What frustrates her most was the fact that she had to wait more than four hours before she was able to meet the Nokia staff to explain her problems.

She was advised to leave the phone for technical tests and the staff would call her once the phone is repaired.

She was happy when a few days later Nokia Customer staff called her to pick up her phone. Her happiness lasted for a few days only as the phone broke down again. In her frustration, she requested that I help her by calling Nokia Customer Care - the call was forwarded to Nokia's Asian regional office.

We were frustrated as I could not understand the accent of the Nokia customer service officer - I believe they were Filipinos.

Reluctantly, we went once again to Nokia Customer Service Centre in Tampines to voice our frustration.

I was shocked to find out that at least four other customers faced the same predicament and frustration as my wife.

One customer was so angry because his phone was not working after only a day.

I realised that Nokia 5610 was actually not a reliable cellphone to start with. What frustrates me and my wife most was the fact that Nokia practised a non exchangeable policy on newly purchased phones.

Worsening the situation was the fact that it is extremely difficult to contact a Nokia Customer Service officer and, worse still, most of the time we are not able to understand the accent used by most of these officers.

Muhamad Rani Osman