O.K..... As an American who lived in Sydney for almost a year... I have to say -- WE ARE TOTALLY…read moreSPOILED in the USA with ISPs. We have speed, bandwidth and CHOICE. Remember that board game Monopoly? Telstra is the big MONOPOLY in Australia. It says on Wikipedia that they are an example of a legal monopoly. What? Isn't that a contradiction in terms? Maybe not in Australia. They own the lines that all other ISPs rent from in New South Wales, which means, they easily outcompete them, because they take their sweet time in processing orders for competing companies...i.e. turn the switch on. It doesn't matter which ISP you go with in Sydney...they have to get Telstra to get the lines working, and hook them up, which means you get crappy service whether you go with Telstra, or not. With Telstra, you might get faster speed in internet, but you pay for it. I cannot tell you what a nightmare it was trying to get internet service working at our apartment.... how many phones calls routed to far away countries where they can find tech support for cheap, to people who do not communicate in English or with each other. It's an abomination. All I could say was...can we please import some American lawyers to go bat shit on their ass with some Anti Trust laws? I don't know Australian law, but I would hope they have anti trust laws. Seriously...we have lawyers to spare. We could bring them to Australia and help you guys out with the internet.

I'm not a big fan of big corporates or massive franchise chains. I'm not that big a fan of Telstra…read morebecause they keep me hold for longer than I've got time for (or at least want to give them time for). But - it's a pretty big but - the staff in the North Sydney shop go against all my gruff and grunts. The girl's name escapes me now but she was such a delight. She was down to earth, honest and really clear. I went in looking for info about Internet service providers. She asked me what my needs were then explained their plans in lamen's terms. She agreed that they were one of the most expensive plans but explained the benefits of joining them. I guess it was the delivery, the honesty and the lack of salesy approach that warmed me to the place. After choosing a cheaper provider and having quite a few connection issues with them I'll probably go back to this shop and sign up with them next time.

My experience at the Virgin Retail Outlet on Pitt Street was a pleasant and easy one. It required…read morevery little effort on my part and not that I'm lazy, but that's what I like. I walked to the shop, just before Pitt Street Mall, and entered. Immediately I was asked by a young woman in training what she could do for me, I told her what I needed and in half a minute, if that, I was seated and filling in a form for a new phone. She got my details and I signed the document. It will take an hour she told me, this was an upgrade and there were accounts to alter and bills to adapt. She suggested I get a coffee, I went one better and got lunch, returning an hour later, all the work done and I just picked up my new phone. In, out, lunch in the middle. Easy as the pie I ate for tea.

Honestly the worst customer service ever seen in a phone shop. I was 'welcomed' by a girl with dark…read morehair and complexion who seemed to find every possible reason not to help me, bothered by some guys walking in while the shop was empty (around 2 pm on 21/03/14). I had my phone in my hands all along and she deliberately ignored it, claiming there was no plan suitable for me at the shop, until my aussie friend showed her the leaflet saying 'BYO' with a (sarcastic?) 'No commitment needed'. She tried her own sim card on my phone as if she was doing me a huge favour (again, only when asked) to simply verify it was unlocked (seemingly to her disappointment). If you're a working holiday maker, be aware that you're going to feel like you're at the police station. They seem to need more documents than the government authorities when you enter the country (electricity bill, physical credit card, visa notification letter). The girl was rude enough to remark several times, with a fierce expression, that they needed so many documents (implying: more than I could provide) and told us we could print them in store only when expressly asked. I've worked with the general public and it really hurts me when I see someone working like that, without the least effort to deliver a service some customer is willing to pay for to fulfill a real need. I honestly felt like I was underage caught with fake ID and about to be kicked out from a club. Telstra, I'm coming!

Do not deal with this store-absolutely appalling service. We were told we could switch over to the…read moreNBN without any disruption at end of September. It is now end of October and we are still no nearer to being switched over. An appointment on 17 October was never fulfilled and a 2nd appointment on 29 October was also unfulfilled. We have had no landline service since 17 October and only limited internet. Numerous emails and phone calls provide no explanation or assistance. The Manager has lied and misled us all the way on this. Will be filing an official complaint with Telstra. The manager of this store should be sacked for incompetence.

From the owner: Telstra Newtown specialises in telecommunications for personal needs and small business. We carry…read morea large selection of the most popular phones and brands. Telstra Newtown can also help you with various plans and bundles. We offer a personalised service for local community and encourage you to come and try before you buy in store. For small business we can help advise you on how to save time and money through your telecommunications solutions. Come and see us for a coffee and chat at the Telstra Shop in King Street, Newtown.

Crucial are great! Their products are easy to use and the support team always respond promptly to…read moreany issues. I couldn't be happier with their service.

From the owner: Crucial is one of Australia's most established and premier web hosting and domain companies. With a…read moreproven track record and over 11 years of experience, Crucial has helped Australian small businesses succeed online through innovative hosting products and exceptional customer support. Crucial led by an ambitious management team, who continually strive towards setting new benchmarks in service excellence and quality within the hosting industry. Crucial offers a Virtual Server range with a product for all small business needs; from the fully Managed VPS, Control Panel VPS and the code guru's Barebones VPS. Crucial offers Australia's best value domains, from only $22/year. Combine this with Web Hosting or a Reseller service and the notorious Crucial 24x7x365 support and your business is ready to go. The Crucial ream aim to simplify technology for Aussie small businesses through providing nothing short of excellent customer service. This excellence has been recognised and rewarded with multiple awards including CRN Fast 50, Anthill Smart 50, BRW Fast 100 and Deloitte Technology Fast 50.

I've got my last two smart phones from these guys. Like most retail, the experience depends on…read moreexactly who you get to serve you. I've mostly had very positive experiences (though not all) - fast, efficient, friendly, knowledgeable. The only time that the service wasn't great I was in a hurry and had a trainee helping me... Argh! And the other staff weren't exactly very helpful towards the poor kid.

This store has plenty of competition as Optus, Vodafone and Allphones all have stores right next to…read morethis one in the World Square shopping centre. After deciding I needed a proper smartphone as my work Blackberry no longer cuts it - I was determined to sign up yesterday afternoon. Needless to say, I have signed up at this Telstra store. The same phone and plan was probably $10 cheaper at the competitors but having used Telstra mobile for the past decade and having no service issues - I was willing to pay for this reliability. I was tended to not long after entering the store by smiling staff as opposed to the Vodafone and Optus stores where I was left to browse phones and plans and had to get people's attention for service. So between the better customer service and carrier reputation - this store got my business this time.