How can Telkom improve?

rpm

rpm

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Hi there

This is your chance to tell Telkom how they can improve. Please tell Telkom where they fall short and what they can do to make you a happier customer.

Please try to steer clear of obvious suggestions like “cut prices”, and try to give valuable input about the company’s products and services.

  • Which new products would you like to see?
  • Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?
  • Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?
  • Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?
By giving your input you will stand a chance of winning a Sony 10’’ 32GB Android Tablet PC or branded gear bundles.

Please post all your feedback to Telkom in this thread.
 
Unbundle voice and ADSL
Properly train the staff at Telkom Direct shops to be more technically savvy, have people skills, take an interest in their work and treat the customer as someone worthy of attention, instead of a nuisance to be chased out the shop as soon as possible
A more simplified on-line payment system would assist. The posted and emailed telephone account contains too much useless information
Telkom advertise as if they are the future, but the experience of customers is the direct opposite
 
Telkom needs to improve its support channel. When the Telkom network works, it works well. But when things go wrong, it goes tremendously wrong.

Telkom needs to worry just as much about their existing clients as they do about obtaining new clients.
 
1. Obviously a data line without a voice line.
2. Yes, telkom needs to provide support over social networks. Perhaps even over USSD.
3. No, I find that ordering for free from a landline work fine.
4. There are areas that do not have the infrastructure for adsl as well as 8ta coverage. Other providers are capitalizing in these areas

rpm said:
Hi there

This is your chance to tell Telkom how they can improve. Please tell Telkom where they fall short and what they can do to make you a happier customer.

Please try to steer clear of obvious suggestions like “cut prices”, and try to give valuable input about the company’s products and services.

  • Which new products would you like to see?
  • Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?
  • Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?
  • Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?
By giving your input you will stand a chance of winning a Sony 10’’ 32GB Android Tablet PC or branded gear bundles.

Please post all your feedback to Telkom in this thread.
Click to expand...
 
Here are my answers:

1. Which new products would you like to see?

Telkom needs to speed up the implementation of higher speed broadband packages, especially the new MSAN project. If they were to couple this with DStv over IP (which Multichoice does indeed provide) they could work at a "loss leader" marketing mix. Essentially this could entail lowering the cost of broadband if consumers choose to bundle their TV for a triple play package (Phone, TV, Broadband). I believe this would be highly beneficial for both Telkom and Multichoice, never mind the cost reductions for the consumer.

And of course, the MSAN VDSL products must come soon - I would be willing to pay a bit extra if it meant that I could get 20 and 40mb packages. Telkom must be sure to include current 10mb subscribers in their new product pricing plan - even if they are not connected to an MSAN! There is no difference in terms of maintenance cost between an ADSL2+ enabled DSLAM or IMAX and one of the new MSAN units, so they should not keep us on the old pricing scheme.

2. Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?

Yes! I have been treated rudely by staff in the past. Once, an agent literally cut me off because she did not want to talk to me any more! That is unacceptable - broadband prices in SA are already massively inflated above reasonable value, so we should be getting premium support. Please employ support agents who actually give a damn. Teach them to value the customer and most importantly, show them how to do technical things such as sync speed changes. I have been incorrectly informed in the past about technical issues because of staff incompetence and inability to work out simple problems.

3. Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?

The telephone support agents for signing up new products are generally quite quick and friendly, so I have no issues there. The only problems are the long waiting lines in Telkom stores - 45 minutes of queuing is fairly standard. For someone looking to purchase a new product, this is a real turnoff.

4. Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?

There are two areas:

i). Uncapped ADSL prices are massively inflated on Telkom's side due to a lack of information about competitors. Consumers, especially the aged and unaware, are being taken advantage due to information failure - consumers that have knowledge of competition so not go with Telkom - right now, I would have to pay an extra R350 a month to get 4mb uncapped with Telkom (as opposed to Afrihost). This is not sensible. If my budget was indeed around the R1000 mark, I would simply get 10mb uncapped with Afrihost (R900).

ii). Line rental prices are being undercut by ISP's. They are simply far too high from Telkom. R425 a month for 4mb is out - of - this - world high. Telkom needs to stop thinking of consumers in such strict demographics - if you lowered the price of 4mb, you would find a very large uptake very quickly. Consumers want more speed!

That's it :whistle:
 
They should change the music as well as the recording of the lady telling you all operators are busy while waiting for an operator to take take your call. It's REALLY annoying.

They should employ more call support agents to deal with the large number of calls and allow them to transfer calls between departments as there's nothing worse (not taking into consideration the "music" I mentioned above) than waiting for 1 hour on the phone only to be told that you called the wrong department and you then have to join a different queue for another hour.
 
1. Unbundle the voice and ADSL line.
2. Live online support, why don't we have a Telkom mbb rep?
3.I would like a portal on the Telkom site to buy once off prepaid data bundles. Should be as easy as doing it via cell phone or internet banking. Afrihost has this nailed down.
 
Hi RPM,

Thanks very much for starting this, im sure a number of us would like to have our say.

1. Which new products would you like to see?
2. Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?
3. Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?
4. Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?

1. I think the current products available are sufficient for me personally.

2a. Telkoms marketing department needs to be restructured and given tools to upgrade the exchanges before selling new ADSL lines

b. Roll back on all 384 & 512 upgrades to 1mb until such time that the affected exchanges are upgraded. If this where to be done i estimate about half their calls would stop per day!

c. Telkom need to have an interface on their website for customers to change there own ports / change sync speeds etc as Webafrica offer.

d. For all that is good in the world, PLEASE shorten the blurb when phoning 10210 to report a problem, the guy asks for the Telephone line twice, this giving you a chance to missclick twice and starting the whole process again.

3. I do not have any comment about this as i do not use them for the ISP portion.

4. Far too expensive on all fronts, other ISP's offer a cheaper rate for line rental than telkom does ( boggles ). The continual slurring on forums and hate speech from readers needs to be addressed in the manner that Afriman or Mwebguy etc etc handle problems. A representative here who knows WTH he is talking about and that can actually give answers will go along way in improving customer satisfaction.

Thats all from me i think, thanks for this opportunity!
 
1. New Products?

Firstly, Data Only Lines as opposed to the current actual phone and data line.
Also I'd like to see actual video voip phones (like we see in the movies) which would make video calling much easier and cheaper, it would surely be better than having to start up a laptop everytime to get to Skype.

2. Can Telkom improve support?

Yes they can. As has been mentioned, telkom staff is not properly trained. Rather than have massive centres full of untrained (or poorly trained) staff, have smaller call centres where actual technicions answer the phone. They should be able to help costumers in much shorter time frames.

3. I think pricing is still a massive factor, as paying R400 just to have a 4MB linespeed is absurd. Many people still cannot afford that, so linespeed pricing should be môre than halved.

4. Telkom makes money from every ADSL account even if the ADSL account is with another company because they have 'Line Rental'. This should mean that because Telkom already maked the odd R150 or so môre than other companies on ADSL accounts, they should be able to be atleast R100 cheaper with all ADSL accounts than its closest competitor.
 
As a disabled person I would like to see Telkom make ADSL a necessity not a privilege so that the disabled community or elderly people in the country can get internet access at discount. Believe me just to go to the bank or do your shopping can be a mission, but if Telkom can give us a free or subsidized broadband so many disabled people will make use of this online services.

I am lucky enough to live with my parents and as such I am in the fortunate position that I can spend my meagre state pension on ADSL. (although that doesn't leave much for anything else) if i had to pay rent, water and lights i could never afford ADSL and like so many disabled people would have to pay an arm and a leg (excuse my pun) just for the basics.

Most of the disabled community in South Africa are not in my fortunate position. Free or subsidized broadband would greatly improve this community's situation and that of their carers.

I know this does not apply to the masses but a small step like this can be a step in the right direction.

If Telkom is so on going green, give us some incentive when we choose to receive our bill via Email. We are saving you a ton in paper and ink ens.

Edit: O ja please ask the kitchen help not to answer the phone when technical support is busy, it just frustrates people.
 
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Which new products would you like to see?
Naked Dsl, that is, no need for a phone line to have dsl
Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?
I had a rather ridiculous incident when moving my dsl (as I was moving house). I was not able to just move my services to a new building as I had wholesale dsl. Also, I could not cancel my line as it had wholesale dsl on it. Seems rather ridiculous that the customer has to wait for transfers for dsl before cancelling the line.
Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?
I don't believe there is much that can be changed to their current system.
Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?
Their pricing. For those who only require a small monthly cap, mobile connections are far cheaper
 
chrisc4290 said:
Unbundle voice and ADSL
Properly train the staff at Telkom Direct shops to be more technically savvy, have people skills, take an interest in their work and treat the customer as someone worthy of attention, instead of a nuisance to be chased out the shop as soon as possible
A more simplified on-line payment system would assist. The posted and emailed telephone account contains too much useless information
Telkom advertise as if they are the future, but the experience of customers is the direct opposite
Click to expand...

Exactly what I wanted to say including their call center staff, train them up a bit more. Have had several "arguments" with call center staff that wouldn't have been an issue if they just admitted they didn't know how ADSL worked and CHECKED where i told them to check on their system to give me a proper update on the resolution rather than telling me that I should reboot my router/PC and/or that I'm not in a broadband capable area
 
1. Which new products would you like to see?
- My exchange upgraded to 10Mbps. I am in a highly concentrated business and residential area but my exchange only supports 4Mbps.
- Naked DSL. There is almost no purpose anymore in having a landline apart from phoning 0800 numbers. The voice line rental does just not justify the need
- How about an affordable dual landline and VOIP phone that plugin to an existing wireless router that give free VOIP to VOIP calls without a PC being required.
- Fiber lines

2. Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?
- Why no nationwide coverage map for ADSL exchange line speeds? The cellphone networks have coverage maps yet for Telkom not having one it seems like the left hand is not knowing what the right hand is doing.
- Support must be able to see the need to upgrade exchanges to 0Mbps based on number of customers on that exchange

3. Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?
Online Tool to manually change the port speed up and down with me not having to wait days for them to make their change.
Billing system not being linked to actual service is too big a risk with dealing with Telkom in mistakes with billing when requesting changes and the time it takes to make a change.

4. Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?
- Cost of uncapped bundled offering
- Self management internet services. Cannot make change request for DSL line speeds over the internet. Perception exists that Telkom is using outdated methods
- Competitors have billing that are linked to actual service
- Time in making changes
 
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1)Which new products would you like to see?

I would like to see more value added and converged products such as a bundle of TV, Internet, Landline and Phone. Similar to AT&T in the USA. With the roll out of the MSANS and Fiber, and with 8ta this seems much more possible now than ever. Delivering television via fiber/copper would open a world of new on demand and pay per view content. I believe this would be much better than multichoices version of on-demand where they push a few select titlees to the decoder every month and u sms which one u want to see. By going the fiber/copper route, you can effictively have a huge library of content and avoid the SMS portion alltogether.

I would also like to see some sort of converged solution between landline, internet and cellphone so that there are bundled minutes and bundled data that can be used on any of the mediums.

Lastly, I would like to see uncapped solutions from 8ta with FUP policies that are comparable to ADSL.

2)Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?

Yes - often the technical support is slow to answer calls, and when they do answer, the support is feable and not very supportive. It takes alot of shouting and screaming to eventually get through to someone who knows how to help.

Additionally, I find the support is poor because there is little or no accountability from the technicians actually carrying out the work. I have often created many tickets where I have had problems and find no one attends to them or they mark them as repaired when no repairs have been made. This of course isnot the call centers fault but who else do I scream at? More accountability would help telkom alot!

Lastly, IMPROVE YOUR ONLINE INTERFACE. I cannot say this enough times - often people just want to do something simple. I would recommend telkom take a page from DSTV's book and learn to use online tools to the benefit of their customers. By having a good online portal for customers to manage their products, it would make life alot easier and reduce the congestion on the custoemr care line.

3)Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?

Well, at the moment the website is an absoluate maze to navigate. Unless you know exactly what you are looking for, its hard to know where to go. I would recommend that telkom improve their website dramatically and allow you to apply directly. I find that the website isnt really functioning very well at the moment. The application forms are often not taken seriously and it seems they are often ignored. Telkom should improve their website so that applying online becomes a legitimate way of applying.

4)Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?

I think the pace of progression is too slow at telkom. Our land line infrastructure is already way behind more developed countries, and telkom should be making inroads to closing that gap. However, it appears that the gap continues to widen due to the slow pace of innovation.

I think that telkom needs to be far more transparent with its projects and give the public more times lines and schedules so that at least the public can be aware of when to expect improvements in their area. Many people are jumping ship because they are tired of the wait. If they at least knew how long they had to wait, they would be able to make an educated decision.

Sadly, Telkom is also still seen as an arm of government and it seems that government is halting Telkoms progress. I think its about time that Telkom takes a stance and decides if it wants to be slowed down by governmental beaurecracy or if they want to be a legitimate competitor in the telecoms space.
 
I'm sure telkom know about all these issues already, they just don't give a crap.
 
Can telkom train their technicians to understand the products.
An example is we have a second number on our ISDN line which we use as a fax line. We can't fax certain big companies who have fax servers. We have had this fixed before there is a switch on the exchange which has to be turned on to do this. The current technicians and fault reporting couldn't care about this and say they can't fix it. Now I just tell my customers Telkom is useless and I can't fax to certain fax servers.

Also can they implement a system on fault reporting and benchmark this against other telcos I get the impression they try and leave a fault open for as long as possible to keep their techs busy.
 
rpm said:
Hi there

This is your chance to tell Telkom how they can improve. Please tell Telkom where they fall short and what they can do to make you a happier customer.

Please try to steer clear of obvious suggestions like “cut prices”, and try to give valuable input about the company’s products and services.

By giving your input you will stand a chance of winning a Sony 10’’ 32GB Android Tablet PC or branded gear bundles.

Please post all your feedback to Telkom in this thread.
Click to expand...

As I see it the major objective here is to give Telkom as an end user broadband provider feedback rather than Telkom as an oversized monster that needs to be generally rationalized or Telkom as a wholesale provider so generally "naked DSL" and LLU are not included in the products which I foresee Telkom as a broadband provider to end users for this thread.

Which new products would you like to see?
Click to expand...
A simple VoIP offering for home power users and small businesses.

On a similar note a Skype Simple product including a non-PC user device (for example a tablet) could really be useful - getting people to get Skype for video calling for their elderly parents and what not.

3G Guaranteed Uptime, already I can put a dongle in the router and roll over to 3G if ADSL dies BUT I am then stuck paying 3G data rates and so on, it would be beneficial particularly for small businesses to have outside of any mobile offering a fixed fee SLA orientated roll over from 3G to ADSL without data caps. If ADSL works properly then no 3G data (and LTE is included in 3G :D) on the product. This product should not cost more than R100 a month.

A lot of more of the same in terms of the sale of hardware on contracts - the iPad deal is sweet - because provisioning broadband is as much about hardware to work on as it is about the network.
Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?
Click to expand...
A mybroadband rep would be a good place. The pinnacle or whatever customer support is tons better than the pleb call centre setup, getting high RPU customers requires Telkom to offer real value and a nerdherd style tech support entity actually could be a good thing for Telkom. Instead of having ridiculously daft call out fee structures and inane call centre tech support actually get a TelkomTechSquad which has a monthly service fee and does housecalls once every two months. While most mybroadband users will not signup it will help retain non-tech users and move Telkom into the domain of being a provider of internet services.

Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?
Click to expand...
I live near a Telkom Direct store, not everybody does - a TTS (above) would help those who are away from Telkom Direct.

Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?
Click to expand...
On its broadband product (ADSL) it has no competitors which is a problem. On the general front of being a communications company it has serious challenges and it needs to turn from being a parastatal parasite mentality entity into a true internet company. Embrace open peering, join ISPA, fire the stupid lawyers and hire ones who know what they are doing, unbundle the local loop and sort out the line deficit problem.
 
• Which new products would you like to see?
o Unbundled voice & data products
o Affordable VoiP offering
o Very very affordable entry level internet product to improve penetration rates
o Prepaid ADLS
o Further reduction of IPC charges
o Reduction of the price of data line rental across the board
• Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?
o Online port reset/line management app/website similar to Webafrica
• Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?
o Online platform to upgrade/downgrade your products in real time
• Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?
o The biggest problem for me is the very large minimum spend amount to get ADSL service is far greater than the minimum to get a 3G internet service
 
I recently had problems with my line after i moved from 384 10 GB to 384 uncapped so i had lots of first hand experience with their system from my side:

Which new products would you like to see?
telkoms latest products and packages have been quite good, and although i was trying to leave them, their packages offered the most value for money obviously everyone wants cheaper, and cheaper is better but if its not feasible then....

Are there areas where Telkom can improve its support?
the waiting time on the phone was just too long. although they did eventually provide supprt, find an error and send me a message to say error was fixed. there was no change in my line at all. luckily through complaining i found a friend who knew a friend who works at telkom ;) and they then sorted out my problem and my line is now great.

Can they make it easier for you to buy their products?
i think their recent packages have been very tempting and their marketing is quite good. their online website however seems to be problematic. if that was better structured it would greatly be appreciated

Where do you think the company is losing ground against its competitors?
overall advertising and marketing. my twitter stream is filled with their competitors offering the 'best prices' yet when i compare that to Telkom.... i find their products offer more value for money

overall i am glad to have stayed with telkom, although they have lots of negative rep i seem to have been lucky with them, and unlucky with their competition. i have greater problems with other providers than i have with telkom
 
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