Telstra needs people with brains on helldesks.

Not just some 16 yo with a script in a dungeon somewhere.


And PerfectNotes has a new rule. No more going to sites to hook up new phone services unless a telstra tech has actually been to the premises. And has reaffirmed an old rule.. never talk to Telstra helpdesk people if it can possibly be avoided. You will end up feeling like your brains have been sucked out the top of your skull

Let me explain.

Here at PerfectNotes we hold what is known as an open cabling licence which means we can screw with phone systems, cables, alarm systems and (ROTFL) lift cabling systems. Which means we can just for example legally hook up a fax in a customer site. And most likely you legally cannot.

So the way this is supposed to work is you request the service from Telsta.. they enable it at the exchange.. come out to the site.. identify the single pair of wires that enable this service and tag them. We come out.. and run the wire from the tag... (most likely over existing wires by a crossconnect) and away we go. But what Telstra likes to do is (maybe) enable it at the exchange and let us figure it out. Now its actually illegal (and big time illegal) for us to touch the teleco,s side of the distributional frame but..... Anyway.. client site. and it takes me a few hours to discover their main service, a discontinued service and its number.. and 3 pairs of wires with voltage but no actual service on the 20 pairs of wires that come into the building. And I recheck lots. Because Telstra have done this to me once before with this same customer. Nope.. their is NO pair of wires going into that panel with that service on it

ARGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So I ring the helldesk. And eventually talk to the lovely Angie with the Indian accent. Who is absolutely determined to read her script. Its not her fault.. what else is she to do? She might recognize a wire two out of three times but then again she might not. She insists on telling me to plug the fax into every phone outlet in the place. She wants to know how many devices are on the fax line (which makes sense.. phone systems have only so much voltage.. drop it enough and nothing works.. but you see the issue? We don't actually have a fax line.. we have a pair of wires with that service coming into the building. Or as it turned out we don't ) and she has no idea what the words 'pair' and 'frame' mean

Finally she tells me that if I wish I an call a licensed registered cabler to have a look.

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGgggggg

Obviously I cannot charge the poor customer much for essentially managing to achieve nothing. Equally obviously its not a good way to spend a working day. Pah

Am definitely NOT a telstra fan.