Telstra complaints skyrocket 240% during the Trujillo years

Got a beef with The Big T? You’re far from alone. A report from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman says that in the last three months of 2008 the telco’s landline and mobile services were the subject of 236 complaints a day. That’s nearly 10 per hour around the clock, totalling 21,283 all up.

That figure represented a 30% increase over the previous three months, when Telstra got by with just 14,014 complaints – or just one narky customer calling up for a whinge every ten minutes. (Ah, those were the happy days of wine and roses, the good life...)

It should be no surprise that Big Pond also came in for a sledging, with 5,607 complaints lodged about Telstra’s internet service between October and December 2008. That was another huge jump, up 65% from 3,382 in the previous quarter.
But the TIO has an even scarier number to report, according to an article by News reporter Ben Butler.

“Over the three-year reign of Telstra boss Sol Trujillo, complaint levels have risen by 241 per cent”, Butler wrote, while also noting that “Mr Trujillo has been paid about $30 million over the same period, and is to receive a $3 million golden handshake when he steps down in June.” Ouch!

However, anyone who’s studied Trujillo’s background will have a sense of deja vu. Prior to his appointment as Telstra CEO Trujillo was head of the North American carrier US West – wearing the triple crowns of President, Chairman and CEO, in fact –  from 1995 to 2000.

During that period US West attracted substantial criticism for lack-lustre customer service and monopoly-like practices. (The latter resulted in several fines being levied against US West by the State of Oregon).

US West also kept a stranglehold on its own lines and local loop services to prevent them being accessed by several newer smaller telcos, which again landed the company in court as several companies charged US West over behaviour they considered consistent with anti-trust or monopoly activities.