Bloody Telstra

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Yes. But it took nearly three days! (And as an update, still no dial tone this morning)

I suspect that part of the issue is that the phone services round here are real copper lines going back to an exchange built in the 1970s - and they have laid off/retired nearly everyone who knows anything about these. The fact that it is an area outage almost certainly suggests an exchange fault, and they may be scouring museums for spares.

Certainly thier help desk people seem to have no idea what they are doing - keep asking me what errors are showing on the modem - my modem has no involvement with my phone service. The phone service is connected to copper wires that go 9km to the exchange, the modem is connected to the satellite NTD.

---

Seems there is something to be said for Wireless BB which includes the ISP VoiP phone service but if the Xchange is SNAFU you are still in the same boat.


We had a Sub continent bloke here after a 3 week wait & many mobile calls to find out progress. He couldn't even string a new copper cable from a ladder & had to "order" a Cherrypicker from Engineering before he could tackle it. A wait for that was also about 3 weeks. How in the hell he thought he would even get a Cherrypicker in there was beyond me.
Eventually a Can Do tech arrived with a roll of cable climbed a ladder up through the branches & disappeared, cut & shut a new cable & gone in about 1/2 to 1 hour. Job done.

Another time prior, a senior "Can Do" tech shinned up the pole from the ground to get a cable over the hooks successfully.

Yes, I am afraid to say John, they don't have the skills or blokes who are prepared to have a go anymore.

OK 'elf & safety stuff has crept in & service suffers, whereas yours may yet be a simple "swap a part over" but they do not seem capable of even doing that without a lot of kerfuffle.
As I mentioned above if they even told you where & what the problem was so you'd have a clue next time it goes it'd be of some help like we had to do when Power crews were unaware of Main fuses in a paddock & were not inspecting those when the juice went off so another crew had to come back & do it, but we had to tell them about those extra fuses, which we had already done but typical cloth eared Service Desk didn't note it down.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 4bee

Hell, so a quiet day then?


How would you like to be a CEO of a private business that had that many negative calls in a day? [bigrolf]

---

If I had the number of clients they do I probably wouldn’t mind [emoji41]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 4bee

Seems there is something to be said for Wireless BB which includes the ISP phone service but if the Xchange is SNAFU you are still in the same boat.


We had a Sub continent bloke here after a 3 week wait & many mobile calls to find out progress. He couldn't even string a new copper cable from a ladder & had to "order" a Cherrypicker from Engineering before he could tackle it. A wait for that was also about 3 weeks. How in the hell he thought he would even get a Cherrypicker in there was beyond me.
Eventually a Can Do tech arrived with a roll of cable climbed a ladder up through the branches & disappeared, cut & shut a new cable & gone in about 1/2 to 1 hour. Job done.

Another time prior, a senior "Can Do" tech shinned up the pole from the ground to get a cable over the hooks successfully.

Yes, I am afraid to say John, they don't have the skills or blokes who are prepared to have a go anymore.

OK 'elf & safety stuff has crept in & service suffers, whereas yours may yet be a simple "swap a part over" but they do not seem capable of even doing that without a lot of kerfuffle. As I mentioned above if they even told you where a& what the problem was so you'd have a clue next time it goes it'd be of some help like we had to do when Power crews were unaware of Main fuses in a paddock & were not inspecting those when the juice went off so another crew had to come back & do it, but we had to tell them about those extra fuses, which we had already done but typical cloth eared Service Desk didn't note it down.

---

Problem is - if those “Can do” techs fall from said ladders they’re screwed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 4bee

Seems there is something to be said for Wireless BB which includes the ISP phone service but if the Xchange is SNAFU you are still in the same boat.


We had a Sub continent bloke here after a 3 week wait & many mobile calls to find out progress. He couldn't even string a new copper cable from a ladder & had to "order" a Cherrypicker from Engineering before he could tackle it. A wait for that was also about 3 weeks. How in the hell he thought he would even get a Cherrypicker in there was beyond me.
Eventually a Can Do tech arrived with a roll of cable climbed a ladder up through the branches & disappeared, cut & shut a new cable & gone in about 1/2 to 1 hour. Job done.

Another time prior, a senior "Can Do" tech shinned up the pole from the ground to get a cable over the hooks successfully.

Yes, I am afraid to say John, they don't have the skills or blokes who are prepared to have a go anymore.

OK 'elf & safety stuff has crept in & service suffers, whereas yours may yet be a simple "swap a part over" but they do not seem capable of even doing that without a lot of kerfuffle.
As I mentioned above if they even told you where & what the problem was so you'd have a clue next time it goes it'd be of some help like we had to do when Power crews were unaware of Main fuses in a paddock & were not inspecting those when the juice went off so another crew had to come back & do it, but we had to tell them about those extra fuses, which we had already done but typical cloth eared Service Desk didn't note it down.

---

But screwed ladders are better than those held together with 3" nails & twine. Oh I see what you mean. [bigrolf]

See what you have to put up with JD?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tombie

Problem is - if those “Can do” techs fall from said ladders they’re screwed.

---

agree. the customers service is not worth losing his job over, or injury to himself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eevo

agree. the customers service is not worth losing his job over, or injury to himself.

---

Not intending to start WW3 over this but the point I was trying to make is that due to huge retrenchments over latter years by TELSTRA the work of the 'good old boys' is being done by replacement staff, whether it be out on the road or in an office or down a hole in the ground, who most likely don't measure up to today's required thinking, in getting the jobs done & "Customer First," hence is why JD has been waiting for 12 months in an what seems to be a remote area.
When I say 12 months it probably feels like that to him & nobody is endeavouring within a reasonable time frame to get the service repaired, still they have more or less promised some preliminary investigation Monday so we'll see. Worse they don't even appear to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing or neither do the hands even know.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 4bee

Not intending to start WW3 over this but the point I was trying to make is that due to huge retrenchments over latter years by TELSTRA the work of the 'good old boys' is being done by replacement staff, whether it be out on the road or in an office or down a hole in the ground, who most likely don't measure up to today's required thinking, in getting the jobs done & "Customer First," hence is why JD has been waiting for 12 months in an what seems to be a remote area.
When I say 12 months it probably feels like that to him & nobody is endeavouring within a reasonable time frame to get the service repaired, still they have more or less promised some preliminary investigation tomorrow so we'll see. Worse they don't even appear to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing or neither hands even know.

---

Hit the Nail on the head .

I was a Telstra field tech for 30 years , First 10 years installing switchboards & commander systems , second ten on payphones Install & faults , last ten on Lines & broadband install & faults . I was in the second last intake that went through a 4 year apprenticeship , after that they started taking on contractors with a two week training course., During my 30 years the ethos went from quality where 5 jobs a day was over achieving to them wanting you to push out 15-20- jobs a day and quantity is all that mattered . The few proper techs that were left were following contractors around fixing their **** ups . Pressure was on to cut under wet cable joints and bag them to get a service working instead of remaking joints. I got out because my work ethic was being compromised. Telstra really do not give a **** about the network or the customer. And its only going to get worse.

Phone still out this morning.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Phone still out this morning.

---

I think you should sign up for Starlink , you can connect a voip phone service to it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by goingbush

Hit the Nail on the head .

I was a Telstra field tech for 30 years , First 10 years installing switchboards & commander systems , second ten on payphones Install & faults , last ten on Lines & broadband install & faults . I was in the second last intake that went through a 4 year apprenticeship , after that they started taking on contractors with a two week training course., During my 30 years the ethos went from quality where 5 jobs a day was over achieving to them wanting you to push out 15-20- jobs a day and quantity is all that mattered . The few proper techs that were left were following contractors around fixing their **** ups . Pressure was on to cut under wet cable joints and bag them to get a service working instead of remaking joints. I got out because my work ethic was being compromised. Telstra really do not give a **** about the network or the customer. And its only going to get worse.

---

Thanks gb, I knew I was on the right track as I recall the Dedicated Tech & Liney Training Schools (Tech School was on East Tce & a Liney Outdoor Field was at Rostrevor) you speak of through blokes in my Signals Sqdn who on that side of things were TELSTRA employees by day & Reserve bods on Parade Nights & they were without doubt some of the clueiest blokes around. Many of them supplied Communications services in 'nam for Wireless & Line & sometimes under the most shocking conditions & they also seemed to have a wonderful Sense of Humour especially Exchange Techs. But while Thommo was a great Tech he has now gone to the big Sig Centre in the sky, or wossit down there [bighmmm], so sorry JD I can't contact him to look at your Fault. Nor can he contact you, come to that.
[biggrin]

These blokes taught many other Trades within TELSTRA or was it TELECOM back then? FiIK now. Or PMG?[bigrolf]


Anyhow, that knowledge & work ethic seems to have gone which you confirm, with blokes doing a 2 week course. WTF!

Retrenchments & huge $ payouts were supposed to save money but I wonder how true that has that been with the inefficiencies that have crept in?

In this vast country of Australia Staff of all descriptions in many trades & professions have to be taught to be multi skilled & to use a bit of Aussie nouse think "a bit of Fencing Wire or Baling Twine" & maybe bend the rules when necessary because there isn't always going to be some guy in a Suit & Collar & Tie to guide you & get you out of the **** out there, Mobile Phones notwithstanding, 'cos they don't always work.





And that is another thing............................................. .[bigrolf]


Now what was the question?:Rolling: