers diyan na kumita ng malaki laki…
mon says:
Hahaha. Kaya nga “Smart” tawag sa kanila. It’s the Smart Employees’ Freedom Day Sale. Syempre sila muna bago kayo. Sila ang “First Come”, kaya sila ang “First Served”!!!
globe says:
that would be the most logical explanation
ROA says:
I don’t think there was a reservation clause in their promo ads. So it would be kinda unfair for those who actually went to the Smart branches early just to buy those phones. It’s clearly stated that it’s a first come, first serve basis. I think the reservation thing is just BS so as to make it look like that many people have already bought their units, where in fact there’s little to none sold yet. Also, they should have considered their supplies of the phones they listed and how many units of each they are planning to release per branch.
vince says:
if there was no notice that reservation was allowed, then its smart’s fault
but most likely this is an inventory clearout sale, so its expected that stocks will be limited
i almost went to my local mall today for this, good thing i reconsidered and didnt go
trickster says:
definitely saw that coming, lol why pit your life into the masses when it’s just 2 generations old devices? (yes, talking abt the SGS2 + iP4)
You know filipinos when it comes to these kinds of stuff, either they tell their direct friends and family about the !@$#@!@%#$ sale and then pull some strings (like the reservation issue).
Politics, yes, politics even with just that “Sale” thingy. Seriously, with those kinds of people working for smart (which can actually be almost anyone), that kind of “Freedom Sale” would just strike chaos.
von says:
smart boo!
herwin says:
baka nman naka reserve na yung mga high end units para sa mga employees, kamag-anak ng employees at friends ng employees ng smart…
lonlon says:
@vince taga smart ka ba obvious ka kasi e
sa gateway puro taga smart ang nakakuha ng iphone4s at 3gs nila kitang kita ko mga i.d. ng mga naka pila sila sila din ang nakinabang sa sale nila
vince says:
nope. i am not connected to smart except for my smart buddy prepaid sim. i’m just an ordinary consumer and private citizen. i almost went to my local branch today since I am in the market for a new phone. I turned around when I had a bad feeling
wag ka mag ad hominem argument. wag mo gayahin ang mga yellow zombies that automatically think that everyone who is not with them is against them
besides if you look at my posts, even I am against the reserve thing
vince says:
if what you say its true that smart employees pulled strings to get units then I am against that too
Kamote says:
LOL at Ric. He got his comeuppance because one, he’s a terrible family man if he dragged his family along for this (and even makes it a guilt-trip reasoning for Smart), and two, because he openly admits to being one of the many jerks who doesn’t fall in line properly.
Ric says:
@Kamote
– You don’t have the right to say that I’m a terrible family man because you don’t know me.
– I had to bring my family so that my daughter can play in the Playground section of the mall (level 4 also) while I was getting the phone. That’s killing 2 birds with one stone its called multi tasking.
– However you were right in calling me a jerk because of my operation singit I have no excuse fo that.
– Please stick to the issue at hand and not character assasinate a victim of this Freedom Sale.
– You would’nt understand unless you were there.
– Also you have no idea what weve been thru so my advice to you sir just shut it go fart or something as your name suggest!
nameless says:
It’s your karma sir for not falling in line! Imagine if you were able to get a unit, isn’t being unfair for the people who fall in line properly?
And to my disgust, you even had this guts to blame Smart yet you also have your own moral issues of making “singit”? You should have kept your mouth shut and told yourself “This is Karma, I deserve this”.
Mark says:
This is very irresponsible reporting.
Jeffrey John Imutan says:
hindi yata FREEDON SALE ginawa ngSMART, kundi APRIL FOOLS SALE. first come first served, pero ubos na sa reservation? anyare?
sayang says:
i agree with empoy and herwin. my guess is that smart employees already leaked this info to their friends/family etc.,
Nato says:
In my opinion, kung ganyan lang din ang nangyari, mas maganda pa siguro na instead of first come first serve, paunahan na lang mag register online to reserve, then lets say first 500 persons to register gets the slot, then they will give a special ticket or something to claim it…. that way di masasayang effort at oras ng mga tao… i think its a good promo done in a bad execution.
SCL says:
Then they should follow Cebu Pacific strategy instead ha!
vince says:
“good promo, bad execution”
yes i think so. dont be too quick to assume a nefarious intention when it could easily be simple incompetence. smart should have clearly indicated the number of units per branch and no reserve, and no pulling strings
sa ngalan ng iPhone says:
nung mabasa ko ang promo na ito.. naisip ko na “it’s too good to be true” … unless magsasara na ang smart at kailangan nila ma dispose lahat ng stock. SMART YOU ARE IRRESPONSIBLE… LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO ALL THESE POOR iPHONE-HUNGRY PEOPLE. tsk tsk.
Noel Selarde says:
Same scenario with Smart Business Center at SM City Fairview. As soon as the entire mall opens at 10AM, people were rushing upstairs (as if there’s a marathon of sorts) and the guards were unable to control the crowd. Only to be greeted with a bad news that the coveted units are already “out of stock” due to prior reservations made.
rocketlog says:
I have learned never to go for marketing stunts like this ever since the LG fiasco a couple of years back.
Joshua D. Dabatos says:
Hi Yuga- Just an update. i already contacted DTI and I have been endorsed to their Cebu Office. I will not stop until all victims of this unfair and deceptive business practice is given justice. We Filipinos should fight for our rights and we should not be a victim of this Corporation who’s earning millions in profits from consumers (US) and especially not today which is considered our day of FREEDOM which they used and took advantage of.
P.S. I encourage everyone who were affected by this deceptive campaign to contact DTI Call Center
(+632) 751.3330
(+63917) 834.3330– (if need be, contact your local DTI office)
One voice will be part of the millions..
Jun Lim says:
I tried to contact DTI office kanina pero walang sumasagot, open ba sila kahit independence day?
san ka tumawag na office?
I CHALLENGE YOU says:
kung gusto nyo talaga ma-apektuhan ang SMART at turuan sila ng lesson.
1. http://www.dti.gov.ph/dti/index.php?p=68
2. TULFO / Office of Sen. Enrile.
3. Total BOYCOTT – tignan nyo reaction ng SMART kung lahat mag-cut ng service at lumipat ng other service provider. PEOPLE vs Smart Assholes — People – 1, Smart – 0 (but this wont actually happen, dahil sobrang tanga at tamad ang mga pinoy. would rather just rant sa FB/Twitter and what not.. kaya lagi pushover.) i post this as a challenge to all.
Yells says:
Just for the hell of it.
1. DTI – It is safe to assume that with a clusterfuck in this magnitude, somebody already did that (and if you read the whole post, you’ll notice somebody already did). Bombarding DTI with redundant reports will only make their jobs to get to the bottom of this more difficult.
2. TULFO / Office of Sen. Enrile. – First, the alpha macho man with a loud voice and power. Of course he’ll agree with the complainant. You know what he can do at best? Yep, file a report to DTI. BUT he won’t actually do that because he knows somebody who knows somebody who can get him to line directly with the head of this and that. Then they’ll talk for awhile, and the said man in charge will assure him “that we’ll get to the bottom of this”. Regardless, Tulfo will give you what you want, which is his undying sympathy for victims of injustice, painted more colorful with some “action hero to the rescue” persona. nothing more.
Second, Enrile. Right. You really think the man has got nothing better to do?
3. Total BOYCOTT – no one would do this not because people are tanga or tamad. no one would do this challenge because, well, it’s also stupid.
As long as this issue has not escalated yet to the Pepsi Incident proportions back in the 90’s, a boycott significant enough to affect sales is unlikely(although you have to admit, the similarity between the two incidents says something about both the producers and consumers in our country).
The number of people who got the bitter end of Smart’s fuck-up is too few for it to be considerable. They are the ones most likely to carry on this boycott. They may voice out their hatred and complaints online and on the streets and living rooms and offices, but to the people who will hear it, they are just that – hatred for an event gone terribly wrong. Why would anyone abandon a brand just because of the sentiments of the relatively few? Would you? Or I suppose you would IF and only IF you see enough people are boycotting Smart for it to be a new fad?
You want a real challenge? If you are so passionate enough to want to prevent something like this from happening again, then quit your job, apply for a managerial level position at Smart, do your job well and long enough to be promoted, and finally, run promos like this one your way. Now that’s a challenge.
A more realistic challenge, however, is if you just do YOUR job well enough to make sure something like this won’t happen to whatever it is your doing.
Oh and please, try to stop this “big-foreign-corporations-always-pushes-us-Filipinos” mentality. That train of thought is simply absurd. You may not realize it now, but that is one delusion that marks a “tangang pilipino”.
And no, I’m not from Smart, or some rich snob. just pointing out that emotions often brings out the worst logic (which is a trait Filipinos love to not hate).
red says:
WE SHOULD’VE FILE CHARGES!!!
Clearly it’s a DECEPTIVE MARKETING STYLE!
wala pa ring mangyayari if puro complain lang tayo dito sa net/blog, dapat tulong tulong po tayo maparusahan ang SMART na ito.. I know, parang bumabangga tayo sa pader. but common people, there’s PEOPLE POWER! sana maski congressman/senador may makialam naman dito.. kawawa lagi ang mga end consumers, laging nauuto! hmmmp!
julz says:
dapat maturuan ng leksyon! grabeng panloloko eto! di eto dapat palampasin!
tazki16 says:
hi guys, just sharing some info kung anong anong nangyari o papaano nagka ganyan yung sitwasyon sa Freedom Sale ng SMART….
Just to give a little background about myself, I used to be a SMART employee so alam na alam ko kalakaran dyan sa loob specially sa mga Wireless Center nila…
Basically, bago pa malaman nang public na mayroon sale or mga discount sa mga phone, syempre alam na nang employee/s yan…. “Technically, wala nmang rules na nagsasabi na bawal bumili ang isang employee nang product ng company ehh”
So, yung sinasabi nilang “reserved”, totoo po yan. Because internally, employee na mismo ang nagpa reserved. How? ganito lang, for example. Smart employee ako, tatawag lang ako sa Wireless Center Rob Galleria thru direct employee line (not the same line na tintawagan ng normal client), sasabihin ko lang ganito “Pare/Kumare/Bestfrend/Bayaw/Etc (o kung anong mang gusto nyong tawagan), paki reserved naman sa akin yung Isang Iphone 4S, kunin ko bago mag June12” or kung gusto mo puntahan ko na ngayon dyan para ma-process na agad….
Done!!! Kung meron lang 10 units ng Iphone 4S na naka allot sa Wireless Center Rob Galleria, tanong ilan na lang ang natira? Eh ilang empleyoo ang pwedeng gumawa ng ganon?
On some cases, mismong yung employee na mismo sa loob ng Wireless Center ang bumibili, tapos bahala na sila kung anong gusto nilang gawin either Ibenta nila for a higher profit, gamitin for personal use etc…
Kaya po, ang nangyari eh yung mga lower end phones like Nokia and ZTE na lang yung natira kasi syempre nga naman ehh, bakit pag iinteresan ng Employado yang mumurahing cellphone kung meron namng High-end.
Syempre, hindi alam ng Higher Management, the likes of MVP, yung kanyang kalakaraan. Sa side nila, malamang, sales lang din ang habol nila…. In the end, mga normal client talaga ang kakawawa….
Just sharing
In the end, lumalabas
Lei Quimbo says:
Hi, I just want to Thank SMART Communications, Inc. for the DECEPTION and for WASTING OUR TIME.
I’m posting my message here because SMART deleted my post in their FB page.
JayR says:
Let us voice our complaint about this “Panloloko” of SMART..you may voice your complaints at DTI…here’s the website of DTI..
http://www.dti.gov.ph/dti/index.php?p=68
vince says:
IMHO smart is guilty of allowing reservations and allowing smart employees and family members to avail of the promo. Of any other accusations, i’m not so sure you can make the charges stick
rycen says:
based on all the posted comments, out of stock na kahit wala pang narerelease na isang unit. hindi ba questionable na agad yon. hindi po palpak ang promo or walang kaayusan. it doesnt take a genius to interpret the reason behind it. kung hindi po na malamang sa malamang ay tinira na ng mga empleyado ng smart ang mga units for themselves at pagkakitaan para ibenta. they can easily ask the people they know to sign up an application in their behalf assuming na bawal ang employees.
Ric says:
@rycen
I can personally attest to that. At Rob Galleria earlier there were staff from Smart checking out openned boxes of 4s units.I saw a staff inserting a sim on one iphone. This was an inside job.
SMARTbatalaga says:
I can personally attest to that also. And I swear that this is NOT, I will repeat it again and again and again is NOT a lie. I hear it directly from their Manager as said by the staff. She said it herself. I quote “Alam ko pong marami pong kumukuha ng iphone 4s at kahit ako pa man po ay kumuha rin para sa sarili ko” at bla 10x. Don’t remember the other details. But you got my point. This promo should be banned from the staffs of SMART cause what’s the used of bringing up such promo to the masses right? And one more thing maybe it was a slipped of a tongue that maybe she will not be available to get the promo, but most probably she would instructed and reserved all his relatives. The same with the staff. haha SO funny. And one last thing so that the manager would realize that she knows that whom I am talking this to. She is the one in gateway. Ehem ehem shame on you.
Cindy says:
what else is new. ganyan naman talaga kahit dati pa. madalas ay walang stock ang promo. Hindi pa lang uso nuon ang twitter at FB.
Hindi ba may mga nakaw load pa nga.
luckyfrustrated says:
sabi dito sa favao while supply last.. Kaso la pang 15mins after nadistribute ang iphone 4s out of stock na. May nahalit na mams, akalain mo natakot ung lsdy boss nbigyan xa. Mas nauna pa ako non ah. Hay. Buti nlng kinausap ko ung boss at nkakuha nlng ako ng samsung tab 7.0. Ang masama, may mga staff ng smart ang pilit tinatago ang mga iphone sa bag at ayaw ipakita kasi baka mas magkagulo pa. Hay, sinabi pa ung boss na marketing strat lang. Nakita ko may 2lng na narelease. 3 lng ang tab, 2 lang ang 3gs.
Kalakaran nga naman.
Mas swerte pa rin ako, kahit nagutom at least may nakuha.
Yoko din naman magalit kasi parang wala akong pinag aralan. Pero naiintindihan ko kung may nagalit talaga.
Davao citu GMall
fedsniffer says:
Hay MODUS OPRANDI yan. Meron sale tapos yung main item ang wala. this time yung iphone. panghatak ng tao… ang meron lang stock is yung mga sub 10kunits. Sasabihin nila wala na stock yung iphone tapos they will offer you the lower priced units…… akala nila tanga ang mga pinoy… Kung sa promos nga na ganyan naloloko na pano pa kaya sa mga subscriber nila? Piso lang na panloloko sa load e milyon milyon na kita kada araw (1PHP x 65million subscribers =65,000,000.00/day 30days= 1.95 Billion kada buwan)(23 billion kada taon) hahah sensya ang wild ng imagination ko…….hay malupit!
basis for the subscriber base…..
http://smart.com.ph/corporate/newsroom/SmartSubscribersTrinet65million.htm
Kian says:
I was there, hoping to score a Galaxy Nexus for my brother. IMO, everyone needs to CALM THEIR TITS. These are just phones. No point in ruining your entire day.
odo says:
bad promo.
azeroth says:
Dumaan dn ako kanina sa gateway sobrang magulo ang event nila, kht mga security guard nagulat.
theSandies says:
they already PRE-SOLD this to SMART employees as have seen most of them at ARANETA GATEWAY during photocopying.
BOO to THIS!!!!!!
goi says:
naalala ko tuloy yung nangyari sa LG..
Khris says:
pakana lang ng smart yan para pumunta yung mga tao sa store nila at mapilitan na lang na pumili ng ibang handset, pero imbes na ganun mangyari eh lalong napasama ang smart kasi galit na galit ang mga consumers. sana imbestigahan ito ng DTI para di na maulit.
Mark says:
Same issue here in SouthMall and festival all, no stocks for 4s and 3GS. So sad since I went there early. The staff just took my name and mobile number. Hopefully they will call me once stocks are available.
Ruel says:
This is totally a failure promotion ever in the Philippine History!!!I was the first person in line at SM City Cebu Freedom Booth. I was there when they were still preparing the booth, Smart people arrived late and handed us the Service Application Form. Marlyn Miranda of SM City Cebu’s Smart’s Sales and Customer Management Supervisor and 4 of its collegues told us that no supplies for Cebu for ip4s, sgs2 and other units. Prior to this announcement, it was told by the sales rep. that it was accordingly reserved days ahead (5 days as she mentioned)to others before this event, it was seconded by other staff that they don’t even have one neither for their families. It was very clear from their official website that “LIMITED STOCKS AVAILABLE. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE POLICY APPLIES. NO ADVANCED RESERVATION ALLOWED” – How the stocks were all depleted when i was at the front line and totally the first person (first who came) at their Freedom booth??? Totally a waste of time for us who travelled far, woke up very early and patiently waited for the mall to open.
I never imagined my whole life that i experienced those horrible situation. I will not stop here not unless they will issue any official statement, reason behind and clarifications.
We will file complaint to DTI and initially blottered this incident to Police Station so this will not happen again to all Cebuanos and hopefully to all Filipinos as advised by ABS-CBN as I reported this incident to them already.
Filipinos don’t deserve this treatment and misguiding information from SMART. We lost time, money especially on this special day of our country – Indenpendence Day.
asdasd says:
@vince, bat ba parang affected ka? Hmmmm… Parang may something. Isa kaba sa nakapag pareserve? No offence but after reading you comments/reply parang guilty ka eh.
Yells says:
J*sus C*hrist. People.
And they say netizens are educated and intelligent. sigh.
spaceman spiff says:
I should have known this event will turnout to be chaotic. Naghihintay na lang talaga ako sa Galleria kanina ng mambabato sa mga Smart reps sa sobrang asar ng mga tao dun.
JJ says:
I arrived in gateway 9am to avail of the smart promo and ended leaving the place empty handed.This is my first time to join such event..and I believe I will think a thousand times before doing this again.Thanks to the “very organized” people of smart. They are giving new instructions at the venue..very much different from what has been posted online (such as cash basis only..dapat may photocopy na ang ID etc)And the nerve, sila pa ang may ganang magalit!Pagkuha pa lang application forms ang gulo na..some forms naglagay sila number..un iba wala..so what’s the use na maglagay? And dun sa venue lang nila na-isipan gawin yun. Next time, I hope people behind such promotions should be considerate of the safety and well-being of their clientele.
Donny says:
Grabe! Sayang oras ko! Bad trip yang SMart na yan! This is bogus man!
wesley says:
hugas kamay?
Jaygirl says:
Lolz. Really? “DTI should look into this”…?
Pardon my sarcasm but the reason these things happen is because we complain like this. In Twitter, or FB, or wherever else we can type or write something, but never to the right people.
I am going to bet my man-made nose that none of these people, who supposedly woke up that early (for a gadget sale) will be more than willing to do the same to sign a formal complaint in DTI.
BON says:
sana po maglabas sila statement.. (Smart)
edsel arcibal says:
buti nalang sa SM calamba walang ganyang AD ang smart…..Its just a a simple way of fake advertisement its just a hella of a time…..wasting time in a rainy independence day …big company smart big time public apology …..
Naguyo neh says:
Isa rin ako sa mga naging biktima ng mga panloloko ng SMART COMM freedom promo dito sa baguio city sinayamg nio ang oras ko sa kapipila ng wala akong napala.
SMART MANLOLOKO!!
dakilangduca says:
I can attest this.
I went in Gateway, I was there past 10AM at grabe,wala talagang sistema ang mga staff nila. Yung head yata ng team nila is sigaw ng sigaw. Ang sabi “hindi kami magbibigay ng reg form hanggat hindi kayo maayos”. Watdahell. Paano kaya magiging maayos eh wala nga silang sistema. Hindi nagbigay agad ng number sa simula palang, mano-mano nagbigay ng number kung kelan dumog na, sinusulat sa reg form. Yung area pa na ginamit nila is tapat lang ng hyundai na ang liit kaya nakapila ang mga tao sa daanan. Then I was informed na cash lang daw ang ina-accept eh I was told by their fanpage na all booth branches will accept credit card payment.
Since hindi ako willing mag withdraw, I went sa Galleria. And I found same scenario. Ang hindi ko magets is bakit sa may cinema area sila nag-booth, eh ang dilim dun! Tapos sira pa daw ang photocopying machine nila, hindi naman kasi nila ininform ang mga tao sa website at fb na kailangan pala magdala ng photocopy ng ID. 1130AM sumigaw yung isang staff na wala na raw iPhone. So hindi ko din magets kung ano ang definition nila ng “limited stocks”. Parang 10 lang yata yung pinamigay or wala pa kase its so exagge. So before 12 umalis na ko kesa tuluyang ko lang masayang ang holiday ko sa smart freedon sale kuno.
Beetee says:
My mother in law commented on FB:
it was all a sham. Only one iPhone available because the rest were reserved for Smart employees. Also, somehow people were allowed to go inside the mall before 10 a.m.
metre9dmt says:
The Smart Freedom Day Sale is just one of the problems of Smart. Over promised, under delivered sums up their problem in trying to dominate the Philippine mobile market. Among the problems I’ve experienced is getting the Smart Plan 349 wherein it has Unli Social and Unli Text. The Unli Social uses SmartNet and its a bane to use since you can only see posts but once you clicked a photo or link, you are charge automatically. Tried to asked for help at their call center and SM City Calamba branch but got nowhere. Worst, their staff at SM City Calamba branch were very arrogant and does not treat customers properly. I’ve got better customer service experience with Sun and Globe. I’m about to close down the plan which I rarely used for the past 3 months. crappy customer service, crappy SmartNet
rhk111 says:
I think all these reports just goes to show that Filipinos WILL buy branded products, as long as the price is low.
Who would’ve thought people would run and lineup for old models like the iPhone 3GS and Samsung Galaxy S2? Arguably BETTER products are available that you don’t have to desperately scamper around with, and yet they all did, all because they wanted the brand.
Van says:
Same thing happened here in Cebu, I was thinking na wala nman tlga sila bnenta na iPhone 4s yesterday. I went there without sleep coming from work just to avail the promo. Ang ending walang napala.
Jp says:
Globe, SMART, and Sun all has this issue.
One thing about these three alone is checking their website which contains a lot of misinformation.
Check out SMART’s website and the free phones alone are crazy stupid.
Anyway, that’s why I just opted for prepaid instead and a plan 350 from SMART and bought my own phone… I find it more practical.
Ryan says:
I’m very glad I got my plan on Globe. My connection is way better than Wi-tribe which is my previous ISP. Now I’m paying 999 monthly with Galaxy S4 on my pocket. I glad not to waste my time in that scam. :)
Furby says:
I called DTI and said to email and forward our complaints to dtincrl****@****.***. I’m just not sure this will make any difference
Rhej says:
This deception by Smart should not be tolerated. I was there in Sm Cebu as well yesterday and had the same experience. Was given different answers and different alibis. It was clearly false advertising.
Ava says:
I am a former telco employee, and I’m familiar with the love-hate relationship Pinoys have with the likes of Smart.
This event could have been managed much better, because Smart had FULL control over its stocks. It could have managed its customers if it wasn’t willing to manage its employees.
Then again, what can you expect from a promotion that sounded too good to be true– it most likely is. Hindi naman nagpapalugi ang telco companies especially on phones because we only purchase it from suppliers as well, wala kaming kita dun.
What I am leaning towards is that the whole thing was a scam to attract as many people as possible to Smart, without considering the consequences, time, effort, transpo money, etc of the disappointed customers. 10k iPhone? Not in your life. They could’ve just had 10 or 20 and budgeted that just to be able to have the promo approved by DTI. Of course, those units also went to employees.
Smart needs to learn its lesson, and some morals. It’s unfortunate that few will change their lines over their fury. Globe needs to learn how to not overpromise on its services as well, because their services suck. Sun, needs to learn how to not overpromise and act like a giant when it is indeed a small player.
JR says:
Never experienced this with Globe. :)
Debug says:
Its the LG OPTIMUS one event all over again.
Store staffs and smart staffs ang makakauna dyan tagal ng diskarte yan. Sila lang naman ang pwedeng pumasok sa loob before store opening hours
prinsesa mo says:
you can buy a branded phone in affordable pricee…but why is the connection failed ? the unlimited social is ban i cant use it… if you want to see the pictures and links it will automatically charge ……
Blue says:
It’s a trend, the employees compete with the buyers for the sale items. Hindi lang sa Smart nangyayari to, kahit sa mga Buy 1 Take 1 sa supermarkets and department stores. For example in Luxasia, employees raid the sale items and if a customer is looking for a certain item na ubos na – employee uses this opportunity to sell the item that was on sale at a price higher than the sale price but still lower than retail. I experienced this twice in recent Luxasia sales. Management should hand down a rule banning employees from participating in sale events intended for customers. Instead, employees should get their own sale events. I didn’t go to the Freedom sale – I’ve only been to one grand mobile sale event in Megamall some years ago and let’s say I never intend to go through that again or at least not for a mobile phone.
Meikah Ybañez-Delid says:
OMGeee! What a sad event. Did we hear from Smart yet?
tanny batumbakal says:
marami akong nakikitang mga cellphones na mura ….
sguro marami tlgang nahuhumaling sa gadgets…..
kaya indemand ito sa lahat ng tao …..
totoy bato says:
maganda namn ang offer nila kaso sa connection ata may problem medyo mabagal kasi yung connection e …….
sometimes we cant tolerate that matters …..
qwerty says:
Isa ako sa mga nakapag pa reserved nong Monday June 10 and bayad agad then Wednesday June 12 na release para hindi daw mahalata na nagpa advance reserved kame and para ma cover ng photographer nila na kasi kukuhanan ng picture with the unit (in my case it’s iphone 4s)
Manong says:
@qwerty
Lucky for you. If what you say is true in what branch were you able to do this?
JayR says:
CALLING DTI…Paki silip po itong palpak na “promo” na ito ng SMART…AYON SA DTI WEBSITE…ITO PO DAPAT AY DISQUALIFIED SA PROMO!!!
Who shall be disqualified from joining a sales promotion?
1. The sponsor, promoter, advertiser, participating outlets and their employees including their relatives up to the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.
2. Persons reporting regularly to the promoter, sponsor or advertiser under a contract or service and who, by the nature of the service they render may have a direct and personal knowledge of the promotion
3. In case of promotions involving bank deposits, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shall prescribe the degree of relationship whch shall be covered by the disqualification.
http://dtincr.ph/faq_salespromo.php
sirches says:
this event reminds me of lg optimus p500 sale, kaya mahirap umasa sa mga ganyang promotions, natuto na ako…
Jim Raynor says:
Victims: DTI! Smart Telco cheated us! do something!
DTI: Smart Telco! you will be apprehended!
SMART: I am a major corporation player. Shut me down and millions will lose their jobs
DTI to Victims: ahmm.. magglobe nalang kayo…
pol says:
this is true, when will people learn that government agencies in the philippines is under the payroll of the big companies that’s why they can’t do anything, pansin nyo tinitira lang nila is yung mga medium size companies.
macnemiami says:
i know somebody who works at smart. sabi nya naka reserve na daw karamihan ng units for employees kaya ganun ang nangyari. tama ba naman yun inuna pa yung mga empleyado instead of customers?
mx says:
exactly! nakareserve sa mga employees. edi dapat pala nag sale na lang sila sa mga empleyado nila.
meh says:
I’m sure it was on purpose and they wont get in trouble. I bet each store had only 3 or 4 of each device at that price. Its all a trick to get people in the store and try to sell them other phones/plans
Dennis Supetran says:
And the sad thing about it is that the people who are supposed to be monitoring and regulating abti-consumer behavior like this will never hold companies like smart accountable. My only consolation is that the owners of smat and globe and all these companies, when they die, will have forever yo pay for their misdeeds. So by all means, please vontinue to lie, cheat an steal from people. :)
mx says:
malamang if di pwede ang mag pareserve jan tapos walang unit na lumabas eh nakuha na yun nang mga empleyado ni reserve nila sa sarili nila at mga kamag anakan. which is anung point nang event na yan kung wala naman palang units na lalabas?
Louie Rodaje says:
I was third in the line for the Davao booth. We waited for more than an hour for the booth to formally open, although the marketing staff were already there. After the necessary application process we were informed that there are no longer iPhone units available for the promo. Foolishness. Not a single iPhone was distributed. Smart should apologize for this. They are fooling the public. This should not be tolerated!!!
a says:
This should serve as a lesson to those who believed of too good to be true..they were fooled and now the’re looking for answers even going after dti..how pitty
daniel says:
I already experienced this on LG Optimus One event! In SM North Edsa, guards are very ignorant of what was happening! the escalators are full of people, some people injured because of being not able to step out of the escalator because the end of the escalator is full of people…. the whole of SM North EDSA Annex is full of lines,shouting, PURE CHAOS! A terrorist could instantly kill 10,000 people who lined up there!
God, persecute Smart stores! Wish someone gets the confidence to ram the insides of the store and destroy the wall glasses of their stores! I’m very irritated!
zarne says:
‘sales ad: 64 GB Iphone 4S for PHP 10,990’
Tnis phone is still selling at about PHP 32,000 ($800) in other markets. Selling it at 2/3 off the regular selling price for PHP 10,990 smells so ‘fishy’ to me. Like they say… if it is too good to be true, it probably is. The Government should invistigate Smart Tel. for false advertising, and fined them if found guilty.