Allocate just 10% of your marketing budget to improving your service

<p>Telkom mobile is currently growing and offering some fantastic cell phone deals. I am sure anyone living within the boundaries of South Africa has seen and heard of Telkoms 'Free Me' campaign. It is aired during prime time on all major TV channels, it features all over my Facebook page and is on every website I visit. Enticed by the fantastic deals, I decided to move my cell phone contract from Vodacom (who make you pay both an arm and a leg for their 'superior' network coverage) to Telkom.</p> <p> </p> <p>What a mistake. Trying to just receive my phone from the store has proven to be a challenge comparable to that of summiting Mount Everest. I signed the contract a month and half ago and have not received even an inkling as to when I will be receiving the phone. I have visited the store, in Gateway (you owe me about R100 in parking fees) and phoned the various helplines multiple times (you owe me about a R1000 in airtime) and have not received any helpful information about when I will actually be able to collect the phone. Added to this, the people who work in your stores seem to be more disinterested in attending to the needs of the customers than a nun in a strip club. I am amazed that you can spend so much money on your marketing campaign and completely forget about the very thing that enables you to spend so much money on such things, your customers. This is hands down the worst customer experience of my life and you need to take a long hard stare at yourselves and your internal capabilities before you launch another marketing campaign of this scale. It is very clear that you do not have the infrastructure or man power to handle to amount of customers you seem to be attracting.</p> <p> </p>