Oh the
irony.
Just as I
receive an email, without having to call them, from Eskom telling me that my
account has been restored to a more reasonable balance (just briefly: our meter
“cycled” over 100 thousand, but their system can only handle 5 digits, so the
intelligent person entering last month’s reading just chopped off the last digit,
but then their system miraculously added that back to 100 thousand, somehow now
able to handle the 6 digits just fine, thank you very much, resulting in a
usage of 10 thousand kwh instead of 2 thousand), our phones go dead and our
internet stops working.
And I was
so happy returning back to Africa and its blue
skies, after our mystery trip I was bursting to tell you about.
Well, Africa for sure gave me its warmest
welcome, didn’t it.
And, alas
it was just MY internet and phone. All of our neighbors were perfectly happy.
That is
the strange thing about living in Africa .
Joint suffering is so easily borne. The robot coming out from our neighborhood
hasn’t worked in months. Remember my long story about how I called the City of Joburg to complain about
that when it happened the first time? Well, I no longer even entertain thoughts
of calling anyone. And I’m sure everyone else feels the same way. Do you realize
there is a slight chance that the City of Joburg
genuinely doesn’t know it’s down, because out of thousands of people stopping
there every day, not a single one has thought of calling them?
But not
so with our phone. Ours being the only affected household, from what I could
gather, spurred me into action. Not that my action did much good, as we have been offline for almost a week.
What I
really need is another Richard. Just the thought of him warms my heart and
makes me fall in love with him all over again. Sweet Richard who always answers
on the first ring and gives me the verbal equivalent of a foot massage every
time we speak.
I need
someone like him at Telkom. For now, I’ve just had a succession of customer
service reps, one stupider and less-caring than the last – if I’m lucky to get
through at all – who usually hang up on me before I can state my case
completely. But the question is, can I really handle Richard at Eskom and a new
best friend at Telkom all at once? That would be an impossible love triangle.
Or rectangle – it now occurs to me that our cable TV with Multichoice has been
awfully quiet lately. Not to mention water and trash.
This is what
a typical call to Telkom sounds like:
VOICE MAIL: Welcome to Telkom. If you are an existing customer, please press one.
ME: [presses 1]
VOICE MAIL: Please note that calls to this number are free of charge if you are calling from your Telkom line.
ME: [Wonders who would typically be able to call from their Telkom line to report that said line wasn’t working]
VOICE MAIL: For DSL-related issues, please press one; for Internet questions, please press 2…
ME: [presses 1]
VOICE MAIL: Please enter the 10-digit phone number you are reporting the fault for.
ME: [enters phone number]
VOICE MAIL: [music – there is exactly one song in their queue]
ME: [waits]
VOICE MAIL: Please note that a service fee may be charged for the callout if the fault is not related to the Telkom line. Please continue to hold if you agree to that fee.
ME: [continues to hold]
VOICE MAIL: To report a fault, press one.
ME: [presses 1]
VOICE MAIL: [please enter the phone number of the line you wish to report]
ME: [enters phone number again]
VOICE MAIL: [music]
ME: [Switches phone to speaker, lays it next to the onions, and proceeds to cooking dinner]
FEMALE VOICE: [after 10 minutes] This is Mpumulele, how can I assist you?
ME: Our phone line is dead and our internet is not working.
FEMALE VOICE: What is the phone number of the account?
ME: [suppresses “why the hell did I already enter it twice” and instead tells her phone number]
FEMALE VOICE: Let me check in my system… Ma’m, it says that your ADSL line is working. So your internet should be fine. Do you still with to report a fault on your phone line?
ME: But both internet and phone are not working.
FEMALE VOICE: I'm telling you your internet is working, let me transfer you to report a fault on your phone line… BEEP BEEP BEEP [line goes dead]
ME: [hangs up]
I’ve had
dozens of these conversations over the last few days. Sometimes I never make it
to a real person, ending in some obscure voice mail purgatory in the form of an
endless loop of pressing “1” and entering my phone number. Often, when I
finally make it to a real person, she hangs up on me just at the crucial moment
where I’m expecting to hear what they’re going to do about it. I’ve collected
an impressive stack of reference numbers, yet when I call back to check on the
status, I’m never asked for any of them.
After
briefly restoring our line, it was out again after just a few hours and we’re
back to waiting for something to happen. To add insult to injury, after five days
of no service, I got a call from Telkom performing a survey about my recent
service experience with them. I’m a patient person, I really am, but that was a
bit much. Though it was kind of satisfying to dish out a series of “1”s in
answer to “on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate…”.
Oh, but I
can see it clearly now, it’s just another Richard being thrown at me to soothe
and let off steam, without ever solving anything!
I really
don’t know if I can handle another Richard.
6 comments:
I know I shouldn't, but I laughed reading your post because it is so very familiar to me. Really, I do feel your pain and hope somehow by some mystery you'll get fixed again.
Number one requirement for a successful expat life is having oceans of patience. And then, when that runs out, just have a good old screaming fit to reload.
It is fixed (and yes, still a mystery both how it broke and how it got fixed again) and you've hit it on the head. We all have to go through one of these (or several) experiences to learn that the better course of action is to just sit back or find something else to do. I could have been much more productive tending to my garden or hanging pictures than spending time on the phone with Telkom. Calling them to complain seems to make no difference from what I can see.
Then again, it makes for such great writing material!
Ah, Telkom. I've had that same automated conversation many times. I recently had to give up my landline and unlimited internet plan, which is a real pain, but at least I won't have to deal with Telkom anymore.
I heard that Telkom (or 8ta, Telkom's subsidiary) has the cheapest pay-as-you-go internet in SA. So I went to the Telkom office in Rosebank last week to see if I could sign up. I waited in line for 15 minutes, didn't move an inch, then gave up and went upstairs to the Cell C office. Their plan is slightly more expensive but the customer 100% worth it. I walked out of the mall 10 minutes later with my new 3G stick. I still would have been waiting in line at Telkom.
Ah! Telkom (aka Hellkom - not kidding - there is a website set up in that name.
LOL,there is indeed, I just checked it out. Thanks for that new word in my repertoire.
Reporting your faulty Telkom Line
Note - if your phone is working, but your ADSL is not, it's worth first checking with your Internet Service Provider that the fault is not at their end, otherwise Telkom will charge you a callout fee to tell you nothing is wrong with the phone line.
Report the fault online at https://secureapp.telkom.co.za/assurance/public/logafault
or with SMS
Report a fault via SMS*
Please SMS the faulty line Number (10 digit number, eg 0111234567) to 0123210212
After that, you'll need to make a nuisance of yourself and escalate the fault/complaint every day or so - the more noise you make, the quicker they come and repair the phone.
http://residential.telkom.co.za/emailcontact-residential/escalationform.htm
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