Paul Nicholson knows as well as anybody just how tough it is to be a Telstra shareholder.

He was one of the more than one million retail investors who bought into the company's float almost 20 years ago as a chance to get a slice of an Australian institution.

Paul Nicholson questions the value of the bonuses awarded to Telstra executives Credit:Justin McManus

He has been dismayed to watch the share price fall from its peak well above $7 to just over $3 on Friday and questions the value of the controversial bonuses paid to Telstra executives.

“I would prefer to see the the money being spent on executives going to employing local customer service staff. I don’t think the money should be going to executives when the performance is down. If the performance was up it would be a different,” he says.