Telkoms TweetBot - Nightmare limbo dialog

[Chris.Geerdts]

The most incredibly frustrating attempt to get sense of a 'tweetbot' - Telkom and TelkomHello on Tweet:

This is an actual record, no jokes (and I can assure you it is not funny - I've registered an order for a Samsung S7 Edge mid-May (after applying 3x) and was told by the operator I passed the credit and address tests, and I will get my phone in 5-7 days when this nightmare dialog starts:

HelloTelkom : Hi Christopher, have you received an order number or ticket number when you were applying?^TM - May 21
Christopher Geerdts : Promo code 4562 - May 21
HelloTelkom : Hi Christopher . Sorry for the inconvenience. We will get our mobile team to follow up on this query for you. In ther interim, please DM us your contact details too. Thank you.^ID - May 21
Christopher Geerdts : Thanks. Contact is in the application. How do I DM? - May 21
(snip)
HelloTelkom : Hi, thanks for your info will have our team follow-up & advise ^JD - May 22
Christopher Geerdts : Thanks. I missed one call today. I am a busy manager and need somewhere to phone back or for them to try multiple times. - May 23
HelloTelkom : Hi, you can call 10210. ^LS - May 24
HelloTelkom : Hi there we will forward to our sales team to assist thank you ^YS - May 24
Christopher Geerdts: Thanks. Please send them a reminder to assist. Thanks - May 26
HelloTelkom : Hi Christopher, feedback will be communicated soon.^KY - May 26
Christopher Geerdts : I am concerned. Debit was supposed to be in 2 days but hasn't happened! No one contacted me re number porting - May 26
HelloTelkom : Hi, we will follow up with our team and revert back to you. Apologies for the delay. ^BT - May 27
Christopher Geerdts : Please revert. My application has fallen apart. No call re number porting, no trial debit and no delivery date for phone. - May 29
HelloTelkom : Hi, your query has been sent to our Sales Team to further assist. Feedback will be provided. ^BT - May 29
Christopher Geerdts : Is that a machine answering. You did not address my query - May 29
HelloTelkom : Hi, your query has been escalated to our sales team to make contact with you. ^HR - May 29
Christopher Geerdts : Someone phoned and said I had to reapply. I said I had applied twice. He put the phone down! - May 30
HelloTelkom : Hi Chistopher, we humbly apologise for the inconvenience caused please note we will follow up and feedback will be provided. Thanks. - May 30
Christopher Geerdts : 20 tweets and 10 days later I'm still waiting for the promised follow ups - May 31
HelloTelkom : Hi, we have escalated your query to our sales department and they will contact you. ^ML - Jun 1
Christopher Geerdts : Read all my tweets. You are nothing but a piece of robot software - Jun 1
Christopher Geerdts : Got this [SMS] exactly 2 weeks ago: You are one step closer - Your recent Telkom application has been approved and you can now expect delivery within 5-7 working days. - Jun 14
HelloTelkom : Hi, your query is attended to . Feedback will follow. ^WL - Jun 15
Christopher Geerdts : Now it has been three weeks and still nothing - Jun 22
HelloTelkom : Hi Christopher, note that we have requested feedback from our support team, we sincerely apologize for the delay caused.^KY - Jun 23
Christopher Geerdts : Please tell them this is now beyond urgent. You promise feedback and I never get it - Jun 23
HelloTelkom : Hi, we are sorry for this please kindly note we have escalated your query and we have requested urgent feedback from our team, feedback will be communicated to you accordingly.^BP - Jun 23
Christopher Geerdts : Every time you promise you fall short. Nothing at all again today - Jun 23
HelloTelkom : Hi, note that we are following up with our support team and we will make sure you get feedback soon.^KY - Jun 24
Christopher Geerdts : You said that 3 days running and no one has called!!!! - Jun 24
HelloTelkom : Hi, we apologize for the delay and inconvenience. ^BT - Jun 24
Christopher Geerdts : Please don't keep messaging - just get someone to call me!!!!!! - Jun 24


AND THERE'S SIMILAR IN MY PARALLEL TWEETS TO TELKOM :

Christopher Geerdts : Ordered online and have wasted over 2 hours on 10213 to follow up. Desparate! - May 21
Telkom: Hi, we apoogize for the delay. Your query is escalated to Sales Department for further assistance. Feedback will follow. ^WL - May 24
Christopher Geerdts : I did get a call thanks. However I forgot to port a number. Can this be fixed? - May 24
Christopher Geerdts : Please advise urgently - May 26

{silence ...}

[I submit this post in my personal capacity]

 

[Napalm2880]

Your own fault for doing business with Telkom. It's amazing how people still get lured into this trap - whether it's specials, discounts or the promise of faster connectivity - just don't do it. Simply take your wallet elsewhere. You are responsible for financially supporting this devil.

 

[saor]

This is why I really enjoy interacting with companies like Afrihost on these forums - the person you speak to is in a technical position to either make the changes themselves or speak directly to the person responsible.

These large companies (I've dealt with cellc on these forums) - the person you deal with is always 5 people down the line from where you really want to be & it's frustrating. They employ a person to answer the phone, only to pass you on to a person who knows who the right person to speak to is and on it goes. And you can never phone back and speak to the same person - always gotta explain the whole thing to someone else.

Good luck trying to resolve this.

 

[Fluttershy]

Same thing happened to me. Both of Telkoms twitter support accounts are pathetic and useless, a further disgrace to that horrible company.

 

[Telkom]

The most incredibly frustrating attempt to get sense of a 'tweetbot' - Telkom and TelkomHello on Tweet:

This is an actual record, no jokes (and I can assure you it is not funny - I've registered an order for a Samsung S7 Edge mid-May (after applying 3x) and was told by the operator I passed the credit and address tests, and I will get my phone in 5-7 days when this nightmare dialog starts:

HelloTelkom : Hi Christopher, have you received an order number or ticket number when you were applying?^TM - May 21
Christopher Geerdts : Promo code 4562 - May 21
HelloTelkom : Hi Christopher . Sorry for the inconvenience. We will get our mobile team to follow up on this query for you. In ther interim, please DM us your contact details too. Thank you.^ID - May 21
Christopher Geerdts : Thanks. Contact is in the application. How do I DM? - May 21
(snip)
HelloTelkom : Hi, thanks for your info will have our team follow-up & advise ^JD - May 22
Christopher Geerdts : Thanks. I missed one call today. I am a busy manager and need somewhere to phone back or for them to try multiple times. - May 23
HelloTelkom : Hi, you can call 10210. ^LS - May 24
HelloTelkom : Hi there we will forward to our sales team to assist thank you ^YS - May 24
Christopher Geerdts: Thanks. Please send them a reminder to assist. Thanks - May 26
HelloTelkom : Hi Christopher, feedback will be communicated soon.^KY - May 26
Christopher Geerdts : I am concerned. Debit was supposed to be in 2 days but hasn't happened! No one contacted me re number porting - May 26
HelloTelkom : Hi, we will follow up with our team and revert back to you. Apologies for the delay. ^BT - May 27
Christopher Geerdts : Please revert. My application has fallen apart. No call re number porting, no trial debit and no delivery date for phone. - May 29
HelloTelkom : Hi, your query has been sent to our Sales Team to further assist. Feedback will be provided. ^BT - May 29
Christopher Geerdts : Is that a machine answering. You did not address my query - May 29
HelloTelkom : Hi, your query has been escalated to our sales team to make contact with you. ^HR - May 29
Christopher Geerdts : Someone phoned and said I had to reapply. I said I had applied twice. He put the phone down! - May 30
HelloTelkom : Hi Chistopher, we humbly apologise for the inconvenience caused please note we will follow up and feedback will be provided. Thanks. - May 30
Christopher Geerdts : 20 tweets and 10 days later I'm still waiting for the promised follow ups - May 31
HelloTelkom : Hi, we have escalated your query to our sales department and they will contact you. ^ML - Jun 1
Christopher Geerdts : Read all my tweets. You are nothing but a piece of robot software - Jun 1
Christopher Geerdts : Got this [SMS] exactly 2 weeks ago: You are one step closer - Your recent Telkom application has been approved and you can now expect delivery within 5-7 working days. - Jun 14
HelloTelkom : Hi, your query is attended to . Feedback will follow. ^WL - Jun 15
Christopher Geerdts : Now it has been three weeks and still nothing - Jun 22
HelloTelkom : Hi Christopher, note that we have requested feedback from our support team, we sincerely apologize for the delay caused.^KY - Jun 23
Christopher Geerdts : Please tell them this is now beyond urgent. You promise feedback and I never get it - Jun 23
HelloTelkom : Hi, we are sorry for this please kindly note we have escalated your query and we have requested urgent feedback from our team, feedback will be communicated to you accordingly.^BP - Jun 23
Christopher Geerdts : Every time you promise you fall short. Nothing at all again today - Jun 23
HelloTelkom : Hi, note that we are following up with our support team and we will make sure you get feedback soon.^KY - Jun 24
Christopher Geerdts : You said that 3 days running and no one has called!!!! - Jun 24
HelloTelkom : Hi, we apologize for the delay and inconvenience. ^BT - Jun 24
Christopher Geerdts : Please don't keep messaging - just get someone to call me!!!!!! - Jun 24


AND THERE'S SIMILAR IN MY PARALLEL TWEETS TO TELKOM :

Christopher Geerdts : Ordered online and have wasted over 2 hours on 10213 to follow up. Desparate! - May 21
Telkom: Hi, we apoogize for the delay. Your query is escalated to Sales Department for further assistance. Feedback will follow. ^WL - May 24
Christopher Geerdts : I did get a call thanks. However I forgot to port a number. Can this be fixed? - May 24
Christopher Geerdts : Please advise urgently - May 26

{silence ...}

[I submit this post in my personal capacity]

Hi Chris.Geerdts,

Thank you for your post.

We acknowledge your query & apologize for all the inconvenience caused.

Please PM us the ref number or your ID number & contact number for further assistance with the Sales Team.

Your social media reference number is AI2513299.

Kind regards
William
Telkom Social Media Team

 

[Telkom]

Same thing happened to me. Both of Telkoms twitter support accounts are pathetic and useless, a further disgrace to that horrible company.

Hi Fluttershy,

We apologize for the back experience.

It will be our pleasure to assist you.

Please PM us the sales ref number or your ID number & your contact number for further assistance.

Your social media reference number is AI2513312.

Kind regards
William
Telkom Social Media Team

 

[xrapidx]

ROFL - mybb post is just like the tweets

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

I see the reference numbers start with AI.

I'm starting to think that stands for "Artificial Intelligence"

[Posted in personal capacity]

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

It gets even more bizarre...

Hi Chris.Geerdts,

Thank you for your post.

We acknowledge your query & apologize for all the inconvenience caused.

Please PM us the ref number or your ID number & contact number for further assistance with the Sales Team.

Your social media reference number is AI2513299.

Kind regards
William
Telkom Social Media Team

After obliging as above, I get this bot-tweet today:

"Hi, thanks for your details. We will escalated [sic] to our sales team and follow up. ^HR"

 

[saor]

I'd quite like to see an article about what it's like to work at one of these big companies.
It's not always clear why it takes so long to speak to someone who's actually able to assist with the technical query. I often get the feeling some of these people have such strict parameters within which they're allowed to operate that they're prevented from being able to help even if they really wanted to.

 

[xrapidx]

No accountibility, plain and simple.

I was awarded small compensation from the ombudsman from Discovery Life purely because they screwed me around by promising feedback and never giving it. I had the displeasure of dealing with the same woman again about a year later, nothing changed - she still behaved as she did before, this time I just cancelled the policy.

 

[xrapidx]

No accountibility, plain and simple.

I was awarded small compensation from the ombudsman from Discovery Life purely because they screwed me around by promising feedback and never giving it. I had the displeasure of dealing with the same woman again about a year later, nothing changed - she still behaved as she did before, this time I just cancelled the policy.

Most of these people are call center staff who have most probably gone as far as they will in life, so they don't care, they get paid at the end of the month, and South African regulations make it extremely difficult to hold staff properly accountable... not that management seem to care.

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

These guys are writing the script for me, I'm just passing it on

the latest update:

Hello Telkom : Hi. We are so sorry with that bad experience, please kindly give us your query in details for further assistance. ^ST - June 28

Remember this has been going on since late May:

I would gladly give them all the detail, the 3 online applications, the 40 minute phone call application to repeat this information, the repeated SMS's saying my phone would arrive in 5-7 days, when they didn't, the ridiculous tweats. I would give this to them again, for the n'th time, if I thought it would make any difference at all

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

I'd quite like to see an article about what it's like to work at one of these big companies.
It's not always clear why it takes so long to speak to someone who's actually able to assist with the technical query. I often get the feeling some of these people have such strict parameters within which they're allowed to operate that they're prevented from being able to help even if they really wanted to.

My theory is that Telkom is running a tweet-bot, not real people and I'm sticking to that. No-one, no matter how bad the company, could possibly be anywhere near so absolutely useless, stupid and idiotic as to generate the rubbish I have pasted in above

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

Got a PM with someone's contact details. That's a good start. I'm not sure why that someone can't call me.

I went into Cavendish Telkom Mobile store to resolve this issue. My thinking was that the person at the counter looked like an actual human. Response however - they "can't help". They can't log into my details.

Not sure what the store is for then ...

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

Got a PM with someone's contact details

.... who I phoned and she can't help me as "she doesn't do consumer"

Back to fighting with a twitterbot

 

[saor]

My condolences .
Come on Telkom - stop apologizing and sort this persons problem out.

 

[maumau]

Why are you persevering with Telkom? Unless they have your money...

 

[Anthro]

Cancelled my Telkom account because of this exact same reason.
Migrating my parents to different providers when I visit them end of the month as well.
They need to learn that messing with someone who understands ADSL and sync rates cannot be bull****ted

 

[xrapidx]

You must really want that phone.