Telkom looking for help with bad media communications: source

For starters, why not just tell the truth as it is without putting some or other spin on it...

You will be surprised how willing your clients will be to support you if they actually know what's going on and know what they can expect as well as by when they can expect it.

For example, if an exchange is congested then say so then we know whats going on but also tell us what you are planning to do about it so that we can understand why it will only be upgrades in for example a month or two's time etc.....
 
MKFrost said:
For starters, why not just tell the truth as it is without putting some or other spin on it...

You will be surprised how willing your clients will be to support you if they actually know what's going on and know what they can expect as well as by when they can expect it.

For example, if an exchange is congested then say so then we know whats going on but also tell us what you are planning to do about it so that we can understand why it will only be upgrades in for example a month or two's time etc.....
Click to expand...

@TELKOM...There you have it...and it's FREE.:D

Otherwise, +1
 
The solution is so simple, fix your network and provide customer service then you won't have to spent a dime on PR.

But no, let's spend more money on faking it and try and avoid the real problems. Well, maybe you just can't fake it anymore.

And this whole BS that you need voice on your land line in order to have ADSL should stop. And separate your network from voice service (or lack there of).
 
Last edited:
@Telkom, I hear that Woosy Moaner is looking for a new spin doctor job, and he is already corrupt and comfortable working for a state owned company that everyone loves to hate, he would fit in perfectly at Telkom.
 
I wonder just how much has been spent on consultants so far ??
81 million that is known, how much more .
 
They're in the news all the bloody time now - it seems the media department is the only one working.
 
so paying off shore consultants to state the obvious

[1] Get an intelligent and honest company spokesperson who is not a lying spin doctor who briefs the tech press twice a week and the financial press weekly and the ordinary press every two weeks and who replies to all requests for comment from the press within 3 hours during the hours of 10:00-16:00 working days (so something given outside of hours will be replied to before 13:00). Investigate queries and respond as honestly as possible. Capacitate this media relations officer with competent staff etc ...

[2] Encourage more intensive and researched articles by making information available on request and facilitating research and investigative journalism through the media relations office. Media relations should not be about putting out fires.

[3] Avoid having your execs looking like arrogant ****s EVER

[4] Investigate the leaks to Bloomberg, its not cool

[5] Reward customers for identifying problems in the company

[6] Don't be a dumb ass about important things like LLU

[7] Good media relations feeds marketing but don't try to use PR as a marketing device let the one flow from reputation building.

[8] Have a MyBB account and Twitter and FB handle separate to your CS reps
 
Last edited:
Skerminkel said:
tbh, Francois Baird is not really off shore. Tukkies laaite from North West.
Click to expand...
Tukkies and North West both qualify as not South Africa - even worse than being from the Republic of the Western Cape
:)

My comment is directed at the firm Edelman - didn't realize that Baird's shop had been rolled into Edelman internationally - which is pretty much a global shop which might well bring in some consultants like Bain did
 
I know of scores of friends who's internet has been down since last week. Telkom has MASSIVELY dropped the ball on this 1-2, 2-4 and 4-10 meg "upgrade".
They obviously have run out of capacity or capability, and don't even have the decency to roll back their mistake.
They are acting typical government by being silent on the issue of not providing services they promised would occur.
They sought public approval by promising ADSL speed "upgrades" when they knew full well, they were not able to support that upgrade.
They should be sued for loss of business, but by Telkom being a government/private hybrid, all we would be doing is suing ourselves (the taxpayer)

This lack of accountability and management is fast seeing South Africa fall behind the rest of Southern Africa.
 
Petec said:
I know of scores of friends who's internet has been down since last week. Telkom has MASSIVELY dropped the ball on this 1-2, 2-4 and 4-10 meg "upgrade".
They obviously have run out of capacity or capability, and don't even have the decency to roll back their mistake.
They are acting typical government by being silent on the issue of not providing services they promised would occur.
They sought public approval by promising ADSL speed "upgrades" when they knew full well, they were not able to support that upgrade.
They should be sued for loss of business, but by Telkom being a government/private hybrid, all we would be doing is suing ourselves (the taxpayer)

This lack of accountability and management is fast seeing South Africa fall behind the rest of Southern Africa.
Click to expand...
My hunch on this issue is that it was an internal communication failure that lead to the problems. Telkom has separated wholesale and retail on various fronts and several bamboo curtain policies have been put in place without all of the issues that can arise being ironed out. If you look at it Telkom Internet had a mandate to improve the value in their product and have a maximum kitty with which to get stuff like IPC [and if I am correct TI is paying far to much for international connectivity due to them carrying some legacy decision failures at Telkom] and so they looked at their data and made a call to up their data allocations such as to drive new business and feed over extra revenue to the upping of capacity, meanwhile TW took decisions that made it impossible to execute the TI expansion orders "on time" from TI (and the users) vantage point. Similarly TW has been performing line speed upgrades as part of generally unlocking quite a bit of infrastructure that was installed over 2012 and 2013, the problem -and McD pointed out a particular application of this - is that the new infrastructure and capacity mechanisms do not replace a lot of older constrained systems and various approaches Telkom appear to use to report on things are simply bollocks - exchange congestion being one of them. Moreover the ADSL regulations are a dogs breakfast at this stage and market forces aren't being allowed to act.

All and all over the period of October 2013 - January 2014 you had a collection of changes in the network that cumulated to produce the sorts of results that Telkom often used as an excuse for high prices, caps etc ... We should not however allow the sentiment to get a hold.

IMHO the mistake TG made on the line upgrades has been to do a 1-2; 2-4; and 4-10 upgrade. I would rather have kept 1 at 1, upgraded 2 to 4 and made it 4+, and have driven getting the 10-ers onto VDSL.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X