Telkom ADSL self-install confusion

Telkom, you are the best! I understand that it takes more than a year for this kind of thing to take off. Don't let the press get you down. You guys are super!
 
How can the self install onlybe available in certain areas? They don't have to do anything! Besides putting your line into the DSLAM at the exchange there's nothing else Telkom needs to do so why for the love of pete is it free in some areas and not in others?
 
How much does this help when there is a long delay waiting for Telkom to check and setup the exchange? All the 'technician' does is walk in, plug in a modem, check that there is a connection, then leave.
 
I ordered ADSL on the 3rd of August opting for the self install. One week later I could connect to the telkom guest account. I have phoned them everyday and every time they say my line must be "activated" which will only happen on Friday the 18th. I have also "verified" my DSL line on the telkom site. Now I'm just waiting to see if a) the line is activated on the 18th and b) that I won't be charged for installation as I was told on a number of occasions. I also received a phone call from a telkom techie asking for an appointment. I told him I was self installing and he said "never mind then" and put the phone down. If it is "activated" on the 18th then that would be a 15 day installation.

EDIT: Line ordered on 3rd August..... Online 16th August. 13 days. 156 phone calls to Telkom. New record?
 
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This whole self-install thing is a load of $#%$^$%!

The only reason why its been on "trial" for over a year is so telkom can choose at their leisure whether to allow a customer to self-install (thereby losing out on R400+ installation fee in areas of extreme backlog) or to deny it saying its "still on trial" or "not available in your area", and score on the installation fee.

I have experienced 2 ADSL installations, mine and my girlfriends.
For my installation I asked for a self-install, a month later a techie phones and says I cant do a self-install but he can come over "today" (a sunday to!) and install it. Of course i accepted having waited a month already. All he did was plug a modem into the line and tell me it was snyc'ing.

My girlfriend didnt ask for a self-install but 2 weeks later a techie called and said she could wait 2 weeks for him to come or she could do a self-install. I told her to do a self-install. The techie didnt put a foot on the property and I literally plugged in the modem and it worked.

IMHO, Self-install is simply when a techie doesnt have time to come collect the installation fee.
 
Mis-Information

It is however encouraging that the self-install option is now available to many new ADSL subscribers and that the service is free of charge, even though it is still in a trial phase.

It is further good to see that Telkom was quick to clear up the uncertainty by responding to questions regarding their service that may have arisen from conflicting information.
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I beg to differ with both statements above. When I ordered my ADSL line, I requested a Self-Installation if possible. I was told that my exchange was "not yet upgraded" for the Self-Install option but the process was being rolled out and the exchange after mine was already upgraded - so it's just a matter of time". Expecting to wait a month or two I asked for a note to be added that if the exchange was upgraded I would want to do a Self-Install.

That's when the Telkom staff went on their go-slows and then the Industrial strike action. Long story cut short, after missing the original installation date I again requested a Self-Install since there were no techs available. Another month later, I got a call from a tech wanting to know if someone was at my house so that he could install the ADSL line. When he pitched, he tested the line and confirmed it was syncing at 512kbps (which I ordered) - but it in fact turned out to only be 384kbps :mad:

The best part? I did not order a Telkom modem so the techie packed up his laptop and left. I had no choice but to complete the installation of my microfilters (which I had to go to the Telkom Direct store and buy myself) and connect my ADSL router, configure all the settings and setup my non-TelkomInternet ISP parameters. So after all that wasted time I got my Self-Install afterall.

The funny thing is that apart from confirming on his laptop that the ADSL line was syncing to the exchange - there was absolutely no need for him to have set foot on my property. To add insult to injury, my next Telkom bill demanded the full installation fee as if I ordered a Telkom modem, they supplied the microfilters and did the full install for me.

It's beginning to seem that only some areas of the country have proper people running the show at Telkom. The rest of us still have to put up with lack of communication and double-standards.

Btw - I paid the full bill as I wasn't prepared to have my services disrupted - it already cost me in the region of R300 in additional phone calls to the Pretoria Customer Care Centre during the strike action to get someone to help me get the Self-Install option and not have to wait. That was a wasted and costly exercise :mad:
 
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Absolute Rubbish

Hi all,

I have been on the telkom saga trying to get my adsl installed which finally happend 1 week ago. Toke them 4 months thou.

Anyway... i have had dealings with telkom corporate offices and found out that you can only get the Self installation IF you have a line already. If you want to get a newline/adsl installed you cant get the self installation.

Thought could help out ppl
 
I'm still waiting for a telephone line/ADSL instalation from 10 February in the Eco Park Estate area in Centurion :mad: . I've lost count how many times I have phoned telkom , man its frustating to be told the same story for 4 months now " your order is with the scheduling department" .grrrrrrrrrrr :mad: . I also imformed them I would like to do self install , but yeah nothing's gonna happen till I get a telephone line . If anybody knows what I can do to get telkom to just install a freakin line please PM me :p
 
One would really think a big company like Telkom with billions of rands in profit each year could at least appoint addequate PR and advertising people.

Then again - why bother if you could save a couple of hundred thousand each year on good PR/advertising - It's not like those consumers can go anywhere else, now is it?!

I think they rely on the confusion - It allows them to get away with overcharging you. I opted for a self install earlier this year - which I did - there really is not much to it.

Then Telkom went ahead and charged me for the ADSL installation anyway. Plenty phone calls and 2 months later only did they reverse the charge!
 
People, I hear all your frustrations but really. Why go for ADSL? I've heard gamers complaining about latency issues, but appart from that there's really no reason why any individual should have to go through hell and back for a ADSL internet connection.

It's really not worth it. I'm sure everyone that have already contributed on this forum regarding ADSL, would have been much better of just choosing one of the other internet providers. (sentech/iburst/mtn/vodacom).

Perhaps it's slower... bit more expensive, but you have to weigh up all the time, phone calls and money that goes into getting a proper adsl connection going.
 
riaan_pta said:
One would really think a big company like Telkom with billions of rands in profit each year could at least appoint addequate PR and advertising people.
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Ja but unfortunately for Telkom there's no defence against facts, except lies and confusion.

I think they rely on the confusion - It allows them to get away with overcharging you. I opted for a self install earlier this year - which I did - there really is not much to it.
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"What has every telecoms company done in the past? It's used CONFUSION as its CHIEF MARKETING TOOL" - Telecoms NZ CEO.
 
biltonguy said:
This whole self-install thing is a load of $#%$^$%!

The only reason why its been on "trial" for over a year is so telkom can choose at their leisure whether to allow a customer to self-install (thereby losing out on R400+ installation fee in areas of extreme backlog) or to deny it saying its "still on trial" or "not available in your area", and score on the installation fee.

I have experienced 2 ADSL installations, mine and my girlfriends.
For my installation I asked for a self-install, a month later a techie phones and says I cant do a self-install but he can come over "today" (a sunday to!) and install it. Of course i accepted having waited a month already. All he did was plug a modem into the line and tell me it was snyc'ing.

My girlfriend didnt ask for a self-install but 2 weeks later a techie called and said she could wait 2 weeks for him to come or she could do a self-install. I told her to do a self-install. The techie didnt put a foot on the property and I literally plugged in the modem and it worked.

IMHO, Self-install is simply when a techie doesnt have time to come collect the installation fee.
Click to expand...

If we are successfully get them to officiate the self-install thing, they are going to charge us for the techie to 'activate' the line. Bliksims.
 
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I think TelCon have worked out that rather than ripping off the customer R 400,00 for checking that the ADSL shines brightly on the modem - It is better to have them pay monthly now, a bird in the hand
 
Did my self install in my new house. Took about 1 month. The telkom tech also called me and said he needed to come and check my line although it is a self install, told him it's a self install and it should not be necessary. Told him I'm not at home and won't be because it's a new house and haven't moved in yet. Told him he should call back in a week or two. He never called again but my adsl is working fine. Guess he just wanted the installation fee and new I was on to him :cool:
 
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