Yesterday, I got this email from sm-advantage@smtp-sm-advantage.com
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Greetings!
We are pleased to inform you that you have qualified, and have been enrolled, into the SM Advantage - Philam Personal Accident Insurance Program. Your coverage started last 08/15/07 and will end on 08/15/08. As token payment for this special benefit, we have deducted 20 points from your SM Advantage Card balance.
For only 20 points, the program provides qualified members with the following benefits:
- Php 100,000 personal accident insurance coverage, 24 hours a day for 365 days, anywhere in the world.
- Up to a maximum of Php 100,000 for permanent disability due to accident.
- Also covers members while traveling on public/private transportation by air, sea and land (except motorcycle).
- Death due to drowning, dog bites, snake bites, murder and assault also covered.
- Accidental Burial Expense Reimbursement
If you feel that this Program is not for you, and that you would rather not be covered, you may Opt-out through either of the following:
- by calling the Philam Insurance Hotline at (02) 528-5202, or
- by filling up an Opt-out form at Costumer Service Counter of any SM Department Store, SM Hypermarket and SM Supermarket.
Your 20 points will be promptly credited back to your account should you choose to Opt-out from this Program.
For questions regarding your SM Advantage - Philam Personal Accident Insurance Program you may call the Philam Insurance Hotline at (02) 528-5202 or log-on to www.sm-advantage.com.
Thank you,
Rey T. Maclang
SM Advantage
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What kind of stupid promo is this?! You enrolled me into something without my permission and now had the audacity to inform me about it three months before the darned insurance is about to expire????? What's more, you're telling me that I have a choice to opt-out by obliging me to go to one of your branches so I can fill out a form?!
My goodness! I am staggered at the level of unprofessionalism you have just exhibited!
I felt better after sending that. BUT, imagine my surprise when they replied earlier today:
Greetings from SM Advantage!
Thank you for your email and we apologize for the inconvenience and confusion this caused you. If you wish not to be enrolled in the program you may just send us a request and we will forward your concern.
Best regards,
Maricris Arroco
SM Advantage Helpdesk
Phone: +63 (2) 833-8888
Fax: +63 (2) 833-8888 loc 5
E-mail: opns-support.mci.ho@sm-shoemart
Wow, how obtuse can they get?! Being one not to back down until I am able to prove my point, I replied again:
Is it not yet obvious from my previous email that I am not interested in your program?
YES, I DO NOT WISH TO BE ENROLLED IN YOUR INSURANCE PROGRAM. SO PLEASE REMOVE MY NAME IN YOUR LIST OF "VICTIMS".
May I just ask, how come you people audaciously assume that all your customers want this and enroll us automatically without our knowledge? I have a mind to report you to the DTI and file a complaint!
Who knows how many SM Advantage Members you've pulled this stunt onto. Yes, to think that 20 points is not much, but if as little as 1,000 members are automatically enrolled, that is already a P20,000 profit on your part! That can already be considered as a scam.
Plus, it is very clear how informing the "enrollees" about our supposed to be "privilege" three months before the one-year coverage expires ensures we don't make any claims. What a sneaky way to do business.
As of this writing, I haven't received any replies from them. I don't know if they still will after my scathing messages. I shared my frustration with several friends and they all agreed that it was an underhanded thing for SM Advantage to inflict upon its members. One even told me that she too got the same email and protested too about the lack of professionalism on the part of the membership program.
I'd also like to share something I sent to my friends who reacted to my SMAC story. This is to prove how deceitful and unfair I am finding SM to be.
Yun nga kaya bwisit na bwisit ako. Siguro kung ininform nila ako at the time na inactivate yang insurance na yan, mas maganda ang magiging reaction ko, mas malamang matuwa pa ako kasi ang mura nga naman nung bayad. Pero as it is, para naman silang tanga na sasabihin sa akin, malapit na mag-expire eh di ba sobrang obvious tuloy na technique nila yung para sure na wala ka ng maki-claim! Pano pala kung na-aksidente ako last year tapos di ko man lang alam na may coverage pala ako against that at kung sakali eh may maki-claim ako di ba?
Saka grabeng tuso ng SM talaga. Biro mo sa points system pa lang, para ka magka-1 point (na piso lang naman!) kelangan mo mag-purchase ng worth P200 sa department store or P400 sa supermarket! Tapos yung green bag na yan, bibigyan ka lang ng additional 2 pts pag gumamit ka pero bawal mag-exceed ng 3 bags per transaction! Duh. Di ko nga magets yung sinasabi nilang double points eh hindi naman.
Kasi sa Shopwise, pag ginamit mo yung canvas bag nila, lahat ng mailalaman doon ng bagger, double points. For example, kung ang worth ng binili mo eh P2000, may P40 na agad papasok sa Wise Card mo. As in ang laki! Kasi last October, nag-claim ako ng rebates, naka P400 ako. After that, bumili na kami nung canvas bag. By March, nagulat ako pag-claim ko ulit ng rebates, P1200 ang nasa card ko! San mo mapupulot yun di ba?!
Also, super tibay nung bag sa Shopwise, saka malaki kaya kahit about 5-10 kg ang ilaman mo, kayang buhatin. Eh yung green bag ng SM, sows, isang lata ng pediasure, ilang canned goods at isang bote ng ketchup lang binili namin ni hubby, nawakwak ang ilalim! As in bumuka yung tahi! Muntik na kamo bumagsak yung bote ng ketchup kung di ko nakita agad (kasi nakasabit sa balikat ni hubby at naglalakad ako sa side nya). Eh di complain kami sa customer service. Pinalitan nila yung bag pero after that, magagaan na lang nilalagay namin.
Admittedly, 'di naman kasi lahat ng products sa Shopwise mura. May mabibili ka sa Savemore na cheaper. Kaya hati ang pag-grocery ko minsan kung saan makakatipid. Pero yun nga, sobrang disappointed ako sa SM kasi obvious na obvious na habol lang nila sa customers eh pera :(
To other SMAC members, I'd appreciate your comments and reactions. I'm also interested to know if you have been "victimized" by them with this kind of money-making activity.
5 comments:
I know this is like 5 years too late but recently I was researching on the same topic as you and I have found several things that may actually interest you.
Before you blow up at SM straight away, you have to look at the sender of the email: opns-support.mci.ho@sm-shoemart.com. Weird email address to begin with. Does that not spark your intrigue? Secondly if you go and check SM-Shoemart.com, it'll lead you to a really crappy website. Your alarm bells should be ringing by now that maybe just maybe, it wasn't actually someone from SM that did it, maybe it was just someone trying to ruin their name? Thirdly, go and check the contact us and look at each of the emails of the department store, appliance center, etc etc. Don't the emails look quite horribly made, clearly no corporation would do such bad naming of their emails. From what I can see, it's a really bad attempt to ruin SM's name to others as they tried to make their website look legit but after closer inspection, it really looks obvious that it wasn't SM who made the website.
Hope this helps you and clears up things. I've been doing research on this whole SM and a lot of the people's perceptions have been quite skewed due to being misinformed.
yow ur just overeacting. yung insurance na yan nasa signup form yan nung ni purchase mo yung sm advantage card. ni check mo cguro yung checkbox na un kaya meron kang deduction na 20 points at na enroll ka sa MCI-HO. Gets?
I agree with @cblemuel kasi when i signed up for my sm advantage years back may tick box yon sa form. ayan, basa basa dn kasi bago sumagot ng kung ano ano.
well yung insurance na yun eh deal na deal kc 20 pts lang for 1 yr..san ka pa ba makakahanap nun?eh yung iba nga monthly ka magbabayad ng hundreds of peso diba?thats the cheapest insurance..kaya go mo na..wala pong mawawala sau..just 20pts every yr..its a good deal
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