I opened up my January bill for my telephone, internet and TV service from Cable Onda in Panama City to find that the price was nearly a third higher than it had been the previous months. For some reason, I was charged an additional fee, and on top of that, the cost of my Internet service had gone up.
Needless to say, I was a little miffed, so I called up Cable Onda to see what the deal 
was. After waiting for 15 minutes for an English speaking operator I finally gave up and went with the Spanish. My call was answered somewhat promptly (only 2 minutes on hold). As the operator asked how she could be of assistance, I thought to myself, wonderful, I am actually going to get something accomplished. Silly old gringo… always getting my hopes up.
Turns out my previous service was a deal that had expired the month prior, and no, the company didn’t see any need to warn me that it was expiring, that isn’t their policy. Fine. Whatever. I just want to make a few changes to my plan. I am told I can’t do that over the phone and will have to come down to the main office. Seriously??? Since when is it required to go down to a Cable Onda office to make changes to your contract? The woman is not budging on this one.
Fine, I think to myself. I will at least get the prices and package plans so that I can mull over them and make a decision regarding what service I want. I am told that information will be given to me when I come down to the office!
At this point I am feeling pretty defeated so I hang up.
Moments later I am on the computer, scouring the Cable Onda web-site for a plans and prices. Of course, nothing is easy in Panama! The web-site doesn’t show any real prices or plans, but it does leave a spot where you can request information regarding either the phone, internet, or TV.
I’m pretty positive this is a waste of my time, but since I’ve got no better option at this moment, other than hauling myself down to Cable Onda where I am sure I will wait for hours and be talked into the latest offer that is more than I need and more than I want to pay, I go ahead and fill out the request form.
In under a half an hour I have an email in my inbox from a certain Yolanda Rodriguez, a saleswomen for Cable Onda. Since my request form didn’t allow me to ask exactly what I wanted, I e-mailed her requesting a detailed list of plans and prices. And, to my delight and surprise, she promptly replied!
Here is a link to the HTML version of Cable Onda Plans, for those of you who are searching for the same information.
I am in the process of trying to figure out what is going on with the current fees and change my service to reflect my needs. I will let you know how it goes.
**REVISION** File Attachment: Combinaciones Cable Onda.xls (94 KB).
The HTML didn’t work… since it was password protected by my Gmail account… so here is the original file for download. Sorry about that.
your html goes to google e-mail sign in.
Thanks Bob… I think it is all fixed now, you can download the original Excel file.
Hope it helps!
Hello.. this info is so great, thanks for taking ur time to post it…
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
That is normal for here in Pamana. If a woman in a business says no, you can rest assured you will be wasting your breath if you continue talking with that same person. I have had experiences of purchasing a product and returning the next day to buy another and a woman telling me they don´t sell it here, even when I have the receipt.
I have internet in Panama Cable & Wireless and they are the same as you mentioned in Cable Onda. You need to go to the office for everything. Because it is in my name, even my wife can´t go for me.