Cape Town - Reader Gavin Goschen writes: I am sorry to get you involved again, but I am at the end of my tether with Telkom.
Thanks to you, we at least got an answer from Telkom as to why my daughter’s phone was not repaired.
I thought I would update you on our progress and request your assistance again.
We handed my daughter’s cellphone (for the second time) in to Telkom Festival Mall on February 14.
On February 22 I received an SMS to say it was allocated for repairs.
I knew it would take about 20 days to repair, so I was not concerned that it had taken six days to reach the repair centre.
On March 9, I contacted Jabu at the mall branch to find out whether my phone was there or if he had any news for me.
He then copied me on an email from the repair centre, saying: “Please note that your unit has been received at the core service centre and has been assigned to a technician.
"This mail is to inform you that we are experiencing a delay in assessing units. As soon as the unit is assessed, you will receive an SMS and feedback.”
So I gave them another week.
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I sent Jabu an email on March 16, asking about the phone, to which he sent me a copy of the email he sent to the repair centre, asking for information about the repair.
As of today, they still have not replied and I have still not received an SMS.
How is it possible and acceptable that Telkom can have the cellphone for 26 working days - 37 days in total - and still not come back to me?
If this was my old phone I had dropped or damaged I would have had to suck it up, but it is a new phone that was not even four months old when we took it in.
My daughter has to use an old phone that dies or freezes, while Telkom takes its sweet time to investigate if it should repair or replace the phone.
It would help if I could phone the branch, but I can’t because the phone is either engaged or just rings and is not answered.
When I asked a woman there why the phones are not answered, she told me there is no one to answer, so not to phone.
Need I say more?
That is the kind of service you can expect from Telkom.
Luckily, Jabu tried to help me.
Please can you find out what is happening to my daughter’s phone?
Gavin Goschen
I raised the matter with Telkom, saying it’s a reflection of the frustration of many of its customers.
Telkom’s media relations department has assured me it will get Goschen’s matter sorted out post-haste and it has raised the numerous complaints about slack service with the provider’s leadership.
Here’s hoping for a shake-up.