Latest Telkom joke

I just wrote the following letter of complaint to Telkom on their submission page.

My telephone has been out of order for more than 5 weeks, and Telkom in Umtata is wasting my time.  I now have 3 work orders, two of which have been "completed" without any success.  The latest fault number is 677CEZ280807.  That was given 5 weeks after the original report from me.

Somebody arrived at my house on Wednesday 29 August, and I was not informed that they were coming.  Nobody was home - which is why I specifically asked, when reporting the fault, that I be contacted when they want to come out - each time.  The work order was then closed.

Apparently, when someone is meant to contact me to ask me to come out to the house, and they don't, and they arrive and nobody is home, this gets listed on their work list as "access was denied" and it seems as if that is sufficient to close a work order - that happened with the first two work orders.

Denial of access??  More like denial of service!

The same happened on Thursday, after I re-reported the problem.  After a meeting, I saw there was a missed call.  Usually the local Telkom office doesn't answer their calls, and the one other time they did, the person claimed she was unable to spell her own name for me to keep as a reference.  This time, on the 3rd number I tried for Telkom in Umtata, I got an answer, and was referred to the person who seems to be the manager in charge of the section dealing with my complaint.  His name is Joseph, and his cell number is 0828217555.

Joseph referred me to Zanozuko, who was the technician who went to my house without bothering to ensure that I would be there to let him in.  Zanozuko's cell number is 0824134436.  Zanozuko agreed that someone would attend to my problem this morning (1 September) at 9am.  At midday I phoned him because nobody had pitched up.  He was in East London, and referred me back to Joseph.  Joseph said somebody would be there at 2pm.  Nobody came at 2pm - I was waiting.  At 6:20pm I phoned him again, and asked him to send someone out immediately - I am sick and tired of waiting.  Nobody has come.  Now he is not taking my calls.

If the local Telkom people cannot keep their promises, and cannot provide a service, I would like to know so that I can have my line disconnected and stop paying rent for a service you're unable to provide.

I really do not know why they need access to my house.  Two technicians (on the first work order and on the second) determined that the problem was an underground cable.  It was only when I complained to Johannesburg after 4 weeks that this problem was addressed.  Now I am told that they have fixed the cable - but only got that info after repeated attempts to find out why my line is not working.  They tell me something else is wrong.

If I am on Candid Camera, please let me know, because this sort of mess would only be funny on such a TV show.  If I am not on Candid Camera, please could you address the incompetence of the local Telkom staff, and have a talk with Joseph and Zanozuko and the others that are recorded as being involved.  I would like feedback on whether or not any disciplinary action has been taken.

I always try to give them the benefit of the doubt, and think that the next call will eventually provide some service.  It's like gambling - the next gamble might win you a million rand.  But it's clear that the odds of getting service here are similar to the odds of winning that million rand - which is why I want out of their game.

I am giving a deadline for the local Telkom people - the LAST of several.  If my line is not working by Monday 3 September, 8am, I will cancel my line and then leave for work.  I have a busy week ahead, and I don't have time for more games from the local Telkom.

Now I wait.  Not for long.


Telkom - denial of service

Telkom staff in Umtata expect you to remain at home waiting for them, if they choose to pitch up to check your line.

If you specify that you're not at home and need to be called when their technician comes out, surely they should call when their technician comes out?

No.

If you specify that you need to be called, and
    they come out without calling you first, and
    they find nobody at home ...
       this is called denial of access, and the job can be closed as completed.

It is now more than 5 weeks since I reported my dead line for the first time.  I've had to report it several times.  The first time the job was "completed" I explained to the technician, who had not pitched up, on the phone that the previous technicians had already been and said the fault was an underground cable.  So the work order was closed.  The second time they pitched up and I wasn't home.  They phoned to complain, and I was in a meeting and couldn't take the call.  Leave a number to get back to them?  No.  Call again?  No.  Close the job and call it "completed" - yes.

I am now on my third request in 5 weeks to have someone attend to my line.  After getting in touch with their office in Johannesburg, they apparently did fix the underground cable, then closed the job as "complete" ... but they still need to set up some other connection to that.  Or at least that is their excuse for needing to come today.  And they haven't pitched up.

What am I to do?


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