By Holly Byrnes
DEAR Sol Trujillo, I hear you're feeling put upon, mistreated, disrespected, made to jump through hoops by faceless millions who did everything they could to wreck your job.
Mate, I know how you feel. I just spent the day trying to get reconnected to Telstra after my mobile was stolen.
The mugging was a shock but it's the horror of trying to activate a new SIM card and dealing with your dysfunctional telco that has me rocking in the foetal position.
Stripped of my handbag and knocked to the ground during the attack last week was nothing compared to being stripped of my will to live while waiting on line to Telstra.
Reconnecting seemed simple -- after putting a temporary block on my mobile I went to a T Life store in George St, Sydney, to buy a SIM card (the little chip which makes it work, in case any Telstra call workers are reading this and are not familiar with the term).
After settling the outstanding bill, then helpfully being transferred to a more economical contract, I was assured by the first service operator it wouldn't be too long before the phone was up and running again.
And so the wait -- and phone calls -- began. When my handset flashed up a SIM card error message, I called for some of that customer service I'd heard about.
That call was answered by a service operator who asked me to phone back in an hour, when the account would be ready. I was given a 1800 number for direct "service"'.
An hour later that number reached a recorded Telstra message that informed me the number was no longer in service, and redirecting me to another "service".
That number told me I needed a reference number. Without one, I should access a Telstra website. But to do that I'd need an active mobile.
When another operator told me to call the first 1800 number I took a breath then updated him with the recorded message I'd received. He put me on hold to check.
When he returned, he asked to check my bona fides then quizzed me about the driver's licence number on the account.
He wasn't convinced when I told him I didn't know the number. Not because of bad recall but because I have never held a driver's license in my life.
His response? He put me on hold. When he asked me for my birthdate, I joked I should add a few years since I had aged some in the course of these phone calls. Laugh? Nope, he put me on hold.
Even after emailing a PR contact within Telstra, after an initial response, there was still no sign of my mobile service.
However, when I posted my aggravation on Facebook I was inundated.
One mate, David, was trying to prove to Telstra he lived where he said he did because they were refusing to connect a phone to his home. In his words: "Why would I want to connect a phone in a place I don't live?"
Another girlfriend directed me to a support group on Facebook called "Telstra SUX".
And the best bit? It doesn't ask for your name, birthdate, mother's maiden name, driver's licence or first-born child before you get the satisfaction of emptying your spleen.
So, Sol, save yourself a call to Telstra and log on, mate. For once, you'll be in good company.
Source
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The new chairperson of Telstra
The profile below is laudatory but other comments suggest that she is more of a bureaucrat than a business person
HAVING accepted the job of chairman at one of Australia's largest and most important companies, Catherine Livingstone is facing the biggest challenge of her career.
The former accountant has been widely lauded for her role in transforming the bionic ear-maker Cochlear into an internationally renowned business. And she is no stranger to public company boardrooms or to dealing with government, having chaired the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation for five years.
But Telstra -- with more than 1.4 million individual shareholders, including the federal Government's Future Fund, and facing a critical time in its history -- is an entirely different beast.
Not that that should faze the self-confessed risk-taker, who lives on Sydney's lower-north shore with her husband, Saatchi & Saatchi finance chief Michael Sattherthwaite, and their three teenage children.
Those who have worked alongside Livingstone point out that she has taken seemingly large career jumps before, with repeated success. Her resume -- Telstra, Macquarie Group, Worley Parsons, and formerly Rural Press and Goodman Fielder -- speaks of an experienced and coveted commodity.
The Macquarie University honours graduate started her career at the accounting firm Pricewaterhouse in the late 1970s, working in Sydney and London, before making the switch to the publicly listed medical device group Nucleus, where she worked in various accounting roles.
Livingstone was soon promoted to chief finance officer and in 1994, following a takeover of the group by Pacific Dunlop, she was appointed chief executive of its subsidiary company, Cochlear.
One of her main tasks was to groom the emerging device maker for a public float.
One executive who worked closely with Livingstone throughout that period remembers her ability to communicate effectively with investors and the broader financial markets.
"She was able to build a phenomenal relationship with the financial community for the listing and then afterwards," said the executive, who declined to be identified.
"She's a very, very organised and systematic person -- very process driven, very detail-minded.
"She was also able to improve the internal processes within the company."
When Cochlear was floated for $125 million in 1995, it was bringing in $70 million a year in revenue.
When Livingstone left the company five years later, the device was being sold into 50 countries worldwide and sales had swelled to $150 million.
Its market capitalisation was almost $2 billion.
Born in Kenya in 1955, Livingstone had migrated with her family to Australia by the time she started school.
Her leadership skills emerged early, and as an 11-year-old she was appointed house leader for the school sports carnival.
Livingstone has said she was greatly influenced by her parents -- her mother was a teacher and her father served in the air force during World War II, later becoming an economist and investment banker.
In John Eales's book Learning From legends: Business, published last year, Livingstone recalls that her mother repeatedly emphasised to her: "If it's worth doing, do it properly."
"My parents have always influenced me strongly in terms of professionalism."
In a magazine interview published in 2007, Livingstone revealed that her parents had also encouraged her to take risks.
"You have to learn how to step out of your comfort zone. Being afraid is not something to be afraid of," she said.
Livingstone joined Telstra as a non-executive director in November 2000.
When the board ousted former chairman Bob Mansfield and later chief executive Ziggy Switkowski in 2004, she was briefly touted as a possible candidate for chairman but apparently declined to put her hand up for the role.
The job went instead to Donald McGauchie, whose surprise resignation yesterday has suggested that Livingstone's appointment didn't follow the orderly succession process to which boards typically aspire.
Some observers have highlighted her lack of direct telecommunications industry experience (outside of her Telstra board role), and some have questioned whether her fierce attention to detail could work against her in a role in which the big picture is important.
One of her key roles will be to rebuild the telco's fractured relationship with the Government, which hit an all-time low following its exclusion earlier this year from the tender process to build the multi-billion-dollar national broadband network. However, previous comments attributed to Livingstone suggest that she might be willing to take a more conciliatory approach to dealing with politicians than that of McGauchie and the company's outgoing chief executive, Sol Trujillo.
"You have to put yourself in other people's shoes and see how they're looking at something and then try and make the persuasive argument for the outcome you're seeking," she says in Eales's book.
"You can tell people what's happening but telling is not very constructive ... if you can persuade, that's better."
At her first press conference as Telstra chairman yesterday, Livingstone said the company was focused on "a very constructive engagement" with the federal Government.
Businessman Peter Yates, who chairs the board of scientific lobby group the Royal Institution of Australia, of which Livingstone is a director, praised her ability to deal with people.
"She's an extremely thoughtful person who inherently likes people and inherently gives people the opportunity to achieve their full potential," Yates said.
"I can imagine ... (that she) and the new chief executive, David Thodey, who I also know quite well, will make a very good team."
Chris Roberts, Cochlear's current chief executive, who worked alongside Livingstone in the 1980s, described her as highly intelligent, hard working and capable.
"As a shareholder of Telstra and someone who has known her for many years, I think she'll do a very good job."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25450523-643,00.html
The profile below is laudatory but other comments suggest that she is more of a bureaucrat than a business person
HAVING accepted the job of chairman at one of Australia's largest and most important companies, Catherine Livingstone is facing the biggest challenge of her career.
The former accountant has been widely lauded for her role in transforming the bionic ear-maker Cochlear into an internationally renowned business. And she is no stranger to public company boardrooms or to dealing with government, having chaired the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation for five years.
But Telstra -- with more than 1.4 million individual shareholders, including the federal Government's Future Fund, and facing a critical time in its history -- is an entirely different beast.
Not that that should faze the self-confessed risk-taker, who lives on Sydney's lower-north shore with her husband, Saatchi & Saatchi finance chief Michael Sattherthwaite, and their three teenage children.
Those who have worked alongside Livingstone point out that she has taken seemingly large career jumps before, with repeated success. Her resume -- Telstra, Macquarie Group, Worley Parsons, and formerly Rural Press and Goodman Fielder -- speaks of an experienced and coveted commodity.
The Macquarie University honours graduate started her career at the accounting firm Pricewaterhouse in the late 1970s, working in Sydney and London, before making the switch to the publicly listed medical device group Nucleus, where she worked in various accounting roles.
Livingstone was soon promoted to chief finance officer and in 1994, following a takeover of the group by Pacific Dunlop, she was appointed chief executive of its subsidiary company, Cochlear.
One of her main tasks was to groom the emerging device maker for a public float.
One executive who worked closely with Livingstone throughout that period remembers her ability to communicate effectively with investors and the broader financial markets.
"She was able to build a phenomenal relationship with the financial community for the listing and then afterwards," said the executive, who declined to be identified.
"She's a very, very organised and systematic person -- very process driven, very detail-minded.
"She was also able to improve the internal processes within the company."
When Cochlear was floated for $125 million in 1995, it was bringing in $70 million a year in revenue.
When Livingstone left the company five years later, the device was being sold into 50 countries worldwide and sales had swelled to $150 million.
Its market capitalisation was almost $2 billion.
Born in Kenya in 1955, Livingstone had migrated with her family to Australia by the time she started school.
Her leadership skills emerged early, and as an 11-year-old she was appointed house leader for the school sports carnival.
Livingstone has said she was greatly influenced by her parents -- her mother was a teacher and her father served in the air force during World War II, later becoming an economist and investment banker.
In John Eales's book Learning From legends: Business, published last year, Livingstone recalls that her mother repeatedly emphasised to her: "If it's worth doing, do it properly."
"My parents have always influenced me strongly in terms of professionalism."
In a magazine interview published in 2007, Livingstone revealed that her parents had also encouraged her to take risks.
"You have to learn how to step out of your comfort zone. Being afraid is not something to be afraid of," she said.
Livingstone joined Telstra as a non-executive director in November 2000.
When the board ousted former chairman Bob Mansfield and later chief executive Ziggy Switkowski in 2004, she was briefly touted as a possible candidate for chairman but apparently declined to put her hand up for the role.
The job went instead to Donald McGauchie, whose surprise resignation yesterday has suggested that Livingstone's appointment didn't follow the orderly succession process to which boards typically aspire.
Some observers have highlighted her lack of direct telecommunications industry experience (outside of her Telstra board role), and some have questioned whether her fierce attention to detail could work against her in a role in which the big picture is important.
One of her key roles will be to rebuild the telco's fractured relationship with the Government, which hit an all-time low following its exclusion earlier this year from the tender process to build the multi-billion-dollar national broadband network. However, previous comments attributed to Livingstone suggest that she might be willing to take a more conciliatory approach to dealing with politicians than that of McGauchie and the company's outgoing chief executive, Sol Trujillo.
"You have to put yourself in other people's shoes and see how they're looking at something and then try and make the persuasive argument for the outcome you're seeking," she says in Eales's book.
"You can tell people what's happening but telling is not very constructive ... if you can persuade, that's better."
At her first press conference as Telstra chairman yesterday, Livingstone said the company was focused on "a very constructive engagement" with the federal Government.
Businessman Peter Yates, who chairs the board of scientific lobby group the Royal Institution of Australia, of which Livingstone is a director, praised her ability to deal with people.
"She's an extremely thoughtful person who inherently likes people and inherently gives people the opportunity to achieve their full potential," Yates said.
"I can imagine ... (that she) and the new chief executive, David Thodey, who I also know quite well, will make a very good team."
Chris Roberts, Cochlear's current chief executive, who worked alongside Livingstone in the 1980s, described her as highly intelligent, hard working and capable.
"As a shareholder of Telstra and someone who has known her for many years, I think she'll do a very good job."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25450523-643,00.html
Friday, May 8, 2009
New bosses for Telstra
TELSTRA has replaced its two leaders, appointing current senior executive David Thodey as chief executive officer and current board member Catherine Livingstone as chair.
Ms Livingstone replaces Don McGauchie effective immediately. Mr Thodey's appointment takes effect when incumbent CEO Sol Trujillo leaves Telstra to return to the United States.
Mr Thodey said he was delighted to be appointed chief executive of Telstra and looked forward to building on the strong foundation left by Mr Trujillo's four years at the helm.
"Our strategy remains unchanged: to continue to provide customers with world-class products and services," he said. [World class bullsh*t, he means]
The key to Telstra continuing to win and to serve customers will be finishing our transformation that started nearly four years ago. [It sure needs a lot of finishing]
"Completing the transformation will enable us to deliver a superior customer experience [How about putting enough people on the helpline so customers aren't told to ring back later? That should be easy even for a Telstra CEO] and the financial outcomes that our shareholders expect."
Mr Thodey, 54, has been a senior executive at Telstra for eight years. He joined Telstra from IBM where he was chief executive of IBM's Australian and New Zealand operations. In his current position, he has been responsible for Telstra's corporate, government and large business customers in Australia, TelstraClear in New Zealand and Telstra's international sales division.
McGauchie quits, 'speculation a distraction'
With the chief executive selection process complete, Mr McGauchie resigned as Telstra Chairman and said he would leave the board immediately. "Telstra's strength and ongoing performance are the paramount priority," Mr McGauchie said. "It is my view that speculation on my tenure was a distraction to the business. "Nothing should be allowed to get in the way of David and the management team getting on with the important job ahead of them." [He means that he knows he was a deadhead who was no check on the slimy Trujillo]
The Telstra board also has appointed Telstra's chief financial officer John Stanhope, a contender for the CEO's position, as an executive director of the Telstra board.
The controversy surrounding building materials supplier James Hardie Industries' handling of its responsibilities to the asbestos diseases fund claimed another casualty when Telstra said another director, Peter Wilcox, also was leaving the board, "due to his concern that the James Hardie judgment may cause embarrassment to the company".
The Telstra board had asked Mr Willcox to stay on until the telco's annual general meeting in November, which he had agreed to do. Mr McGauchie also is a director of James Hardie.
Telstra's new chair, Ms Livingstone, has been a director of the company since 2000. [Is that all they can say about her? Sounds like she is a nothing too]
SOURCE
TELSTRA has replaced its two leaders, appointing current senior executive David Thodey as chief executive officer and current board member Catherine Livingstone as chair.
Ms Livingstone replaces Don McGauchie effective immediately. Mr Thodey's appointment takes effect when incumbent CEO Sol Trujillo leaves Telstra to return to the United States.
Mr Thodey said he was delighted to be appointed chief executive of Telstra and looked forward to building on the strong foundation left by Mr Trujillo's four years at the helm.
"Our strategy remains unchanged: to continue to provide customers with world-class products and services," he said. [World class bullsh*t, he means]
The key to Telstra continuing to win and to serve customers will be finishing our transformation that started nearly four years ago. [It sure needs a lot of finishing]
"Completing the transformation will enable us to deliver a superior customer experience [How about putting enough people on the helpline so customers aren't told to ring back later? That should be easy even for a Telstra CEO] and the financial outcomes that our shareholders expect."
Mr Thodey, 54, has been a senior executive at Telstra for eight years. He joined Telstra from IBM where he was chief executive of IBM's Australian and New Zealand operations. In his current position, he has been responsible for Telstra's corporate, government and large business customers in Australia, TelstraClear in New Zealand and Telstra's international sales division.
McGauchie quits, 'speculation a distraction'
With the chief executive selection process complete, Mr McGauchie resigned as Telstra Chairman and said he would leave the board immediately. "Telstra's strength and ongoing performance are the paramount priority," Mr McGauchie said. "It is my view that speculation on my tenure was a distraction to the business. "Nothing should be allowed to get in the way of David and the management team getting on with the important job ahead of them." [He means that he knows he was a deadhead who was no check on the slimy Trujillo]
The Telstra board also has appointed Telstra's chief financial officer John Stanhope, a contender for the CEO's position, as an executive director of the Telstra board.
The controversy surrounding building materials supplier James Hardie Industries' handling of its responsibilities to the asbestos diseases fund claimed another casualty when Telstra said another director, Peter Wilcox, also was leaving the board, "due to his concern that the James Hardie judgment may cause embarrassment to the company".
The Telstra board had asked Mr Willcox to stay on until the telco's annual general meeting in November, which he had agreed to do. Mr McGauchie also is a director of James Hardie.
Telstra's new chair, Ms Livingstone, has been a director of the company since 2000. [Is that all they can say about her? Sounds like she is a nothing too]
SOURCE
Friday, May 1, 2009
CHEEESH!! For once Telstra is doing the right thing and some !@#$%^& judge blocks them
These "Premium" SMS services seem to be almost entirely a con. Check your bills for them. I was billed for such services myself when I was with Vodafone, although I had never asked for or received such services. Voda promptly reversed the charges when I complained but refused to co-operate with any investigation of how the charges arose. And the TIO seemed to think that no investigation was needed because Voda had reversed the charges. Prevention of fraud is obviously not one of their priorities. I think I know how I got targeted but nobody wants to hear it apparently. I even wrote to ACMA but they too refused to take any interest. The crooks who targeted me were called "Mobile Messenger"
TELSTRA has been blocked in its bid to throw an SMS service off its network after it received a high number of complaints from annoyed customers. Telstra wants to disconnect premium SMS supplier Oxygen 8 because it has received a "disproportionately large" level of complaints about its service.
The NSW Federal Court was told traffic to Oxygen 8's services tripled between October 2007 and January 2009, The Australian has reported. The court also heard evidence from a report by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman that nearly two-thirds of complaints about premium SMS services were from customers who said they had never signed up to receive them.
In February, Telstra gave Oxygen 8 60 days' notice that it would be dropped from its network, citing a clause in the contract between the two companies which would allow it to do so. Oxygen 8 was granted an injunction against being dropped while it challenged the action in the courts. It says Telstra's system for handling complaints is in breach of their contract and federal rules. Telstra had been trying to have that injunction dropped and Oxygen 8's claim dismissed, but in court yesterday Judge Geoffrey Flick ordered the injunction remain in place.
Judge Flick ordered the two companies to begin preparations for a trial starting on July 27. He gave Telstra leave to apply to vary the orders, including lifting the injunction. Telstra refused to enter into mediation with Oxygen 8 to settle the matter out of court.
A Telstra spokesman said: "Telstra is confident about the validity of its termination notice and its prospects on the final hearing. Telstra is committed to the responsible provision of premium SMS services."
Oxygen 8 has alleged that Telstra's SMS complaints handling systems and procedures are inadequate and in breach of the ACMA Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2005 (No1).
SOURCE
These "Premium" SMS services seem to be almost entirely a con. Check your bills for them. I was billed for such services myself when I was with Vodafone, although I had never asked for or received such services. Voda promptly reversed the charges when I complained but refused to co-operate with any investigation of how the charges arose. And the TIO seemed to think that no investigation was needed because Voda had reversed the charges. Prevention of fraud is obviously not one of their priorities. I think I know how I got targeted but nobody wants to hear it apparently. I even wrote to ACMA but they too refused to take any interest. The crooks who targeted me were called "Mobile Messenger"
TELSTRA has been blocked in its bid to throw an SMS service off its network after it received a high number of complaints from annoyed customers. Telstra wants to disconnect premium SMS supplier Oxygen 8 because it has received a "disproportionately large" level of complaints about its service.
The NSW Federal Court was told traffic to Oxygen 8's services tripled between October 2007 and January 2009, The Australian has reported. The court also heard evidence from a report by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman that nearly two-thirds of complaints about premium SMS services were from customers who said they had never signed up to receive them.
In February, Telstra gave Oxygen 8 60 days' notice that it would be dropped from its network, citing a clause in the contract between the two companies which would allow it to do so. Oxygen 8 was granted an injunction against being dropped while it challenged the action in the courts. It says Telstra's system for handling complaints is in breach of their contract and federal rules. Telstra had been trying to have that injunction dropped and Oxygen 8's claim dismissed, but in court yesterday Judge Geoffrey Flick ordered the injunction remain in place.
Judge Flick ordered the two companies to begin preparations for a trial starting on July 27. He gave Telstra leave to apply to vary the orders, including lifting the injunction. Telstra refused to enter into mediation with Oxygen 8 to settle the matter out of court.
A Telstra spokesman said: "Telstra is confident about the validity of its termination notice and its prospects on the final hearing. Telstra is committed to the responsible provision of premium SMS services."
Oxygen 8 has alleged that Telstra's SMS complaints handling systems and procedures are inadequate and in breach of the ACMA Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2005 (No1).
SOURCE
Saturday, April 11, 2009
$62k claim for loss of Telstra internet service
A NORTHERN beaches tourism operator says he lost $62,000 worth of potential business because his Telstra internet service dropped out for almost three days. Michael Heaver, of Kewarra Beach Resort, said internet access dropped out on Monday and was not fixed until Thursday.
During that time he was unable to meet deadlines and tenders for accommodation quotes, missing out on more than $60,000 of business. "And that is a conservative quote," he said. "We had three serious quotes awaiting confirmation, from the US, UK and Germany and the clients have actually gone elsewhere simply because we did not have that information for them."
Mr Heaver, who is on a Telstra business plan, said times were already tough for tourism operators without having to worry about losing internet access. "We have also had people inquiring whether we are still open," he said. "Obviously, with the current climate there is a lot of nerves and the damage to our reputation has been significant."
Mr Heaver is now talking to Telstra about compensation after making several calls to the telco during the three-day blackout. "This is an essential service but it is not given the priority it deserves," he said. "Livelihoods are being lost simply because the priority given to these issues is pathetic. "It is heartbreaking to see the loss of potential business we have suffered."
A Telstra spokeswoman said she was unable to comment on Mr Heaver’s case, but said Telstra had compensation avenues available. She said any claim would depend on the internet plan Mr Heaver was on and said the specifics of his compensation claim would be worked through over time.
SOURCE
A NORTHERN beaches tourism operator says he lost $62,000 worth of potential business because his Telstra internet service dropped out for almost three days. Michael Heaver, of Kewarra Beach Resort, said internet access dropped out on Monday and was not fixed until Thursday.
During that time he was unable to meet deadlines and tenders for accommodation quotes, missing out on more than $60,000 of business. "And that is a conservative quote," he said. "We had three serious quotes awaiting confirmation, from the US, UK and Germany and the clients have actually gone elsewhere simply because we did not have that information for them."
Mr Heaver, who is on a Telstra business plan, said times were already tough for tourism operators without having to worry about losing internet access. "We have also had people inquiring whether we are still open," he said. "Obviously, with the current climate there is a lot of nerves and the damage to our reputation has been significant."
Mr Heaver is now talking to Telstra about compensation after making several calls to the telco during the three-day blackout. "This is an essential service but it is not given the priority it deserves," he said. "Livelihoods are being lost simply because the priority given to these issues is pathetic. "It is heartbreaking to see the loss of potential business we have suffered."
A Telstra spokeswoman said she was unable to comment on Mr Heaver’s case, but said Telstra had compensation avenues available. She said any claim would depend on the internet plan Mr Heaver was on and said the specifics of his compensation claim would be worked through over time.
SOURCE
Monday, April 6, 2009
Telstra complaints are up by 240 per cent under CEO Sol Trujillo
Why am I not surprised? Trujillo fired a lot of Telstra staff and helpline staff seem to have been among them. And that would explain the comment highlighted below -- a complaint that coincides with my experience
CUSTOMER complaints about Telstra's phone service rocketed by a massive 52 per cent in just 90 days, company statistics have revealed. And over the three-year reign of Telstra boss Sol Trujillo, complaint levels have risen by 241 per cent, figures from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman show.
Mr Trujillo has been paid about $30 million over the same period, and is to receive a $3 million golden handshake when he steps down in June. "It's frustrating because you can't get through and when you do no one can tell you anything," Telstra Bigpond customer Michael Murray told The Courier-Mail.
Between October last year and the end of 2008 Telstra received about 236 complaints a day, or nearly 10 an hour, about landline and mobile phone services over the three months, for a total of 21,283. In the previous three months the phone giant received 14,014 complaints.
Over the same period, complaints about Telstra's Bigpond internet service climbed 65 per cent, from 3382 to 5607. Mr Murray complained after his internet connection was down for four days last week, calling Telstra "10 to 12 times" asking when the problem would be fixed.
Telstra executive director of corporate complaints Chloe Monroe said the company "acknowledged these are not good results". She said the company had put more resources into taking customer calls. Ms Munroe said it would be "drawing a long bow" to see a connection between Mr Trujillo's time at the top and the number of complaints. [What or who else, then??]
SOURCE
Why am I not surprised? Trujillo fired a lot of Telstra staff and helpline staff seem to have been among them. And that would explain the comment highlighted below -- a complaint that coincides with my experience
CUSTOMER complaints about Telstra's phone service rocketed by a massive 52 per cent in just 90 days, company statistics have revealed. And over the three-year reign of Telstra boss Sol Trujillo, complaint levels have risen by 241 per cent, figures from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman show.
Mr Trujillo has been paid about $30 million over the same period, and is to receive a $3 million golden handshake when he steps down in June. "It's frustrating because you can't get through and when you do no one can tell you anything," Telstra Bigpond customer Michael Murray told The Courier-Mail.
Between October last year and the end of 2008 Telstra received about 236 complaints a day, or nearly 10 an hour, about landline and mobile phone services over the three months, for a total of 21,283. In the previous three months the phone giant received 14,014 complaints.
Over the same period, complaints about Telstra's Bigpond internet service climbed 65 per cent, from 3382 to 5607. Mr Murray complained after his internet connection was down for four days last week, calling Telstra "10 to 12 times" asking when the problem would be fixed.
Telstra executive director of corporate complaints Chloe Monroe said the company "acknowledged these are not good results". She said the company had put more resources into taking customer calls. Ms Munroe said it would be "drawing a long bow" to see a connection between Mr Trujillo's time at the top and the number of complaints. [What or who else, then??]
SOURCE
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Telstra negligence again
Only the few people there with personal integrity care about doing a good job. Why should the rest bother? They get paid the same regardless and are effectively unaccountable
TELSTRA has been forced to apologise after full-frontal photographs of scandal-prone league player Todd Carney ended up on a rental phone in Canberra.
Louise Hallam, 23, was stunned to find the photos left on a second-hand Samsung handset lent to her by a Telstra shop while her own handset was being repaired.
After picking up the handset on Saturday, Ms Hallam said she looked through the phone's memory and was stunned to find the clearly recognisable photos of Carney, posing in lewd photographs.
"I was shocked at the fact that Telstra gave me a phone that had, well, basically pornography on it," Ms Hallam said yesterday.
"I thought they would have at least filtered the phone or cleared the memory. I was upset when I saw it, and then I realised who it was."
Carney confirmed he had used a Nokia handset to take the explicit images of himself in front of the bathroom mirror while home alone late one night at his Goulburn home "about six months ago".
The beleaguered player - sacked from the Canberra Raiders after a string of high-profile drunken misdemeanours said he had forwarded the photos to a girl he met on social network site Facebook some months later after she exchanged a lewd photograph of herself.
"She'd asked me to take them before ... I don't want to go back to that night though," he said.
Carney said he was at a loss as to how the photos ended up on the handset, but speculated they may have been forwarded by an unknown person who picked up the Nokia handset he lost in January.
"They're the only ones like that that I ever took, so it must be them," he said yesterday.
He said he succumbed to the girl's multiple requests for a photo, eventually sending those he had stored on his phone.
"She sent me a photo then I sent her some back. Obviously it's the photos in the wrong hands now."
Carney's manager David Riolo yesterday claimed an anonymous woman had attempted to blackmail him over the pictures yesterday.
Ms Hallam said she never contacted Mr Riolo asking for money and has never met Carney.
A Telstra spokesman yesterday confirmed a handset had been lent to Ms Hallam and said the telco would investigate why personal data was not deleted.
SOURCE
Only the few people there with personal integrity care about doing a good job. Why should the rest bother? They get paid the same regardless and are effectively unaccountable
TELSTRA has been forced to apologise after full-frontal photographs of scandal-prone league player Todd Carney ended up on a rental phone in Canberra.
Louise Hallam, 23, was stunned to find the photos left on a second-hand Samsung handset lent to her by a Telstra shop while her own handset was being repaired.
After picking up the handset on Saturday, Ms Hallam said she looked through the phone's memory and was stunned to find the clearly recognisable photos of Carney, posing in lewd photographs.
"I was shocked at the fact that Telstra gave me a phone that had, well, basically pornography on it," Ms Hallam said yesterday.
"I thought they would have at least filtered the phone or cleared the memory. I was upset when I saw it, and then I realised who it was."
Carney confirmed he had used a Nokia handset to take the explicit images of himself in front of the bathroom mirror while home alone late one night at his Goulburn home "about six months ago".
The beleaguered player - sacked from the Canberra Raiders after a string of high-profile drunken misdemeanours said he had forwarded the photos to a girl he met on social network site Facebook some months later after she exchanged a lewd photograph of herself.
"She'd asked me to take them before ... I don't want to go back to that night though," he said.
Carney said he was at a loss as to how the photos ended up on the handset, but speculated they may have been forwarded by an unknown person who picked up the Nokia handset he lost in January.
"They're the only ones like that that I ever took, so it must be them," he said yesterday.
He said he succumbed to the girl's multiple requests for a photo, eventually sending those he had stored on his phone.
"She sent me a photo then I sent her some back. Obviously it's the photos in the wrong hands now."
Carney's manager David Riolo yesterday claimed an anonymous woman had attempted to blackmail him over the pictures yesterday.
Ms Hallam said she never contacted Mr Riolo asking for money and has never met Carney.
A Telstra spokesman yesterday confirmed a handset had been lent to Ms Hallam and said the telco would investigate why personal data was not deleted.
SOURCE
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Telstra fails the public respect test
TELSTRA'S efforts to cast itself as a good corporate citizen appear to have failed. The telecommunications and media company has come near the bottom of the class for corporate behaviour on such hot topics as executive salaries and fair wages for staff.
Woolworths, on the other hand, came top of a Herald survey that explored consumer expectations of large Australian and Australian-domiciled international companies.
Taken during the fall-out over Pacific Brands and the huge payouts to executives at the failed insurance group AIG, the survey by a researcher, The Leading Edge, records what people believe companies should be doing to gain their respect and trust.
Most large corporates are failing to rein in excessive salaries of their executives but are recognised to be doing more about paying their staff fair wages, the survey of 1500 people shows.
Overall, companies are performing badly in three areas consumers regard as important - what companies are doing to limit their impact on the environment, whether they conduct their business in an open and transparent manner, and whether they impose limits on executive pay and bonuses.
However, all of the large companies included in the report (see below) were, to varying degrees, seen to be providing equal opportunities to staff, paying fair wages and treating their customers with respect.
Areas that are often the focus of corporate marketing campaigns, such as supporting charities, community projects and activity in developing nations, are not regarded as important by Australian consumers.
The study also highlights how much responsibility individuals assign to governments and business to get the country out of the current doldrums; a third of that falls to the Federal Government, a third to big business, and the remainder shared by state governments, local communities and, lastly, the individual.
The survey will make uncomfortable reading for Telstra. Of the 10 companies in the survey only international packaged goods giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble recorded lower scores. People said they were least likely to speak favourably about Telstra than any other company and, more worrying, almost a quarter said they were more likely to bad-mouth Telstra - nearly four times the number for Woolworths, Coles and Nestle.
Conversely, three quarters of the people surveyed said they were most likely to talk favourably about Woolworths than any other company. Woolworths, which registered the highest score in the key criteria, was also regarded as the most ethical company, twice that of its nearest competitor, St George.
Karen Phillips managing director of TLE Sydney, said the research shows Woolworths is more successful in bridging the gap between the corporate face it projects and the day-to-day experience of customers.
"From a corporate perspective Woolworths has done very well, largely because it's put a lot behind a very effective [marketing] campaign that gives a warm human face to the company.
"But I think as much as Telstra may have worked at it [corporate social responsibility], they have not really generated a level of connectivity at a human level with their recent campaign."
A Telstra spokesman acknowledged it had work to do. He said: "Telstra treats with great seriousness any feedback about the company's reputation."
SOURCE
TELSTRA'S efforts to cast itself as a good corporate citizen appear to have failed. The telecommunications and media company has come near the bottom of the class for corporate behaviour on such hot topics as executive salaries and fair wages for staff.
Woolworths, on the other hand, came top of a Herald survey that explored consumer expectations of large Australian and Australian-domiciled international companies.
Taken during the fall-out over Pacific Brands and the huge payouts to executives at the failed insurance group AIG, the survey by a researcher, The Leading Edge, records what people believe companies should be doing to gain their respect and trust.
Most large corporates are failing to rein in excessive salaries of their executives but are recognised to be doing more about paying their staff fair wages, the survey of 1500 people shows.
Overall, companies are performing badly in three areas consumers regard as important - what companies are doing to limit their impact on the environment, whether they conduct their business in an open and transparent manner, and whether they impose limits on executive pay and bonuses.
However, all of the large companies included in the report (see below) were, to varying degrees, seen to be providing equal opportunities to staff, paying fair wages and treating their customers with respect.
Areas that are often the focus of corporate marketing campaigns, such as supporting charities, community projects and activity in developing nations, are not regarded as important by Australian consumers.
The study also highlights how much responsibility individuals assign to governments and business to get the country out of the current doldrums; a third of that falls to the Federal Government, a third to big business, and the remainder shared by state governments, local communities and, lastly, the individual.
The survey will make uncomfortable reading for Telstra. Of the 10 companies in the survey only international packaged goods giants Unilever and Procter & Gamble recorded lower scores. People said they were least likely to speak favourably about Telstra than any other company and, more worrying, almost a quarter said they were more likely to bad-mouth Telstra - nearly four times the number for Woolworths, Coles and Nestle.
Conversely, three quarters of the people surveyed said they were most likely to talk favourably about Woolworths than any other company. Woolworths, which registered the highest score in the key criteria, was also regarded as the most ethical company, twice that of its nearest competitor, St George.
Karen Phillips managing director of TLE Sydney, said the research shows Woolworths is more successful in bridging the gap between the corporate face it projects and the day-to-day experience of customers.
"From a corporate perspective Woolworths has done very well, largely because it's put a lot behind a very effective [marketing] campaign that gives a warm human face to the company.
"But I think as much as Telstra may have worked at it [corporate social responsibility], they have not really generated a level of connectivity at a human level with their recent campaign."
A Telstra spokesman acknowledged it had work to do. He said: "Telstra treats with great seriousness any feedback about the company's reputation."
SOURCE
Telstra cannot take criticism
Not terribly surprising, given how much there is to criticize
LESLIE Nassar, aka Fake Stephen Conroy on Twitter, says he has been fired from his job as Telstra's iPhone expert for speaking out about the telco.
Mr Nassar, who only yesterday revealed his fears about his job to The Daily Telegraph, this morning said he had been sacked by Dr Hugh Bradlow, who is Telstra's Chief Technology Officer, and Greg Callaghan, a director in that Office.
Telstra says it has begun a "disciplinary process" against Mr Nassar, but not fired him.
Still, when Mr Nassar got off a flight from Melbourne to Sydney this morning he posted this following on Twitter under Fake Stephen Conroy.
"Just landed in Sydney. If I have been fired, nobody has told me about it."
That was at about 8.20am.
Then at 8.50am: "Okay, I've been fired for contravening Telstra's AWA that mandates that you don't criticise Telstra - ever - even in jest."
A minute later: "Let me make it absolutely clear; the folks working in the CTO do extraordinary work. I'm sorry to lose my workmates."
Then two minutes after: "Hugh Bradlow (Telstra CTO) and Greg Callaghan are both good, smart guys. They're enforcers in this, not puppet-masters."
When The Daily Teleraph then asked if Mr Nassar if he had been sacked, he said: "Yep. Just now, by Hugh Bradlow and Greg Callaghan for, they say, contravening the Satirical Smack-Talk policy."
A Telstra spokesman said: "Leslie Nassar has not been fired. However, we have started a disciplinary process against him - not because of his Fake Stephen Conroy blogs but because of his ongoing unauthorised public statements about Telstra, including abusive comments towards a Telstra employee."
SOURCE
Not terribly surprising, given how much there is to criticize
LESLIE Nassar, aka Fake Stephen Conroy on Twitter, says he has been fired from his job as Telstra's iPhone expert for speaking out about the telco.
Mr Nassar, who only yesterday revealed his fears about his job to The Daily Telegraph, this morning said he had been sacked by Dr Hugh Bradlow, who is Telstra's Chief Technology Officer, and Greg Callaghan, a director in that Office.
Telstra says it has begun a "disciplinary process" against Mr Nassar, but not fired him.
Still, when Mr Nassar got off a flight from Melbourne to Sydney this morning he posted this following on Twitter under Fake Stephen Conroy.
"Just landed in Sydney. If I have been fired, nobody has told me about it."
That was at about 8.20am.
Then at 8.50am: "Okay, I've been fired for contravening Telstra's AWA that mandates that you don't criticise Telstra - ever - even in jest."
A minute later: "Let me make it absolutely clear; the folks working in the CTO do extraordinary work. I'm sorry to lose my workmates."
Then two minutes after: "Hugh Bradlow (Telstra CTO) and Greg Callaghan are both good, smart guys. They're enforcers in this, not puppet-masters."
When The Daily Teleraph then asked if Mr Nassar if he had been sacked, he said: "Yep. Just now, by Hugh Bradlow and Greg Callaghan for, they say, contravening the Satirical Smack-Talk policy."
A Telstra spokesman said: "Leslie Nassar has not been fired. However, we have started a disciplinary process against him - not because of his Fake Stephen Conroy blogs but because of his ongoing unauthorised public statements about Telstra, including abusive comments towards a Telstra employee."
SOURCE
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Arrogance and incompetence from Telstra yet again
Footscray family's Telstra battle lasts 18 months -- and again it was only media attention that got any action
TELSTRA has admitted to double dipping a battling Footscray family's internet account - and 18 months later it has still not paid back the money.
Musician Wade English discovered by accident that the company had been charging him for broadband and dial-up internet services at the same time.
He lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman and was then told by Telstra the matter would be fixed within 24 hours.
Mr English's was one of a staggering 52,304 billing issues lodged against telecommunication, internet and phone service providers in Australia last year.
It took 40 complaints before Telstra offered to reimburse him $646.80 and cancel his dial-up service last December.
At the time of the error, the Aussie telco admitted in writing that Mr English was entitled to a refund. It said it would terminate his dial-up service and hand over the refund within 30 days. What followed was a nightmare.
"They didn't follow up with any money, but what they did do was totally disconnect my internet service, both dial-up and broadband. I went six or seven weeks without it," Mr English said. "I finally gave up and switched to Optus. "But in that time I reckon I lost about $10,000 in work that would've been booked through my internet site."
When Mr English called Telstra to see where his refund was, he was told he did not have an account and so could not be traced on the Telstra computer system.
Mr English said he wanted to encourage other people to challenge Telstra and other large corporations.
In documents seen by the Herald Sun, Telstra acknowledged it overcharged Mr English for two years and offered to pay back $646.80. Only after the Herald Sun contacted Telstra did the company offer to send a cheque.
"We have spoken to the customer and apologised for the inconvenience caused," Telstra spokesman Martin Barr said, adding the matter was being investigated.
Source
Footscray family's Telstra battle lasts 18 months -- and again it was only media attention that got any action
TELSTRA has admitted to double dipping a battling Footscray family's internet account - and 18 months later it has still not paid back the money.
Musician Wade English discovered by accident that the company had been charging him for broadband and dial-up internet services at the same time.
He lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman and was then told by Telstra the matter would be fixed within 24 hours.
Mr English's was one of a staggering 52,304 billing issues lodged against telecommunication, internet and phone service providers in Australia last year.
It took 40 complaints before Telstra offered to reimburse him $646.80 and cancel his dial-up service last December.
At the time of the error, the Aussie telco admitted in writing that Mr English was entitled to a refund. It said it would terminate his dial-up service and hand over the refund within 30 days. What followed was a nightmare.
"They didn't follow up with any money, but what they did do was totally disconnect my internet service, both dial-up and broadband. I went six or seven weeks without it," Mr English said. "I finally gave up and switched to Optus. "But in that time I reckon I lost about $10,000 in work that would've been booked through my internet site."
When Mr English called Telstra to see where his refund was, he was told he did not have an account and so could not be traced on the Telstra computer system.
Mr English said he wanted to encourage other people to challenge Telstra and other large corporations.
In documents seen by the Herald Sun, Telstra acknowledged it overcharged Mr English for two years and offered to pay back $646.80. Only after the Herald Sun contacted Telstra did the company offer to send a cheque.
"We have spoken to the customer and apologised for the inconvenience caused," Telstra spokesman Martin Barr said, adding the matter was being investigated.
Source
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Telstra refuses to hang up on Melbourne customer's 8c bill
How pathetic that you have to resort to newspaper publicity in order to get a crazy bill looked at!
PHONE giant Telstra has spent five months bombarding a customer with demands that he pay a measly eight cents. The telco, which streamlined bills for millions of customers last year to save on paper, repeatedly spat out reminders to Melbourne man Craig Mackley.
Mr Mackley dismissed the request for an 8c credit card payment-processing fee as a joke.
He was swamped with double-page monthly forms after settling a $10.08 mobile phone account in August last year.
"You'd think they'd wake up and get their house in order and stop wasting money," he said.
"I hadn't rung them about it because I thought it was a bit silly and ridiculous. But they keep sending the bill and I keep laughing at them."
The telco, which returned a $3.69 billion profit last financial year, overhauled its bill format several months ago and pledged to cut down on paper.
It is changing to a new system that will stop repetitive requests for tiny amounts of money.
The carrier apologised and cancelled Mr Mackley's overdue account when contacted by the Herald Sun.
"We have removed the charge to the customer and apologise for any inconvenience caused," spokesman Martin Barr said.
Source
How pathetic that you have to resort to newspaper publicity in order to get a crazy bill looked at!
PHONE giant Telstra has spent five months bombarding a customer with demands that he pay a measly eight cents. The telco, which streamlined bills for millions of customers last year to save on paper, repeatedly spat out reminders to Melbourne man Craig Mackley.
Mr Mackley dismissed the request for an 8c credit card payment-processing fee as a joke.
He was swamped with double-page monthly forms after settling a $10.08 mobile phone account in August last year.
"You'd think they'd wake up and get their house in order and stop wasting money," he said.
"I hadn't rung them about it because I thought it was a bit silly and ridiculous. But they keep sending the bill and I keep laughing at them."
The telco, which returned a $3.69 billion profit last financial year, overhauled its bill format several months ago and pledged to cut down on paper.
It is changing to a new system that will stop repetitive requests for tiny amounts of money.
The carrier apologised and cancelled Mr Mackley's overdue account when contacted by the Herald Sun.
"We have removed the charge to the customer and apologise for any inconvenience caused," spokesman Martin Barr said.
Source
Friday, December 12, 2008
Typical Telstra
Bill was fit all his life, but last month he felt a little breathless. A sticky heart valve was diagnosed and he had a pacemaker fitted.
On November 13, he is released from hospital and returns to his Deception Bay home where Yvonne, 84, awaits. That is a Thursday. In the morning, the home telephone is working fine. By afternoon, it has been disconnected.
Jacqui rings Telstra. They say the bill had not been paid. "My parents had received no initial bill, no reminder notice or courtesy call. They are of the generation who always pay their bills before the due date. I doubt they have had an overdue bill in their life."
Thursday, November 13: She pays the bill immediately over the phone and explains her dad's medical situation. The phone will be reconnected within two hours, she's told. Hours later, the phone is still dead. Jacqui rings Telstra and is told the credit department is closed and nothing can be done. Ring back Friday.
Friday, November 14: Jacqui phones Telstra. "I spent over an hour being transferred everywhere."
She eventually is advised the phone will be reinstated "in two hours".
Meanwhile, Bill and Yvonne are at home – with no transport and no phone. Two hours later, still no connection. Bill's other daughter, Maureen, tries talking to Telstra. No joy. So, at 3.30pm Friday, Maureen contacts the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (1800 062 058). The TIO person gives her a direct number to contact Telstra and says if the phone is not reconnected within two hours to get back in touch.
Maureen spends another lengthy period on the phone, only to be told the computer system is down and nothing can be done until Monday.
All up, the sisters spend more than six hours on the phone to Telstra trying to resolve the problem.
Somewhere in the middle of all this, one of the Telstra voices tells Jacqui there is still an outstanding amount of $8.98 on her parents' account. Now, this is news. This is the account she paid in full after the phone was cut off. She checks her credit card and yes, the payment went through. So where are we? That's right Saturday.
Saturday, November 15, 5.05pm: Phone still not connected. As the family feared, Bill's condition worsens and he is taken to Redcliffe Hospital. Late that night, he is transferred to St Andrew's Hospital. There is heavy city traffic, so the ambulance officer suggests the family not follow but come in the morning. "Dad wanted us to get mum home, as it had been a long day for her."
Saturday, November 15, 10.30pm: The hospital calls. Bill Fildes has died.
Sunday, November 16: There are funeral arrangements to make, friends to be called, but still no phone.
Monday. . .Tuesday: Still disconnected.
Wednesday, November 19: The phone is connected, six days later.
Thursday, November 20: Bill's funeral is held at Deception Bay.
Now, you may be thinking that's the end of it. No. Not by a long shot. Telstra still has something in store for this grieving family.
Friday, November 21: Yvonne receives a bill for her but incorrectly addressed. The bill is for $17. It kindly extends her time to pay until December 1 "so as not to inconvenience her". Jacqui is incredulous. "Can you believe this?" She spends an hour trying to sort it out. Telstra assures her the bill will be wiped.
Monday, November 24: Yvonne receives another bill. Nothing has been wiped. She is an 84-year-old woman. She has just lost her husband of more than half a century. She is grieving. She doesn't have the energy to fight a huge corporation like Telstra. She just wants it all over. I'll just pay the $17, she tells her daughters.
Telstra wins. Little person loses. Business as usual.
Telstra did something cruel to the Fildes family. It wasn't personal. It rarely is in today's corporate world. It's mostly just pure ineptitude. No one takes ownership of the problem to fix it and the corporate structure doesn't encourage employees to care. It encourages them just to hope like hell the difficult customer gives up and goes away.
It's endemic in business in Australia today. There's a culture of The Facade of Service. That is: Pretend to give service, while actually trying to get rid of the person wanting service ASAP. You get it in banks, you get it in the health system, you get it in shops. You ring, they stonewall. You must be wrong. You are an idiot. Then, at the end of call, they say: Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Telstra did not treat the Fildes family like people. They didn't treat Bill and Yvonne with dignity. They treated them like An Account.
It is utterly dehumanising. And this is the company bidding for Australia's "world-class national broadband network". Put your trust in us, says Telstra, we'll take care of you. Sure.
I contacted Telstra for a response. Here it is: "We offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Fildes and her family for their loss. Telstra fixed-line customers temporarily disconnected for non payment are still able to ring a range of telephone numbers including Triple 0."
If I hadn't already taken my business away from Telstra years ago, I would do it right now, just for what they did to Bill and Yvonne Fildes.
SOURCE
Bill was fit all his life, but last month he felt a little breathless. A sticky heart valve was diagnosed and he had a pacemaker fitted.
On November 13, he is released from hospital and returns to his Deception Bay home where Yvonne, 84, awaits. That is a Thursday. In the morning, the home telephone is working fine. By afternoon, it has been disconnected.
Jacqui rings Telstra. They say the bill had not been paid. "My parents had received no initial bill, no reminder notice or courtesy call. They are of the generation who always pay their bills before the due date. I doubt they have had an overdue bill in their life."
Thursday, November 13: She pays the bill immediately over the phone and explains her dad's medical situation. The phone will be reconnected within two hours, she's told. Hours later, the phone is still dead. Jacqui rings Telstra and is told the credit department is closed and nothing can be done. Ring back Friday.
Friday, November 14: Jacqui phones Telstra. "I spent over an hour being transferred everywhere."
She eventually is advised the phone will be reinstated "in two hours".
Meanwhile, Bill and Yvonne are at home – with no transport and no phone. Two hours later, still no connection. Bill's other daughter, Maureen, tries talking to Telstra. No joy. So, at 3.30pm Friday, Maureen contacts the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (1800 062 058). The TIO person gives her a direct number to contact Telstra and says if the phone is not reconnected within two hours to get back in touch.
Maureen spends another lengthy period on the phone, only to be told the computer system is down and nothing can be done until Monday.
All up, the sisters spend more than six hours on the phone to Telstra trying to resolve the problem.
Somewhere in the middle of all this, one of the Telstra voices tells Jacqui there is still an outstanding amount of $8.98 on her parents' account. Now, this is news. This is the account she paid in full after the phone was cut off. She checks her credit card and yes, the payment went through. So where are we? That's right Saturday.
Saturday, November 15, 5.05pm: Phone still not connected. As the family feared, Bill's condition worsens and he is taken to Redcliffe Hospital. Late that night, he is transferred to St Andrew's Hospital. There is heavy city traffic, so the ambulance officer suggests the family not follow but come in the morning. "Dad wanted us to get mum home, as it had been a long day for her."
Saturday, November 15, 10.30pm: The hospital calls. Bill Fildes has died.
Sunday, November 16: There are funeral arrangements to make, friends to be called, but still no phone.
Monday. . .Tuesday: Still disconnected.
Wednesday, November 19: The phone is connected, six days later.
Thursday, November 20: Bill's funeral is held at Deception Bay.
Now, you may be thinking that's the end of it. No. Not by a long shot. Telstra still has something in store for this grieving family.
Friday, November 21: Yvonne receives a bill for her but incorrectly addressed. The bill is for $17. It kindly extends her time to pay until December 1 "so as not to inconvenience her". Jacqui is incredulous. "Can you believe this?" She spends an hour trying to sort it out. Telstra assures her the bill will be wiped.
Monday, November 24: Yvonne receives another bill. Nothing has been wiped. She is an 84-year-old woman. She has just lost her husband of more than half a century. She is grieving. She doesn't have the energy to fight a huge corporation like Telstra. She just wants it all over. I'll just pay the $17, she tells her daughters.
Telstra wins. Little person loses. Business as usual.
Telstra did something cruel to the Fildes family. It wasn't personal. It rarely is in today's corporate world. It's mostly just pure ineptitude. No one takes ownership of the problem to fix it and the corporate structure doesn't encourage employees to care. It encourages them just to hope like hell the difficult customer gives up and goes away.
It's endemic in business in Australia today. There's a culture of The Facade of Service. That is: Pretend to give service, while actually trying to get rid of the person wanting service ASAP. You get it in banks, you get it in the health system, you get it in shops. You ring, they stonewall. You must be wrong. You are an idiot. Then, at the end of call, they say: Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Telstra did not treat the Fildes family like people. They didn't treat Bill and Yvonne with dignity. They treated them like An Account.
It is utterly dehumanising. And this is the company bidding for Australia's "world-class national broadband network". Put your trust in us, says Telstra, we'll take care of you. Sure.
I contacted Telstra for a response. Here it is: "We offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Fildes and her family for their loss. Telstra fixed-line customers temporarily disconnected for non payment are still able to ring a range of telephone numbers including Triple 0."
If I hadn't already taken my business away from Telstra years ago, I would do it right now, just for what they did to Bill and Yvonne Fildes.
SOURCE
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Telstra users left with exposed lines
How little things change! I had exactly this problem in the '70s when Telstra was fully government-owned. It was only by writing to the Minister that I got the work completed
THOUSANDS of Telstra customers are putting up with crude, temporary phone connections with cables held together by tape and plastic bags and strung along fences, across lawns and through trees. In many cases the unsightly - even dangerous - cables are left in place for months and even years, despite repeated pleas to finish the job by burying them.
Colin Barraclough has endured a temporary "lead-in" cable running from the street across the ground and over his garage for 18 months after a fault was patched up at his Greystanes home. His neighbour accidentally severed the connection with a hedge trimmer recently, leaving him without a phone for three days - but the line remains unburied.
"Every time I call I'm told that Telstra has more important and urgent work to do and I will just have to wait," he said. "I cannot be given a time frame as to when the cable will be buried. I might have to wait another 12 months."
On the Central Coast, Robin Williams has put up with a temporary line since May. In that time she has tripped over it while recovering from eye surgery and her husband has accidentally cut it with a hedge trimmer.
"When I last contacted Telstra, I was told it … might be 12 to 18 months before anything was done," she said. "Even my suggestion that the temporary line could cause a serious accident counted for little, with one officer telling me I would just have to be careful. We are beginning to believe that Telstra has no intention of ever doing anything."
In West Pymble, at the home of Chris and Sandi Murray, a cable snakes across the public footpath, over the lawn and through bushes and trees before being linked to another cable with a splice protected by a plastic bag. Passers-by regularly trip over the cable, yet the Murrays still have no date for when the job will be completed.
"The phone just stopped working in January," Mrs Murray said. "I assumed it was going to be two weeks to a month maybe and then they would come back and fix it." Repeated calls and emails have met a blank wall. "I don't think Telstra has any answers really," she said.
These are just some of more than a dozen cases uncovered in a Herald investigation.
An aged pensioner in Glen Innes says he has had a 20-metre cable strung through a tree and along a fence and gutter for 12 years. A woman on a rural property in Jamberoo fears cows in a nearby paddock will be injured in a hole dug to accommodate a temporary cable. A customer in the Blue Mountains fears he may lose his connection at any moment, despite telling Telstra his wife is seriously ill.
Telstra Group's managing director for networks and services, Michael Rocca, was unwilling to say exactly how many temporary cables were in place around the country but claimed it was less than .04 per cent of the total of about 30 million - about 12,000.
"The percentage of [temporary] cables compared to the millions of cables we have is extremely small," he said, adding that once a complaint was logged, Telstra moved quickly to fix it.
"From time to time … you are going to have some of these temporary cables … We are not perfect - sometimes we do on odd occasion get things wrong - but as you can see from the figures, the overwhelming majority of times we provide service, we do it right for the customer."
Steve Dodd, the NSW branch assistant secretary of the Communications Plumbing and Electrical Union, claimed the problem was widespread because many of Telstra's "conduit workers", who were responsible for burying lines, had been made redundant.
"Now the team leaders have only got technicians who haven't even got a shovel in their bag," he said. "They write out a report saying there is substandard work that needs to be replaced - and that goes into a black hole."
Source
How little things change! I had exactly this problem in the '70s when Telstra was fully government-owned. It was only by writing to the Minister that I got the work completed
THOUSANDS of Telstra customers are putting up with crude, temporary phone connections with cables held together by tape and plastic bags and strung along fences, across lawns and through trees. In many cases the unsightly - even dangerous - cables are left in place for months and even years, despite repeated pleas to finish the job by burying them.
Colin Barraclough has endured a temporary "lead-in" cable running from the street across the ground and over his garage for 18 months after a fault was patched up at his Greystanes home. His neighbour accidentally severed the connection with a hedge trimmer recently, leaving him without a phone for three days - but the line remains unburied.
"Every time I call I'm told that Telstra has more important and urgent work to do and I will just have to wait," he said. "I cannot be given a time frame as to when the cable will be buried. I might have to wait another 12 months."
On the Central Coast, Robin Williams has put up with a temporary line since May. In that time she has tripped over it while recovering from eye surgery and her husband has accidentally cut it with a hedge trimmer.
"When I last contacted Telstra, I was told it … might be 12 to 18 months before anything was done," she said. "Even my suggestion that the temporary line could cause a serious accident counted for little, with one officer telling me I would just have to be careful. We are beginning to believe that Telstra has no intention of ever doing anything."
In West Pymble, at the home of Chris and Sandi Murray, a cable snakes across the public footpath, over the lawn and through bushes and trees before being linked to another cable with a splice protected by a plastic bag. Passers-by regularly trip over the cable, yet the Murrays still have no date for when the job will be completed.
"The phone just stopped working in January," Mrs Murray said. "I assumed it was going to be two weeks to a month maybe and then they would come back and fix it." Repeated calls and emails have met a blank wall. "I don't think Telstra has any answers really," she said.
These are just some of more than a dozen cases uncovered in a Herald investigation.
An aged pensioner in Glen Innes says he has had a 20-metre cable strung through a tree and along a fence and gutter for 12 years. A woman on a rural property in Jamberoo fears cows in a nearby paddock will be injured in a hole dug to accommodate a temporary cable. A customer in the Blue Mountains fears he may lose his connection at any moment, despite telling Telstra his wife is seriously ill.
Telstra Group's managing director for networks and services, Michael Rocca, was unwilling to say exactly how many temporary cables were in place around the country but claimed it was less than .04 per cent of the total of about 30 million - about 12,000.
"The percentage of [temporary] cables compared to the millions of cables we have is extremely small," he said, adding that once a complaint was logged, Telstra moved quickly to fix it.
"From time to time … you are going to have some of these temporary cables … We are not perfect - sometimes we do on odd occasion get things wrong - but as you can see from the figures, the overwhelming majority of times we provide service, we do it right for the customer."
Steve Dodd, the NSW branch assistant secretary of the Communications Plumbing and Electrical Union, claimed the problem was widespread because many of Telstra's "conduit workers", who were responsible for burying lines, had been made redundant.
"Now the team leaders have only got technicians who haven't even got a shovel in their bag," he said. "They write out a report saying there is substandard work that needs to be replaced - and that goes into a black hole."
Source
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Telstra tortoise is now even slower
Telstra workers cry foul over Siebel
TELSTRA's troubled customer management platform Siebel is causing call centre staff to miss their sales targets and union officials are concerned that this could force hundreds of jobs offshore. Call centre workers are also under increasing stress from angry customers, who are annoyed because of delays with the new system.
Some of the problems with the system include the inability to process orders quickly.
The latest call centre problems emerged in a survey of about 200 Telstra call centre workers conducted by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), after a spate of complaints that Siebel was hampering their work.
The workers blame the errors and delays on insufficient training in using the new system, introduced about three months ago, and having to repeatedly correct order and customer information.
The CPSU said over 90 per cent of respondents blamed errors with the new Siebel platform for increasing call follow-up time and increased length of average handling time for calls.
One Queensland call centre manager told the CPSU that since Siebel was switched on quality of service had dropped from 70 to 10 per cent, equating to an extra 400 customers waiting in the queue at the call centre.
Because some workers have spent extra time fixing errors in the new system they have missed their sales targets, the CPSU said, and as a result their pay has dropped by 20 to 30 per cent. The affected workers are on Australian Workplace Agreements.
The union also said there had been a drop in performance across most customer-sales call centres because of Siebel, and claimed that Telstra had threatened workers in Townsville, Gold Coast and Perth that their facilities would be offshored if this didn’t improve. If that came to fruition, 500 jobs could be sent overseas.
"It’s a threat (Telstra) made that unless the performance of the centre improves the work will be offshored," said CPSU national president Louise Persse. "They’re dealing with angry and sometimes aggressive customers because customers are facing long queues to get through to someone.
"If they create an order for particular work to be done, but there are errors with those orders, that makes them re-work the order.
"People are being put on performance management and their pay is being threatened and they’re not able to meet their targets because the system is problematic," Ms Persse said.
The CPSU has written to government-body ComCare seeking an investigation into the negative occupational health and safety impacts of the new IT system.
The telco’s call centre practices came under the spotlight last year when ABC’s Four Corners reported on a Telstra call centre worker committing suicide because she was allegedly under severe stress from her job.
Source
Telstra workers cry foul over Siebel
TELSTRA's troubled customer management platform Siebel is causing call centre staff to miss their sales targets and union officials are concerned that this could force hundreds of jobs offshore. Call centre workers are also under increasing stress from angry customers, who are annoyed because of delays with the new system.
Some of the problems with the system include the inability to process orders quickly.
The latest call centre problems emerged in a survey of about 200 Telstra call centre workers conducted by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), after a spate of complaints that Siebel was hampering their work.
The workers blame the errors and delays on insufficient training in using the new system, introduced about three months ago, and having to repeatedly correct order and customer information.
The CPSU said over 90 per cent of respondents blamed errors with the new Siebel platform for increasing call follow-up time and increased length of average handling time for calls.
One Queensland call centre manager told the CPSU that since Siebel was switched on quality of service had dropped from 70 to 10 per cent, equating to an extra 400 customers waiting in the queue at the call centre.
Because some workers have spent extra time fixing errors in the new system they have missed their sales targets, the CPSU said, and as a result their pay has dropped by 20 to 30 per cent. The affected workers are on Australian Workplace Agreements.
The union also said there had been a drop in performance across most customer-sales call centres because of Siebel, and claimed that Telstra had threatened workers in Townsville, Gold Coast and Perth that their facilities would be offshored if this didn’t improve. If that came to fruition, 500 jobs could be sent overseas.
"It’s a threat (Telstra) made that unless the performance of the centre improves the work will be offshored," said CPSU national president Louise Persse. "They’re dealing with angry and sometimes aggressive customers because customers are facing long queues to get through to someone.
"If they create an order for particular work to be done, but there are errors with those orders, that makes them re-work the order.
"People are being put on performance management and their pay is being threatened and they’re not able to meet their targets because the system is problematic," Ms Persse said.
The CPSU has written to government-body ComCare seeking an investigation into the negative occupational health and safety impacts of the new IT system.
The telco’s call centre practices came under the spotlight last year when ABC’s Four Corners reported on a Telstra call centre worker committing suicide because she was allegedly under severe stress from her job.
Source
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