fibre optic installation took 4 trips over 2 days and I still have no landline :(

<p>Very poor service, were approached at our home on the 30 July for the new fibre optic upgrade by Nivania and we told her we also required a new home line( for which Telkom told us we would have to wait 4 weeks when we initially asked in April-due to no line available). We signed up. We never heard from her again nor from telkom. But received smses to say we should make a deposit which she had told us was not necessary. Then we had to change paperwork due to exisiting client history and the deposit story. Long story short-she didnt reply to smses or answer calls which she claims she never received when I tried to get feedback. Then she asked me to call in and change our address which telkom messed up and she did not bother assisting in sorting this late service out. I refused to call in as the incorrect data capturing was telkoms mishap. Not to mention the fact that I am calling from my cellphone all the time to telkom call centres which are not quick or efficient. (based on another problem we are having with telkom and Maria Basson for the business account.) Why should I pay for that call and waste my time when I signed paperwork with my address on it. So we waited another few weeks and then last week Telkoms subcontractors came to install- took them 4 trips over 2 days to get a 90 min job done. I just found out they could have helped me further. And I just had a Telkom quality control guy here to show me what the installers did not do correctly-left lines touching my trees and incorrectly installed near the eaves of the house. So once again and for the fifth time they have to come and sort it. And they didn't help by installing my landline function which they did for other customers which really upsets me as I now have to book another call out for something so simple. They could have called in to the manager and activated it and saved me another call out but they didn't. And Nivania said that we just have to call and activate the voice service on the line. But technicians that were here said thats wrong. Someone has to come out and activate it. Is it possible to get the correct answer the first time??? No one in Telkom can actually give you a straight answer and it seems like all the people I spoke to be it sales/technicians/call centre also know very little about actual telkom practices and procedures and even less about keeping clients happy . They have poorly trained sales staff, with somewhat shoddy knowledge about products, even at call centres. You get promised a good deal, service and superior products but no follow through. Telkom are holding on by a thread to customers and not due to any other fact but lack of a worthy competitor. Maybe its time for some overseas competition to come and fill the niche.....until then we are stuck with you telkom....</p>