Phone rings
Me: Hello?
Telkom: Hi, is that Brendon?
Me: Please hold.
[Playing 15 minutes of "Tiger wheel and Tyre" jingles]
Me: Hello, how can I help you?
Telkom: I'm phoning in relation to your last payment. You paid us R1,000 for your bandwidth and line rental, but you actually owe us R1,800.
Me: What router are you using?
Telkom: Sorry?!
Me: I need to know what router you're using. It could be your router.
Telkom: (silence)
Telkom: Its a telkom router sir.
Me: Aha! Reboot it and get back me.
[hangs up]
...
[phone rings]
Telkom: Sir, we need to talk about your payment. You only paid about half of what you are obligated to pay us.
Me: I'm sorry. I operate on a "best effort" basis and make no guarantees as to when I'll pay, how much I'll pay or in fact, whether I'll even pay you anything at all.
Telkom: I'm afraid that's not legal sir. Business must operate on the basis of mutual guarantees.
Me: Oh really? Funny, I've been dealing with your best efforts for a while now. I must say, you should try harder. Your best efforts are a bit embarrassing.
Telkom: I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Now are you going to pay us?
Me: Maybe. But first, you'll have to log a complaint with my bank.
Telkom: What?! What have your bank got to with it.
Me: Nothing, but I need a case number before I can continue. Thanks for your call [CLICK]
Me: Hello?
Telkom: Hi, is that Brendon?
Me: Please hold.
[Playing 15 minutes of "Tiger wheel and Tyre" jingles]
Me: Hello, how can I help you?
Telkom: I'm phoning in relation to your last payment. You paid us R1,000 for your bandwidth and line rental, but you actually owe us R1,800.
Me: What router are you using?
Telkom: Sorry?!
Me: I need to know what router you're using. It could be your router.
Telkom: (silence)
Telkom: Its a telkom router sir.
Me: Aha! Reboot it and get back me.
[hangs up]
...
[phone rings]
Telkom: Sir, we need to talk about your payment. You only paid about half of what you are obligated to pay us.
Me: I'm sorry. I operate on a "best effort" basis and make no guarantees as to when I'll pay, how much I'll pay or in fact, whether I'll even pay you anything at all.
Telkom: I'm afraid that's not legal sir. Business must operate on the basis of mutual guarantees.
Me: Oh really? Funny, I've been dealing with your best efforts for a while now. I must say, you should try harder. Your best efforts are a bit embarrassing.
Telkom: I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Now are you going to pay us?
Me: Maybe. But first, you'll have to log a complaint with my bank.
Telkom: What?! What have your bank got to with it.
Me: Nothing, but I need a case number before I can continue. Thanks for your call [CLICK]