Telstra plans real-time technician location updates

Telstra CEO Andy Penn has teased a fix for one of the telco’s most irritating traits: service personnel who don’t show up on time.

Speaking at the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) conference in Sydney last Thursday, Penn focused on Telstra’s customer service plans.

ACANN is Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation representing individuals, small businesses and not-for-profit groups, so Penn’s remarks concern a great many CRN readers, and our readers’ customers.

Deep into the CEO’s speech he revealed that “In the next 12 months we will also migrate further to the new digital systems we have been building where customers can expect simplified billing, digital service and real-time delivery and appointment updates, among other improvements.”

The latter item, real-time delivery and appointment updates, would address a major source of frustration for businesses, consumers and the channel alike, as there are many occasions on which a service cannot be initiated or repaired until a Telstra technician turns up. Yet they often run late and information on where they are and a likely ETA proves elusive.

If Telstra can nail this, it’ll be a significant improvement!

As will simplified billing as the carrier aims to bundle more services for customers.

Penn also said that Telstra has as renewed focus on privacy. “Protecting our customers’ personal information and our networks from unauthorised access depends on a combination of technical solutions, security controls and internal processes,” he said. “Those things change as the nature of threat changes but in the end we know customers rightly expect that their data is handled with the utmost care and consideration.”

Another revelation: the telco blocked 2.9 million scam calls in July 2019 alone, leading Penn to call for concerted action by industry and government to address the scourge.