Telstra can’t communicate, so shut up

Bad management

Telstra is in the business of communications. But you wouldn’t believe it. The company has made such a right-royal balls up of the payment fees, that to this day, it simply is infuriating customers left, right, and centre. On the 14th of September 2009, the company started charging $2.20 to customers who wished to pay their bills in the normal way. The company said that bill-processing costs the company millions of dollars. If Telstra wants to cry about what it costs to do things, then let it all hang out: go on Telstra and Mr David Thodey, why don’t you also tell us what it costs your company to run the fleet of cars or your company photocopiers or the electricity or the carpet cleaning? Don’t give me that old rubbish about what it costs you to run your business. You know what it costs you to run your business, and your expenses must be in the billions. Your profits are pretty good also. Therefore, charge what you need to charge and stop this nonsense of skimming more money from people. If you want more in the coffers, then have the guts to announce a rate rise. This back-door pricing policy is disgraceful.

I would not mind so much if the company had stuck to its guns. But oh, after endless backlash, the company backed down. Such cowards. Stick to your guns! Why back down? The media pressure was too much to handle? Grow up and run your business the way you want to. However, don’t you dare get on that band wagon and say ‘We have listened’. What trite. Listened to who? If 10 people complain, you hang up on them. If 10,000 get on radio talk-back, you get soppy.

Anyway, why the rage here? Because we were all led to believe that you had cancelled that management mistake and that stupid decision. Yet, there is more confusion. Someone is a sneaky so and so. What’s the story Telstra? Here is what one reader of my site (and a family member) had to say via an email, so I am taking the liberty of sharing the rage with you:

‘Hi, I have just had another one of those unpleasant discussions with Telstra. You know how they announced that the payment fee we used to incur by using a credit card to pay by phone has been lifted! Well apparently we all misunderstood. The only way to avoid incurring that bill is if you are a pensioner. All credit card payments still incur a fee of $2.50. I had a few choice words and they finally gave me a credit of $10 to shut me up. But the fees are still there. You need to use a debit card or cash at the post office to avoid that fee.

‘Anyway I just thought you’d like to add that to the list of blogs. Of all the misrepresentations and lies and Bloody Telstra. All this in a country that has a democratic government, a banking ombudsman, a telecommunications ombudsman and consumer protection laws. At least we knew where we stood with the Khmer Rouge.’

How do these top level executives sleep at night? Disgraceful. Not for charging money, but for being so stupid with it. And what raised my dander was the remark by a Telstra executive who called on his competitors to also stop charging this payment fee. What bloody cheek. Who the hell does he and his company think they are to be calling on others to do the same? They go and make a big blunder which they would never have retracted if consumer-power had not prevailed, and now he is taking the mantle of Mr Nice Guy helping the poor ripped-off consumer. Oh pull your head in, the lot of you. When will executives realise that there is such a thing as civility?