I am disgusted to write that for the third time in around 9 weeks, Yass Taxis' telephone service has been knocked out due to infrastructure faults.

This means that our clients cannot contact us to book taxis, often in emergency situations, until we become aware that the system is down, and take remedial action by diverting to mobile phone and bluetooth. Given that we don't constantly phone ourselves to check the system is working, it's often half an hour or more before we know it's gone down, again. Often our staff are criticised for the fact that customers cannot get through, and this takes it's toll on our whole organisation, as well as our customer base.

I have spent untold hours on the phone dealing with customer service operatives located in the Philippines, going over and over the same scenario and hearing the same scripted responses.  Assurances that my complaint has been prioritised and that my Case Manager will call me later that day are never followed through. Today, I requested to be put through to a senior officer in Australia and after a further 25 minute wait was told that they couldn't get through to Australia!

When will Telstra pay more than lip service to its customers, particularly those in regional and bush areas?

If I don't pay my bill, they're onto me like a flash. If they fail to provide the service I'm paying for, I have to spend days losing income with elevated blood pressure until I finally find someone sensible to help me with my problems.  When the Yass-based technician is finally allocated the job, he fixes it promptly, and goes above and beyond. He is a fantastic ambassador for Telstra.

If other business or private customers of Telstra would care to join me in my complaints to the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman, local member etc. could they please do so, as it's well past time that we got what we pay for.