Telecom NZ learns from its mistakes
blog Telecom NZ has relaunched its troubled XT network. It is offering consumers a risk-free trial and a new advert will be broadcast from tonight featuring CEO Dr Paul Reynolds.
It's early days, but Telecom certainly seems to be learning from its mistakes.
We appear not to have suffered from any XT outages for some time. Plus Telecom is also exploiting a great asset, its CEO.
During the XT debacle, Reynolds fronted up well and was the public face for Telecom as he explained the many issues surrounding XT.
This worked well, with him earning praise from many in the media, as well as the telco industry.
Now, the latest advert features Reynolds fly fishing from an isolated stream near the scenic South Island resort of Queenstown.
Apparently, the ads show the CEO poking a little fun at Telecom as well as praising New Zealanders for having a go and not giving up, just as Telecom is doing with XT.
Flattery of Kiwis always goes down well, too.
And it seems Telecom has done its homework with this ad. The honesty it has shown throughout the XT crisis is being reflected in this advert.
Yes, XT does work in Greenstone Valley, which is some miles from Glenorchy, itself a scenic drive along Lake Wakitipu, 30 to 40 minutes from Queenstown.
Coincidentally, I was in Glenorchy just last week and while I cannot confirm XT working, as a Vodafone user, I can verify Telecom's claim that Vodafone does not work in the isolated lakeside township.
Like many, I am sure Telecom NZ will remember the embarrassment it suffered some years ago when an advert for its Jetstream internet featured a middle-aged businesswoman attending a teleconference via her laptop as her lover painted her toenails.
The embarrassing thing was, people recognised the coastal Piha, West Auckland, location of the advert, which did not receive the Jetstream service at the time the ad was first broadcast.
At least Telecom NZ is not misleading this time, and the company assures me the Greenstone Valley mobile phone coverage was not installed especially for the commercial, nor for Reynolds and his holidays!
It all augurs well for XT's future!