I signed up for prepaid here with AT&T. They told me in the shop I could recharge the card online with my credit card. They obviously didn’t realise that everyone here seems to want your ZIP code along with your credit card number and putting in just any ZIP won’t work. Thankfully I managed to find a card at a supermarket, then activate it via land line.

I had the exact same issue with the credit that came with the card. Ie. It’s bonus credit that only activates when your recharge it! Though I didn’t bother investigating it like you did. I didn’t have the patience/inclination to follow it up.

Also I always thought we were over charged for data but their prepaid data rates here are just as bad, if not worse so I’ve been making do with a mobile with no data connectivity. Surprisingly that’s not as bad as I thought it would be for a net addict like me. :)

Finally we have the speed and coverage of the NextG network versus the 3G options here. There is NO comparison, particularly when you take in to account relative population sizes!

Telstra’s biggest problem (aside from outsourcing to IBM :) is that Telstra is too big and the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing but, surprisingly, both hands are shoved up the same hole.

Thanks for the metaphor clarification – when a customer is pissed off about getting crap service from a company that runs around saying how good it is, they often run with whatever phrase is handy at the time :)

I was in the elevator at Telstra in Brisbane once when some marketing people got in. They were cursing the billing people saying that marketing spends millions attracting new customers while the people that run the billing system lose them.

btw – your metaphores are mixed.
They couldn’t organise – a night in a brothel for a footy team if they had a fist full of fifties.
Also – …could not fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

Good luck with the new project and everything. I have heard that Optus coverage is good now that they use Telstra towers.

Anon.