Wednesday, October 22. 2008Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves......John Linton ......But every night all the men would come around, and lay their money down....(Cher - still a great song) ....Tramps..... I read this today: http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20081020/pdf/31czgjbxpqx1q6.pdf Pages 6 – 9 are the essence of this document which is the proposal by the second largest shareholder of Eftel (other than the CEO) to remove the Eftel CEO from his position for total incompetence including shareholder value destruction and of running a company that the auditors allege is unlikely to meet its financial obligations. I, personally, have no issues with any ‘penny dreadful’ of the communications industry other than why they exist at all. I assume the second largest shareholder of this particular company (Eftel) has every right to be incensed by the destruction of his investment and the fact that the CEO of his company pays himself more money each year while the shareholders see their investments reduced to one thirteenth of the price they initially paid. However read pages 6 – 9 for what he believes is the situation. Some concurrences in his statements to the comments I made weeks ago when I commented in these random musings that I found it unbelievable that so many untruths could be incorporated in a statement to the ASX are simply a belated response to other people perhaps seeing the statements made in the same or a similar way. It really is completely irrelevant what happens to, an even tinier company than Exetel , in terms of the general communications industry in Australia but it’s somewhat indicative of how misguided investments in ADSL2 DLAMs are in an HSPA future scenario. It seems Eftel is about to become ‘road kill’ on the ever dangerous road of commercial pretension – completely irrelevant to anyone but Eftel’s current employees and some of their customers – perhaps. I have never understood how a cobbled together company such as Eftel could stay in business with staffing levels 4 times higher than Exetel's with less customers and lower revenues. The salaries published for their 'senior management' alone are 3 times higher than Exetel pays for the similar functions within our very tightly managed, small company (and that includes Steve's, Annette's and mine). I read these comments in Colombo earlier this morning while Annette and I were having breakfast and thought it strange that so much ‘bullshit’ continues to surround such a prosaic industry as Australian communications . For goodness sake – the supply of basic data and telephony services should be left to the boring, but often competent and mostly dedicated, people like Steve and me who are more than prepared to waste our lives using our meagre talents and capabilities to provide services that work and are cheaper for the end user than those provided by the rip off monopolies and the other assorted 'posturers' that masquerade as adequate communication providers. It sometimes seems to me that it’s a complete waste of time to try and make an alternative to bluster and swagger work to the advantage of Australian communication service buyers – but then I get over such pointless views and continue to believe that the presence of such incredibly irrelevant companies as Eftel (which as far as I can see is simply a ‘hodge podge’ of other failed ISPs) is a ridiculous aberration of capitalism at its most absurd. Anyone think that Eftel will continue to exist beyond this calendar year? Not that it matters as they are so small and cover so little ‘geography most people will never have heard of them. (irrespective of their CEO’s claims in his 2008 report to the ASX). Something that is of more incredible irrelevance/relevance was the claim that Telstra was seeking tax payer funding to use its grossly offensive advertising 'characters' in an unbelievable attempt to make a “feature movie” – just how ‘lost’ do you have to be to portray your prospective customers as being as stupid as those silly ads do? Who, within the company, approved portraying Australian parents as being so careless and irresponsible about responding to their children’s questions? How on Earth, can anyone who is Australian consider these ads trashing of Australian parenthood to be a suitable ‘vehicle’ for a movie made from Australian taxpayer taxes: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24504612-5006301,00.html The ads themselves are offensive beyond belief. To believe there is some merit in trying to procure tax money in these really tough times to continue to propagate the view that Australian parents are ridiculously stupid is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps I've missed the point and the ads actually reflect how Telstra sees their customers - uneducated and stupid? Having been on the end of more than a few Telstra lectures about how stupid I am not to understand basic aspects of communication technology over the past 20 years it may well be the case that no-one within Telstra actually saw anything wrong in portraying a parent as being so ignorant and dumb? I need a triple Scotch and keep them coming if Australia ever descends to this level of 'corporate' denigration. Not a good day for Australia when a major Australian company portrays it's prospective customers in the way those two ads have done in the first place and then thinks it's somehow appropriate that such awful views of Australian parenting should be continued in such a way. It appears to show a contempt for Australians generally and their customers specifically which is breathtaking. Or have I just lost any semblance of a sense of humour and the ads I find offensive are in fact wickedly funny and a jolly good old sly dig at today's parenting needs? Trackbacks
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Perhaps the ads are in fact Government inspired. With the other 'Nanny State' measure being purported, where no one is responsonsible for their own actions, least of all parents.
The continued apparent willingness to abrogate our duties as parents to actually raise, mentor and be responsible for our children exasperates me no end. This is just another example, perhaps? Comment (1)
This is true in some sense. But to be fair, parents are told they cannot do alot of things that 20 years ago they could and not what they CAN do. But thats another arguement.
I do have to agree with John with his take on Telstra tho. They do appear to think the average person is stupid, and maybe compared to someone with a 140 IQ they may seem that way. Or it could be that they have so many people on Bigpond paying high fees for little service/product that the average person HAS to be stupid. The average persons willingness to accept Telstras prices allows them this arrogance unfortunately, and with the current 'global crisis' those with Telstra may feel justified not going with a smaller ISP who might be the next one to be "road kill". Comment (1)
Hi John
The ASX link you posted in today's blog has doubled up - it should be http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20081020/pdf/31czgjbxpqx1q6.pdf Comment (1)
Thank you - I've fixed it.
I have trouble with coping with the time difference between Colombo and Sydney - it is just too short to allow any sensible attempt at adapting to local or home times. Comments (6)
I’m going to have to completely disagree with you about the Telstra ads. Maybe it’s your contempt for Telstra that brings you the need to find everything negative about the ad campaign.
I don’t think you can measure a man’s intelligence, and certainly not his parenting skills based on what he knows about any single subject. The man may not know why China built the great wall, hell, in the ad he didn’t even know why the kid wanted to know it in the first place. Maybe if he knew it was for a presentation he may have taken the kid to the library and found out why they really built it. He may not be able to articulate “what Australia day really means” (tbh, they nailed it though) but maybe if you asked him a question about a car, the footy, a power tool, or how to build the roof of a house (things which I know little about off the top of my head) he may be able to go into great detail. Just because his priorities are different and he doesn’t know intimate details of certain subjects doesn’t make him a retard who can’t take care of a kid, he just knows different things. Personally that’s the kind of image they are portraying to me, a handyman type dad who can’t help much with schooling, but could (probably) do a hell of a better job patching up the house then you or I. Comments (3)
In my personal opinion - and having some slight comprehension of 'advertising license':
1) To suggest any parent would advise their child in the context of a school set questions that the meaning of Australia Day is going to the cricket is so ludicrous and grotesque it is beyond any form of 'jokiness'. 2) To suggest that any parent would just 'wing' an answer (Great Wall)when helping a child with his homework is just plain insulting. Any "contempt" between Exetel and Telstra is strictly one way. Comments (6)
1) Well I think it was a pretty good joke, but then I'm a fan of many shows involving characters such as that (The Simpsons, Scrubs, Futurama).
2) As I said, I don’t believe the ad conveys that the father knew it was for homework. The joke (at least for me) was that he answered the question such as he did, without knowing the kid was going to use it. Maybe I should have used a lesser term, such as dislike? Comments (3)
I think that you've already said you aren't 'similar' to the older protagonist in the two ads.
I wonder whether you would be saying the same things if you were? I wonder how you would regard someone who believed it was funny to ascribe such characteristics to a 'real person' similar to the one portrayed in those exercises in total tastelessness? I suspect that you would phrase your opinions very differently. Comments (6)
I come from the country and have some very good friends which the father in those ads remind me of (at least in that first ad, the second ad is a bit ridiculous if your comparing it to ‘real life’).
I guess, as you said, it may appeal to a different sense of humor then your own. I am only young, and probably take everything a little too lightly. Comments (3)
Clearly everyone is different and in terms of appreciating 'humour' there will be many differences.
However, if you are a person within a large, public, commercial concern, responsible for authorising advertising material you would normally, at least I would have thought so, be expected to tread some fairly 'middle ground' in what you allow to be presented to the public. While you (irrespective of your age) may find something casually amusing it isn't you that should have been considered. The ads are clearly disparaging and contemptuous of a stereotype of a parent and are 'elitist' to a sickening degree. Comments (6)
It seems your discussion may have hit a nerve with a current Eftel employee. http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1074271&p=2#r25
That being said I have to agree with the majority of your points, word from QV1 has always been negative when discussing the management team from past employees. Should be interesting to see what comes out of this, especially in light of the director calling it quits. Comment (1)
Any reading of the published 30/6/08 balance sheet shows a company with deep and quite possibly insoluble financial problems from non-recoverable debtors to not enough cash to meet listed creditor claims - and it also shows the position as deteriorating from the previous year.
If you look at the second last page of the Eftel report: http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20080926/pdf/31ck4sd6sw4l20.pdf you will see a Top 20 shareholder list which as the post you referenced sneeringly observes - the current disgruntled major shareholder may well have difficulty acquiring enough shareholder support to remove the current CEO. Of course some of the Ehrenfeld names may not automatically vote with the CEO - if I remember his brother Danny, who has a fair stake still, was part of attempt to remove the CEO last year. Whatever happens it seems the next Eftel board meeting will almost certainly show a company in total chaos for the second year in a row. ...and with much to be chaotic about by the look of the current balance sheet. Comments (6)
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