'Go quiet,' Telco boss told

Malcolm Dick, left, and Mark Callander of CallPlus. Photo / Janna Dixon

Slingshot boss Scott Page was told to "go quiet" to reduce the level of criticism the company was getting over poor customer service.

The instruction was given to Page after I wrote in last week's Herald on Sunday about being put on hold for more than four hours over two days when trying to report a service fault.

My experience earned the newspaper one of its largest mailbags on a single issue since launching in October 2004. Most of the emails were about Slingshot.

So I emailed Page to let him know we were going to be doing another piece and would be running readers' letters.

I was copied in on an email from Page's boss at parent company CallPlus. In the email, chief executive Mark Callander wrote: "Keep me updated, maybe better to just go quiet. It makes stories less interesting."

He had accidentally copied me in on the email to Page.

I was already frustrated with the company for how it had treated my complaint.

I had received a letter from Slingshot telling me I could have $20 off my next bill. No one at the company bothered speaking to me to see if my problem had been resolved before sending the letter.

Then there was Page telling me my time on hold was an "extraordinary" event. Dozens of readers emailed to say they shared the experience.

So it was the final straw when I got Callander's email telling Page to "go quiet". I wrote to him to say if that was his approach then I was leaving Slingshot.

Callander wrote back: "In relation to my email, this was a comment to Scott and is by no means how we treat our customers and that includes you.

"I agree it starts at the top with leadership and there is no bigger customer advocate than myself - you have taken the 'go quiet' out of context."

Callander invited me to meet with him and company owner Malcolm Dick. It was worth doing - and I understand things much better from the company's perspective.

Dick said the company had trouble getting the right information from Telecom to make changes to customers' accounts. The problem hit about six months ago and caused a massive jump in calls to its call centre.

I wanted to know what would be done for the dozens of customers who told me they were upset about how they were treated by Slingshot. Callander said each of them was being contacted personally by Page.

The company has also increased the number of call centre staff it has and is training its customer service people to support its technical support team.

Many of the people who did email said they would leave Slingshot if it were not for the $149 "early termination fee" to get out of their contracts. Callander told me customers would not be held to that fee if they were leaving as a result of a problem that was Slingshot's fault.

In the end, I told Callander that I was treated so poorly I didn't want to remain a customer. Callander now accepts my time on hold was not an isolated incident.

I've found another internet provider. I won't name them here but they - and most companies - did feature among the emails I got this week. Nobody is perfect. It's about how customers are treated when those imperfections are exposed.

Also, customers should be free to shop around. Many phone and internet companies charge early termination fees. The fee is usually included on contracts that give good deals (including bandwidth and hardware) over 12 or 24 months.

But some don't. One advertises: "We want customers, not prisoners."

Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand business manager Kathy Hall says customers should not be tied into fixed-term deals.

"The idea that customers are beholden gives me the willies. It's a two-way engagement."

Last Sunday I printed Scott Page's phone number. He got a lot of calls. This week, Slingshot has offered Scott's email (scott.page@team.slingshot.co.nz) and a promise that complaints will be addressed.

Copy me in if you like. I'm still eager to hear your experiences.

david.fisher@hos.co.nz