Vumatel: The new telkom

So I was very excited when the fiber network was installed in my area. I have had some bad encounters with Telkom regarding internet service in our area, finally I would never have to deal with Telkom again!

Unfortunately Vumatel's customer service is just as appalling as Telkom's. Firstly I was called to schedule an appointment for my installation. The technician and I agreed on a date and time, this date and time was within my working hours so I took time off work to be home at the agreed time. They never showed up. I called Vumatel the next day to inquire to why they did not pitch. I was put through to other departments about 6 times which meant I spent around 5 minutes each time on hold to speak to the next person. The last time I was put through to another person the line simply just rang for a few minutes then went dead. I called again and when through the whole process again when I finally got to a operator who promised me she will attend to the matter and call my back within a hour. Three days passed and I never received that call.

Finally about a week later the technicians came around to install my line. When they finished they told me that I should call Vumatel to arrange another technician to come and activate my line as it was still dead. So once again I went through the whole process of calling and being put through to multiple departments before anyone could help me and when I got put through to the right department the only thing the lady could do was to email someone regarding the matter. Once again I was promised a call back (which of course never happened).

Now I have been paying for my fiber line for about a month without receiving any internet from my fiber line nor any indication of exactly when I will have access to the internet. Telkom got away with bad service because they had a monopoly on the telephone network, looks like Vumatel is going to continue the trend on the fiber networks.