Telstra Customer Service

I concede, I have a Telstra problem. I hope that by writing about it I can start to find a cure, hopefully with people also Telstra infected. See, the mere mention of issues with our Telstra bill, the thought of calling them and asking for service, I quiver with dread.

Sure, shifting to Optus does not look so rosy now, we don’t want anything from this piece either… apart from improved consistent customer service from an entity that has mastered zero service ability. It all starts with the robot that answers the phone or the chat request!?

After another episode of frustration with Telstra, we have been here before, many times! A fractious, fraught and at times frustratingly angry relationship. Is it really still true that our metal roof, our location just out of metro Melbourne and our apartment hooked to the NBN must mean we retain Telstra for quality of service, the best speeds at the greatest value, surely not?

My wife has taken over the Telstra relationship, I have succumbed and for once given up. The thought of having to contact them is enough even if I use some of their tech to draft Letter from Melbourne. Earlier this year we received a $2,700 Telstra credit because we paid for internet speeds we did not actually get. We had to go through a process to get the credit, we only knew about that being possible because a mate went through the same process. How many others don’t get what they contract for?

Telstra and I have been in an on-again, off-again relationship for more than two decades. In the good times, I’m showered with points, flattered with platitudes and then left to my own devices. In the bad times, I just do not know if I think of any other company that is always so poor, even with a complaint reference number!

The age of technology might have given us access to abundant information and improved our ability to connect with others like never before. But where in the fine print is the part about the stress of having to constantly combat telco demons??

How much market share could Telstra gain if it actually cared for me and anyone else paying it money.

I have never written about my bad customer service experience, just vote with your feet! I am still not sure that is possible in this instance but how do we end the suffering?

?I’m tech savvy, I think. Being disconnected is not an option, going to Optus is also not an option. So how to move on, this really can’t just be me?

Hans van Pelt - Director and Principal @ Affairs of State