Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey has come out in defence of Optus in a new radio ad after last week’s nationwide outage.
The ad, voiced by Harvey himself, slams the backlash against Optus, saying it “could happen to any company”, and offers deals on Optus products in-store.
It has been playing on radio stations including 2GB, 6PR and 3AW.
“Hi, Gerry Harvey. Optus, Optus, kick them when they’re down! Really? I thought Australians were better than that,” Mr Harvey says in the ad.
“It could happen to any company. It could be your turn next time.
“For what it’s worth, Harvey Norman will support Optus. Yes, we will support Optus. If you think Optus is getting a raw deal, then you think like us.
“Need a new phone? It’s an Optus deal at Harvey Norman. Tell them Gerry sent you.”
“If you think Optus is getting a raw deal, then you think like us.
“Need a new phone? It’s an Optus deal at Harvey Norman. Tell them Gerry sent you.”
Harvey Norman sells a number of Optus products in-store, including mobile and data plans, and offers gift cards for customers who sign up to Optus plans.
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Mr Harvey told Perth radio station 6PR he decided to release the ad as he felt the criticism of Optus was “very unfair” and calls for CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin to resign were “ridiculous”.
“The CEO doesn’t run the IT department,” he said.
“I think it would be a tragedy for somebody to be sacked because of this.”
The Harvey Norman co-founder – who has an estimated personal fortune of $1.6 billion – noted his company also lost money due to the outage and were unable to communicate with customers about deliveries.
But he took a swipe at those, including business owners, who are seeking compensation from Optus for the loss of service, conflating this with worker’s compensation.
“You can’t expect compensation every time an accident occurs,” he told 6PR’s Gary Adshead.
“I’ve got worker’s comp(ensation). My bill from my horse stud this year for worker’s comp was $480,000. This is way too stupid – the whole worker’s comp thing is totally out of control.”
2GB, 6PR and 3AW are owned by Nine Entertainment, which also owns this publication.
