Bell Blues

March 29 2007 by Ellen Roseman

Since I get many complaints about Bell Canada’s ineptness in dealing with customers, I did a recent column (March 24) asking readers whether Bell’s service was improving. The floodgates opened with complaints. I also heard from long-time employees who don’t like how Bell is evolving and who learned this week their retirement benefits were to be cut back. A demoralized work force can’t deliver great results.

Some common themes emerged:

* Bell needs an ombudsman or a central point of contact for complaints.

* It’s very hard to speak to a supervisor or get the names of anyone in authority. When Bell gives out phone numbers and email addresses for complaints, these often don’t work.

* Many customers can’t communicate well with outsourced Indian call centres. The people at the other end of the line have strong accents and don’t understand Canadian conditions or climate (often telling customers to go out on the roof in winter to check a satellite dish connection). Their technical knowledge is shallow, so they keep you waiting on the line while seeking answers to questions.

* Some call centre staff staff are courteous and patient, while others have an attitude of arrogance, insensitivity to customers’ time constraints and often just plain rudeness. Bell trains employees to talk about how much they care for customers, but the caring often falls apart in the face of strict rules that can’t be broken and an inability to resolve longstanding problems.

Category: Finance | 657 comments

657 comments

Ben

Apr 10 2007

I wanted to let you know of our never-ending problem with Bell, which finally ended last Monday. To make it short, we went through hell. Real hell.

Back in Sept 06, Bell credited us for the difference on our long distance rate due to their own ERROR and the balance of approximately $3,000 was reduced to $900. They CUT OFF our long distance access at the time and for 6 months Bell would NOT would budge into re-instating it. I did several complaint email to Bell as well, but NOTHING could force MA BELL to fix our problem.

The problem started back in Jan 2006. Our long distance special pricing had mysteriously changed to Bell’s regular posted rate (i.e. $4 a minute for Iran) and our bill was switched to E-Billing. How did that happen, only God knows.

Finally I decided NOT to make any new payment to Bell. This only lasted a while. Ten days ago, we got a notice indicating if our balance was not paid, then the phone would be disconnected and we would be facing re-connecting and other fees. This SEEMED like it was all FORGOTTEN who caused our problem.

I was ready to hire a lawyer but I decided to give it another try. This time I wanted to have a face to face meeting. It was a challenge to get their address, as Bell does NOT MEET FACE TO FACE with its own clients.

My wife and I finally went to Bell’s office in north west Toronto. The building is more secured than FBI. By making a scene, I managed to get the manager of the EXECUTIVE OFFICE to come to the main floor and meet with us. She took us to a private room on the second floor and I let out what I wanted to say for the past 15 months.

I gave her two choices, fix the problem and then I pay few hundred dollars on the remaining outstanding balance or face a lawsuit. She left the office and came back in 10 minutes. She (the manager) reduced the balance to $285 dollars, which I paid it right there with my AMEX card. She reinstated our long distance within 2 hours as well.

Finally, I ENDED a 15-month problem with BELL. It really felt good but I’ll NEVER FORGET and I WILL SWITCH OUR SERVICE SOON.
Ellen, your article made me laugh, but at the same time it is really SAD. When are we going to have strong consumer protections???
Gord

Apr 10 2007

I was a loyal Bell Canada customer (landline and cell phones) for many years. I ran into a number of situations that created immeasurable amounts of frustration dealing with Bell — extremely long on-hold situations, treated like I was a criminal or a dead-beat (even after they realized it was their mistake). I was even called a liar by one of their ‘friendly’ service professionals. The problems I was attempting to rectify, really, were not very complicated. They could have been resolved in a heartbeat if Bell had taken the time to hire personnel who were motivated to care for their customers.

My solution was very simple: I dropped Bell like a lost call and went to other carriers. Bell then wanted my business back. They didn’t give a rat’s pituey when I was a loyal customer, only after I told them to take a hike did they actually notice. I have a number of phones in various parts of this country. Sad to say a couple are still with Bell as there is no other carrier available in those areas. I continue to watch any chance to drop those accounts also.

Bell Canada lost a once-loyal customer, not through a drop in the quality of their product, but because they don’t give a hoot for their customer base. If the only path to resolving a situation is through you or some other high-profile method, it’s too late. They had better start treating their customers like someone they want to hang onto, right off the hop.

Thanks, keep up the great work.
Michael

Apr 10 2007

Last year I became a Bell Mobility ‘customer’ without my knowledge, consent or approval.

It took me months and many hours on the phone to ‘cancel’ the service and to receive a refund for the charges what were automatically withdrawn from my bank account.

The experience was absolutely exasperating and Bell, in my view, rates sub-zero in terms of a properly managed company.

Boo on Bell Mobility.
Allan

Apr 10 2007

You may say, “enough already”, but here goes with another Bell horror story.

I’ve had Bell Sympatico hi-speed internet service since 2002. Three years ago I discovered that I was paying a higher monthly rate than a friend and called 310-SURF to query this. They told me that if I signed a one year contract, I would qualify for the lower rate.

I signed the email contract and a year later the rate reverted to the higher amount. I called again and received the lower rate. Again last January the rate went up from $37.21 TO $49.93. When I called, the clerk told me (incorrectly as I later discovered) that the lower rate offer had been discontinued. On further enquiry (I don’t give up easily), I found that if I signed a two-year contract, I could have the lower rate, retroactive to January. I have no problem with their internet service, so I signed up.

When the lower charge didn’t appear on my Visa in February,I called and was assured that the error would be corrected and I would be credited $29.86. Again in March, the charge was incorrect and I learned this time from Darlene (clerk #5037) that I had been charged as a new customer, including hookup fee, modem etc. Again I was assured that the correct adjustment would be made.

My sources tell me that Bell is in big trouble. Staff morale is at an all-time low with a severe shortage of qualified, experienced personnel. It doesn’t look like there’s much hope for improvement.
Pierre

Apr 10 2007

Bell is a bloated fat pig of a company that needs to be sent into bankruptcy before a new company with a new culture can emerge. I sold all my Bell shares years ago. It is impossible to deal with them. They grew because they had a monopoly and have continued because of their size in the marketplace. I would like nothing more than to see Bell get its just deserts.

The examples you give are the norm, not the exception. After 14 months of trying to get my cellphone bill dealt with, I cancelled my service with them and took the financial hit because it was beyond frustrating.

Now do I still have some Bell services like a phone, Sympatico and ExpressVu? The answer is yes because the product is still good, even if the company is not. But dial-up Sympatico ranks up there with Bell Mobility and I will get rid of this service in my rural location as soon as a high-speed radio tower covers my area!

I would even go to Vonage as soon as I am able. Why if their product is good? Because the company is rotten to the core and you would have to fire every employee from the President on down to clean that mess. Business always complains about Gov’t being inefficient. Bell is worse than any government I have ever dealt with.

As an example of how they operate and how the culture is rotten from the top down, you need to look no further than the staunch defense of the head of Bell Bobility when the major billing problems occurred two years ago. They should have fired him and everyone else down the line.

Pierre
Happy to see the demise of Bell.
Michael C.

Apr 10 2007

Has Bell’s service improved. My comment would be “Emphatically Not.”

Two examples of their “Service” within the past 120 days:

1. I am a Bell ExpressVu customer of many years and had lost signal on one of my TV’s. A number of calls to their Technical Support Line entailed lengthy waits while listening to a recorded message roughly every minute reminding me that I was a valued client and could “go online” to solve many issues. Since my time is not unlimited I had to hang up with the hopes of trying again some other time. That is not customer service–it is customer avoidance. I know that call centres have the ability to determine how many phone calls to them are abandoned by clients. Their metrics reports would indicate this and I would be interested to know if their abandon rate has improved or degraded over time.

2. Changes to ExpressVu programming. Bell has the technology to allow me to increase my bill by adding theme packages and the like using their website, but to decrease content you are forced to phone their call centre. This allows them to try and upsell you into taking packages and content designed to maximize Bell’s profits (they would argue it is to “enhance” my viewing experience).

I do not care for invasive questions as to who else lives in my house and what TV to they like to watch, etc. This is a private matter. The tone of the employee I dealt with became quite aggressive. Clearly Bell isn’t in favour of a long-time customer reducing his satellite bill from an $85 to mid-$30 level per month. Ironically they answer the phone by mentioning that they want to offer “excellent service.”

As a side note, I would suggest that both Bell and Rogers have ongoing issues with customer service and the operation of their web sites. How ironic that two major companies offering Internet services cannot always maintain their own web sites. The major banks do much better in this regard.

Thanks for listening and I enjoy your columns.
AF

Apr 10 2007

I am very surprised by a column criticizing Bell’s technical support. I have my complaints about Bell: the world’s worst internet site and cost of service at the very high end of tolerable. But I have stuck with it because of its overall reliability and experiences with tech support, and bad reports of same for the cheaper providers.

I hate to see the friendly and competent Bell techies I’ve dealt with get a bad rap. I’ve had to call Sympatico support several times in the last couple of years for help with home DSL and software changes and especially my move to a wi-fi network, and found the support staff uniformly patient and successful in setting me up. Just last week I phoned about the DSL line cutting off - the staff quickly determined that the problem was on Bell’s side of the phone jack, escalated the issue during my first call, the higher level support identified an external line problem while I waited and promised to dispatch a technician within 24 hours. I then got a call from the line repairman four hours later informing me that the problem was solved, and it is.

Similarly, while Bell’s finance department has fouled up the automatic top-up for my pay-go cell phone a couple of times, the call centre staff have restored the service quickly and apologetically. I’ve had a few experiences in rural areas of being able to make calls on the Bell wireless network where competing services failed to provide a usable connection. All in all, I think I could do a lot worse and would not cut off my nose to spite Bell for its shortcomings.
MJ

Apr 10 2007

I felt compelled to write you. Two to three weeks ago, I was having issues with Sympatico service. It would go up and down. I called customer service (routed to India) and talked to 3 customer reps over 3-4 days. Each one asked me to perform tests while I was on the phone. I did tell each of them that I am working in the computer field and I understand how to setup a PC and networks/communications. But I would follow their instructions.

Finally, they determined that the issue was on the line and the would schedule a service call to the house and someone would call. Thursday afternoon, my wife took a call for an appointment on Friday between 5-9 P.M. Perfect as I would be home when the repair person would be here. Well, he shows up at 3:09 PM and leaves a note saying he showed up and nobody was home. Well no kidding, why show up 2 hours early and expect someone to be there!

At 4:45, I called Customer care (in India). I asked the call to be escalated immediately. After 15 minutes on hold, a manager gets on the line and asks me if I’d like to reschedule the appointment, at which point I got upset. I told me I don’t want to reschedule the appointment but would like him to get a service rep to the house that night. He then puts me on hold for 20 minutes only to come back to say my original appointment was between 1 to 6 P.M., at which point I became even more upset. I asked if he was in India, which he confirmed. I explained to him that I am of Indian descent and just returned from my first trip to India and being brought up in a Canadian culture, this is not the way we do business here in Canada/North America. I asked the call to be transferred to someone in Canada and if I got cut off, there would be a price to pay.

Fifteen minutes later, I was speaking with a Patrick in Ottawa (Rep# 6019456) who could speak without reading from a manual/script. Once I told him I understand computers and telecom, he spent 20 minutes with me on the phone talking technical terms and determined the issue and actually increased my DSL speed, which made my communication stable. To this day, the service has been great, thanks to Patrick IN Ottawa, Canada!

I must say, I was not impressed with the level of service from Sympatico especially the call center in India.
Doreen

Apr 10 2007

It was a relief to read your column and find out that others have had problems with the “Customer Service” at Bell Canada.

I thought that I was being picky as I had mentioned to a couple of my friends about what I had gone through and they said they never had any problems with Bell Canada.

I spent over three hours one morning on the phone to someone in India regarding problems with my email account. I hung up with a headache from trying to understand what they were saying. At one point, he was spelling (or trying to spell) words as I could not understand what he was trying to say. After I hung up and went to go back onto Sympatico, it did not work again. Guess what, I spent another two hours with another rep. The second time the person was more knowledgeable and I was able to understand him and he was able to fix the problem, which had become more complicated.

The next week, the problem was back. I called and got cut off three times. I finally kept dialing numbers until I got someone in Toronto and I explained to them that unless I could speak to a technical person in Canada who understood the problem, I was canceling my phone lines and my Sympatico line. I was transferred to a very knowledgeable woman who said she was in New Brunswick.

My problem was fixed within 15 minutes and has not occurred again. She explained to me that we had to go back to the very beginning and reassign my set-up as it was completely screwed up. The technicians in India had just added to the problems.

Thanks, for letting me know I was not the only one.
Robert

Apr 10 2007

Your column about Bell really hit home. have to say that there has been no worse experience for us than working with Bell Sympatico! If we ran our customer service as poorly as they do, we would be out of business in no time.

We have had so many problems and issues with them that I don’t even know where to begin. Here is just a partial list (all in the last few weeks):

1. We were told that we needed to update to a new modem for our internet service, which we did. I then spent 6 weeks chasing them down (by phone and email) trying to fix all the problems this upgrade created to our internet and phone service.

2. We use Sympatico for our business, so it was a shock to hear from a number of our clients that their messages were being bounced back as undeliverable. This was not only happening to new messages but to clients who have emailed us in the past without any problems. I immediately contacted Bell and explained the problem. Their solution? Have each client who gets a bounce-back message contact their respective ISP and ask them why their messages are being bounced back! As far as Bell was concerned, the problem was not theirs. Incredible!

3. Latest ongoing problem is that we keep getting a pop-up screen when working in Microsoft Outlook that asks us to enter in our Sympatico user name and password. This happens several times per minute and you have to stop what you are doing to click off that screen. I called and their answer is always the same: “they have never heard of such a problem”. As if I am the ONLY Sympatico customer to ever experience this mysterious pop-up screen. They attempted to walk me through a whole slew of fixes all to no avail. The problem is worse than ever and Bell has washed their hands of it.

This, along with waiting on hold forever, no responses to emails, dropped calls, having to explain my issue over and over again to several different people, supervisors never being available, all make for a dismal customer service experience. There hasn’t been a single issue, big or small, that their customer service reps have been able to solve for me.

You might ask why we don’t simply switch to Rogers or another provider? To be honest, because I am not at all confident that they would be any better. Sad isn’t it?

So, to answer your question – Has Bell’s service improved? Absolutely, unequivocally NO!

Thanks very much and keep up the great work on the column. We look forward to reading your responses in the future.
Michelle

Apr 10 2007

Bell Service has deteriorated. I recently had a total interruption of telephone and wireless internet service. I was asked to check plug-in connections, which I’d done. “There is a small box outside, see if the jack there works,” they said. There was three feet of snow to venture through to the box. My cross-country days are over. I am 81 years old and have difficulty walking.

I refused to get involved as I pay a monthly fee not to have to play the technician. I was told that a technician would arrive the following week, i.e. 5 days hence, between 8 am and 5 pm. Later, I phoned to say that was not good enough. I pay an extra fee for any inside work that has to be done. This was Friday. On Sunday, I received a call that there was nothing wrong with my telephone. (Utter nonsense. None of the phones had functioned for either in or out calls since Thursday.) The phone was working now. Bell had claimed it was a problem on my side.

On the next Tuesday, a technician arrived late afternoon to find he was not needed. No one at Bell had thought to cancel his call. He had driven a long way for 2 “urgent service calls.” His comment was, “I shall bill them for sure.”

In all this ,I must add that when I call for technical help, I have received nothing but patience and courtesy from staff answering the calls. The company does have servicing problems and the repair service costs are very high. Nor have I received credit for loss of service!

This is a long-winded beef but it does this long-time client of Bell’s good!
Bill

Apr 10 2007

I had an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. appointment today for line static. It was cancelled while I was out yesterday by an answering machine message, saying their test showed my line is fine. It isn’t.

The automated complaint process is a nightmare, with repeated warnings that, if the problem is with my house lines or phones, there will be a service charge and, by the way, there is an expensive service plan available for purchase just in case it’s my fault.

Let’s see. My lines are inside, free from cold and damp and rodents and motion, and my phones are all solid-state electronics, which either work or fail, but they don’t deteriorate to static. Their lines are over 30 years old (I’ve been here 33 years and the street lines have never been touched) and since they are up on poles, are subject to wind, rain, heat, ice, rodents, street vibration and general environmental corrosion. Would you like to bet on the likely source of the fault?

When a line tech does appear, with a ladder, I will point out the pole box for my line that is a rats’ warren of old, obsolete connections and frequent nests, and the cylinder on the line at the nearest corner that often is full of water. You see, the static problem appears every year during spring thaw and often during November storms and is always their fault. However, nobody at the call center is interested in the problem history. Every tech who visits says there are no plans, to their knowledge, for any upgrades or refurbishments. If I were willing to endure the horrendous static and infrequent phantom voices on the line, the heat of the May sun will dry the connections and return service to minimally acceptable status.

Come Monday, I’ll call again for another tech visit and keep calling until I get an actual truck out front. Now that I’m retired, I have the luxury of persistently reminding Bell of its responsibility to provide adequate service for their fees.
Roberta

Apr 10 2007

Hurray for you for printing out the complaints from some Sympatico and Bell users. Recently, after returning from vacation, my high speed service and outlook express service had disappeared.

After 3 times at 1 1/2 hours each time, I was finally connected.

At the beginning, the people in India told me that I never had a computer registered with Sympatico, and it took them all that time to find my registration and then gave me a new URL and password.

After having owned 2 computers over the past 7 years, needless to say, I was highly annoyed, as this was not the first time that I have had to deal with Bell. I think that the Internet service is terrible and I would cancel, but this last time I was put on high speed, I had to agree to 2 years service or pay a $100 penalty, which I think is ludicrous after paying the high speed rate all these years.

The cost of this service has gone up but the service has certainly gone down, especially since they transfer calls to India and half the time the people may be very smart, but very had to understand.
Deb

Apr 11 2007

Well, I just had to laugh out loud as I read your article. We are entirely fed up. My husband and I had just spent the better part of the day on the phone with Bell’s ExpressVu customer service with regards to our 3rd, yep number 3!, television receiver. We have the dual PVR system and the second TV never seems to work with it. We don’t receive half the features such as PP - picture in picture — on this newly received receiver. We have spent countless hours on the phone with customer service, going through tiresome procedures meant to help us help ourselves. We pretty much know these procedures by heart now and could have other customers call us… all to no avail!

So now after yet another whole day spent hooking up another receiver, which does not work, Bell is going to send us , wait for it… one more receiver. This one we are told has been pre-tested before being shipped… so I guess all the others are NOT tested! In any case we have had it. We live in a rural area and don’t have much selection. It’s either satellite or cable. At this point cable is looking pretty good. I asked why they couldn’t just send out a technician and I was told it would cost $75. I said oh no you don’t, I have paid enough in pain and suffering - just fix the darn thing and send us a workable product. Also with each receiver change we lose the movies we have paid for and stored in the PVR and have to start from square one. Help!
EB

Apr 11 2007

Thank you for article on Bell Mobility. Last December I called and changed my credit card info on my Bell Mobility account. I then received recorded phone messages from Bell Mobility’s Accounts Receivable that they were going to cancel my account. I was forced to call back and wait 45 minutes to get service to make sure my cell would not be cancelled. My cell is my only phone so it is imperative that it works for both personal and business purposes.

When I finally got through, I pointed out they had the valid credit card information and to take the money off my credit card. They assured me it would come off on my next billing date. The same scenario played out three months in a row and earlier this month, they disconnected my cell. I called and was told my account was “delinquent”. I pointed out that they had a valid credit card on file and just to bill the card. It seems to me that the delinquent in this case is Bell Mobility.

I cancelled my cell at a cost of $300 as I was under contract. However, it seemed to be the only way to stop the multiple recorded messages from their accounts receivable department that was negligent in making the proper withdrawals. I had been a customer for 7 years.
Alastair

Apr 11 2007

I’m glad to know I have not been the only one
battling with Bell over service issues.

Back in the fall of 2006, I had a problem with my home telephone. Any time I wished to make a call out, the line was dead. A few times when i lifted the receiver to check if it was working, I heard two people having a conversation. I finally found out the person upstairs in our building was getting my calls and I was receiving his calls.

I contacted bell technical and was told a technician would be out the next day between 5 pm and 9 pm. Someone had to be home in case the technician had to get inside. The next day I stayed home between those times, and at 9 pm, still no phone working, I called Bell technical. I was informed the technician was there at the building and checked the line.
The technician reported it was not a problem with the line at the building, but it was a problem from Bell’s main office.

Day 2 arrives and at 5 pm, still no phone, I call Bell again. They could have a technician out the next day between 12 pm and 5 pm and again, someone should be at home.

My partner took half a day off work on day 2 to wait for a technician between 12 pm and 5 pm. Again, no one came to our apartment. When we contacted Bell, we were advised that a technician was at the building. The technician did not inform
us he was at the building and we were informed to have someone home between 12 PM - 5 PM. This situation continued for 4 days before the problem got resolved.

Once the problem was resolved, we contacted Bell and requested the phone number for the president’s office. They had no such number. We continued to ask how Bell was going to compensate us for the time lost from work and for our cell phone bill. The only compensation Bell felt was acceptable was $20.

A few months later, we had a problem with the internet. We called the technical support office, in India, various times. Each time, we were asked to follow some troubleshooting with the equipment. It all failed and they advised they would have a technician sent to the property. This went on for days. Finally after numerous calls and visits by the
technicians, they were able to fix the problem.

We called Bell’s business office, because the technician from the support office said they were not authorized to provide compensation. Their response was that they would pro-rate the bill for the number of days without service.

I must say Bell really needs to improve their customer service and provide customers with proper information. They shouldn’t tell customers to stay home waiting on a technician, when the technician does not even inform the customer he is there.
They must get a proper solution in place for escalated calls, since you cannot speak to a supervisor. We were informed it was 24 to 48 hours for a supervisor call-back.

I can honestly say Rogers has the best customer service and they even call you ahead of time to let you know a technician is on his way.
Arlene

Apr 11 2007

I have been a client of Bell Sympatico for the past 4-5 yrs. During this time, problems have occurred and I have had to call for tech support. In the past, this support was excellent, even to the point of assisting me with a non-Sympatico problem. In most cases, the time spent on the phone with the tech person evolved into almost a ‘good friend’ relationship! Bonus was, we spoke the same language and I had no difficulty understanding them.

Lately, with the advent of the call centre in India, my experience has been similar to that outlined in your column. The tech person was not as competent as before and it took considerably longer to fix the problem. Many times, I had to ask the person to repeat what they had said. Ultimately, the problem was fixed satisfactorily.

This activity took place on March 5th and, to my annoyance, involved some upselling of service (DSL to High Speed), when I had just renewed my DSL service for 12 months. I did this over a month ahead of when the old contract expired (April 28). It took some negotiation to obtain the same deal as previously, until the point I mentioned looking into another internet provider. We are seniors on fixed incomes and don’t have an abundance of disposable cash to pay for services such as this.

Finally, since my service problem call, I have received no less than 4 solicitation phone calls from Bell reps (India, I presume) as the accents were very thick.
KR

Apr 11 2007

I signed a three year contract with Bell Mobility for three cell phones, all on the same plan. Two of the phones were already with Bell from a previous contract, and one was a new contract. I was offered what I thought was an excellent deal for all three phones, and I made sure before signing that the deal would apply to all three phones, not just the new one. I even had them write the features and terms of the deal on the receipt.

The first month was OK with the billing. On the second bill, I noticed I had very large bills (over $100 each) for the two existing Bell phones. I called Bell Mobility and after spending almost an hour on hold, was told I had been given the contract in error, and Bell would change my new three year contracts to reflect the correct number of minutes per month and billing rate I argued that I had signed a binding contract with them for three years and that if they could not honour it, I wanted to cancel all three of my contracts immediately and return their new phones as well. I was told that they would gladly help me cancel my contract, but I would have to repay almost $1,000 in phone subsidies to Bell if I cancelled.

I spent several months, and many hours on the phone, trying to either get them to honour the contracts or cancel the contracts completely, including taking back all phones. Finally, I threatened to take Bell Mobility to court with my lawyer. They took less than 5 minutes to agree to honour our contracts. I also had them send me a signed letter (from a supervisor) on a Bell Mobility letterhead, outlining in detail all features of my contracts, so that I would not have trouble in the future.

For the past two years, I have continued to fight them as they have tried to change one feature or another of my contract. I have been a Bell Mobility customer for over 10 years and am fed up with the bullying tactics to try to unilaterally change my contracts. I have lost all trust with large corporations, and will more than likely switch to a pay as you go plan next year when my contracts with Bell expire.

I would strongly recommend to any new Bell Mobility customers on contract:

1. Make sure you get in writing at the time of signing all features of your contract and rates. Normally Bell just writes the name of the plan on the contract, without specific features. I found they tend to change the features of a given plan as required. For example, a Business All-in One plan can have the features changed. So, when you try to fight them, they simply show you that the “Business All-In One plan” as written on your contract does not have the same features as you were originally told.

2. Make sure you photocopy your contract and recipts right after signing them. I did this because I realized that Bell, like many companies, used thermal ink on the receipts. In less than a year, your ink completely fades away from the paper, leaving you with no proof of what contract you signed. Try fighting them with a blank piece of paper as your only proof! I made a photocopy and have the original terms of the contract intact.

3. Don’t waste too many hours talking to front line representatives on the phone. Ask to speak to a supervisor sooner than later. The reps who answer the phone don’t have the power to help you anyway and will continue to tell you there is nothing that can be done.

4. Do not be afraid to challenge Bell if you are right. I got fed up, spoke to a lawyer friend, and was ready to take them to court. Bell knew they were in the wrong and agreed to honour the contract within 5 minutes.
AS

Apr 11 2007

I agree Bell’s service seems to be one of the poorer of all the telecom companies in Canada. I have been eagerly waiting for mobile number portability and will be looking to switch to a different carrier soon. I have been a loyal customer with them for over 3 years, and when I call to see if they can offer a good retention deal, they are not forthcoming. I know Rogers customer service will ‘bend over backwards’ to retain their loyal customers with very good deals.

I would want to see Bell offering 24/7 live customer help before I would consider staying with them.
Vincent

Apr 11 2007

Bell customer service phone support (310-BELL) is only available during business hours and only during weekdays, except for some emergency. It is inadequate in this day and age for a company providing essential service. Even the most conservative companies — banks — have longer hours
both for phone support and after-hours/weekend branch openings these days. Bell’s biggest competitor, Rogers, has better hours, too. This exemplifies Bell’s arrogance in general. And now with its service outsourced to India (I didn’t know that until reading your article,) there’s no excuse for
restricting it to Canada’s business hours.

Second, Bell’s position is that they are only responsible for phone line signal to only one phone jack in the house. All other phone jacks are the customer’s problem, even if I just moved into a new apartment and some of the jacks don’t work. Well, Bell’s competitor, Rogers, would send a technician to make all TV cable outlets work or install new outlets. Once
again, this shows the arrogance of Bell.

Lastly, Bell switched their phone dispatch from the touch-tone response to natural voice recognition. Everyone hates that, including Bell’s own employees and software people.

Problem A: Unlike touch-tone system where you were given a multiple choice question and use the phone pad to punch in the obvious choice, now you’re asked an open-ended question, to which you must guess which natural English word/phrase the computer is expecting you to answer. I can’t count how many
times I repeatedly yelled words like “residential line!”, “my home phone!!”, “telephone!!!”, all to no avail, until I uttered some profanity “$%#@”, to which the computer routed me to a live human being — thank you!

Problem B: If you speak English with an accent, the computer is not going to understand you. In a multicultural country, that’s a real problem.

Problem C: I used to be able to make a quick and quiet call of this nature at work. But now, I’ve got to yell out those silly words (and repeatedly) to a computer in the middle of the office — and remember, Bell’s customer support only works during business hours, so where else can you be?
joe

Apr 11 2007

as a sympatico tech, and a customer, i personally feel bad for everyones problems. We here at the centre just outside toronto try extra hard to help with every problem and appreciate when the consumers appreciate us. It is hard from a tech point of view to properly do your work when you are under constant pressure to sell, to no longer follow seniority when it comes to shifts (the one who sells the most gets the best shifts) and regardless of how hard you try to fix an issue, no praise is ever passed on to you.

The main issue is not really the techs on the phone, the main issue is the incompitance of bell as a company to make things work properly. It takes us (as the tech trying to help you) multiple, multiple calls and escalations just to find a fix for your specific problem.

I may sound disgruntled, and truly im not. I love working here, i love helping people, but bell needs to get its act together and take care of its customers and employees equally.

And yes, i understand that if i dont like my job, i can leave. But the good techs that are here all left, what would that leave you (the consumer) with to provide your support?
Marc

Apr 11 2007

My neighbors habitually park their cars on across the driveway which blocks the sidewalk. The city plow comes by after a storm in February and the plow has to drive around the cars.
The plow cuts across the boulevard and his the Bell box on my boulevard. My phone continues to work, but the box is damaged.

I contact the city so they can contact Bell regarding the box.
Two days later, the damaged Bell box is repaired but my phone has no dial tone. I call Bell and explain I have no dial tone at the demarkation point, so the problem is on their side of the network, not my inside wiring. The Bell rep tries to sell me inside wiring insurance because ‘I noticed you do not have inside wiring insurance.’ I explain that Bell needs to demonstrate they can service their own wiring before they take responsibility for my inside wiring, which at this time is not the problem.

Bell tells me they can send out a rep the following day
between 8 and 5. I ask why and am told they have no one on Friday night to handle the repair. I ask to be escalated to a Manager as I have done my part of our agreement (pay my bill on time and call Bell repair only when the problem is at the demarkation point and not my inside wiring). After 20 minutes, still on hold. Call back. Repeat. After 15 minutes, I finally get Manager and no improvement on time of expected repair. On Saturday, the line is fixed. Took the guy 2 minutes.

My concern is this: Why would the person who repaired the damaged box not go to the outside demarkation point of the 5 customers who are serviced by this particular box to ensure all are working before leaving the initial box repair?

The service tech who ‘fixed the box’ the first time is 100%
responsible for why I am changing service providers to Rogers. It is less money and can’t be any worse.
Charles

Apr 11 2007

After the snowstorm we had a few weeks ago, my home phone line had so much static on it, it was almost impossible to hear anyone on the other end. A few days later the static went away. About a week later the static was back with a vengeance.

I phoned 611 - the Bell repair line - waded through the phone tree until I found a human being, and after several questions was told that 611 is now only for commercial phone repair - the home repair line is actually 310-bell. Good to know. On Bell’s website it says, “You may also phone 6-1-1 to request service or repairs.” No mention of the secret new number.

Ok, so I waded through the new phone tree until I reached another human being. This time I was reminded of the call I had made for the same problem two years ago. After several questions the ugly issue of the “demarcation point” came up. The demarcation point is a phone jack that separates your inside line from Bell’s outside line. By plugging a phone into your demarcation point you can tell if your problem is inside the home or outside. If it’s inside, Bell will charge you to fix it - unless you have one of their insurance coverage schemes.

I was asked if I checked my demarcation point. I honestly answered, “no” and tried to explain that the static appeared immediately after a recent snowstorm. “I know the problem is outside my house.” But to no avail. Once I admitted that I had NOT checked my demarcation point, I was told that unless I had checked it I could not be helped. And then came the big sales pitch to buy insurance for my indoor phone lines. “No I don’t want it.” I repeat 3 times, but nothing stopped the prepared banter until it was complete. After the speech was finished my “no” was accepted. “Thank you for calling Bell. Good-bye.”

On Bell’s website, it says that if the wiring in your home was installed before 1988, then the phone jack that you need to use to test your line will “likely” be located inside your home in a grey or black box, 1 metre from your outside box. In my home, this box - if it exists - is somewhere inside the basement wall panelling. Sorry Bell, but I am not about to destroy my finished basement to search for your beloved demarcation point.

So I called back the next day and this time when I reached the trick question I told a lie and said, “Yes, I have checked my demarcation point - the problem is definitely outside the house.” “Are you sure?” I was asked, “Because, if it isn’t you realise that there will be a $25 minimum charge.” “Yes,” I lied again. “I am sure.” Actually I AM sure, but I realised that I have to lie to get past the guardian of the service calls, or I will be immediately forwarded up to the sales pitch. “No problem Sir, we will have a technician at your house tomorrow between 8:00am and 5pm.” Then the sales pitch started again. Once again I tried to interrupt and said that I heard this all yesterday and the answer is the same as it was then, “no no no”. But again, not a word was heard until the script was finished. “Thank you for calling Bell. Good-bye.”

The next morning (last Saturday) my phone was mysteriously fixed. No repair technician arrived, but the static was gone. On Monday the static was back with a vengeance. So I called back the next day. To see the results of this call please re-read the previous paragraph. Obviously, the call centre had no record of my first two calls because I had to go through the demarcation lie, and the sales pitch all over again. “No problem Sir, we will have a technician at your house tomorrow between 8:00am and 5pm.”

That night when I came home from work, there was a note in my door from the Bell technician. I guess he couldn’t wait until the following day, but luckily he fixed my phone line, and surprise surprise, the problem was outside the house and it was due to a faulty line - most likely caused by that snowstorm.
Josh

Apr 12 2007

I think the major downside for Bell is the management team. I’ve seen the changes and the focus is much more sales oriented than on knowlege to solve customer issues. My land line went down sometime ago, I reached India all three times I called, even though it’s only supposed to be 5% of the calls dispatched there. They said the issue was resolved all the while I still had no dial tone. But they focused more on trying to upsell me rather then solve my problem.

It took a week to get service restored. Each time I had to call back and told the ticket was closed. I received a calling card in the mail and wire care without even asking for it. It truly was frustrating. Most of the time when you call Bell you get an outsourced customer agent (either in Canada or India) that has no stake at all in the company and is being paid very little in terms of wages with little to no benefits, depending on the outfit they are working for. So turnover must be high and knowledge of the product(s) low.

With all the complaints coming in, I am just amazed that management hasn’t seen they are saving 2 cents to then lose a dollar. Unhappy customers either demand credits for wasted time, or leave altogether. Is it time to sell my shares?
Mr_Tech

Apr 13 2007

HI all, I am a technician for Bell, and I want to say I am disgusted about the call centers in India, I have been doing this job for over 8 years now, and I have never seen anything like this, Not one day goes by where I dont hear a complaint from a customer about 611, 310-BELL or 310-SURF and dealing with people in India, I get people threatening to cancel all thier services everyday if the problem is not solved. I personaly take full responsiblity at that point with the customer and leave my pager # if they have any more problems call me directly, Bell moved their call centers there to make/save money to increase thier profits, Right now at bell, the mentality is, the more they cut back on support the more they save thus showing more profits…..they dont seem to care about customer support, only making money, not realizing how many people are leaving. I complain about it everyday to my boss, but they cant do nothing about it either. Bell Corporate wont even listen to its own technicians coplaints.
Mr_Tech

Apr 13 2007

HI all, I am a technician for Bell, and I want to say I am disgusted about the call centers in India. I have been doing this job for over 8 years now, and I have never seen anything like this. Not one day goes by where I don’t hear a complaint from a customer about 611, 310-BELL or 310-SURF and dealing with people in India. I get people threatening to cancel all thier services every day if the problem is not solved. I personally take full responsiblity at that point with the customer and leave my pager # if they have any more problems, they can call me directly. Bell moved their call centers there to make/save money to increase thier profits. Right now at Bell, the mentality is, the more they cut back on support the more they save, thus showing more profits…..they dont seem to care about customer support, only making money, not realizing how many people are leaving. I complain about it everyday to my boss, but they can’t do anything about it either. Bell Corporate wont even listen to its own technicians complaints…
Ellen Roseman

Apr 13 2007

From Jill, who waited 37 days for her Internet to be fixed:

Your article on Bell certainly “rang a bell” with me. Up until now I’ve always been fairly satisfied with Bell’s service, but I got a taste of how wrong everything can go when my Internet DSL service stopped working. I’m a freelance writer and this had a tremendous impact on my job.

I use a service other than Sympatico, so I can understand that I wasn’t going to get the same speed of repair service that a Sympatico user would get. (All of my other services, including two phone lines, one cell phone and ExpressVu television are with Bell.) But when my Internet provider determined that the problem was with Bell’s lines, that’s when the mess all began.

Six times, Bell was supposed to call me to set up an appointment, which they did not do; each day, I had to call my Internet provider back, who would prod Bell again but to no avail. One day I came home and found a note in my mailbox – we were here to check your lines, but no one was home to let us in. I called Bell and got a representative who was very snarky about how I was complaining about service but hadn’t bothered to be home when a repairman came out, but who then checked into the records and finally admitted that no one had called to tell me anyone was coming.

He rescheduled the visit, and at that point, he told me that if wiring had to be repaired inside the house, I would have to pay for it. How much? I asked. “You don’t have a service plan on your line,” he said. “It will be at least $96. If you have a service plan on your line, there’s no charge for it.” He told me the service plan was around $4 or $6 per month (I forget exactly how much), so I said, well that’s got to be cheaper than the repair, sign me up for the service plan. He didn’t say anything else at that point, just signed me up.

At the last moment, I thought to ask: this visit will be covered by the plan, yes? “Oh, no,” he said. “You will have to pay for this visit. But your next repair will be covered under the plan.”

I was furious, and felt that he had conned me into buying the plan, since he gave me the impression that it was covered – and who wouldn’t think so, when someone quotes you a repair price, immediately offers you a service plan, and says nothing when you comment that the plan will be cheaper than the upcoming repair? The fact that he immediately removed the plan, without trying to sell me further on its benefits, just deepened my suspicions that this was a snow job.

Plan or no plan, a repairman showed up the next day. He stuck something into the wall jack and said I had a “strong signal” coming in, but that was all he could do – he wasn’t a high-speed repairman. Why on earth would they send a non-high-speed repairman when they knew the call was to repair high-speed? He wasn’t able to answer that. Instead, he gave me a number to call – “Call them right now, and they’ll probably send someone over right away,” he said.

My mistake was in letting him get away and not have him make the call himself. When I called the number he’d given me, I was told I was calling the wrong number – I needed to call repair service and make an appointment. But when I did, because my Internet provider was involved, and I wasn’t a Sympatico customer, they wouldn’t make an appointment, even though they were responsible for the repair service foul-up. “Are you planning on becoming a Sympatico customer?” I was asked. “Not if this is indicative of the service you provide,” I said, and from there it was back to calling my Internet provider and that company then making the calls to Bell on my behalf. So much for my repairman’s promise of a properly-trained person to replace him.

The bottom line: after 37 days, six promises of calls that never came, a repairman who showed up without an appointment, a representative who tried to sell me a plan under false pretenses, and the wrong repairman being sent out, with no way for me to get a replacement for him, someone at Bell “changed my profile”, whatever that means (without coming to my house), and my high-speed started working again.

I dread the day I have to deal with them again.
Ellen Roseman

Apr 13 2007

Paula waited for high-speed Internet to be connected:

I own a small translation agency in Toronto and my translation business relies mainly on Internet connection. Since Feb. 13 up until now, I made 67 calls to Bell’s technical repair (an average of two calls per day) for a period of over 30 days, but nothing was done. I had no Internet connection at all.

Every day, since Feb. 13, I went through all the possible
troubleshooting steps provided by tech support, but nothing worked. I called to have a Bell technician come to my office, but tech support replying from India did not send anyone after they told me they would. They just gave me numerous useless ticket confirmation numbers.

One technical support person said it was my office PC. That is why I cannot connect to Bell or have an Internet connection. Desperate, after calling them every day and after I followed every possible troubleshooting tip, including having them change or reset the password for me, I bought a brand new laptop.

I finally got a customer rep to send me a Bell on-site
technician, who came to my office but did not fix the problem. All the wires and cables were put in by him, but no Internet connection was obtained. Furthermore, the technician asked me to call tech support and they told him that there was no Internet connection because I had Vista on my new laptop.
Try it on another PC to see if it works. The technician followed tech support instructions and tried it on my
old PC. After tech support reset the password for him, it worked temporarily on my old PC (but only at one megabyte, which is only as a basic Internet connection).

The Bell on-site could not establish any connection with my new laptop. Before he left he said to me: I do not know why you cannot have an Internet connection on your new laptop.

So I called on March 7 and told Bell to cancel the service. After talking to the cancellation department, they transferred me to billing and also to tech support. I spent two hours, at least, in trying to cancel it.

I was told that it would take 30 days to disconnect it. Well, a connection was never established. Now, I’m working from home since my roommate has a Rogers Internet connection and my laptop connects through Rogers.

Here’s the final injustice. After talking to the billing dept. to make sure they would not charge me for a service I never got, I received a bill charging me over $200 for February and March high-speed Internet connection. I called again to see how come their note and confirmation number did not work.
They said that they will put another note to make sure that I would not be charged again for service I never got.

I cannot wait until 30 days go by so that I can call Rogers.
Ellen Roseman

Apr 13 2007

From Christine, who got bad advice from India:

I want to share my frustrations of dealing with Bell. We had line static problems in the summer of ‘06 after a major rainstorm We had three separate incidents where this static problem just couldn’t be resolved. The third serviceman seems to have fixed it, but I found that the servicemen were all from different outsourced companies and put down how the previous ones had handled it! Not so nice eh!

On our second call to India, the man actually told me to go outside, open up a box and plug in a phone. My husband and I were very reluctant to open up the box with a screwdriver, but
we did, and guess what? No phone jack in there. So apparently India didn’t know that our house didn’t have it set up. I told them I wasn’t a technician and the reason I was phoning them was to get a technician to come and fix our problem.

When I spoke with India, I felt they didn’t understand the major rainstorm we had had. They tried to be nice to us, but I was running out of patience. By that time the phone had died, so I had to go and use a neighbour’s phone.

Another frustration is dealing with Emily (the voice recognition system). I tried phoning the other week
to get preauthorization forms for my elderly mother to get her bill paid through the bank. I went through so many buttons and choices and, when I finally got to the right one, I was told it wasn’t in service at the moment.

So, yes, Bell has a long way to go. I’m only sticking with them because I’m too nervous to deal with anyone else in case it works the same way. Thanks for giving us a place to vent.
Ellen Roseman

Apr 13 2007

From Wendy, who noticed a shorter billing cycle:

This year, from January through to March, I’ve noticed a change in my Bell bills. The due dates have been moved up. I am paying my bill 10 to 12 days sooner. This is annoying if one is on a strict budget. I called Bell and asked why my the due dates have been changed. I was told it was because Bell has implemented a new computer program. I don’t recall receiving a notice from Bell of this change.

Today, I was surprised to receive a call from Bell, responding to my e-mail you had forwarded. Why the change in due dates? She finally told me the reason. Utility companies do not give 30 days for customers to pay a bill. It is usually 20 days. Bell thought it should do the same thing. What the heck, it’s only fair. Now Bell has implemented an earlier due date. I’ll bet no one notices or cares.
Ellen Roseman

Apr 13 2007

Bell’s response on the billing change:

We gave notice to customers, starting with the Dec. 6, 2006 billing cycle. Previously, payment was due upon receipt of a Bell invoice. Bell did charge interest on the billed amount only after 30 days past the bill date.

Bell Canada customers now have a period of 21 days to pay an invoice (a change of 9 days) before interest charges are incurred. This is aligned to industry standards. Many companies give only 14 days from receipt of invoice until interest begins to be charged.
David

Apr 14 2007

The only pleasure I can take from my own litany of Bell woes is to now know that I am not alone. In my opinion they are the worst company I have ever had to deal with. What makes it worse is the fact they are supposed to be in the communications business. Hopefully the day will come when we are no longer forced to use Bell.
Gene

Apr 14 2007

It isn’t just Bell. Companies just see Customer Service as a cost since there isn’t enough competition in Canada to “punish” poor service. I recently received a letter from Rogers advising me that I had to upgrade to a new “free” modem. I could do this by bring in the old one to their store during “service hours”. I work so “service hours” fall generally into line with my work hours. Leaving work early, I take my working old modem to the Rogers store as requested and ask for help at the sales counter. Two people on staff at this counter with no customers. I am directed instead to the back of the store where one employee is attending to the “service” needs of customers. There are six people in line. After about five minutes I make an audible complaint (as I am likely to do in such situations) to the person in front of me about the difference between attention to sales and “service”. After about two minutes another staff member appears and started to provide “service” to the remaining customers. “Service” is just not a priority, it is not a part of the culture. If it was it would not be necessary for a customer to “point out” the lack of service.
Michael Decsi

Apr 14 2007

If anyone wants to make a rock solid case proving Bell Sympatico’s utter disdain for it’s customers I would recommend a trip to their “improved” website. It is truly a trip down the rabbit hole.

Here’s a challenge:

Try something simple. Try to send them an email. Go ahead.

First try to find the link. Maybe look for something easy and logical like “Customer Service”. No luck? That’s because there is no such link or language on the entire site. Keep going. It’ll be fun. Eventually you’ll find something that looks promising. You’ll click. And click. And click again.

You’ll be met with dead ends, roadblocks, inconsistent language, garbled and inaccurate instructions, dead web pages, multiples requests for registration, for passwords, PINS, b1 numbers, account numbers, to create “links” to services, for the creation of more NEW passwords and with every step more and more unbelievable demands for personal information and *”required fields” - all just to send them an email!

Every other business site I have encountered has ONE link. It says clearly “contact”. When you click it an email form comes up and you fill it out, press send and it’s done.

Why can’t Bell manage this simple task? Why bother to make it so difficult to send them an email? After all, they NEVER respond to them anyway.
alan annett

Apr 14 2007

In Nov.2006 I sold my business but continued to be billed for two more months even though Bell acknowledged that the service had been assigned to the new owners.When I called to get a rebate I initially was told that Bell didnt return money but would credit the current new owner and I would have to get the money from them.I asked to speak to a manager who did take the phone and she advised that she would send me a cheque for half that Bell owed me.I said that wasnt good enough and asked to speak to the president of Bell.The manager didnt know his name and couldnt put me through to him but redirected me to VP of customer service. I spoke to another manager who agreed that Bell had made a mistake she sent a refund cheque which I received within one week of my phone call.So I quess there are some happy endings.
Bill Chalmers

Apr 14 2007

Surprised this isn’t growing into a nation wide phenomenom. Everyone I talk to has a Bell horror story. Personally, I don’t have a single account with Bell anymore and couldn’t be happier.

Two years ago at my shop we got a phone call from a Bell sales rep. They had noticed we were longtime dial up customers and had a promotion going for business DSL that we could try it out for six months free, and if we didn’t like it, simply send it back.

I did not authorize it, as my mother despises Bell after a $1700 Mobility phone bill which was incurred during the billing fiasco that we all know about.

So a week later this DSL modem shows up at our shop. WE have a collective laugh at, once again, the incompetence of this organization.

The laughs ended when we got a bill in the mail for $100 more than we usually pay. After trying to decipher all the rhetoric, we realized that we had been signed up for business DSL at REGULAR PRICE! Plus modem! Plus this plus that…

So I call Bell and tell them what happened, of course they say I must have authorized it, to which I get a little angry (been through this all before) and demanded to know who the sales rep that had called me’s contact info. THey didn’t know this, it is not on file, only that we had ordered service…….unbelievable.

Icing on the cake? They tried to ding us service fees to revert back to our “old” plan that we had for seven years. Our voicemail somehow did not work during the course of this time either and we were told it was because we had “switched plans”

Al over a phone call from a third party sales rep that thought no meant yes.

I wont get into the Mobility ordeal my mother went through.

Nor touch on the Sympatico DSL nightmare I went through, I will only conclude that the best Bell product is anything offered by a competitor. I had had Vonage for two years and guess what? I have never had to call them, and they have never called me. $22.99 a month, never more, never less. A pleasant change.
Jim

Apr 14 2007

After having competed against Bell for many years, and then having represented Bell for the past number of years, I must say that the comments about Bell arrogance is nothing new. I have spoken to hundreds and hundreds of businesses who feel that Bell does not care, and provides terrible levels of customer service. Some have switched to other companies, and some don’t because they consider Bell “the best of a bad lot”.

From my point of view, the average Bell employee is a decent person, trying to do his/her job well and help clients, but with so many people working for this company there are bound to be some bad apples who don’t really give a rats *&* about customers. However, the real problem with the company is at the executive and senior management level. In their search for short term sales and increased profit margin that they need to see in order to achieve their bonus targets, they are quite willing to sacrifice customer service in order to “hit their numbers”, and make their bonus.

For the executives of the company, they seem to feel that they need to cut costs in large ways to satisfy the market, so their major initiatives are mostly directed around cost cutting. The problem with this is that the so called technology tools that are replacing people at Bell are not terribly effective, and in many cases make staff less efficient, not more. The significant reductions in staffing over the past few years, plus massive changes in how employees do their work has resulted in a serious decline in the morale of a large number of employees. Unhappy, stressed employees are not efficient and effective, and are not highly considerate of customer issues and problems.

Until Bell executives realize that happy customers and employees are the core of any future success of the company, we will continue to see the public view of this company decline even further than it is today.

Essentially, Bell Canada needs a total cultural paradyme shift in thinking. History has shown us that this is unlikely to happen until the profits disappear, and given the sad state of Bell’s competitors this will likely not happen in the foreseeable future. Look for more of the same from Bell, with less and less satisfied customers!!
Dave

Apr 14 2007

Personally, I’ve never had any real issues with Bell and I’ve been a landline and cell phone customer for the past 2 years. Anytime I needed to talk to someone in customer service I was helped promptly and appropriately. Maybe I’m a special case. However, it appears as though, from the comments, that we as society have become so demanding and inpatient that we expect things to get done right away without any issues. I blame this on the current fast-pace way of life, which ironically was helped to grow by communication companies like Bell.
Guy

Apr 14 2007

Right now I have switched my in home telephone service,and in process of switching my cells,internet services to other providers.

But the services of other providers are probably worse.

Hmmm!

Bell Services are a disgrace,no more comments, at one time they were the best before deregualation.
Samson

Apr 14 2007

I am glad that the issues surrounding BELL has been gained media attention. The biggest problem I have with them is their sympatico billing. I am on a contract with discounted rates and I have to call in every month to have them issue a credit. The agents I have dealt with are in canada and seem very polite and accomodating and always assure that the problem will not happen again. One agent also called back (on my request) to ensure that changes have taken place to reflect my contract rate.

However, the overbilling happens month after month. I have already moved my phone line to a VOIP company and unless BELL stop bullying smaller DSL ISP for dry-loop DSL (they charge them a band rate) , I will have to stick with them since their price in this area is more attractive.
Colin

Apr 14 2007

I feel for all these customers and there complaints, however I have witnessed both sides of the coin. As a customer of sympatico I went without Highspeed for 6 weeks and only had use of dial up (not acceptable) after screaming at sympatico for weeks they finally sent a level 2 teck out to assess the situation. Within 30 seconds of plugging his computer in to our modem he noticed that there was another code in front of our user ID. He removed it and low and behold we were on highspeed. Far to often we as customers put all the blame on the company when in fact it is we as customers are the ones to blame. I did get a credit from the company for 2 months of service when in fact it was my mistake the whole time. There is not one company on this planet that has perfect customer service, however Bell’s is by far the best. Have you ever tried to get through to Hydro (nightmare and hrs) Gas (nightmare and hours) It took me an hour to simply disconnect my Rogers Cable tv (all they needed was my final mailing address…hello) So before you jump to conclusions and put all the blame on Bell, take a deep breath before calling and perhaps take a look at your bill, take a look at your cordless phones (they are always what causes a problem with your phone service, not the service) take a look at if both cable are connected at the back of your reciever. These are all things that have happened to me and jumped the gun in blaming Bell only to realize it was my error.
Callum

Apr 14 2007

I have to agree with the previous story. Far too often we as customers jump the gun. I am a father of two. First time I called Bell over hundreds of dollars of 900 calls on my bill. I had questioned both sons who said they had not made the calls. I proceeded to call Bell at which point I was transferred from there 310 Bell staff to a 900 agent who was very sympathetic as this was a first time offence. They credited the calls and put a 900 block on my line for free. Months later my youngest son came forward to tell me that he and his friend had made those calls. Second time I called in over long distance numbers I did not recognize to the United States. After 20 minutes of yelling at the customer service rep they put me on hold. A few minutes later the rep came back on to tell me that the number belonged to a tech company. It was myself who made those calls to a toll free number I had thought. It seems that companies who advertise toll free numbers from the U.S. are not toll free to call from Canada. On both occasions it was myself the customers fault. We are a society which is quick to judge, quick to lay blame on others for our own error. We never seem to take ownership of something that we have done wrong. My neighbour was venting the other day because Bell had cut his service off. I asked why, his response “missed a few payments”. He in fact had not paid his bill for over 7 months. Hello, Gas, Hydro, Rogers will all start calling you the day after your payment is late and cut you off immediately. For all its aches and pains with growing, Bell is still far superior in quality of products it offers and bar none the best customer service to deal with. Wake up people and start taking ownership with your own human errors and quit being so quick to judge.
wally

Apr 14 2007

I am among the Bell (ex) customers who became frustrated and will never go back as long as there is an option. In my case, I am talking about the Bell express view and the lack of ability to get things corrected. I tried everything possible, I sent letters, I sent faxes, I tried the waiting for greater than half an hour on the phone only to finally get some one who said they could not help and sent me off on another goose chase only to be cut off after another considerable wait. I thought I would get smart and go to a local cell phone/expressview sales center in the local mall only to be told that they would have the same frustrations as I did as they could not fix my problems. While there I noticed an elderly couple going through much the same frustrations as I. I was at the end of my rope when I finally found an email address that some one would answer. With an email trail I was able to discontinue my service but was told I need to give the notice which was on the agreement and they considered my email that notice. I had mentioned all of my previous attempts but that did not seem to matter. I had written my first letter to the company 5 months previously but that did not work, I had faxed the letter and that did not work either as I still was getting billed regularly for service I did not want and was not recieving. I have finally given up the fight with bell and paid my last bill that said on it that it was a termination. If I get another bill I will be going to my lawyer. This is certainly not the way to treat customers. I know it will be a very long long time before I would consider anything that Bell has to offer
Jaret

Apr 14 2007

I have to stick up for some of the Bell employees that I have dealt with. Over all Bell’s service does suck. My biggest problem has been with Sympatico. One problem I had was that I wanted to activate my free personal webspace that came with my sympatico account. I went into my self service website and the option to active it was gone and instructions to call 310-SURF were now there. Ok, no biggie. I called and was directed to go to the self service website and activate it there. Uh, idiot, I just told you the website told me to call you. Apparently no one at Sympatico knew that the website had been updated so that you now had to call to get the webspace activated. In my very agrivating attempt over several weeks to get my webspace activated, however, I did deal with a few excellent technicians who went more than above and beyond to try to solve my issues. I also had a brief outage of service and spoke to a guy who appreciated that I do tech support for a software company so I could easily keep up with his trouble shooting. He didn’t dumb it down like some insist on doing and within a few minutes determined that the issue was on Bell’s side and not mine. He sent a ticket to have someone make the repair there and it was quickly resolved.

Although I agree that Bell needs to clean up house and find better ways to service their customers it is unfair to paint all their employees with the same brush. Some of the people there do care about customer service and will what they can to try to solve your problem. One thing Bell does need to do is get rid of Emily, the stupid automated answering system. I absolutely hate that system.
Ron

Apr 14 2007

Bell is a giant maze of disconnect.

I would not like to manage the private equity who successfully acquires Bell.

After a little experience dealing with Bell, I can pinpoint some critical issues — essentially HR training.

Its staff has been trained to pass the buck, but not to solve problems and accept responsibility. On the phone Bell’s staff would just be courteous without being helpful, and they routinely send the customer on wild gooses chases; they would tell the customer to call such-and-such a department, without making any attempt to internally connect up and deal with the problem. Online they would provide a contentless but long and courteous reply, and would send the customer on a wild goose chase. Their time is wasted and they waste customers’ time.

Some examples are hilarious. On one occasion, their internet connection was down. I called up the phone number designated for that particular use, only to be told by whoever answered that they themselves could not contact their technical people, but that judging from the abundance of similar complains, her deduction was that the network must be down! The staff who should know actually knew less than the customer.

I find their detailed accounting to be accurate and clear(the same cannot be said in my experience with Rogers), but trying to change anything is excruciating. Bell encourages customers to sign up for their One Bill. It took them more than a year, after some prodding, to group the services under my account into One Bill. Then Bell encourages customers to forego printed statements and opt for online statements. I opted for that more than a year ago, but the printed statements have kept coming. I do not dare to upset the status quo and am letting the printed statements in.

A geek friend of mine commented that if Bell’s administrators would let their technical people do their job, Bell’s technical service aspects should be good. I concur.

I have actually provided some hints to the would-be private equity acquirer as to how to streamline Bell. It would be a gigantic job, first having to revamp the whole adminstrative system and bring in HR people to retrain the administrative staff wholesale.
Paige

Apr 14 2007

Bell was offering a $4.00 per month rate for a service I had been paying $10.00 a month for. This offer had been in effect for about a year before I found out about it. I phoned them to get my fee changed. I inquired why they didn’t automatically reduce my rate when the new rate went into effect or at least notify me. The customer service representative was rude and indignant. He responded that they were very busy and couldn’t possibly contact all there clients everytime there is a change in fee or policy. Needless to say I was stunned at this reply. I told him I disagreed and felt that attitude toward customers was unacceptable. Ultimately I received nothing more than a verbal shrug and a rate change and not a retro-active reduction either.
In closing I will say that I don’t think Telus is any better. I’ve heard horror stories about rude operators there also.
Josh

Apr 14 2007

On response to Paige,

If the car company you bought a car from changes it’s financing from 2% to 0% the day after you signed the deal, do you really expect them to call you and offer you the lower rate? It’s called market forces.
Tartine

Apr 14 2007

I also had a few bad encounters with Bell, including incorrect billing (one reason why I obstinately refuse to sign for automatic withdrawal now, be it with Bell or with anybody else), and what you say about the call center being moved to India explains why I could not understand what the guy on the phone was telling me… and why he did not understand what I told him either (basically he downgraded my internet service, instead of doing the reverse). But I have to say that I found a very good way of going around that (and it is not only applicable to Bell, but also to the IBM tech support in the company I work for - they too forward our calls to India instead of sending it directly to the guys in the basement who come to fix the problem anyway!!): I obstinately refuse to speak english, and systematically ask for the french line. It may take a bit longer to get to speak to somebody, but at least I understand what they are saying, and usually they are more knowledgable.

But to be fair, I have to say that the service issue is NOT limited to Bell. I had an equally bad experience dealing with my bank, and with some credit card companies. And sadly for the employees who are really getting out of their way to solve our problems, people always remember the bad ones more than the good ones…
Heather

Apr 14 2007

One more horror story to add to the list…

Over the years that I have had the misfortune of dealing with Bell, I too have dealt with my exisiting account and credit records with them being “accidentally” erased when I moved, billing errors, and the repeatedly mentioned long waits, rude staff, and non-english speaking representatives.

Whoever decided to set up the “Emily” automated voice system should be fired for complete and utter mis-understanding of what makes a customer satisfied. It has never once “understood” my request on the first try, and I usually have to just keep mashing the 0 button until the system gets confused and puts me through to an operator….or hangs up on me so I have to start all over.

My biggest dispute with them however was over an emergency situation that they had absolutely no sympathy for even though it was their error that partly caused the situation.

I had moved into a new apartment, and as usual, instead of transferring my existing account to the new address, the incompetant representative closed my old account and opened a new one for me as a new customer (this has happened on 2 previous moves, so par for the course). When she set up my new account, she put a block on my phone line’s ability to accept incoming collect phone calls for some reason, even thought my account with them has always been in good standing.

My husband had tried to call me from a payphone about 2 months later to let me know he was on the road with a delivery for work and would be late coming home. He had to make the call collect as he didn’t have any spare change on him for the pay phone. He was got an automated voice telling him that the number he was trying to reach did not accept collect calls. It was a bit annoying, but no harm done, so I called Bell the next day to have the block removed and I was assured by the rep that the problem had been fixed.

About a month later we had an exact repeat of the situation, complete with a 2nd call to Bell and a 2nd assurance that the block had been taken off of my line. This time they even sent me a nice letter confirming the resolution of the error on my line settings. Silly me, I figured that the matter had been taken care of.

A few months passed, and I found myself stuck at a mall, that was about to close for the night, in St. Catharines (about a 30 minute drive from home on the QEW) in the middle of a snow storm. The friend who was supposed to be picking me up and driving me home couldn’t get out of her subdivision because of an accident that had blocked in her cul de sac. I didn’t have the +$75 for cab fare, so I tried to call home to get my husband to come pick me up I had to make a collect call as I didn’t have the change for the long distance pay phone call. I dialed the numbers and guess what? I got a recorded message informing me that the number I was trying to reach did not accept collect phone calls.

I got through to a Bell operator, who rudely informed me that the department I needed to speak to was closed until the next morning at 9am and there was nothing she was able to do for me. After arguing for 15 minutes and saying the phrase “I want to speak to a manager” at least 20 times I finally got a supervisor on the line. The supervisor was also unwilling to do anything to help. She even admitted to seeing the notes in my file about the previous issues to this matter, and the apology letter having gone out stating that my line was now able to accept collect calls. I asked if they could at the least call my husband with a message that I was stranded, about to be turned out into a -20 degree snow storm,and needed to be picked up, and I was told that “they were not a message service” and that she suggested that “I start walking now” even though she knew that it was not a realistic option for the situation. When I asked for the supervisor’s name, I was told that it was against Bell policy for supervisor’s to give their name to customers for “security reasons”.

The only reason I got home that night was a kindly older lady let me use her cell phone to make the call.

I called back the next day to “fix” my line again, and then called them every day for 2 weeks after that to verify that it was still open to collect calls. After the 5th call (on day 5) they were able to finally confirm that my line was able to accept collect calls. (I just kept calling to make sure as the experience had instilled a certain amount of paranoia when dealing with Bell).

The only reason that I am still with Bell is because I had a business line with Rogers, and believe it or not their customer service was much WORSE than Bells. I never would have thought it possible until I dealt with Rogers, but yes there is a company out there with less customer service handling ability than Bell.
Carl

Apr 15 2007

I’m another unfortunate person who has the misfortune to have to deal with “customer service” at Bell.
Last August I moved from a small town 80 miles north of Toronto to the city. When I called to notify Bell of my move (6 weeks in advance) I spoke with a young man who said he was located in London, Ontario. This in itself seemed too good to be true. He took down all the information he needed - he even provided me with my new telephone number joking as he did that the last four digits were also my name. He gave the usual sales pitch about how wonderful all of Bell’s services were - before I knew it, I had a whole bundle of extra’s some of which I knew nothing about and didn’t want or need. At no time did he quote a cost for all these items. I also have Sympatico internet service. I wanted to upgrade my service effective the day of my move. No problem I was told.

Amazingly, everything worked on the day I requested the new service to begin - that’s the good news. A couple of months after the move, I concluded I didn’t need (or use) all the items in the ‘bundle’ - I also discovered each item was also available on a stand alone basis (the young man referred to above didn’t tell me that) so I called Bell to cancel the ‘bundle’ and requested only the one item I wanted (call display) be included on my account. The call was taken by someone whose first language was not English but I thought the matter had been taken care of …. like a previous writer - silly me!

My next bill continued to show the ‘bundle’ I originally had plus a charge for ‘call display’. I made another call and again spoke with someone who had difficulty with English. I was assured the situation would be corrected. By this time, I also discovered I now had a ‘new account’ but my Sympatico service still seemed to be on my old account with my old telephone number. To this day, I have no idea whether the service was upgraded or not and have no plans to try to find out.

My next account showed the charge for the ‘bundle’ had been cancelled effective the date of my second call. I had kept notes of each call including the time and date - needless to say, the representative declined to provide her name. I placed a third call - went through all of the above again and stated I had deducted the cost of the ‘bundle’ from the date of my first call and would continue to do so. I was told once again the problem would be corrected since I was able to provide the date and time of my first call.

Guess what …. the next bill continued to show the incorrect amount - no credit had been applied (surprise surprise !!). In addition, an interest chage now appears. I have no intention of a) calling again .. and b) paying either the incorrect charge or any interest. Perhaps, sooner or later someone will call and ask why my account shows ‘arrears’ - perhaps not … I don’t care.

I know this problem is minor compared to some of the others that have been written about but all the same, it is frustrating. I’m very reluctant to switch to Rogers or Telus if for no other reason than I’m afraid their service might be even worse. Perhaps if Bell comes under new ownership, some of their employees arrogant attitude might change - I’ll believe it if and when it happens.
Art Whelan

Apr 15 2007

Like many of your readers, I have been on a roller coaster ride with Ma Bell for many years. At one point in our relationship, I dropped all but basic phone service to go with other service providers because I was fed up with dealing with Bell. Recently, I have switched most of my services back to Bell (Satellite TV, Internet, Cell and basic phone service). While I am generally pleased with the services provided, I dread having to contact Bell for any changes to these services. I know this will mean months of incorrect billings and numerous phone calls to rectify the problem. For the most part, I have found Bell phone reps to be responsive and supportive but they are not well backed up by the operational departments (I.e. Accounting/Billings - for the record, my neighbor is with Rogers and complains about the same shortcomings - accounting/billing just can’t seem to get it right). You would think in this day and age, with all of the technology available, that these companies could issue a monthly bill that reflects the services provided to their clients. But no, they offer so many variations and deals that the left hand doesnt know what the right hand is doing and the bills go out incorretly month after month. I wish someone at Bell would address this problem because it is the one item that will cause me to switch suppliers (again).

Art Whelan
Mississuaga, ON
Larry

Apr 15 2007

If readers think Bell has issues, they have to try Bell Sympatico to really enjoy the best of Bell. In your column published Apr. 14/07, you mentioned you had tried to connect again with Ellen Malcolmson, Bell’s senior vice-president of customer experience, but Bell didn’t grant your request. Perhaps the reason is, she now works for Bell Sympatico, but has the same title. I know this because I received a letter from her on Friday, Apr.13th (how appropriate). The letter indicated I had not paid my modem fees for the last 4 - 6 months, and the outstanding fees would be billed to my current statement. ( My account indicates otherwise. )
I wonder if she gave any thought to the fact Bell Sympatico generates the statements, not the customer. In any case, I’m going to pick the 4-month billing, sounds like a better deal.

Neither the envelope nor letter had a return address. The letter had no contact phone number, nor was it dated. Do you think she has seen the light and has gone mobile using Rogers Wireless? What a joke this company is.

Larry
Dave McClellan

Apr 15 2007

Bell refused to put high speed internet into our area, so guess what? We now have a wireless internet provider, no more Sympatico. And all of a sudden, my long distance rate was increased 30%. And guess what? As soon as I can get Vonage or something similar, I’m gone from Bell altogether.
Don Seymour

Apr 15 2007

I have a dream and it is a wonderful dream. The dream is where I am free of the yoke of Bell Canada in all forms. Where I no longer receive a monthly bill, where I no longer have to deal with a cyber entitiy called Emily. In my dream I am happy and not banging my fist in frustration waiting to speak to a human at on the other end of the phone line.

Unfortunately I live in rural Ontario and I can only dream. But one day competition will come to where I live and I will be able to walk away from this abusive relationship. I will no longer be terrorized by a company that is devoid of caring and empathy. Bell is truly an evil corporation who have put shareholder value ahead of customer service, employee relations and corporate social responsibility.

One can only hope they received a well needed, long overdue exorcism through a hostile or friendly takeover…..
BW

Apr 15 2007

I think Bell should change their name to Bell India… The Bell Excutives should have listened to their employees long ago. But now all they are interested in is saving money, not improving the customer’s experience. Bell employees go to work and on a daily basis their jobs are threatened with the management’s decision to outsource our jobs to India.The morale is the lowest I have ever seen in my 20 years with the company. I think the public needs to be aware of what is going on with the outsourcing of our Canadian companies. There is no future for Canadians and our children if something isn’t done about this issue.
Bylo Selhi

Apr 15 2007

It didn’t take long…

In yesterday’s column Ellen suggested, “Many readers are irritated when they’re routed to call centres in India. If you want to make sure your call stays in Canada, here’s a suggestion from a Bell employee (yes, I heard from many of them, too): ask for a bilingual service representative, someone who speaks English and French.”

Today, on a Bell Sympatico forum someone posted, “I know that it’s been suggesteed to push option 2 when you call Bell tech support to try to get a French Canadian who is bilingual. I tried that tip today and unfortunately the woman was very friendly but said that her supervisors are telling her that she’s only allowed to take French calls.”

A typical Bell “solution” to “fixing” a customer service problem.
E.J Wonder

Apr 15 2007

Interesting…there isn’t a TELUS blues or Rogers blues page; Seems awfully one sided and biased. Someone might even think there is a larger politcal agenda at stake.

For that matter, why not a Canadian Tire Blues or Walmart blues?
Eric Severn

Apr 15 2007

After growing up disliking Rogers’ practices, I decided that I’d try Bell ExpressView Satellite television at a new house I was moving to. The adventure began with an appointment to install a dish on the side of my house. The installer showed up late after he called on the phone to say that he was lost. He showed trepidation in installing the dish on a stucco wall, called someone for instructions, showed me the screws he was going to use, and then proceeded. I knew the screws would be insufficient, and one day, weeks later, I saw one on the ground below the dish. I looked up to see that it had completely come off the wall and was hanging by the cable. I have pictures. I was later told, by another installer, that I was to have signed a particular form giving him permission to proceed, because stucco walls are problematic in these instances, but I had never signed such a form.

The first installer then handed me a box, which turned out to be a basic receiver, and waved good-bye, as I hadn’t moved in yet and had no TV to connect it to. A week later, when I did move in, I connected the box to my TV and found that I had had no signal. So, I called Bell Service. I informed them that I had the dish installed, but they could find no record of this, and then, when I mentioned that I also had been given a receiver, the response I got was “lucky you,” as though this was all news to them. When asked if I “owned the box”, I replied that it had always been my intention to rent it. That statement was to later haunt me, it turned out.

At this point, and after a few more calls to Bell Service, to get someone to visit to get me a signal was to take a week – a whole week. So, I spent a whole week without television, and took a day off work to meet the second installer, who did get the thing to work, and then, supposedly, everything was settled.

But it wasn’t. I wanted PVR. From the very beginning, I wanted PVR. Everyone I spoke to I asked about PVR. And every time, I got the same response: “Call Bell Sales.” So I called and asked for PVR, and that’s when I was told that I had a two year rental agreement on the box already in my possession and that I’d have to break it, pay a penalty for breaking it, and start a new agreement with PVR. I thought that this was unfair, so I asked to speak to someone higher up. That’s when I was put on hold for a long time and ended up speaking to someone named Geneva Graham (I asked for her name). And for the next several (it seemed) minutes, to every time that I said that I had repeatedly asked for PVR, she replied with “that’s not what our records show.” She, effectively, kept telling me that I was lying and that she didn’t care what I wanted or had ever wanted.

I was feeling absolute incredulity. I was stunned. I absolutely couldn’t believe that anyone at a big company like this could treat a customer in this manner. Eventually, I gave up trying to get anywhere with her and asked to be sent to someone who could arrange to charge me whatever it cost to be switched to PVR. I found myself on hold once again, for a long time, feeling frustrated, dumbfounded and angry, and then I decided that I didn’t want to feel this way about my cable company. So I hung up.

I then called Rogers and was treated like a king. They arrived the next day and gave me cable. I’ve been enjoying it ever since.

I then sent an e-mail to Bell telling them that I wanted whatever they had done to be undone, as I wanted nothing to do with them ever again (and I’m contemplating extending this to my telephone, but I want a 416 number), and I ended my e-mail with “You’re all a bunch of idiots.” The first reply I got was essentially “be polite, or we’ll do nothing for you.” The second and subsequent replies were from someone who genuinely knew how to do customer relationship management, and she undid everything … almost.

It was afterwards when I discovered the dish hanging by its cable. I called Bell to have them remove it, and they said that they never remove dishes – they stay forever. When I pointed out that it was hanging by its cable, they said that they’d send someone to reinstall it. When I said that I didn’t want it reinstalled, they said that that was tough, as they only install. Weeks later, at my invitation, a neighbour with a ladder tall enough dropped by and went home with a backup dish for his home.
dbs

Apr 15 2007

After reading all these stories - I just shake my head.

I have relatives and friends who worked for Bell and its related companies - BEFORE deregulation. They are in agreement with me, and they feel sorry for those people who are working in Bell jobs, but are not being classified as Bell employees. Same work, etc.

But I digress.

Recently, I had the distinct ‘pleasure’ of taking part of one of Bell Canada’s telephone surveys. Talk about skewed questions about customer service, as well as how one considered Bell as a good corporate citizen, being community minded, etc.
Bell’s participation in bringing the Dragonboat races, in addition to sponsoring assorted business awards ceremonies to various areas is nice, but…

Get back to the business of providing CUSTOMER SERVICE in a timely and professional manner, instead of spending $$$ on surveys designed to pat yourselves on the back.

Incidentally, this survey came soon after I received a telemarketing pitch from India about subscribing to the high-speed Internet service being offered in my area (rural area 2 1/2 hours north of Toronto, and definitely off the Highway 11 corridor).
Care to guess when this telemarketing effort came out? Within days of an announcement from a regional firm announcing that they would be able to provide high-speed service to local users!

Don’t get me started on Bell ImMobility…

Can the CRTC and the Consumer Ministry get some backbone and do something to ensure that the customer gets fair treatment from Bell, etc?
tony

Apr 15 2007

Mujibar was trying to get a job in Toronto.
The Personnel Manager said, “Mujibar, you have passed
all the tests, except one. Unless you pass it you
cannot qualify for this job.”

Mujibar said, “I am ready.”

The manager said, “Make a sentence using the words Yellow, Pink and Green.”

Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, “Mister Manager, I am ready.”

The manager said, “Go ahead.”

Mujibar said, “The telephone goes green, green, green,
and I pink it up, and say, ‘Yellow, this is Mujibar.’”

Mujibar now works as a technician at Bell Sympatico.
Jean Lawson

Apr 16 2007

Wow—I just stumbled on to your column on Saturday and am sure glad that I found it. I was just recovering from a horrific, mind bending, experience with a female Technician in India, trying to talk to me about my Sympatico. My DSL light kept blinking, so she spend over an hour and a half , with me asking her to repeat each sentence, four or five times, as I could not understand what she was saying. After three or four times, of her repeating the sentence, sometimes I could put a sentence together by using a few of the words that were repeated. She gave me so much wrong information, that I was astounded. I tried to get her to transfer me to someone who spoke English, but she refused. I also asked her to let me talk to a second line Technician (which other Canadian Techs have suggested sometimes when I have called with a special problem), but she again refused. She said that she was it–for me. Eventually, after her having me crawl around the floor, trying to unhook various and sundry cords, which I knew was unnecessary, from previous experience with this same problem I told her that I was not going to do that anywhere, because my knees hurt. However, I did my best, but refused to unhook things and take them all into the bedroom and plug them into another phone jack as she suggested. What the heck!!!!!!!. I asked her where I was supposed to plug in the other two black wires that came from the modem, because I did not have a computer in my bedroom. How dumb of me to not know that!!!!!!! Anyway, after much grief and confusion and exasperation, I just hung up. This was about noon on Friday. In the afternoon, I had company come in, and we got talking about this, and she said that she had a similar experience with someone from India. So, at 2 PM, I just happened to look at the modem, and the dsl light was on, and NOT BLINKING–so I ventured on to the Net and sure enough everything was working and worked fine all weekend. I would think that someone at Sympatico must have “fixed something”. On Saturday, I received an e-mail from Sympatico, asking about my experience with the technician, on the previous day. Well, they should probably be reading my answer about now, and maybe they will cut me off–but I don’t really care. I am not just a dumb woman—I have been on the Net, since early 1990’s when I signed on with CRS (Canada Remote systems), and then later on the real Internet with Sympatico. I have talked to several techs over the years and have always had the problem resolved with courtesty and consideration and patience when required, what what the heck is going on now?????This morning, believe it or not—–at 8 PM, I could not get on the net —-again—and the DSL light was blinking, so I put on my bullet proof vest, and phoned sympatico, and got a male tech, and I asked him right away, whether or not we were going to have a language problem. I knew right away, that he was from India, so I asked him where he was located, and he said “India”—so then I asked him why he thought that we were not going to have a language problem–and he remained very polite and assured me that was the case. Well, he managed to get me back on line, through sheer luck, or he managed to turn the page of instructions past where the tech on Friday had left off, when she was muddling along on the call. So- Sympatico/Bell needs some competition, but I am not sure that Rogers is it. Maybe Virgin will jump into this gap—and help us poor helpless souls who are dealing with Bell.
Cathy

Apr 16 2007

I am a current Bell employee off on disablity leave. This is a story of how much Bell Canada cares about there employees.
I worked in the Kingston Call Center since 2001. It was a great place to work, the employees were basically one big family that were there to help and support one another. Our customers always came first.

March 2, 2006, Jen Findley and Elizabeth Tropey walked into the Kingston site surrounded by security, and told us we were all finished effective immediatly. (Shortly after this date, Jen Findly was let go) If we had any questions refer them to our team leaders and left. That simple, that easy 246 people that have given there life to Bell Canada were out of a job. Oh wait, we were allowed to transfer, but we had to let them know within 4 days. How many people can make that decision in the short time? I was fortunate and my husband was currently seeking employment so we took transfer. Leaving behind our entire family, our son, grandchildren, not to mention a house we own. To move to a city, we dont know anyone and have to pay rent. Doesnt make a lot of sense I know, but Bell Canada pays very well and at my age I didnt think I would be able to find another job like it.

There are so many people that worked for Bell for 25, 30 years, did they get a decent severence, no, they picked up and moved to Toronto, sharing apartments and commuting back and fourth to see there families on weekends.

We were told repeatly that because our center was between Toronto and Montreal that we would not be closed, we were also told that our center was number 1, so no worries. Still curious why we were the first call center to go. Oh we are being told it was a business decision. We were told in writing we were declared surplus. Yes we were declared surplus because Bell Canada had started contracting out our jobs to outsourcing companies, at half the wage they paid us.

When we were hired we had 6 weeks of in the class training, and 3 on the floor before we actually hit the phones. I think these people get it crammed into 3 week. Could that count for lack of customer service. Or what about the fact that we have been outsourced to India. That could be some of the language problem.

I did attempt to go to work at the new office for about one month, it was overwhelming. I ended up having to go off work because I kept having anxiety attacks. I am still off a year later, I am not the only one having problems. What Bell Canada has done to their employees, is disgusting, everyone is waiting for the axe to hit again.

I have talked to customers who have been transferred over and over, and still have not gotten results, for a problem that takes two minutes to fix for them. Is it the language barrier, or the lack of training that is making this employees not want to except ownership of these problems?

I know that in the Kingston center we would sometimes spend an hour or more helping fix a problem, and if we could not do it, we would go to someone who could for the customer. Sometimes it even took a call back or two but in the end the customer was taken care of and happy.

I would like to say to the people who call into Bell Canada, I am terribly sorry that you receive the service that you do. It is completely unacceptable, when you are speaking to a representive ask them if they formly worked at the Kingston Center, guaranteed you will get first class service.

I wrote to Mr Sabia, and asked him how we could all be declared surplus when the day everyone was legally declared terminated, they hired 150 people, and have been hiring almost continuly. He told me it was “business reasons” “more cost effective” I just want to know how is it more cost effective to lose customers hand over fist because of bad customer service, when you let go of 246 employees with no notice that gave first rate customer service and cared about their customers? You outsource to other companies, one company did not even have time to give its employees Bells’ final exam before they hit the floor. Could that be were lack of customer service is coming from? Or India, and heaven only knows what other oversees countries are taking the calls.

All I truly want to know is whatever happen to Canada in Bell Canada.
Linda

Apr 16 2007

April 16/07

Boy, from what I just read above I’m now enlightened a bit with regards to some of my Bell Services.

Firstly, I’m not the only one wondering why Bell changed the Due Date on my OneBill.
When I called about this I was told that my Due Date was really the same date and that they just wanted to make sure that everyone paid their bill ontime so they put down the earlier date.

Secondly, I too was on Bell Sympatico 1 year contract and was wondering why my bill went over to monthly before my 1 year contract ended.
To this date I have not received back any response to my e-mails to Bell Sympatico asking what happened so I’m assuming that the 2yr contract came in while I was on the 1 yr contract and because I didn’t e-mail them to continue my 1 yr contract they just put me over to monthly without sending me any imformation that they changed to a 2 yr contract.

Thirdly, don’t get me started on the India Customer Service people. I just went through nearly a few hours at a neighbours apartment because my phone line went dead with a India Customer Service and the spelling of my Password which both customer service agents told me was wrong. What happened is the person who originally took down my password took it down wrong and boy if it wasn’t third time a charm in calling back the Bell Customer Service office and getting an person who could understand and speak English well I would of had to wait till the Easter long weekend was over before I could get my phone line fixed.
***Turned out. Get this. The problem was the switching between the Bell phone line and the Bell Sympatico Internet line at the box across the street. I guess that’s something new Bell has to look into or like one of the people said above the wiring is old and faulty.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Bell. Get your act together. You’ve been around for ever and old man Bell (God rest his soul) would be shocked to see his company going downhill.

Now I hear you are being bought out and broken up. I’m sure he would be very sad to hear that.
There goes his company just like Timonthy Eaton’s, Simpson’s etc.

What happened to the great old Canadian companies with regards to their work done, their customer service etc. Is everything money, money, money. Boy I sound like the Trump show now and not their service.

Ellen, I think all these comments should go to the CRTC AND THE CONSUMER MINISTRY as one writer indicated above. Maybe they can do something about customer service etc. not only by Bell but other companies etc.
Mr_Tech

Apr 16 2007

to: Ellen Roseman
I just want to say I am so pleased to see customer complaint stories in the Toronto Star writen by you about Bell Canada. I think stories like these may open the eyes of Bells upper management and perhaps one day after reading a few stories about customer complaintes in the newspaper, they may realize there is a problem.
Thanks again, and keep up the good work.
dwe

Apr 16 2007

I’m also a Bell employee, I read the comments from Cathy who is an employee in the call centre and I work at the other end of the picture. I’m an outside repair tech who meets customers face to face everyday. Most customers are very pleased to see us pull up in their driveway. About 50% of conversations with customers always involve the phrase “You people got to get your act together in that call centre” or “I can’t reach anybody that speaks English”. In our area which is a little north of the city, there is no local competition. Customers have no choice in the matter. All the big decisions come from upper management, which has no clue of what’s going on.

I could rhyme off a thousand stories of poorly treated customers but I don’t have time for that. I will agree with Cathy from Kingston, we do make good money working for Bell and I’m fortunate to work in a small community. Most customers in my area know me by my first name. I can only hope to say someday that I will have put in thirty years with the company. Who knows what changes are ahead?
Annonymous

Apr 16 2007

Dear clients,

Imagine, for just a moment, how hard it is to be a technician for this company. The REQUIREMENT to upsell a customer who is already upset with the level of service they have received to date, and offer them another product with similar service. There is NO pride left in our work, and those in a position to correct the path this company has taken are not listening to you. $$$ talks, and the investors (read bean counters) are running this company, right into the ground. We (the technicians out here answering your calls) hear you, and we empathize with all you have experienced, we’ve all experienced it ourselves, the hold times, the rudeness of the call center rep’s etc etc. Unfortunately we are not the ones who have the “ear” of Bell Canada. There is a saying amongst us:

We the unwilling, led by the unknowing
Are doing the impossible, for the
Ungrateful, We have done so much, for so
Long, with so little, we are now qualified
TO DO ANYTHING WITH NOTHING!

Sincerely
Josh

Apr 16 2007

In response to Cathy,

Well that’s what happens to service when you have too many hands in the cookie jar. Get rid of the employees that know what they are doing as they cost too much. Hire a bunch of outsourced companies that pay almost nothing (as far as a living wage goes). And Voila! you have the Sabia business model. Then watch the shareholder meetings where he says “mass erosion”. I wonder why……
Linda

Apr 16 2007

Guess what, my phone went dead AGAIN while I was on the line talking to a friend just a little while ago about this Bell issue.

Do you think they were listening to my conversation and cut my line?????????????

Wouldn’t put it past them.

What do they call it. A “Conspiracy Theory”. Ha! Ha!

Just get your act together Bell.
happy customer

Apr 16 2007

I think you are a JOKE! I have been a Bell customer for many years with no problems. Not like when I was with Rogers!! Why don’t you find facts instead of simply posting a few examples of situations gone wrong. You are doing a disservice to me and the other 9 million happy Bell customers by writing such unjust propaganda.
Cathy

Apr 16 2007

In response to happy customer

We do get calls from Bell customers that are very happy with their service, however in the last couple of years they are getting less and less. It is nice to hear about a happy customer. I wish you continued success with Bell.

DWE

I understand completly the complaints you get about the call centres, I to was hearing them on a daily basis. I took pride in my job and my customer service skills when I am at work. To know what is happening now honestly wants to make me cry. When we have to call to repair ourselves we would get India call centres who basically if you can understand them, have no idea what they are talking about. Its frustrating!!

Josh

Mr Sabia’s business model sucks! Have you noticed it doesnt have a plan to reduce his salary?
Doublejack

Apr 17 2007

“the caring often falls apart in the face of strict rules that can’t be broken and an inability to resolve longstanding problems.”

As an employee, let me say you’ve hit the nail right on the head. They don’t trust us to make decisions, so we have to follow procedure instead. After a few years the job becomes less about helping people and more about earning a paycheck. Because management isn’t concerned so you tend to think, why should we be?

If I had a dollar for every ideal I had that would help them, but alas the big boys in the boardroom no better than the peons on the frontlines.
DGH

Apr 17 2007

I am a Bell Repair tech. I too feel for the customers,I am totally outraged by the outsourcing of call centres to india and the lies on the phone and the upselling of services you don’t essentially need. I hear numerous complaints from customers in regards to customer service as I am the face that comes to your door and your already pi***d off at me before I get there. Its very frustrating, I do my best to get to make the experience alot more pleasant. I believe that yes it is the Executives at BCE that have let this company down while filling their pockets with gold. How much does Michael Sabia make? I think that a total turnaround is very close. People want Ma Bell Back. Unfortunately greed and stock portfolios have a great deal of todays problems and mis managed budgets. The Board of Directors have been looking for a quick fix to this blue chip stock to make investors happy. At the same time putting a few more jelly beans in their own pockets. slash slash slash.It’s the killing of a truly remarcable canadian Icon. Disgruntled employees, Unhappy customers,and oh in todays highly competative market we have to downsize and slash good paying jobs because our competitors don’t offer the same wages or benefits. Quantity and quality. Which one works? Quality should come first, satisfy the customers,and when the customer is happy they may believe that all the other services will be of good quality too. Then you’ve got your quantity. I really do hope Bell and Telus join Don Cherry for CEO of Belus or Belltel. Making it Friendly, The future is simple. And before you all run off to Rogers. visit ihaterogers.ca and read some of horror stories. Bell will be back in top form. I truly believe the right shakeup is coming. To all the disgruntled customers. The men and woman who are in the Bell trucks, at your door, programming your services, picking up phones at call centers in Canada. Ma Bell is Coming Back.
Josh

Apr 17 2007

I like the way they upsell on every call. I was trying to get my land line fixed.. took over a week. I was upsold on every call, I repeated more then once, don’t try to sell me something. Pissed me off so much I just asked for a credit of 25$ or I was leaving Bell and got it. I had NO SERVICE and here they are still trying to put a hand in my wallet. Unreal. I’m a shareholder in this company, I think management needs a complete revamp.
Mark

Apr 17 2007

Serendipity

That is the best way to describe reading Ellen’s column in the Saturday paper. I had just spent two weeks in Bell Hell and now not only did I find I was not the only one subjected to this treatment, but finally I have an address to send my letter to Kevin Crull.

Let me start by saying I am old enough to have seen Bell evolve from the days of the wooden wall phone that you cranked to get an operator, through the party line, rotary dial, touch tone, big honking cell phone, and so on. As a business person, I have used the term dial tone reliability as benchmark and standard that other services should be measured against. I embrace all technology and do almost all banking transactions either online or through ATMs. I have conducted entire business transactions through email and voicemail. I have used Rogers’ automated attendant on occasion and resolved a technical issue without ever talking to a live person. And herein lies the problem with Bell. Technically, I have no issue; it’s the management practices, policies and behaviors that have caused me no end of frustration. So, here is my story.

On Thursday March 29, we left the city for a few days. I called home around 7 PM to check messages as I was expecting a couple of important calls regarding contracts. To my surprise, I heard a recorded message saying this number was not in service. Being a logical thinker (and a Canadian), I figured I must have mistakenly dialed the number incorrectly.

The second and third attempt resulted in the same recorded message. I then recalled that earlier in the week, a water main had burst on our street and extensive trenching was required. Being a logical thinker, I decided to call my neighbor, thinking that if I got the same message it would indicate a technical problem not isolated to me. My neighbor answered on the second ring, which showed the problem was with just my phone. She also assured me that our house had not burned down.

Being Canadian and not wanting to be a bother to anyone, I tried to think of other possibilities that would cause the outage, but finally decided I would need to call 310-Bell. Emily answered almost immediately and in a very courteous manner informed me that I was calling outside normal business hours. She did however give me a very detailed list of options, one of which was the after hours technical support number. I quite liked Emily and felt that she listened intently to my concerns, was empathetic and genuinely cared. When I called the technical support number, a service ticket was opened and I was assured that someone would be dispatched the following day.

Something in the back of my mind told me that this was not a technical issue, however. So early the next morning, I called 310-Bell again. Emily wished me a pleasant hello and with a minimum of prompting connected me to a customer service agent.

This is where the story really begins…

I identified myself by name, address, postal code, phone number, date of birth, dog’s name, religion, marital status, political stripe and favorite colour, but alas I had a brain cramp and could not for the life of me remember that 47-digit Bell account number which is the secret password to get through the security gate. Finally by answering a skill testing question and reciting a long distance phone number that matched a call I recently made, I convinced the young lady that I indeed was who I said I was.

At first, I was actually comforted by the layers of security that were in place to protect my identity and personal data. She then informed that someone named Nancy had called with all the aforementioned personal information and commanded Bell to terminate my service. Now being a logical thinker, I figured that this Nancy person was likely someone who was moving to a new part of the country and when she called to have her own service terminated, the agent taking the order likely transposed a couple of digits and punched in my number by mistake. In addition, the I.T. group had likely missed downloading that little bit of code that would cause a pop-up on the screen to alert the agent that the two numbers did not match.

In any event, the agent that I was dealing with felt she could clear things up right away by calling Nancy to determine what had happened. I waited on the line and after a few minutes the agent came back sounding very concerned and informed me that basically Nancy had not called to cancel my phone and she had no idea what might have happened. At this point, I became quite concerned given that almost daily we read in the Star or hear on national news about identity theft. In fact, for some time we have been diligent about shredding all bills and documents with our name and address on them because we have become conditioned to be paranoid about garbage pickers taking these documents to the bank and securing mortgages, loans and all kinds of other bad things.

The agent I was speaking to felt that something of a fraudulent nature must be taking place (either that or some sick early April Fools prank) and she assured me that she would get their security department involved and have a manager call me with an update of the investigation by end of day. Based on this conversation, I was becoming nervous so I spent the next couple of hours calling the joint RCMP/OPP fraud squad to file a report and the national credit agency to determine if anyone had recently applied for credit or financing using my personal data. I was assured that this had not occurred.

I should note that my phone was immediately reconnected and I was not even asked to pay a $4,000 reconnection fee. I also received a call from the technical rep saying he was on the way to check the lines. I thanked him, but indicated it was no longer necessary.

Despite the commitment of a call back, no one from Bell contacted me on Friday. So on Monday I called, chatted briefly with Emily, spoke to another agent who asked me if I knew Nancy and then allowed me to talk to a supervisor. This person reviewed the notes, agreed it was being investigated and promised me a call back within two hours. This did not occur.

On Tuesday, I called again. Emily, who now recognized me right away, could sense the growing frustration in my voice and connected me to an agent without hesitation. Again, I was asked if I knew Nancy. Again, I explained that I did not and asked to be immediately connected to a manager. I was told this was not possible as the managers are on rotation.

I then asked to be put through to a manager’s voicemail and was informed this was also not possible. I was told that if I could hold, he would email a manager and if he got a response, he could connect us. It’s the phone company and they only communicate by email. Who knew?

A manager did come on the line after a few minutes and asked me if I knew Nancy. Once we got that out of the way, she became a logical thinker and concluded that it was probably just a simple keystroke error, nothing to worry about, silly boy. I suggested that perhaps I needed a bit more convincing. She offered to call Nancy and see what she could find out. I waited on hold and after a couple of minutes she came back to me with the explanation that Nancy had in fact placed an order to have her mother’s phone service terminated and my number must have been keyed in by mistake. There you go, problem solved.

I said I was more confused than ever with this turn of events and to set my mind at ease, I needed her to email me with an explanation of exactly what happened. Her response was that Bell does not give anything in writing and there was nothing more she could do for me. I indicated this was not acceptable and asked her to connect me with her manager. Again, I was informed it was not possible to do that but someone would get back to me in 48 to 72 hours.

In fact, it was six more days before I got a call. This time, the explanation changed again. This person doubted that Nancy had even been contacted, but was emphatic that it was just a keypunch error. She was sorry it had caused me an inconvenience. I tried to impress on her that it was far greater than an inconvenience, to which she replied: “I don’t understand why you are making such a big deal over a little thing like this.”

I patiently explained to her that all I needed was something in writing detailing the incident, investigation and explanation as to what happened and why. Again, I was given no satisfactory response. I said that in most companies, I would be able to escalate my concerns in a matter like this up to and including the President and CEO. She said she could connect me to the President if I wanted. but when I took her up on the offer she immediately backtracked and said she would have to check first.

She called me back a few minutes later with another 800 number to call that she assured me was the Executive Offices. There must have been a lot of people with similar issues to mine, because I went through another 10 minutes on hold before getting someone on the line. If he was an executive, I’m the Queen of England. The only hint that I was moving up the pecking order was the increasing level of arrogance, condescension and belligerence that I encountered.

In response to my request for a written document signed by someone at an executive level, he indicated that I would receive a letter from “Bell” period. This in a nutshell illustrated the sad truth. Bell has morphed from a company with committed and caring employees into an entity of nameless, faceless Stepford robots who are programmed without any human characteristics such as responsibility, accountability or genuine sincerity.

I did receive a standard form letter in the mail a couple of days later, basically saying Bell is sorry we inconvenienced you in some way and we appreciate your concern because that’s how we improve service, blah blah blah. It was as impersonal as possible and made absolutely no reference to the issue or its resolution. The funny thing coming out of all this is that most of the people I tell this story to do not act shocked or even surprised. Many of them even try to outdo it with their own personal Bell tale of misery.

Now that I have taken the time to write this, I will be sure to email it to Mr. Crull under the message heading “Can you hear me now?”
Cathy

Apr 17 2007

In response to Josh:

As an employee, we are made to upsell. If we don’t do it on every call and that call is listened to, we are pulled aside and coached as to why we did not try to upsell. If it happens too often and targets are not met, it could mean being escorted out of the building. I have seen that on more than one occaision.

Its all about sales! sales! sales! now, and forget the customer service unfortunately!
Linda

Apr 17 2007

April 17/07

Wow!!!!!!

I checked into this blog site every day if I can to see what’s being said and that gentleman “Josh” who had been around for many years and is a business man is what I consider one of the top clients of Bell.

He should really send his letter to the CRTC.

If Bell won’t listen to the average home owners, then maybe they’ll listen to the business people.

I don’t think Bell would like to lose the business of business people.

More companies should write in and tell their horror stories to the CRTC, then maybe they (the CRTC) will get their act together and do something about these issues with Bell.

Again, I say, “The old man (Mr. Bell) would roll over in his grave to hear how his company is treating clients and its staff.”

I don’t want to leave Bell. I think it’s a great Canadian company that is having some issues and I really want it to straighten them out.

I’m not a fan of Rogers and I don’t want to go to those other companies out there that are small.

I want to stay with Bell as I feel it’s been around for a long time and it’s been good to me for all the time I’ve used it, up till these issues that have been listed.

My biggest fear is that when the split up the company due to the news that I have been hearing lately that these problems will get worse.

I don’t want to lose my phone line again. It scares me. It’s my line for help, to call my friends, to get job offers.

It’s always been there and I don’t want to lose it.
Cheri

Apr 17 2007

My problem seems minor in comparison to the above. However, I find it just as annoying.

We recently moved my mother to a nursing home and requested that her phone service be disconnected. After much humming and hawing by the service representative about my power of attorney (which they actually had on file and she could access), she finally agreed to process my request, but with little joy in her customer service heart. ( I am sure she would have been happier to deny the request.)

In April, my mother’s account was debited for 30 days of phone service, even though the service was cancelled effective March 31. When I called Bell service, they told me there was a credit on file that would be processed hopefully in 6 - 8 weeks.

For a large corporation supposedly at the forefront of technology I find it difficult to understand why they cannot process a billing and then process the credit due and charge the customer the net amount. In the end, this means that my mother, a low income senior, is supporting Bell financially by being forced to “lend” them money at no interest for 6 - 8 weeks.

I guess this is another creative method to make money for executives.

Since moving my mother, I have had to deal with many service providers to cancel, change or implement new services and they have all been sympathetic to the situation and more than helpful to make sure this sensitive move went well.
JT

Apr 17 2007

In regards to the customer complaints about Ma Bell, I hear them every day as I am a technician of Bell.

First and foremost, please understand as technicians we get our job load each day at the begining of our shifts (8-5 or 1-9). We do on average 5-7 calls in a shift. The complaints we hear are mostly about 310-INDIA call centers and missed appointments.

If we get to your house at 2:30 pm and find out you have an inside trouble (even if you made an appointment for 5-9 pm), we are told to place a NID (test jack) and complete the order. More than likely, you will call back to have the trouble fixed especially if you have wirecare. Of course, you will probably have to wait another day and we understand the frustration this causes you, it’s what we are told to do.

We as techs can’t control the call centres, but we would like to. As painful as it is for you to deal with them, we also have our complaints. There’s nothing like going to a customer’s house with an order to install a jack and the customer tells us that they never asked for a jack, they just want their dial tone back. It sometimes makes us feel like idiots, but then again we only know what we have on our orders. Not bad for a communications company. So please have mercy on us, we know and do our jobs well, but we only know what is on our orders
Linda

Apr 18 2007

J.T. (above message), I have “Mercy on You” and all your Bell Technicians.

The Technicians do a GREAT JOB!!!!

Now if Bell can just get its Call Centre doing their job great.
Bill Chalmers

Apr 18 2007

The techs I have no problem with at all, we usually have a laugh at Bells expense and how the diagnosis from the call centre is never the proper one.

One time I recall the techs were fixing the line, just as the cable guys showed up to set me up with VoiP and high speed cable internet. This was after two months of the “rest your modem” runaround. This was also the last time I dealt with Bell for my residence.

The techs asked who they were, I said, “I gave up and went with cable” They just laughed and said they would have done the same thing.
Mark

Apr 19 2007

Follow Up

I did send a letter to Kevin Crull as I said I would, and I advise anyone who has had a difficult experience with Bell to do the same. If you have followed a process of trying to get your issue resolved without success, escalate it to the highest level possible. This holds true in any situation and with any company. Stick with the specifics of the incident and you will normally be treated with respect. This was certainly the case with my experience. Within a few hours of sending my e-mail to Mr. Crull I received a written response and a phone call from him. He acknowledged that the situation had been handled deplorably and made no excuses for that. In fact he indicated that given the same situation and responses he would have reacted in a similar fashion. He took personal responsibility as the leader and his responses to me went a long way towards re-storing my faith that he and all of the other committed employees at Bell do value individual customers. “As I said to Mr. Crull, people dont judge you by your mistakes but they do judge you on how you recover”
Paul Tattersall

Apr 19 2007

I’ve had a recent experience where I needed help at Sympatico and, I must say, the call was answered fairly quickly and the problem was resolved. Also, almost a year ago when we moved into our new home, our phone was disconnected and we went through hell trying to get our service back. After many calls, we asked to speak to a manager and we were told there wasn’t one around! Another problem I have been having, again for almost a year, is getting my new address and phone number correct. I have literally given up and really don’t care any longer. I figure I’ve more than done my part and made the effort. After many emails and speaking with a live person to give my information, I still have a different address, depending on which website or service I log into. This brings me to my last beef. Bell is keen on having customers ‘consolidate’ their services and bills, yet every time you turn around in their websites and email accounts, a different user name and/or password is required. Pheww.
Josh

Apr 20 2007

I just find it really amazing that as all these services become more complicated, with more features (satellite, cell phone, internet) that Bell thinks they are doing the customers a good service by outsourcing. These outsourcing companies have huge turnover rates as the employees are paid almost nothing. So what you get on the other end of the phone line, is someone that knows less then you do about the product. And they call that service. Unreal.
Cathy

Apr 20 2007

Josh,

More people need to make some noise about the outsourcing. Espcially to overseas countries.

I even email lall MPP’s and the Ministers of all departments and the PM LOL. I got a few replies back, however they were basically to bad to sad..nothing they can do its not illegal to take jobs from Canadians and give overseas.

I said what about the Canada in bell..it will no longer exsist..no reply to that
Diane

Apr 21 2007

I am about to embark into “Bell Hell” to resolve two outstanding
issues on my “server”. I DO NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH some heavily
accented individual half a world away in the Punjab, or wherever.
What on God’s GREEN earth is wrong with having our own deal with
our own difficulties???????Bell, cut the outsourcing, as of NOW!
Where did such an idiotic idea come from in the first place (I
know, I know; Corporate greed). Pay your staff and give it the
service I once knew……and I’ve been with Bell for over half
century! I am a Canadian customer, proud to be Canadian, and
damned if I’ll respect advice from some half-knowledgeable,
half-trained, CHEAP “staff” in a totally different environ-
ment, among other things! I may reconsider these thoughts the
day Mumbai has a 40 below blizzard! Go figure.
Kathy

Apr 21 2007

I am really glad to hear that I am not the only one that is having problems with Bell these days and not getting any satisfaction with their customer service. Last July my 17 year old daughter went out shopping to the new Vaughan Mills Mall and while there she purchased herself a new Razr cell phone with money from her first job that she just began. In february of this year she started having problems with the phone not holding a charge and she could only use it while it was plugged into the charger. I took her to our local Bell Store in Pickering thinking that this phone should still be under warranty, however when we were there the salesperson checked the phone and immediately told us that the phone was water damaged and the warranty did not cover water damage. My daughter was quite surprised to hear this as she has never dropped the phone in water or snow but the saleperson told us that these phones are very sensitive and even if she had it in her pocket the sweat from her body could cause this to show water damage. I was told that the phone could not even be sent out for an estimate to repair as it was cheaper to pay $350 for a new phone. I thought that was very strange but did not argue as I do not know all that much about cell phones. Knowing that we were over 2 years into the contract, which is in my name, I asked about getting an upgrade which I know that Bell will do after 2 years. When the salesperson when into our file to put this through he informed me that we already had received a $200 discount when my daughter bought her phone and that my contract had been renewed for another 3 years. I can say that this was totally new to me and that I knew nothing of this being done. I later called Bell and had this same information confirmed and when I asked to speak to someone to complain about this I was told to email the executive offices at Bell which I did explaining everything. I received a call from them a few days later and was told that there was nothing that they could do but they did agree that this should not have been done without my consent. I would have to deal with the actual store manager. The only thing she could agree to do was to put my plan back to the original date however I would have the $200 charged to my account even though it was my daugher who received the discount when she bought her phone. I did mail a letter to this manager as well and received a call from her. She also confirmed that the sales people are required to ask for id before making any changes to someones plan. She had spoken to her employee and he said he would have called me to get permission to amend the plan. When I told her that I had never received any such call and would not have authorized such she jsut told me that he was her best salesperson and that he would not lie. Well I can imagine why he is the best sales person she has if this is how he handles sales. When I questioned my daughter she told me that she had asked if her mom needed to be there and that he told her no, that it was fine. He even talked her into buying an extended warranty as she really needed this because it covered her phone for everything. Well when I read the warranty it does not cover everything especially supposed water damage. The store manager did agree to reimburse this extended warranty but I am still stuck paying this $200 which I did not authorize and we still have a cell phone that doesn’t work. I have 3 cell phones as well as 2 land lines with Bell and I can assure you that as soon as the contracts are up I am moving everything from Bell.
Larry

Apr 21 2007

Kudos to Mr. Kevin Crull from Bell Canada. I took Ellen’s advice and emailed Mr. Crull on April 23rd about 9:am. By 2:pm April 24th. he had resolved a billing issue I had been trying to resolve with Bell Sympatico for months. Thank you Mr. Crull. Thank you Ms.Roseman.
Larry

Apr 21 2007

Sorry, the dates in my posting were actually Apr.16 & 17, not Apr.23 and 24. Perhaps the positive results from Bell Sympatico caused some brain spin.
Wini

Apr 21 2007

I would first off like to thank Ms. Roseman for her excellent articles in the Toronto Star. I follow them religiously. During my recent spell in “Bell Hell” I remembered her columns and was interested to find the latest articles and this conversation. Without this information, I fear I would still be stuck in misery.

Late last night (April 21), when I reviewed Mark’s comments of April 19, I decided to take his advice and escalate my concerns to Kevin Crull - President of Residential Service. Again thanks to Ms. Roseman for publishing this email address.

My troubles initiated with a request to combine the three land lines coming into my house onto one account in order to share a long distance plan. It should have been a simple request to accomplish. Essentially it resulted in my voice line being switched with my fax line. My clients have been unable to fax me work for over a week now. I am currently 600 miles away from my home, assisting my aging parents in the States. I will not begin to enumerate the hours spent trying to sort out my difficulties with Customer Service and Repair. A review of the preceeding entries can give one a general sense of the challenges I also faced with customer service. I finally called a friend and neighbor who works as a Bell repairman. He worked for over 4 hours of his own time trying to get my lines in order. Even he had to quit, unable to rectify the situation. You know it is bad, when even the repairman has difficulty.

This morning I was astonished to have received an email from Mr. Crull at 8:48am. Shortly thereafter I received calls from members of his executive team who had been called into the office on a Saturday morning to rectify the situation. I also found out that a repair technician had been dispached to my home at the same time. In a few short hours the matter that I had been struggling with for several weeks had been resolved.

From my discussions with Mr. Crull’s staff members I believe that his office is quite serious in making changes to the current situation. His proactive stance has reaffirmed my faith in Bell - at least at the top. Ultimately that is where it really matters and where the change will come from. I echo the sentiments of Larry’s post today. Kudos to Mr. Crull and his excellent staff. Thank you Mr. Crull. Thank you Ms. Roseman.
Josh

Apr 23 2007

wow look at Kevin Crull’s office spring into action when there’s talk of a take over. So I guess regarding the last few posts, many feel it’s ok to make 30 phone calls to bell to get an issue resolved, only to have to e-mail the president of residential services to finally get it resolved? I guess the outsourcing is really working for you guys?
guy

Apr 24 2007

Bell, Bell, Bell, what ARE we going to do with you?
I don’t have any one particular horror story as they all
blend together at this point.
I am a BELL employee, and i now have my LD with PRIMUS.
I will soon be changing my internet and home phone lines also.
I am sick to death of not getting anywhere when i deal with
this company.
When people ask me for advice on who to choose for their carrier. I basically tell them to try the others before BELL.
I’ve had way to many problems with BELL to recomend their services.
Mary Ann

Apr 24 2007

After a successful 27 year career with Bell and an additional 10years of being a loyal customer - I’m calling it quits! I made the call for Ma Bell to cancel the Sympatico, take out the dedicated computer line, disconnect the Expressvu, drop all the fancy enhancements like voicemail and call display from my only connection to the outside world. I’m taking $160 worth of services off of my Bell bill. I’m FORCED to keep one working telephone line until such time as a competitor comes along!! What - might I ask? - WHAT is just sooo difficult about delivering good client service?
Theresa

Apr 24 2007

My name is fictitious and my email is hotmail and yes it is a real email address and I do this for a reason that I am sure you will be able to understand the longer I write..
I am a tech with Bell Express Vu and I love my job and I love our customers..and I say “OUR” because when I am on a call I feel as if that customer is mine to take care of in every and any way I can…
I have read most of the comments on this site and I am happy the concerns are being addressed..as far as outsourcing, well there is not to much to be said because a fact of life is all major companies are doing it..I have both Express Vu and Rogers and I am being honest here have you ever heard their automated guy IVR..I thought I hated Emily but he seems to be worse and I am getting off track..my point here is Rogers outsources too oh and just before I put the Rogers thing in the past I got through to a real live person only when I swore ~lol~ and then the real person I talked with informed me I had the wrong dept and promptly transferred me into a queue that I finally hung up after 10 minutes..but at least they outsourse in Canada..not OVERSEAS..alot you just don’t hear about it until columns like this are written and customers are asked point blank about problems..
The India call centre is a whole other story…I believe Canadians need to be served by other Canadians that can relate to the product that you need help with..
I have read in this blog about cust service and upselling even when your problem is unresolved or you have called 10 other times that day and trust me as tech reps WE SHARE YOUR PAIN but are totally helpless..our calls are monitored (100%) of all calls to Bell Express and if we do not try and upsell every call we will be in jeopardy to get coached ..then suspended with out pay then lose our job..we all hate this and most of us feel very awkward..just as you may have called 10 times before but we have to promote our self serve options every call..ask for your email..these things I am telling you are not an option for us but a fact..I for one love the tech aspect of Express Vu as I am very good at what I do and I do love our cust..
Customer service to me is what I love and have always had a passion for and I will continue this passion..the metrics of the quality control is, if I read correctly a problem..the upselling..the pushing..the attitude..you are all very right in your concerns..customer service needs to be put back on track and Bell needs to allow there reps to actually address the concerns the customers are calling about..I have been bitching forever to no avail..I just can’t put my concerns to someone with authority to do something..we need to treat our customers each and everyone with the highest respect they deserve..each call needs to be tailored to that particular customers needs/concerns..the quality we are expected to go through makes OUR calls very Impersonal..the qulity was put into place to make the experience personal but the quality that exists right now does just the opposite..all calls can’t be addressed in the same way..Bell products and services are different..so why same quality for all lines of business??doesn’t make sense does it…
Most managers do not listen..our comments go into one ear and out the other and never does it go farther..managers need to give a shit but its all about stats..highest revenue per call..talk time..Bell needs to let us once again say screw it..our cust has a problem lets hear them out and get it solved..we need once again to show our customers Bell is #1..sounds easy..well it should be, but politics make it difficult..let Bell know you want/need just to be heard and have someone really give a damn…upselling and things like that for a tech support rep should not be a priority..getting the issue resolved and making our customers feel good about believing in Bell should be…thanks for listening but I felt as a Bell Express Vu tech reps opinion might be an addition for this blog..I hope all of you stay a bit longer with Bell as I have a very strong feeling things are due for a shake up..not sure how, but I know you guys have upper managements ear..Please do not give up on us yet!..I CARE!!!!
Paul

Apr 25 2007

If they don’t speak english, I don’t talk to them. English being english I can understand.
Connie

Apr 30 2007

Bell internet customer service is totally removed from their customers. In my area, they won’t provide high-speed access and they can’t fix our problem. Our daughter originally set up an internet account with Bell under her name, but we paid for it on our consolidated billing. She has since married and moved away. Bell won’t remove her from the account.

I can’t access the account to download free updates from Bell, even though we pay for the service on preauthorized payments. I haven’t been able to get to someone who can answer my questions. I asked if I can cancel the account and get a new account under my husband’s and my names. I was told that was not possible for at least 6 months, as our home phone number associated with the service won’t allow a change.

My question is what happens when someone moves and keeps the same phone # or when someone moves and the number gets reassigned to a new person? Can’t they change the internet service then??? I’m so frustated I’m looking at getting all my services (Phone, Long distance, internet, TV and 3 mobile) elsewhere.

Another problem is that their customer service people can’t speak English without heavy accents. It’s hard to understand them and they don’t have any idea what we’re calling about. I get put on hold for long periods and still no resolution. If I ran my business that way, I wouldn’t have a business for long. I’m glad that my business internet is elsewhere. Too bad !!
Bell has lost my confidence.

Connie
deb

Apr 30 2007

Just another bit to add to the growing list of dissatisfaction with Bell. My husband and I have been Bell users for over 20 years and Sympatico users for 6. In 2005 I signed a great 1 year contract for my internet fee. When it was about to expire, I was emailed a renewal contract to extend for another year with the same pricing, so I signed the contract and sent it off.

Since I resigned the contract in September 2006, my bill has been wrong every time. I’ve called the office EVERY MONTH and they tell me they’re sorry and the right price and credit for the last month’s overcharge will be reflected on the next month’s bill. Well, I have been getting the $10 credit every month, but the bill continues to be wrong. The phone reps are always courteous and friendly and assure me they are escalating the call and sending “something” to billing right away. I’ve come to the conclusion they must be lonely and enjoy talking to people, as I’m sure one of them is sitting by the phone waiting for my monthly call.

It sounds like alot of people have gotten satisfaction from emailing Mr. Crull, so I think as I finish up here I will email him….. wish me luck !
Jonny

May 1 2007

My issue with Bell is pretty bad. Much as I like and respect Indians, there is somethinbg wring when I call 310-BELL and without exception, every person I speak to is in India?. Next up — Bell India!
John H. Lawrence

May 2 2007

Three years ago I had power of attorney for my brother suffering from Alzheimers. He could no longer use his Bell service and I therefore called Bell to discontinue his number.
You guessed it - Bell discontinued my number unbeknowst to me initially until a neighbour advised me that she could not reach me on the telephone.

Not being aware of the problem I phoned Bell and they said it was a repair problem and made an appointment for them to make a service call to my home. I stayed home from work in the morning - Bell never appeared. A call to them on my Rogers cell revealed that they had made the mistake and had discontinued my number, not my brother’s.
I spent an hour on the phone fighting for some compensation for lost wages. Bell treated it as a small error and wondered why I was making such a fuss!
I now have my land phone with Rogers as well.
John Coombs

May 3 2007

I also am a Bell employee of 20 years…We were informed yesterday that a recent assestment with an offshore company in India had been approved..Well there goes 350 Canadian jobs to India. When is someone going to do something…Our so called union say they can’t do anything,then why pay them?

So here is to our customers no only will your calls be answered in India the daily operations will also be done via India. So hold on people you haven’t seen the worst yet….

Unemployed..
Cathy Lebrun

May 3 2007

reply for John

John that is exactly what they did to us in Kingston. They closed our office and gave our jobs elsewhere. The fantastic union that we have is useless.

I cant believe another 350 jobs gone. What office are you in?
Johanna

May 3 2007

I have long wanted to remove everything from Bell - all I have now is the phone. I wouldn’t have that either except that my daughter, who was a Bell employee, said they were getting lots of complaints about Rogers home phone and not to make the switch until they had been in the business for a while.

My daughter worked as a customer service rep and told me about the constant harassment to upsell but also told me about the number of employees who, at any given time, were off on stress leave. Shoddy, shoddy management indeed.

The whole move to increasing shareholder value at the expense of the company and the customer is one satanic notion. And executive compensation that is tied into increasing shareholder value (as they all are) puts shareholder and executive interests at odds with the company. Kind of like killing the golden goose by sucking it dry.
Mr Sabia

May 4 2007

I am a Bell employee of many years. I remember the days where if someone said they had service with another provider I would tell them Bell is the best company because of the products and service. Well now these days I would not even recommend the service to my own family members. When someone asks me where do you work, I am embarrassed to say I work for Bell.

Last week they outsourced to India all activation and provisioning of phone lines (programming of phone lines). What will happen to 911 emergency lines that are not entered correctly? This job takes years to learn because you learn with experience.

This means 67 temporary part-time employees who have been working full-time hours for years were told that they lost their jobs to India. Regular part-time employees were told they will be cut down to 2 days a week. (These employees have been working full-time hours for years also.) The only reason they were not let go is because Bell would have to pay severance, but they guaranteed to the union that no package would be available. They would have to leave on their own.

So now, we have 611 repair, Sympatico technical support, Activation and provisioning all outsourced to India. The question is who is next? These companies have to think about the trickle-down effect, because if all these jobs are going overseas who will be able to purchase the services in Canada?

What I was able to notice last week is that the Hockey Canada story is more important for our Canadian goverment than Canadians losing their jobs to another country.

We need to put an end to outsourcing. It’s like Bell wants to go in this direction because, I was told, that if someone calls India to cancel a service the language barrier gives them an excuse to not cancel the service. All of Bell executives are thinking it’s a good plan because it will generate more revenue for them. On average, I would say it will take 5 to 6 calls in a period of about 3 months to cancel a service. After it’s canceled, just try to get your money back.

Mr. Sabia please step down. Enough is enough. Let’s go back to what we did in the past: Give customer service. No wonder we are losing so many customers to competition even if we have better services they have customer service.

Hell Canada
Don Seymour

May 5 2007

A new rant with a happy ending. Recently I went to replace my phone as it needed a new battery. Funny how a new phone is cheaper than a new battery. I was told I was entitled to a $250 credit for the new phone if I signed a multi-year agreement. It seemed a small price. In fact it was not. I was told my current long distance package no longer existed. Why then did I still have it? I was told I was grandfathered until I renewed my contract with a free phone. A new similar package would cost more. In addition there would be a monthly system access fee of $9.95. Free phone my keester!

I pointed out that I could go elsewhere and keep my number. They told me I should call retention. Not wanting to heap my abuse on the clerks at the Bell store, I smiled politely and left and began researching what company I will be purchasing my cell service from in the future. Slowly the Bell albatross is being lifted from around my neck.
Gerald McShane

May 5 2007

On page 10 in the 2007 Toronto White Pages and it should be in all the other White Pages directories in Ontario under the Heading of Compliments and concerns is a very good way to get your problem looked at. The information is the section on “if you feel there is more that we can do ..” is the phone number for the Bell Executive Office of Customer Relations 1 866 317 3382. This number is for ALL of the Bell family. Bell, Sympatico, Bell Mobility and Expressvu. I have used this to correct a problem with a friends Sympatico service after I recommended it. Being retired from Bell Network Services for over 5 years and having to immediately respond to an executive complaint given to you to fix, we always did what we had to do to make our bosses look good to their bosses as in those days service was the most important thing and this meant keeping the customer happy.
The rest of the information in this section contains a mailing address, an email and a fax number. The section also contains language of Bell’s failure to fix your complaint and how you can report it to the goverment agency Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission CRTC.
Bell has published tools for us to use but I get a feeling by reading the blogs that we are not aware of what to do and where to go when we encounter a problem at Bell. It is there so why don’t we use it and use the CRTC if we have to.
Jay

May 5 2007

Like many other companies, Bell tries too hard to bring in new business and new technologies instead of just simply focusing on their present customers. If they did that, the money may not pour in for them immediately, but it would flow in like crazy in the long-term! The reason is that simply they would create loyal and satisfied customers. A good name goes far, but a bad name goes further, right?

Bell has tried (like many others) to outsource their calls. Can any company TRULY say that their customer satisfaction remained the same or grew after the cost-saving outsourcing? I’m willing to bet that the answer is “NO”. Bell might be initially saving money by having others do their calls, but I think that they are paying for it dearly in unhappy customers and the resulting revenue loss for them in the future will be huge.

I am with Bell Mobility until the end of my contract in a few months. I had a representative phone me 4 days ago to ask me if I was satisfied with my service. I said I was not, and was planning on changing when my contract was over. He asked why. Without ranting or yelling, I simply started giving the reasons (over-priced, discrepancies in billing, horrible customer service, etc.). Can you believe that he HUNG UP ON ME! Perhaps he was tired of listening, etc., but I laughed so hard because it was so ironic!

A few years ago Bell’s slogan was “Welcome to the NEW Bell!”. I feel that Bell should just get back to basics. Remember those days when if there was a problem Bell fixed it the FIRST time—-almost every time, and quickly as well? Remember those days when Bell generally put the customer first and valued your business? Remember those days when Bell wanted to keep you as a loyal customer and you could actually speak to someone—in Canada—who could help? I think that Bell should develop a whole new marketing strategy and slogan: “Welcome to the OLD Bell!” and get back to those basics of selling and business.

Thank you for your time.
Josh

May 6 2007

I just hope that if Bell goes private they get rid of Sabia, Cope and Crull. Three people that make way too much money for what they give to the company.
Melinda

May 6 2007

I don’t have a Bell horror story, but after reading this, there are a few things I feel needed to be pointed out

1) Indian Tech Support: This is a reality for most companies. Bell is a business, they are in it to make money plain and simple, and when the agents in call centers start their wages at roughly $15/hour, that cuts into profits. It’s not uncommon from what I have heard here in London(ON) for agents to be making more than $20/hr within a few years. India has a much lower cost of living there for they can pay those agents much less, making more profit without the increase in cost to the customer. It’s all good to say that we should only have to speak to Canadian agents, but we all know that only means if it’s not going to cost us more.

2) People bemoan the lack of customer service, but don’t stop to realize that they are real people on the other end of the phone and when you start the call launching a verbal attack, you aren’t going to get good service. Negativity begets Negativity.

3) In regards to the high rates of sick/stress leave, that’s not just Bell, that’s almost all call centers. I work in a call center( not Bell). I get paid to sit and listen to people complain about everything and refuse to accept personal responsibiliy for anything (even if the situation clearly shows for all involved that the issue is not with the company). Having people yell at you for 40 hours a week is more stressful then anyone who doesn’t work in a call center could understand.

I don’t want it to seem that I am attacking anyone here, or belittling the hassles that you have gone through, I just felt that the other side of the story needed to be said, and not from someone who had been given the shaft by Bell.
David

May 6 2007

President Johnson said, “If we’ve lost Walter Cronkite, then we’ve lost the war (referring to Vietnam)”. Well in a similar vein, Bell has lost the business war when they lose the confidence of their customers. Bell is out of business but doesn’t know it yet! I could go on and on about Bell Mobility billing and service or about Bell management’s lack of action and courtesy, but it has all been said in the previous comments. I am no different in how I have walked away from Bell. As long as there are Management and Executive bonuses based on cutting service and increasing company values and not on service and experience levels, we will continue to see this company underperform and they don’t truly give a rat’s butt about the customers who allowed them to have their jobs. I truly feel for the majority of the front line staff who answer the first call. When they hire sales people to functions like Bell Mobility did with Newman (since gone), what type of service levels do people expect to get? After all sales and executives are only motivated by their greed and need to boost egos. Truth is Bell does not care about your complaints. They are only interested in the 66 Million Dollar contracts of corporate customers who by the way were oversold and way off their committed to target date, so you see even business is victim to “corp speak”. Bell has lost the Walters of the world and the war. But don’t tell them. Sooner or later they will find out for themselves! Now onto the competition to see what they can screw up!
jay

May 6 2007

TIP: To avoid speaking with a foreigner i.e. India when calling the Call Centre hit the bilingual operator choice button on your phone and get a bilingual person who speaks both english and french.
Ellen Roseman

May 6 2007

From Barry:

Let me add two more Bell stories:

1. In August of 2006, I telephoned Bell to arrange for new telephone service for my son who was scheduled to move to his university residence in September. A very helpful individual assisted me and made the necessary arrangements. He offered me two promotions, one of which involved waiver of the $55.00 installation fee if we subscribed to a service package (voice mail, caller i.d., etc.) at $15.95 per month and the second of which was long distance calls charged at $0.07 per minute for $2.00 per month, both of which offers I accepted.

The telephone service was activated as scheduled, and I received my first bill which included a charge of $55.00 for telephone service installation and a monthly charge of $4.50 for “network charge”. I telephoned Bell’s service number and spoke to an individual who advised me that the $55.00 was being charged but would be credited if I kept the service package for two months. I suggested that the appropriate procedure would be to reverse the charge and bill it only if I cancelled the service package within the two months. This was refused. There was no explanation for the network fee.

The individual suggested that if I was not satisfied I should telephone Bell’s executive offices at 1-866-317-3382. I did so, but for whatever reason, there was no answer at 9:25 a.m. on the day I called. I left a message with my name, business telephone number, and reason for my call.

Having received no response to my message, I again telephoned Bell and spoke to Cassandra. Cassandra explained that the waiver of the $55.00 service charge was an August promotion, which expired on August 31. When I pointed out that my order had been placed in early August, she claimed that she could not find any record of the date of my order but that it did not matter as the installation date governed. The only explanation for the network access fee was that it is a charge Bell levies for any long distance plan. When I asked why none of this had not been explained to me initially, Cassandra had no explanation, only an apology.

As I persisted in requiring an adjustment to my bill, Cassandra asked me to hold while she “checked” with someone else. She returned to tell me that the $55.00 service charge could not be adjusted as it was “government regulated”. I took issue with her assertion that this meant that the charge was mandatory. When I asked for an explanation of the network fee she told me that this too, was government regulated and “definitely has to be charged”. These statements are misleading and untrue.

I asked to speak to a supervisor. Cassandra transferred me to someone named Dorida who responded to my question as to her job title that she was in “household retention”. Dorida also took the position that she could not waive the service charge or the monthly access fee. The best she could do was to offer a $45.00 credit on long distance charges. At seven cents a minute, my son would have to use over ten hours of long distance to utilize that credit.

I left it with Dorida that Bell’s response was unacceptable, and that if a supervisor wished to review the matter and discuss it, he or she could call me. I received no further communication from Bell.

Thereafter, I contacted Rogers to switch both my son’s phone and my residence phone to their service. This was done easily, speedily, at better prices than Bell, and with no installation charges. All charges were explained and the installation was carried out without service interruption.

2. In March 2007 I received a call from Bell at my office offering me an “anywhere” internet promotion whereby by purchasing a modem for $99.00 I could use my office internet anywhere service was available, including at my home for $50.00 per month. I accepted and two days later received an e-mail confirming my order but specifying that the service was $60.00 per month.

I e-mailed back but received no response so I called Bell and it took over 45 minutes to get someone who could talk to me. The first two people knew nothing about the product and appeared to be in the billing department. When I finally got the right department, I was left on hold for 18 minutes until someone picked up the phone. She was surprised as she said it was not busy that day.

The individual I spoke to could not determine who initially contacted me as it was not on their records. She said that “Jeff” had set up my service but the person I originally spoke to was a woman. In any event I was told that the service was $60.00 per month and that it had never been $50.00 per month. I told her to cancel but she said she could not do that herself and offered to transfer me to the department which would arrange for cancellation and pickup of my modem. I was again left on hold as there was no available at that department. I finally hung up and e-mailed Bell twice without response.

It seems that Bell is incapable of telling the truth when it comes to selling its services.

To add insult to injury I got a letter from Bell yesterday telling me how much they wanted me back. It included this sentence: “When you come back to Bell, we can now waive the $55 reconnection fee which we were previously required to charge”.
David

May 6 2007

Ah the familiar tale! I had been a consciously loyal Bell customer for 20 years, often accepting a slightly higher rate structure so that I could stay with a “good Canadian company”.
This all came to an end a year or so ago when my ExpressVu receiver packed up (intermittently).
On my first call to the help desk the “tech” suggested that the fault was probably with the receiver and that if I unplugged it for a while it would come back. For a few days it did, but then the same problem reoccurred.
The next “tech” was adamant, despite the previous evidence to the contrary, that the receiver was fine and the cable the problem. $20 worth of cable and a trip up to the roof dispelled that notion.
Next time we were back to the receiver! At this point I told them to cancel my subscription as I did not want to purchase a new receiver, but, I was offered a “free” new receiver. After some considerable prompting I ascertained that after one year the new receiver would cost $3 a month, still not a bad deal, so I said I’d stick with them. The person I was talking to asked me to wait while he got details, only to come back with the “news” that they were all out of that receiver and they’d send me the next model up. What a deal! Still free! Again I had to wheedle out of him the $10 monthly charge after one year!
At this point I decided that the best course of action was to take the offer (and not renew after the one year) and was told that I would be contacted to arrange delivery soon. After a couple of weeks and no news I was so fed up that I called and told them to cancel the whole thing, only to be informed that I HAD TO PAY ANOTHER 30 DAYS BEFORE THEY COULD STOP THE SERVICE, DESPITE THE FACT THAT I HAD HAD NONE WEEKS!
Now bear in mind that each of these conversations involved at least 45 min on hold each time, that sometimes the “tech’s” were barely comprehensible and on one occasion quite aggressive and I’m sure that anyone would understand my decision to try Rogers.
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE!
Rogers is absolutely no better on the phone, they’ve chiselled me out of some services that I had at the beginning and my email exchanges with them are pathetic!
Worst of all was the installer, who arrived right at the end of the three hour window, took a good couple of hours to do the work (badly), had to borrow pliers from me and tried to leave with my pliers! The digital cable receiver he installed never did work properly and when I returned it to a Rogers store they informed me that it was a 6 year old model! I just plugged in basic cable and it’s fine, my strong suspicion is that the cable from the pole to the house is at fault and the “rent a tech” couldn’t be bothered to get involved in that job.
So for those of you who are fed up with Bell, don’t expect anything better from Rogers. In fact you might as well stick with Bell, because at least they have knowledgeable local technicians who know how to fix the system. They are without doubt the only saving grace that Bell has, so no doubt Bell executives are devising new ways to get rid of them!
frustrated bell employee

May 6 2007

reply to Ellen

The date you called into place your son’s order should be right on the order. As well the network charge is NOT government regulated. It is suppose to be to upgrade and enhance service in rural area’s. We are told that all long distance carriers charge this fee.

I even being a Bell employee, have all my services with Roger’s other than my television only because I am under contract.

The representive you spoke to should have reveresed your charge for you, not tell you promotion was over.

Another secret for all is that when you ask to speak to a supervisor, your transferred, however you transferred to just another Bell employee that is on what is called the “help desk”. Very rarely do you get to speak to a manager. These rep’s on the help desk are trained a little more but that is all.

I am hearing now that Bell has closed the traffic and assignment groups, and transferred jobs to India. These were the two departments that actually did the work of activating your phone line. We sometimes called them if there was an error for connection and they could reconnect within 2 hrs.

The representatives in the Kingston Call Center where let go with very litte sevrence packages. I just read somewhere that Mr Sabia makes more the the US President and our Prime Minister per year. He also has shares given to him in Bell Caanada. If he is to be let go he has a severence package of close to a million dollars. Therefore, the $$ that Bell is saving by outsourcing is going directly into managements pockets.

Reply to Melinda

When our new collective agreement came out we were all frozen at rate of pay. It is almost impossible to reach $20 per hour now. Yes that is the way it used to be, but not anymore.

When I started 6 yrs ago, I started at $14.55 per hr. I am now up to $19.65 per hr. The new people that started 2 yrs after me started at $12 something per hour, alot of them are still at $14-$15 per hour.

As for the stress leave it is not the customers that do it to us or me I should say. It was Bell themselves. The customers have no idea who I am on the other end of the phone. I dont take the calls personally as an attack on me. I try my best to help the customer and if I can’t trust me there is no greater frustration for me.

If you want to work in a call center, you can’t take the complaints as personal attacks on you.

Stress leave for most of us right now is because of what is happening to our jobs. We had no warning that the Kingston center was being closed. They just walked in one morning surrounded by security and told us effective immediately our center was closed. We had 4 days to decide if we wanted to transfer or be terminated. We had 2 days to clean out our personal possessions. As we left we were also checked on our way out by security. Do you know how demeaning that is. You go to work for Bell Canada and give your all. Its like a slap in the face. I took the transfer, and have been in Ottawa for almost a year. I went to work for one month and have been off on stress leave since. The anxiety and panic is terrible. I am terrified to go back to work, scared of them coming in and shutting down yet again, and from what I am hearing it is very possible. I am not the only one that has transferred that is off on stress leave. Put yourself in our position. You go to work feeling all is right, you love your job, 3 hrs after you start everyone is pulled offline and given the news, all around you people are breaking down. Single parents, people that had been working at Bell for years. Did we have any help from union? NO. We are forced to decided our future in 4 days. Either transfer and continue working for Bell, or at 46 yrs old go out and try to find another job that pays that well. It’s a big decision to pack up, leave a home you love and your family and friends to move 2 hrs away. Yes it was my decision but hey its either do it or lose everything. I am seeing so many of my former co-workers that didnt transfer, starting to lose their homes, cars, etc.

Walk into a brand new call center, surrounded by new people, managers, new procedures, new city everything. Its not an easy thing to do.

Thanks for listening to my rant amd I am sorry if I offended anyone. I could go on and on but I wont.

I only pray that the outsourcing stops, before there are even more people let go and are forced to make those hard decisions. Mr Sabia doesnt care, nor do any of the other upper management to them its about sales sales sales!! $$$$!!!
Patricia

May 7 2007

I have a similar problem as “Ben”.
Bell has disontinued my long distance, suspended my internet access and has threatened to disconnect my landline. (I cancelled my Bell Mobility over a year ago).

I have been a loyal Bell customer for more years than I want to admit to and when I first signed up for sympatico I paid for it at the Bell Store, when I tried to connect my modem at home, Bell told me that they did not see my payment which was direct pay throughmy bank card. I paid the connection fee again by credit card and Bell assured me that they would credit the double payment. They did not do this until after 5 letters and a phone call every month when I received my statement. I have paid my phone bill online since 2005 and now for some reason my “payment” is not showing up on their statements. I have spoken to the office and sent letters to no end. I think I may follow Ben’s example and head to the nearest office for a Face to Face with someone who cannot intimidate you and treat you like a criminal over the phone. Thanks for your great work and thanks to Ben for the great idea!
Dale

May 7 2007

I left Bell Canada’s wireless service several months ago due to the increase in “access fees” from $6.95 to $8.95 monthly. That’s all it took for me to leave, a two dollar increase. I was not interested in paying to upgrade their network for services like movies on my cellphone (!) that I would never consider using.
Now I am moving from downtown Toronto to Midtown after 15 years. I asked Bell to “port” my local number from the downtown 921 exchange to the midtown 481 exchange. They have flatly refused.
I must add that I worked for Bell Canada for many years in service provisioning, and I know that the technology exists to do this. I would gladly pay a service charge to enable this, but Bell won’t do it.
Bottom line, Bell has lost another customer. Rogers is going to take over my current number and move it with me to my new address. I understand fully that I do not “own” my local number, but with LNP (local number portability)available for cell service, what is the issue with landline service when it is in the same area code? It is all in the programming of, and accounting for telephone numbers, cables and pairs. It costs money for this administration and Bell must be unable to come up with a way to account for it.
I have been employed elsewhere, not in the telecom industry, for six years now. I empathize with the plight of current Bell employees and am sorry that so many good jobs have left the country. I could never have imagined I would have to turn my back on the company that gave me an excellent income and skills that I have been able to apply elsewhere. However, it has happened.
It is time Bell is taken over and broken up. It is a dinosaur who’s time is past (rodent spokescreatures notwithstanding). It is so difficult to get anything done with them now, what on earth is it going to be like after local deregulation? Will they have us climbing up poles ourselves to make the connections?
Amir Alibhai

May 8 2007

In September 2005, I had my Bell Sympatico account discontinued and Bell also stopped drawing monthly charges from my Visa account. But after a month or two they included the internet charge on my telephone account (which I used to pay by cheque). After my first complaint the previous month’s charge was reversed, but the current monthly debit remained.Thereafter every month ,another charge appeared. After numerous calls and four letters (one by registered mail), when nothing happened, I cancelled my telephone line, switched to another company and asked the Ontario Ministry of Government Services to intervene.

Finally Bell cancelled all incorrect charges. But instead of apologizing, the Bell person (Executive Consultant) in her letter to the Ministry stated “it is unfortunate that the client did not take time to contact Bell Sympatico via the telephone to discuss his billing dispute”.

That was last July (2006). I have now no dealings with Bell telephone or internet, but believe it or not, I am still receiving monthly invoices showing zero balance. The last zero balance invoice is dated April 18, 2007. Interestingly, the letter by this Executive Consultant of Bell Canada’s Executive Care Team does not show any telephone number, just their postal box number address.
Char

May 8 2007

Back in March, we were without internet. I was told that in 5 to 7 business days I would recieve a start-up disk. Two weeks later nothing had arrived. I called back and was told it was not sent out and that I would receive it in 5 to 7 business days.

Two weeks later, still no disk. I called tech support and was told that I did not need a disk. What I needed was a upgraded modem and line card and it would be sent in 5 to 7 business days.

To make a long story short, after 2 1/2 months and many calls to India, my problem was finally resolved. It was quite frustrating because although everyone was polite, language was a barrier and no one seemed concerned that I had been put off many times before by customer service.

Should my internet go down again, I will be going to Rogers.
Tom

May 9 2007

Uggh I used to work for Sympatico in Retention. And I can tell you some of the horror stories you’ve seen on here are nothing compared to what I heard. Loved ones being unable to cancel a deceased’s account. Long term customers being forced to leave because of unbending rules. You don’t know how heart breaking it is for the agent to lose a 10 or 20 year customer. You honestly don’t. You feel as if YOU not the company has let that customer down. When in fact they have been screwed around so much before getting to you there is no saving them.

I finally quit after losing one of those customers yet again. As I was forced to give the world to this guy that had just signed up for service and was receiving 3 months free and now wanted to quit. While this person that had been with us for years and had gone through so much was refused the offer I wanted to give them. That was it for me if I couldn’t give good deals to customers that have been there for years what was the point. Bell’s priorities are so screwed they are willing to bend over backwards for new customers whom most don’t stay and they do nothing at all for their loyal customers. It’s outrageous and demoralizing to everyone.

To this VP that is now fixing everything supposedly. WHERE WERE YOU when I was there. I asked so many times for help in keeping customers. Made so many requests. And what happens you do the worst move ever for customer service and outsource to India where there representatives call me in RETENTION for help in troubleshooting a customer. I was non technical for years but I knew more then these India techs.

As for myself I am now Bell free as I was done with my internet going out every time the wind blew and my ever changing phone bill that nobody could figure out. And amazingly it only took four months to cancel the thing and being told I was on a contract that I never heard about and that I would never except because I worked for Bell themselves in retention and dealt with those things every day.

I am now with Cogeco and have never been happier. I’ve had my internet crash once and it was really storming out when that happened so no problem. I’m patiently waiting for them to get phone in my area so I can relax my cell a bit. But I will NEVER EVER be a bell customer again!!!
Joren

May 9 2007

Good ol’ Bell Immobility!

I thought you might like to know that when I got my cell phone bill today, i was overcharged $25.
Charged for unlimited weekends and weeknights. I was getting this free up till now on the corporate plan I signed a 3 year contract for.

Called them and they claim that the corporate plan I was on no longer exists. Or that particular promotion no longer exists. When I asked why they couldn’t send out a letter advising people of this, she claimed that they were told there was.

How can you “discontinue” a feature that someones signed a contract for?

She said if I wanted to stay on the corporate plan I’m on now, I could get a discount on the weeknights and weekends thing, OR switch to a different, current corporate plan and get what I’m getting now - for what I’m paying now.

The plan she put me on costs .75 cents more in one place and .75 cents less in another but includes weekends and weeknights.

If this makes no sense to you, you’re not alone.

What stupidity. Then at the end, the CSR has the nerve to give his employee number/name and ask me if he’s provided excellent customer service today.

I read above about CSR’s feeling sorry for those who couldn’t cancel a deceased persons account. Good to hear that someone feels sorry! They not only wouldn’t cancel my mothers account until I provided them with a load of personal information… copy of the death certificate AND a Will, but they actually sent a COLLECTIONS Agency after my dead mother - for less than $15.00.
Nathalie Van

May 9 2007

I just wanted to publicly thank Mr. Kevin Crull for his help in getting my business connected to high speed DSL. I have called Bell almost daily for about 2 months trying to find out when DSL would be coming to my neighborhood, telling them that it is essential to my home based business. Nobody listened.

Until I emailed Mr. Crull. Within the same day his assistant emailed me back, and here I am, just a week later with high speed DSL. AMAZING!

Thank you so much, I just wish I didn’t waste all those hours on the phone speaking with bell representatives, even the executive business office did nothing to help, I escalated the matter and nothing happened until I wrote to Mr. Crull.

I was so skeptical when I saw this article here, but I was proven wrong, there really is someone at Bell that can do something other then telling me that DSL is not available. Now it is!!

Nathalie Van.
Doug

May 14 2007

Here is one for the record books.

I have been a Bell Corporate customer for numerous years for phone/fax and high speed internet. The high speed price was $59.95/month on a one-year contract, which was fine. In March ‘07, I get a call from a Bell rep offering me Ultra High Speed for $1.00 more a month, with a 5-year contract. Not a bad deal. But on the next bill, $59.95 turned into $61.95, which is actually $2.00 more a month (do the math). Still OK with the deal.

In May ‘07, I get a bill for $71.95 because Bell has increased the fee by $10.00/month and I am locked into a 5-year contract. I called to discuss this with a Rep, who answers: “Bell terms and agreements state Bell has the right to increase the fee at any time”. My answer: “What the hell does a contract mean”? What will it take to break the contract? “Since you are just starting the 5 years - Eh Emm - click, click, click - about $2000.”

Long story short, after talking to her manager, I am back to my old service on a 1-year contract at $69.95 because the old service increased $10.00/month as well. But at least it is a 1-year contract, which allows me to find something else.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO BUSINESS THESE DAYS? First gas, now phone and internet. Where is this going to stop? It appears companies are increasing the prices until customers complain and then they add 10%.
James dot

May 16 2007

I don’t understand why you all keep staying with Bell. If you are in areas where you don’t have internet or high speed, there is a very good solution. It’s called Satellite internet, it’s a little pricy but guaranteed to be fast and very secure.

And why not go with Videotron High speed DSL? I have been with Videotron for SEVEN years and when a problem appears it never took more then one hour to solve it by phone. They have the highest qualified technicians in Canada, if not in the world. And they also offer land phone service through DSL service. I have that too for 3 years.

My horror story started with Bell when I had phone service installed at my home that I purchased, 35 years old. I only got Bell land line for my home’s central alarm service, which is required. After I had my alarm installed, every so often I would hear a beeping on the key pad. When doing a self-diagnostic test, it would say no communiction to central. I called the alarm technician (a good friend) and he would come the very next day. We both checked the system and everything was fine. He suggested that because the house is 35 years old, the outside main wire may be cracked and losing amperage.
I went on the roof and started swinging the wire and the problem started to cut, so the problem was found.

The same evening I called Bell to tell them that I have a problem with the home line, that the main wire was old and needed to be changed. They said they would do an on-phone diagnostic and that everything was working fine or else I wouldn’t be talking with them. Just before I had told them I was using my cell phone to call them because the land line wasn’t working and they insisted that if it ain’t working how could I be talking with them and then I yelled at them.

These people are not paying attention to what you are saying. Anyway, they said they would send somebody in a few days. They set a time and date, Friday between 3 pm and 6 pm. I had to leave early from work and guess what? The technician shows up at 9 pm, just to tell me its too dark to check for the problem.

I had to reschedule with Bell. But with the next appointment, I again left work and nobody showed up. That’s 6 hours lost of my work pay and the problem not solved. So far, that made almost 45 days without central security to my home.

At this time, I was steaming and saw a commercial on TV that Videotron was offering telephone service through cable high speed internet. I called and had a technician show up at the exact time they said a few days later and everything was done. Problem solved.

Now Bell wants me to pay 2 months’ service that I didn’t have. Who gave me the right to transfer to Videotron? They tried to threaten me with legal action, but I’m not the type to take it sitting down. I told them I dare you to take this to court or better yet, you owe me 6 hours of wages lost for never showing up for the appointments you set. The rep said that’s all in their service contract, they don’t pay for the time lost and I should pay for the 2 months of service for not cancelling. But when you transfer, the other company cancels for you. They didn’t have grounds to stand on.

Here’s the stupidest thing that happened. Three months later, a Bell technician shows up. My girlfriend opened the door and asked what he wanted. He said I’m here to change the main wire. She said wait one minute, while I call my man. I came to the door and after I heard what he had to say, I gave him 30 seconds to get off the premises. I told him you’re three months too late.

I have had DSL internet for 7 years and DSL phone service for 3 years and never had anything I can say were major problems, only minor.

Also, I have been with FIDO for cellphone service for 10 years and any problems were always solved because this company cares. Even though it’s owned by Rogers, it still has kept with the same FIDO service.
English

May 18 2007

I just received a telemarketing call from Sympatico. First I could barely understand this character who used my last name with no Mr., and when I told him I didn’t appreciate him using my last name, he then called me Mr. James (my first name). I asked this character where he was calling from. He looked at his script and after a long delay said, Mississauga. I told him he was lying and calling from India…no denial on his part.

I told him Sympatico was garbage and he asked why it was garbage. I said I once had the service and it was hi-speed that tested slower than dial-up in Toronto! I have made it a personal crusade to villainize Bell…why? Because they treat long-term customers with disdain and lack of respect. If Bell wants to oursource to India, who cares? Just don’t call me and expect me to sign up when you can’t even address me in my native tongue and respectful title.

Prediction: When the cost of using India as an outsource becomes too high, then India will sub-outsource to Rwanda. Hope you all speak Swahili.
Steve Pounder

May 18 2007

Now Bell is sending out demand letters to people who may have purchased satellite toys. Here’s what it says.

“Bell ExpressVu is investigating individuals receiving Bell ExpressVu encrypted subscription programming without authorization. Illegal reception of Bell ExpressVu’s programming is accomplished through the use of modified Bell ExpressVu access cards (sometimes referred to as “test cards”), modified free-to-air (FTA) receivers and other illegal signal theft devices.

“We recently obtained business records of an entity that sold illegal signal theft devices. These records show that you purchased equipment that is designed to obtain unauthorized access to Bell ExpressVu’s programming. We also obtained the business records of an entity that operated a web site that provided information and other services to individuals who were interested in pirating Bell ExpressVu’s programming. These records show that you were a registered member of that web site.

“We are contacting you because the operation or possession of illegal signal theft equipment to access Bell ExpressVu’s programming constitutes a violation of the Radiocommunication Act (Canada) (the “RCA”). In particular Section 10(1)(b) of the RCA makes it a criminal offence to operate or possess any equipment or device for the purposes of decoding Bell ExpressVu’s encrypted subscription programming signal without Bell ExpressVu’s authorization. Any person found guilty of such an offence is liable to a fine of up to $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term of up to one year, or to both. In addition, Section 18 of the RCA entitles Bell ExpressVu to sue any person operating or possessing signal theft equipment contrary to Section 10(1)(b) of the RCA for any and all losses or damages suffered by Bell ExpressVu due to such conduct and to obtain other remedies against such persons including an injunction prohibiting such person from operating or possessing satellite signal theft equipment.

“Satellite piracy is illegal and results in unfair express to Bell ExpressVu and its paying customers. For this reason, Bell ExpressVu actively pursues legal action against those engaged in the facilitation of signal theft.

“Bell ExpressVu is willing to resolve this matter informally rather than commence a legal proceeding against you. In return for your cooperation, Bell ExpressVu is willing to settle its claims against you as of the date this letter provided that you:

a) execute the enclosed Settlement Agreement which sates, in part, that you will not purchase, use, attempt to use or possess illegal signal theft equipment or devices to obtain satellite programming in the future, nor will you have any involvement in the unauthorized reception and use of Bell ExpressVu satellite television programming

b) surrender to Bell ExpressVu all illegally modified Access Cards, FTA receivers or other satellite theft equipment or devices in your possession, custody or control

c) pay to Bell ExpressVu the sum of $1,000 for your past wrongful conduct and the damages thereby incurred by Bell ExpressVu.

“Should you fail to respond to this letter or should you choose to reject Bell ExpressVu’s settlement offer, please be advised that Bell ExpressVu will take appropriate steps to protect its rights, including initiating legal proceedings in court seeking the award of damages and other relief.”

I can’t wait until the media gets hold of this one!
george

May 18 2007

Steve, interesting comments. The question I have is why would anyone want to access ExpressVu in the first place, free or for fee?
Steve Pounder

May 18 2007

Should have noted that the above article was a copy-and-paste from another site and that I did not receive a letter. I’m only taking a kick out of Bell’s stooping to a new low.
Steve Pounder

May 18 2007

George, what you don’t like watching 18 variations of CBC and Fox with Global’s horrendous commercials forcefed to us?
Ben Dover

May 20 2007

The only reason why Kevin Crull, is listening at all is that someone within Bell gave out his e-mail address on the consumerist.
Paul Edwards

May 22 2007

I can say that Ben Dover wrote the truth since someone within Bell gave out by mistake to a customer Kevin Crull’s email.
As a BELL SYMPATICO employee, I’m saying exploitation still starts within Bell customer service, letting employees down and not listening to their concerns. With no union, you can’t bring anything to their attention because you can lose your job any time without notice.

Kevin Crull should be more aware of the situation down on the bottom, since if the bottom is not satisfied nothing goes, since we are the voice of the company.
frustrated bell employee

May 25 2007

In response to Paul Edwards

I am a Bell Customer Service Rep and I disagree with you. The calls I get regarding Sympatico and exploitation are numerous. Then if I try to discuss it with Sympatico Rep, let’s just say most of the time it doesn’t go well.

We are union, so you must work in an outsourced call center.

I firmly believe that there is good and bad in every department of BCE. Not just Sympatico or Bell themselves. It is with Expressvu and Mobility as well.

I am sorry, but I find it completely unfair that you blame it solely on Bell Reps.
Paul Edwards

May 25 2007

Clarification to the previous Bell Customer Service Rep. To just let you know, BIMS are not in an union. Ask and you will be informed.
Bell Canada representatives are in a union, but not BIMS within Sympatico, if you know what i am talking about.
Thank you
Ben Dover

May 25 2007

Believe what you want frustrated Bell rep because myself and people who are fed up like myself have left and will continue to leave Bell. And don’t believe for a second that your promotions, win back stategy, or even Kevin Crull can change our past experiences or reverse the wrongs that have been committed they can’t no matter how much they promise to be better. It is and will always continue to be less than satisfactory. As for myself and others like myself who have left, we are getting the services that we have paid for. It doesn’t take 66 calls, 2 months of my time and filing papers in small claims court to resolve an egregious billing issue like it did with you. In fact since we’ve left we’ve enjoyed our excellent phone plan, friendly ( very competent) staff, and all for far less than what you and your ilk were charging me for! Come back you beg. Never!!!
frustrated bell employee

May 28 2007

In response to Ben Dover,

I agree with you 110%. I may be an employee, but even I myself don’t use Bell Canada. After what the company did to us in Kingston, I will work for them, but never again will I give them my money.

You’re right again regarding promotions and winback strategy. My question was always: Why do people have to go through the trouble of leaving Bell and going to another company before we can offer these rates?

I do not agree with you, however, that all customer service from Bell is bad. I do agree there are some really rotten reps that don’t care, but there are also ones like myself that go out of their way to help fix a problem.
Ben Dover

Jun 2 2007

Frustrated Bell rep, see the situation is that there’s so much bad service that the supposedly “good” service is harder to come by than winning a lottery ticket. Very similiar to saying that there’s drinkable water in the sewage system. If you sift through all that crap maybe you can find “it”. But then again why would you want to? You may be right and have a point about “good service” but only when the stars are aligned every 20th year and only then when Haley’s comet can be seen with the naked eye during a blood red moon. Good service, “promised service” is a statistical anomaly. Kevin just ask the next 100 K + connections who will be leaving the next quarter and the quarter after that! lol

Frustrated bell rep, if you truly want your career to go somewhere, then go to where the grass is greener.
canadian

Jun 2 2007

I refuse to speak to call centre job suckers, so if I get one I just hang up and call again until I get a Canadian Rep who know what they’re doing and don’t tell a dozen times “no problem” and the order is always screwed up only to be fixed by a Canadian. The Executive Office always says we will train the India Reps better, but you train animals whereas you educate people, so ask where they are located and if they say India, hang up and call again, you’ll be glad you did. So where is the savings to the shareholders when the job takes more people and lost customers and lousy word of mouth experience?
Dave

Jun 3 2007

Hello,

I would like to introduce you to a new grass-roots Canadian Telecoms Oligopoly information and protest site at TeleGopoly.com.

What is TeleGopoly?

Telegopoly = Telecom + Oligopoly

A market scenario where there are minimal, dominant, major telecoms companies serving the wireless (cellphone) market. Due to their oligopolistic nature and ‘coopetition’, the wireless telcos act like monopolies in a ‘competitive’ market. Side effects are minimal innovation and high service fees.

An example of this market situation is Canada where there are only three network based wireless carriers (which created tightly controlled MVNOs to create illusion of competition) serving the wireless market.

The Telegopoly.com objective is to educate Canadians about the Advanced Wireless Spectrum (AWS) Auction.

Next year, Industry Canada will hold the AWS Auction. Industry Canada set up a call for comments which ran from mid-February to May 25, 2007. Unfortunately the Call for Comments was not well advertised and the only time the press spoke about the process in any really visible manner was near the end of the process. It is now too late to make commments.

The Department will also provide interested parties with the opportunity to reply to comments from other parties. Reply comments will be accepted until June 27, 2007. We as consumers must be heard! It is important to rebutt comments made by business organizations which are acting as defacto lobby groups for the incumbent carriers.

The carriers want “free market” open auctions via which the incumbent carriers will be able to outspend potential market entrants which could bring innovation and competition to the Canadian market.

Visit the site and let us know what you think.

Sincerely,

Dave and the Telegopoly.com team
Rick

Jun 5 2007

I have no problem with Bell at all. After having done business with them many times wearing many different hats I finally decided not to do business with them at all.

Since then our relationship has improved immensely.
jake d

Jun 5 2007

Having worked for Sympatico as a rep and a supervisor for their Montreal billing office for almost 3 years, I sympathize with customers having to deal with a call centre in India.

When I became supervisor, my team consisted of billing office agents that were going to be cross-trained as techs. This training worked out fine. When my agents were put on the phones, they were not getting any calls for more than a month. They would log on to their system and surf the internet for the whole shift. Imagine the frustration. This is how Bell deals with shortage problems with staffing.

After re-evaluating my choices, I decided to try out 310-BELL from scratch. I retrained and quit after 4 months of sheer disregard of customer needs. I know that, having worked as a CSR and supervisor for other companies, Bell is eventually going to lose more than just customers. That’s because Mr. Sabia is only thinking of his stock options and shareholders.

The majority of Sympatico tech support has moved to India, except for their French-language techs. An Indian worker makes approximately $8 a day, compared to $13 an hour here, a starting salary. The 310-BELL employees start at $13.25 depending if they were directly hired by Bell or a recruiting agency. And yes, you are unionized at 310 but their collective agreement is so bad that most employees are just glad to be making $20 an hour after 5 years’ seniority.
barb

Jun 5 2007

I am a long-time customer of Bell. Up until a month ago, they had all my business (cell, satellite, home phone, internet), with $210 a month plus taxes out of my pocket going to Bell every month — that is, until today. Love my ExpressVu. I had had it since 1999 or so and, if memory serves me right, I have given 4 receivers as gifts to members of my family and I believe
4 or 5 referrals.

About a month ago, I noticed my high speed internet wasn’t so high speed. I called Sympatico, was told they would “look into it” and they needed 30 minutes or so to run diagnostics. I never heard back. I called 2 days later, spoke to another agent overseas who was difficult to understand, who tried to tell me the problem was “resolved”. I asked how they determined it was resolved. They’re a communications company, after all, no email or phone call to verify?

He then went through his “manual” and asked how long the phone cord was. I replied approximately 10 feet. He replied (and I quote) no, no, no, it can be 6 feet, 5 feet, 4 feet, 3 feet, 2 feet or 1 foot, but no 10 foot”. I politely thanked him, called Sympatico back and immediately cancelled my service. To make matters worse the rep offered me a $20 a month discount for 3 months if I stayed. Um, no thanks.

Oh, and did I mention last month I received the one-sentence letter in the mail advising of a $2 increase in my ExpressVu fee so “they can continue to be the leader in satellite services”? The final straw was the stupid radio campaign of free deals for new signup for ExpressVu. I called Cogeco tonight and switched to their digital phone. They offered me a fantastic deal on digital cable TV if i swapped my PVR for their high def DVR. I contacted Bell and asked them what they wwould be willing to do to keep my business. The arrogant rep told me “every new customer is entitled to a promo and you had yours when you signed up”.

I told him I paid $350 for my receiver back in 1999 (I still have my receipt) and a $100 installation fee. The only free thing i ever got from Bell was a new dish when I moved. Bottom line is that Bell just lost $2,500 a year worth of business from me. Gee, at this rate, they may only be able to afford to use 1 beaver in all their ads.
canadian

Jun 5 2007

True story. A retired Bell Manager had high speed Sympatico (aka Sympathy) located in Scarborough. He couldn’t understand why it took so long to download anything. After conducting his own speed tests, he discovered that the service was less than dial up. He constantly tried to get Customer Support to deal with it. No success.

Eventually he called a VP and dealt only with him to get it fixed. Who says being management and retired doesn’t have its perks? Oh, he hates Bell now like the rest of the customers who have Sympathy Internet.
Victor Cho

Jun 5 2007

WELL! I have almost ended a month-long dispute with Bell. I complained about slow speed for a year now — 1.5MB while paying for High Speed. I was on a contract, so I was told I was not allowed to get out. I called them almost every week. To me, Bell is full of lies.

The first time I called, the tech support told me I had too many computers in my home (only 2) and I would have to buy a certified Speedstream modem for $90! He kept persuading me and then came to a point when I hung up on him.

The second time, they sent me a modem and CANCELLED my service. They made me try all these methods to fix it, then they said, oops, your service was cancelled, we will have to send it to a team to fix. So I waited 48 hours. It came back, but still the same speed.

The third time, I got to the senior tech and he didn’t even do anything. All he said was, I will send it to the line team to fix. And I will have to wait for a call in 48 hours.

They never called back, so I called them for the fourth time in two weeks. The tech support agent told me they have tried to fix it, but it didn’t work, they will try again. So they made me wait ANOTHER 48 hours.

Now it came to the point when I started yelling at customer service. They told me ONLY $15 would be refunded for all my troubles. Then sent me to another tech.

THEN FINALLY, the tech told me I was too far away from the station and that I would only get 1.7 MB max! If they had told me from the beginning, I would have not chosen Bell! Then afterwards, I was sent to the business office again! And they told me that I wouldn’t get any money back for the YEAR I had this service and said I COULD terminate my contract and hung up on me because that was when they closed. So tomorrow I will be calling Bell and asking for someone who could do something and getting my money back.

BELL SUCKS!
canadian

Jun 6 2007

Barb, Bell will still need two beavers to build a bigger DAM to hold back the flood of complaints and lost customers that is happening. Word of mouth will kill them faster than their ignoring the customers.
Bill Chalmers

Jun 8 2007

I hate Bell so much that part of my criteria for purchasing a house last year was that cable was available for both high speed internet and Vonage VOIP telephone service. This meant I had to live in “town” as opposed to the country, which I would have preferred.

That is how bad Bell is to me, that I would change habitat to not have to deal with them. Can you believe that? lol!

One year later and I haven’t had any form of problem with either of them.
canadian

Jun 9 2007

What the hell have you done to my good name Bell? You mean to tell me that we now employ India? The customers and employees are right BELL SUCKS! Now does anyone have the number for Rogers? I need to transfer my number and operator-assisted phone over to someone who cares about my business. Company Governance my ass! Fire the Bell Management and let’s get this company back on track for the people.
Frustrated Bell Rep

Jun 10 2007

Well, it finally happened!! I called into Bell One Bill and got India, where they had NO idea what they were doing. The worst part of the whole call was that this was the exact same job I had in Kingston before they closed the call centre!!

They sent my job to India to a person that I talked to for half an hour (it was about an Expressvu billing problem) and she actually said to me, I kid you not, “So are there any other problems with your internet today?” I asked her to repeat and she did, “do you have any other billing problems with your Sympatico today?” I could not believe that she wasn’t even listening that whole time!!

I told her “excuse me’ do you not have my one bill in front of you?” She said yes. I said “then can you tell me what services I have on my one bill?” She asked me for my account number again. She didn’t have my bill open. I only have ExpressVu, nothing else with Bell! I ended up having to tell her how to do my job, then the transfer process started. After 2 hours, I hung up after being put on hold for 15 minutes.

I have not yet solved my problem with the billing issue and to be completely honest, I don’t think my stress level can handle another call like that one.

To find out that MY job as a One Bill rep had been shut down, and had been sent to people in India who had no idea what they were doing, was like the final slap in the face!!

I am so sorry to all of you customers who have to deal with this mess they call a business on a daily basis. As for me, I have started to apply for other positions and not within any BCE affiliate or Bell. When Michael Sabia can slap us all in the face like that, time for me to exit!

Thanks for listening.
canadian

Jun 11 2007

To Frustrated Bell Rep,
Your former customers (i.e. me) appreciated the great service and pleasant demeanor over the past years. I am sorry your job went to India. (It is a disaster over there and will return to Canada some day when all the other companies decide it was a dumb business decision and Bell will follow like a lemming.) Thank you and good luck. Frankly, Bell doesn’t deserve good people to abuse. Check out the website BellSucks for a laugh!
disgusted with bell

Jun 11 2007

I had Sympatico. It was a complete piece of dog poo! Went to Rogers HiSpeed and have never looked back. Bell’s customer support is nonexistent and the quality and speed are way less than promoted, even slower than what many customers are paying for. Their increased access fee is a joke. The service is worse now than before the fee increase.

Trap the beavers, skin them alive and sell their pelts on eBay!
Kim

Jun 14 2007

I was a loyal customer to Bell for 20+ years, but dealing with the overseas customer service office with my internet problems became a nightmare. We also received regular calls to upgrade to the Sympatico High Speed which we already had??? We asked to be removed from their call list, but to no avail.

We have since left Bell and taken all of our business (phone, cable and internet) to Cogeco and are much happier with the service we receive. Since leaving, however, we continue to receive 1 - 2 calls per week from Bell Sympatico. We have requested to be removed from call lists, we have been given numbers to call to be removed, we have spoken to supervisors and yet the calls continue. When you ask to be removed, the individual on the line either does not understand English or has not been educated on the telemarketing requirements for Ontario. Because of this I will never return to BELL for any service.
Meredith

Jun 15 2007

I came across this website while looking for complaints about Bell Canada that I might be able to use in a 3 day old battle with Bell. From reading these comments, I realize that 3 days is just the beginning! But I want to arm myself before I head in.

Three days ago, I was experiencing problems receiving email on my Mac mail. When I checked the server, though, there they were. I called Bell Sympatico and a technician led me through a couple of options - none worked. So he asked that I remove my account and reinstall it.

As soon as we’d done this, hey presto! There were the 52 new emails I’d been expecting. I was about to thank him for an unexpected quick, polite and satisfactory Bell solution when I noticed that I now had ONLY 52 emails in my inbox. Three seconds ago, there had been 1,071.

I wasn’t panicked yet. I mean, it’s not as though a technician would deliberately advise me to perform an operation that might erase all my emails right? But in fact, that was what had happened. I asked to speak to his manager who was rude, arrogant and completely dismissive of the problem saying it was a “corrupt” Apple program. I called Apple and a technician there immediately suggested that I must be on a 10.3.9 system. Yes I am. He told me my emails were gone forever - that’s what happens if you remove an email account and then create one exactly like it operating on that sytem. I called back the arrogant supervisor, Alexander, who seemed to accept the fact that yes, it must be Bell’s fault but there’s nothing he can do. He is sorry however, for the inconvenience.

I explain that it’s not an inconvenience - it translates into thousands of dollars. I’m a freelance TV researcher and writer. I’ve lost 8 months worth of research content for 4 different projects. He suggested that I phone my family. I think he was implying that I ask my mum for financial help!!!

I tell him that I expect compensation, he tells me there is none, and after I “lost it” he tells me that oh yes, there is a guideline for compensation and that he can offer me 2 weeks worth of free Sympatico (approximately $30). At this point I’ve been on the phone for close to 3 hours, which alone translates into $105 of my time. I demand to speak to a supervisor but he’s unable to give me a phone number. I tell him that Mr. Legault should phone me back. And he does. He’s as sympathetic and understanding as you’d like him to be. He accepts full responsibility for the problem, although he confesses that even if I’d spoken to him, he would have asked me to remove the account as well.

Politely I tell him, it’s not my problem. As a senior technician, you expect them to know of ALL operating systems, quirks and problems. Finally he guarantees that he will compensate me by way of 2 months free Sympatico. I’m reluctant to agree to this. By now I’m fuming and it’s not JUST about the financial loss for me - it’s principle, it’s quality, it’s service and it’s ABOUT DOING WHAT’S RIGHT, POLITELY, PROFESSIONALY AND MORALLY!!!

Mr. Legault assures me I’ll receive a phone call from him personally the following morning. The day came and went. So I called Kevin Crull’s office and am now waiting for a call back from somebody before 1 pm. Oh, look - it’s 1:08 pm. I am not going to let this go.

If anybody would like to join me on this matter, I will make this a project. I pay Bell about $500 a month for residential, internet and wireless service. Not only will I drop all these services, I will make it my business to publicize their incompetence, their arrogaance and their sheer and absolute lack of any customer service policies. Thank you for providing this forum.
disgusted with bell

Jun 15 2007

Well, I just received my third Sympatico telemarketing call originating from India again by a rep named Kevin. I confirmed this location and name. Apparently, I was a long term preferred Bell Customer and he was offering me a great deal on Sympatico service.

The problem is I have requested to be removed from ALL Bell telemarketing lists and not to be contacted again. That has not happened. I spoke to an understanding man in the Bell Sympatico Executive Office, who mentioned Kevin Crull’s name. (That doesn’t really give me any comfort, but the optics sound good to mention. How really concerned are they with the ramp-up transition to India and other outsourced call centres?)

He assured me he will look into this matter and assured me I will be removed from all Bell campaigns and lists. So, Bell think about this. Here is a 30-year long time loyal customer, paying over $6,000 a year, asking to not be contacted by Bell again. That says it all, don’t you think?

They lost sight of customers like me! They have lost my loyalty, word of mouth advertising, trust and most importantly, they will be losing my dollars over time when I am ready to transition to their competition. So, where is the strategic business case? In their haste to grab market share, they will pay a large price, customer by lost customer. I intend on writing a formal complaint to the CRTC for not being removed from call lists after I clearly requested three times.

Kevin Crull, this is a public forum, so I expect to see your reply here for all to read.
disgusted with bell

Jun 17 2007

We’re still waiting to hear from you Kevin?
Jerry Pearson

Jun 17 2007

I used to work for Bell, for close to 4 years, till the day they closed our office March 2 2006. WITH NO NOTICE !!!!!! It was one of the hardest things to happen to me, I didn’t even hear about it from BELL, I heard it on the radio. I was off on holidays at the time this happened. Me being the only bread winner of our house, as my wife is unable to work. It became really hard to maintain a happy household, wondering where I would work that I could get enough money to keep us going, as well as paying for my wife’s medication.

I got lucky unlike some of my friends that I worked with, where Bell didn’t fill in their papers right so they had troubles getting EI. I found one of my dream jobs. I am a manager for Dell Computers in Kanata. Working for Dell is like night and day, they actually care about their employees. I had to pick up my wife, dog and whole house and move away from Kingston to find a place where they cared about what their employees’ needs and wants are. If I was still with Bell, I would be stuck doing the same thing over and over again. Since I started at Dell, I have had a promotion within 9 months. To get that at Bell I would have to work there for about 100 years or more. THEY JUST DONT CARE !!!!

Since Bell did this, I cancelled all my services with them, I even paid the early termination fees just so I don’t have to use or talk to any of Bell employees again. I will still talk to my friends/family I have made, but only in a social setting. And even if I did call, I would get someone out in India or somewhere else, as a few people that worked at our office went to India to train agents there. So much for a Canadian company staying Canadian. Bell sold out to the lowest bidder, and well, look at the service. I have a friend here in Kanata who is a tech, and they are messing with his hours, making it hard for him to live. Bell even hired a few new techs at lower wages to do most of the hours. All I can say is my family, most of my friends, disconnected their services with Bell, and the ones that haven’t, well that’s cause no other service is available right now, but when it comes, Bell will be gone. To finish this, Bell owes the agents from Kingston 3 years, since we only worked about 1 year of our contract !!!!!!
Frustrated Bell Rep

Jun 17 2007

Does Kevin even know this site? It would be nice if he did respond!
Ellen Roseman

Jun 17 2007

Yes, Frustrated Bell Rep, who wants to know if Kevin Crull knows this website. He certainly does. Check the comment he wrote at, “Why not Canadian Tire or Wal-Mart Blues?” (April 16). Things have improved a lot since he got involved with Bell’s complaint handling. He’s fast, courteous and puts a human face on an inhuman corporation. I send him complaints almost every day (though I’ve never met him), so he’s aware, don’t worry.
Honesty In Advertising

Jun 18 2007

Everywhere I drive, I see billboards of the stupid beavers or on television. It doesn’t really put a personal face on Bell, does it Kevin Crull? Your advertising company convinced you like all the other lemmings to use animals because it works. Wow, how original! As usual Bell comes to the party late after the Telus creatures, the Geico lizard, the Clearnet creatures, and on and on.

Bell keeps saying it needs a level playing field. I agree. Watch what the competition will do to a company that hasn’t a single original thought in its brain bank.
Steve

Jun 19 2007

You might be interested in my most recent Customer Service (misnomer) experience with Bell Mobility.

In checking my monthly bill, I noticed I had International Roaming Charges and, presumably, associated international Long Distance charges. As I have not been out of the country since December, I naturally wanted to call Bell Mobility to check these charges.

As I checked my bill online, a process “encouraged by Bell advertising,” I went to the bottom of the page and clicked on “Contact Us”. I was surprised to find the contact information opens BELOW your billing information and does NOT allow you to scroll down to find the required number the Customer needs. I first thought this may be a problem specific to my computer. However, upon testing other pages, the same problem occurred. It was only after exiting all information pages that I was able to click on “Contact Us” and actually see the contact information.

This was a minor irritation, however. (Any dealings with Bell tend to come complete with minor irritations.) In any case, I found the number I thought I needed. Under “Help with amounts owing,” I dialed the 800 number. After going through the identification verification process with the Customer Service Representative, I was informed that he could not help me as I had called “Collections”.

It was now necessary to conference me to Customer Service, where I was able to tell the CSR there of my concerns. The CSR looked at my file and asked me if I had been in New York. I had not, but it occurred to me that I had been in Cornwall, Ontario, so I asked the CSR where in New York. Her response was Massena. Knowing a little about cellular services, I immediately knew my call made in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, had “skipped” and been received by a US cellular tower. I communicated this to the CSR and her response was that this does happen and there is nothing Bell can do about it.

I immediately corrected her and advised her that, in past, these skips have always been credited back to the Customer. The CSR asked if she could look into this and put me on hold for a moment. I agreed. She returned shortly and advised me that she had credited my account, but advised me she was doing this as a courtesy and recommended that, when in Cornwall, I not use my cellular phone because they (Bell) did not have to credit these charges.

I was flabbergasted. I have a Long Distance package attached to my phone for times when I am away from home and my cellular phone is my business and family connection when I am away from the house. Additionally, I have been visiting Cornwall regularly in recent months because my 84 year old father is very ill in hospital. I have been down regularly to monitor his progress and to support my 86 year old mother.

At this point, I politely but very firmly advised the CSR that there damn well was something that Bell could do about it and that if it occurs again, I will call and expect my billing to be adjusted. At this point the CSR either hung up or we were disconnected.

It is this type of Customer experience that motivated me to get rid of my Bell Expressvu satellite and change to Vonage for my home phone. And when January 2008 arrives and my three-year term contract with Bell Mobility is finished, I will completely divest myself of all Bell services.

I would add that my switch to Vonage has been acceptable but not perfect. The most important factor is that, regardless of less than perfect service with my VOIP, the psychological satisfaction of not dealing with Bell Canada - in any form - is worth any little inconvenience.

Bell just doesn’t get it.
Steve

Jun 19 2007

I see you forwarded my original e-mail to Kevin Crull’s office. On Friday morning, I had a message from a lady in Kevin’s office. I returned her call and spoke to her for some time. I can tell you that the course of that call went from amazement to irritation to absolute incredulity.

She said she was calling to “explain” Bell’s “policy” in regard to my complaint. I cannot honestly remember if she actually apologized for my experience, because the focus of the call was to AFFIRM Bell’s “policy” in NOT crediting international skip calls. She advised me that it is indeed Bell’s “policy” not to credit international skip calls and that the CSR I spoke with had handled my call correctly and had stated Bell “policy” correctly.

Please keep in mind that I did not request or expect an apology or compensation from Bell. I am so fed up with Bell’s total disregard and devaluation of the Customer there is nothing, including FREE hardware and rate plans, that Bell could offer me that would make me consider staying with Bell. THAT is now reaffirmed.

She explained to me that it is Bell’s “policy” not to credit international skip calls because “it happens” and there are no agreements in place with US carriers to address this problem. She did tell me there are some old agreements still in place in regard to analogue calls and these are still credited (if I understood that correctly). As regards digital calling, there are no agreements in place and they are the responsibility of the Customer.

What is absolutely incredible here is that, presumably high level, Managers/Directors/Executives at Bell Mobility had to meet and discuss this topic and had to develop and establish “policy” based on the following premise:

- the Digital Cellular system is flawed in that there is NO WAY to avoid or prevent international skip calls,
- for whatever reason, agreements have not been made, or cannot be made, to provide reciprocal courtesies in regard to this issue,
- subsequently, Bell Mobility is responsible for Bell Mobility Canadian based calls that skip to US digital towers,
- and Bell Mobility will be exposed to related charges for Bell Mobility Canadian based calls that skip to US digital towers.

These same executives then established “policies” in regard to this problem as follows:

- Bell Mobility is exposed to charges for Bell Mobility Canadian based calls that skip to US digital towers,
- Bell Mobility can avoid these charges by establishing a “policy” that the Customer is responsible for these charges because it is the Customer initiated call that resulted in the international skip call to a US digital tower
- it will become Bell Mobility “policy” to pass on these charges directly to the Customer.

She was kind enough to explain that some old agreements are still in place in regard to analogue calls and that these are still credited. But she did not explain to me how THE CUSTOMER can “make an analogue call” within a system that ALWAYS AUTOMATICALLY DEFAULTS to a digital signal if it is available. In other words, THE CUSTOMER has NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROBLEM, ABSOLUTELY NO CHOICES, NO OPTIONS, and NO RECOURSE. But - THE CUSTOMER will bear FULL financial RESPONSIBILITY.

The bottom line here is that Bell Mobility knows it has a flawed system and has consciously and wilfully reneged on any responsibility or accountability whatsoever AND has assured that Bell Mobility will be protected from any financial exposure by establishing a policy that shifts the FULL financial exposure to the CUSTOMER.

I was flabbergasted by this information and took great pains to explain that this incident superseded any issues of Customer Service. It speaks to a management “philosophy” and corporate “culture” that says Bell’s interests (no matter how small - in my case approximately $13) takes priority over all other concerns - including responsibility to provide a reliable working service and accountability as a service provider to assure that the Customer is not saddled with non-culpable charges.

At the very best, this action on the part of Bell Mobility is reprehensible and borders on unethical. It is also interesting to keep in mind that I engaged in this call to Bell while I was once again in Cornwall to be with my ailing father. This time, I chose not to use my cellular phone. However, I did have to turn it on once. I can assure you I will be monitoring my next bill very closely.

I thought I had a complete understanding of Bell’s total disregard and devaluation of the Customer, but this could possibly be a new low. In closing, I want to say, not “Bell just doesn’t get it” to “Bell just SOOOOO doesn’t get it”.
Honesty In Advertising

Jun 20 2007

So Steve, what’s your point? Customers of Bell have only two choices…stay or leave. I vote for the latter. It’s all about Management Bonuses, regardless of what claptrap they tell you. But here’s the real point. Management actually “believes” what they are saying! As long as compensation is based on the bonus, they will believe what they say. Think about it. When did service in many companies deteriorate? When bonuses are paid. It’s that simple. Think about it folks.
Market Watching

Jun 20 2007

Amazing that Bell continues to lose market share and its stock values sink, while the competition skyrockets! Bell fails to attract significant new customers and is bleeding long term loyal customers who have kept the company afloat. Seems to be a strange business model to ignore and disenfranchise your existing customer base. One could call the model suicidal.

If the trend continues to spiral down, this will be a hostile takeover opportunity somewhere in the next 12 -18 months. The prospects are not favorable for a business turnaround and may be a way of Bell divesting itself of long-term business arms, allowing it to become another ex-GMAC This is a dog of an investment (opinion only) and not advice. Ask existing and former customers their opinion on this business for the real story behind the story.
Ex-Bell Employee

Jun 22 2007

Reading the complaints and concerns makes me sad. Because of Bell, I haven’t been able to find a new job. I’m a single mom and have lost everything I worked so hard to get. I too worked in the Kingston call centre. They blindsided us, lied to us and treated us like a piece of garbage. They had security guards to ensure that we employees left quietly.

Bell doesn’t deserve any customers in Ontario and Quebec. We should stand together and boycott Bell and see what happens.

Bell has since terminated those managers that were sent to fire us and are now covering their tracks so that they don’t have to pay us. Bell treats their employees like second class citizens and that’s how they treat the customer. Your business doesn’t matter to them. It’s the almighty dollar that is their concern.

If you have Bell services, cancel it and if you have Bell stock sell it. Their client reps will lie and cheat you out of your money so that they can make their quotas and receive their bonuses. Don’t feel sorry for Bell, which will find a way to hurt customers and employees every day.
Senior Bell Rep

Jun 22 2007

I have worked for Bell for 27 plus years and have had to go with the changes. When I started working for Bell fresh out of high school, I thought I had my dream come true. To work for a good company that cared about its customers and its employees… well, those were the days. Back then, we knew our customers, we handled our own areas, I was very proud to say I worked for Bell Canada. Now I don’t tell people who I work for.

Since Michael Sabia has taken over the helm of Bell, his ideas were good but not his intentions. Our shares have gone down to around $39 dollars when they were always over $50 before. What he did was follow what the other telco’s did in the states, but he did learn from their mistakes? No, he surpassed them. In the last six years, I have watched and protested to management how the company is making a big mistake, not looking after our loyal customer base.

I have also had my office in Kingston closed without warning, only to have to move to another location to try and hang in long enough to get my pension. The worst mistake I feel the company has made was transferring our jobs to India. Don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful that they have jobs there now, but most of them are very hard to understand and our customers find that very frustrating to deal with. Not to mention the fact the purpose of the call from the customer could easily be taken care of if they got a actual Canadian Bell rep that was totally trained, not a vendor partly trained.

It takes years of experience to deal with our system and different departments because the Bell system is very complex. So when the customer calls the India rep, they frustrate them to the point they get passed about and if they are lucky they might actually get pasted to one of us who knows our job. The unfortunate part is, by the time the customer does come though to us, they are so upset it takes a half hour to calm them down, only to realize their problem could be fixed in a matter of minutes.

Mr. Sabia, you think you’re saving money and doing such a good job saving the company money on wages of Canadian reps. But I would bet my pension that in the long run we have lost more customers through your vision of the New Bell, the one you are trying to sell off now. I would bet Alexander Graham Bell is rolling in his grave watching you bury his company, along with its customers and employees. If I ran the company I would hire only Canadians and pay them a good wage. That way, I would know the job was done right the first time.

I don’t know if you think of this, but a happy employee makes a happy customer. That gives loyalty, which gives strength to the company. I feel until this happens, which it won’t with you at the helm and your executive team, Bell will only become a thing of the past. Mr Sabia, I wish with all my heart you would come to your senses and be a leader and bring this company back to 100 per cent Canadian workers, not other countries. It may cost the company a little more but you may be surprised how the shares and the customers will grow and we as employees can be proud again to say we work for BELL CANADA, a company that truly cares about its people all around. But mostly it cares about its customers.
Bonus

Jun 22 2007

Sabia cares about one thing…his bonus, that’s all period. Sabia and his ilk have followed the same path as other executives, only to have their company’s base completely decimated. That is Bell’s future. Another disgusting Canadian icon in the anals of corporate and personal greed. Turn them upside down and they all look the same.
history lesson

Jun 22 2007

Step 7 – Call Centres Are Only As Good As Their People
In an attempt to build on some of the early successes and to learn from disappointments experienced by
earlier marketing efforts, KEDCO focused on broadening its marketing strategy by incorporating more
components into its discussions with prospects. KEDCO needed to sell Kingston’s strengths and push the
idea that call centres are only as good as their people. Focusing on Kingston’s labour force allowed
KEDCO a competitive advantage for marketing Kingston’s capacity.

Step 8 – Bell Call Centre Expansion Gives Strategy Vote Of Confidence
In March 2000, Bell Canada announced that they would hire approximately 110 new employees for the
Bell contact centre in Kingston, a number that eventually grew to 150. The contact centre specializes in
providing information to the consumer market in Ontario. Bell Canada also expanded in Kingston again in
January 2001 with 70 jobs, for total of 220. Their expansion added credibility and highlighted the capacity and the skilled labour pool that Kingston
had for the emerging call centre industry.

Bell Call Centre Expansion Highlights:
· As well as having the highest productivity levels in Ontario, Bell’s
Kingston call centre has one of its lowest employee turnover rates.
· Bell’s expansion required an educated work force, which the area’s postsecondary
institutions provided. Rudi Engel of Bell Canada stated: “If
anything, we hired up in terms of education and skills, so that in the
event we channel calls to this location that are representative of the new
economy, [such as] Internet -related calls, clearly we’ve got the right …
skill sets.”
Ex-Bell Employee

Jun 25 2007

Michael Sabia makes more money than the President of the United States. He doesn’t care about the little people. He is only there to make the almighty dollar and to make sure that at the end of year he receives his bonus.

Bell Canada is nothing more than a hungry, back stabbing, two-faced, lying company that will do and say anything to keep you with them or try to win you back. Kingston was a pawn in their little game of business roulette and know they are paying the price.

Bell Canada, and especially Michael Sabia and his variety of little puppets, you are nothing more than 21st century SCROOGE!!!!
Tom Miles

Jun 26 2007

Re:Bell Canada. Total time spent on the phone with Bell in 5 days: about 13 hours to fix my internet.
Below story is one day’s worth of my time.

Back in March, I had trouble with Sympatico internet, so I called 310-SURF. After about 45 minutes waiting time, finally I got through to Technical Support and yes it was somebody in India. I explained that my internet wasn’t working at all. She asked me a couple of questions to verify my identity and after that, she asked me if I had tried using the online Bell self care website. I was stunned. Then she told me to type some numbers. As I am typing, she says “What’s taking you so long?” I said that it’s kind of hard to type with one hand. She says “what happened to the other hand?” I said I am holding the phone and talking to you. After about an hour, she couldn’t help me and redirected my call to somebody else (40 minutes waiting) and that person did help me get my internet back. But until this day, I don’t have my email address and nobody seems to know how to fix it. Well, after all, I was semi-happy. I got my internet back and I opened a Hotmail account and everything seemed to be fine until I got my phone bill with $60 in charges for long distance to India!

Making the story short, I didn’t pay for those charges, and as soon as my contract with them expires I’m switching to another internet provider.
Wasted Time Too

Jun 27 2007

Tom’s story is absolutely accurate, as I spent an entire Saturday afternoon on the phone to India (apparently there are no Canadians available - must be in Haliburton with the rest of management). The India reps couldn’t fix a simple feature that could be done as a programming feature. They wanted to dispatch to the “preemisse.” I asked what is a preemisse? Eventually I realized they were saying premise.

Anyway, a simple fix and you would swear to a cow that “Houston We Have A Problem” type of issue. I talked them through it and basically solved my own problem here in Canada. All they provided was the tool for me to do the job, i.e. software.

I have called the Executive Office and spoken to a non-executive (why don’t they call that number the Non-Executive Line?). They constantly come back with “we need to improve their training.” What? After how many years now? Bell you don’t need to increase training, you need to increase customer service and repatriate the service back to Canada.

When I became your customer I was contracting for Canadian expertise. I have kept my end of the deal by paying my bills and being loyal. What Bell have you kept on your side of the contract? Nothing! Lousy service, lousy value for the dollar, overpriced, terrible customer attitude, not to mention despicable management attitude and, worst of all, complete disdain for your existing customer base. I can’t wait to leave this pathetic limp company. You have worked very hard at trying to recruit new customers (don’t do it, people) but have done nothing for your existing customers.

Hint: Keep your exisiting base, because it cost a fortune to get one, but it’s very cost efficient to keep your customers by great service and great pricing. Hell, why not give them something for free just to say thank you for your business. And, cut the crap Corp Speak. Start having conversations with your customers and employees. You might learn something apart from your pompous attitude. Good bye.
Kevin Crull

Jun 28 2007

Hello again,

This is Kevin Crull, President of Bell Residential Services. In April, I made a commitment here to personally review any service issues you felt were not getting appropriate attention or resolution from our team. Many of you have written directly to me at kevin.crull@bell.ca and I appreciate you taking the time to bring issues to my attention.

I also want you to know that my colleagues and I continue to read your postings on this site. I’d like to thank those of you, like Drew, Scott, Meredith and Nathalie, who have given us the opportunity to resolve your issues.

In reading your most recent comments, I can see that you have ongoing concerns in three major areas: Outsourcing, communication, and our automated voice response system, also know as the IVR. I’d like to specifically address each of these.

Let me start with outsourcing. At Bell, as with many companies, we have been working with external partners for a very long time. In the past 12 months, we have begun to work with partners located outside of Canada for a small percentage of our call volume. In this regard, our strategy is simple and consistent: We are all committed to delivering a great customer experience.

I can assure you that we put the same rigour and energy into our hiring, training and ongoing management of our customer service delivery team, regardless of whether they answer calls in-house at Bell Canada or at one of our partner companies. In short, if we hear about a customer service problem of any kind, anywhere, we’ll fix it.

The second area you’re concerned about is communication, specifically with agents who are not polite. I want you to know that every time I hear this I am tremendously frustrated. Any time one of our service representatives mistreats a customer – either through a lack of empathy, by hanging up, or with just plain rudeness – we take action. This type of behavior is just not tolerated. In fact, it’s my goal to ensure you consistently associate the name Bell with friendly, knowledgeable, courteous and helpful representatives.

In addition, some of you express concern about the accents of our representatives. At Bell, we value our Canadian ethnic diversity and heritage and we will continue to hire service representatives of all cultural backgrounds, both here in Canada and abroad.

Your third area of concern is our automated voice response system. The reality is that these tools have great value for us and for you – they are simply the best way for us to ensure we send your calls to the representative best skilled to deal with your request quickly and effectively.

That said, we monitor your comments on our IVR system regularly and are constantly adjusting it to make certain we provide you with the most customer-friendly IVR experience possible. In fact, many of our customers are able to complete their requests through our IVR by using the many self service options. Our intention is to find the right balance of self-service options and your ability to speak to a live agent whenever you want to (I’m sure you all know that you can access a live agent by stating “I want to speak to someone” or even just “operator” or “representative”).

We’ve made significant improvements in our service delivery so far this year, and I’d like to share a few highlights with you:

* We have cut your wait time in half when you call our call centres
* We solve your problem on the first call far more often today than last year
* We have improved the rate at which we meet installation and repair appointments by nearly 10%

Despite these many improvements, we know that our performance is not always perfect. We speak to more than 6 million customers each and every month, and while we always strive to get it right the first time, we know we do not always succeed in that objective. This is why I ask you to continue to report your service issues. As a representative named Mark put it: “Please do not judge us solely on our mistakes, but on how and what we do to recover from them.” We learn from our errors so that we can avoid making them again in future.

I remain both available and eager to hear about any problems readers may have with any Bell product or service – and I will most certainly take quick action to correct those issues. In fact, I actively seek out dissatisfied customers so that I and the team here at Bell Canada have the opportunity to quickly turn you into loyal, long term and satisfied customers.

Thank you.

Kevin Crull
kevin.crull@bell.ca
Response To Kev

Jun 28 2007

Kevin, if you say it often enough, they will believe it… even management. By your response, it’s obvious you’re not listening to the voice of the customer. You’ve addressed little, other than to put a vanilla corporate response to the real customer angst!

Your Integrated Voice Recognition system (IVR) — interesting you’ve dropped the name Emily (even the IVR uses Emily) –has increased the customer disatisfaction level. It doesn’t help by saying that to improve response times, you can now add a personal identification code. Just listening to another message delays the customer even more! And if you say “No, I don’t want it,” this adds another delay by tellling you that future calls will require the customer to listen to this message and be forced to use the personal code at some time.

Oh, by the way, after listening to this additional message (intended to improve my wait time?), it couldn’t even get me to Billing as I requested. The “live” operator had to transfer me to the correct department. So, where are the economies of scale, Kevin, in this simple example? Call you directly - forget it - it’s easier to contact the competition and leave Bell. Really!
Jerry Pearson

Jun 29 2007

OK, if you want to improve Bell “CANADA” why are you taking our jobs away? There are many people in Canada that need jobs. I was one of the people that got put out of a job, due to the outsourcing you say is going out of country. Yeah, well, I know of a company in Kingston and Thunder Bay that got our jobs. I had a family and payments to make. With the crap that Bell pulls with its employees, it’s no wonder the stock is going down !!!!

Why don’t you execs take a pay cut and give 20 people a job off the thousands Bell would save? Do you really need to make as much as you do — or any exec for that matter? I know that when the office in Kingston was open, a paper came across my desk that shouldn’t have. It was a printed pay stub and expense report of the person that was running our site at the time. HOLY CRAP, I could have bought 2 houses and have a car for each day of the week. Why not throw some of that money at the people that lost their job or hire some of the Canadians that need a job?
Ben Dover

Jun 29 2007

More hocus pocus mumble jumble from Kevin and his true blue management team. The fact remains that any future experience “winback” customers will have will only match or exceed their past experiences and cause them to leave again. It’s funny how today’s “rigorous training” still doesn’t even come close to the service levels experienced in the 80s and 90s before this outsourcing. Where are those people now, we all wonder? Who are you trying to kid? How’s your base holding up? Have you guys actually stratified your customer base and found out that you’ve lost even more of your core?

Well, since leaving Bell has saved me plenty of personal time (very short these days for working professionals in general)and aggravation (because Bell can’t seem to get their billing, promotions or services corrected), I think I’m going to do the same for my immediate friends and family with the gift of time. Many of them, like me, start out as patient, understanding people. However, like me, we eventually get mad and do take action. I count 30 families in my immediate network who are fed up and, yes, some of them have already contacted you and weren’t satisfied with your “fix”. I could tell you what’s wrong, but then it’d be ignored yet again. Time to help my network “see” what else is out there.
You sent my job to India

Jun 29 2007

Kevin, I have to say I don’t think your response is very popular here. I must ask, do the powers that be even look at the number of complaints that come in daily? Do you care? Do you care about your employees? I know the answer to at least one of those questions. Employees are just a number to you folks at your big offices.

I once worked for a telemarketing company where the boss actually appreciated us. Imagine it was Filter Queen Vacuums. He used to tell us on a daily basis in some way, if it wasn’t for us getting the appointments and being the first contact point for the customers, they would have no business. Can you tell me does Bell believe the same thing? If they did, our jobs would not be going overseas. I have nothing against those people, it’s not their fault Bell decided to cut costs and get rid of employees that were getting great customer evaluations, and the sales that Bell wants, and giving the customer service we were trained to do. I might add our training was a lot more than a month. Can you say that now, Mr Crull?

How do you expect someone in India to be able to help a customer with a problem here in Canada, when 3/4 of the time they have NO idea what you’re even talking about? What is it going to take for Bell to realize they made a giant error this time? Looks to me like you guys may already know. That’s what all the talk of selling Bell is about.

Maybe the company that takes over Bell will remember the people that were loyal and hard working to Bell over the years.

My biggest hope is that you, Mr. Crull and Mr. Sabia, find out what it’s like to be kicked out of a job that you love…
Calvin Cruel

Jun 29 2007

Hey, I have a great idea Kev…if you are really interested in great customer service and all that other corporate governance responsibility you mention in your messages above, why don’t you and Sabia outsource your positions to India? In this way you will be demonstrating your total belief in ethnicity, clear unambiguous language, respect for diversity and you will provide others with the opportunity to really support your long term paying customers. Kev, if you did this there would be no need for websites like this and others and you wouldn’t have to concern yourself about a poor corporate image. We all win! So, when can we expect your resignation? I hear there is a position open at Magna left by the ex ex-Bell Mobility President M. Newman.
Reality Check

Jun 29 2007

Ok I have been reading this blog over the last few weeks and I gotta tell you that some of you people need a reality check. Bell wasn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last company to explore outsourcing. The reality is the savings of making thio business decision are far too attractive for any company that is in the business of making money to ignore.

The fact of the matter is most of you are viewing Bell as the same “mom & pop” company that was established over 125 years ago. What you either fail or refuse to realize is that Bell is no longer a Monopoly and until recently faced stringent, often unfair CRTC regulations. While under these regulations, competitors like Rogers & Cogeco were allowed to come in and run wild and take Bell’s customers with more attractive price points and promotions.

I will not beat a dead horse, only to say that our current government seems to have come to the realization that the CRTC’s archaic point of views were not only hurting Bell, but customers as well. There is no question that closures or job losses are never easy to deal with, especially when the perception is jobs are going to less educated or untrainable people (which is completely untrue and exposes a dark side of our Canadian society’s point of view, but that’s another story for another blog).

I challenge each of you to pretend for a moment that this was your business, 125 years of history and now in the fight of your life for survival among the steepest, most aggressive competition. What would you do? I think we all know the answer to that. Bell isn’t pefect, but certainly not deserving of a daily running blog criticizing its employees. Any huge company will have its hiccups and Bell is no different. For those who say they are soooo much happier since they left Bell, you may not realize it but the reason you are happier is because your expectations are so much lower. You expect, and rightfully so, perfection from Bell, an expectation that you know you can’t have with other companies because if you did you know you would probably be disapointed too.

Anyway, I think it’s amazing that an exec like Kevin Crull has taken the time out of his day to respond and post on this blog. That if nothing else should indicate that our issues are being heard. How many execs these days are doing that?
Josh

Jun 29 2007

To reality check:

You need a reality check. Telus is governed by the same regulatory body as Bell. Their price per share and dividend is much better than Bell. And yet their people are mostly in house. Starting pay at Telus, and yes we are talking starting pay, is at least 40% higher than for a Bell Canada outsourced rep who starts (in Canada) at around $10 an hour. I won’t even mention India.

If you go for rock bottom pricing on the people that serve on the front line.. well that’s a serious mistake. You get what you pay for as they say…

How come Telus can afford their employees and Bell can’t? Yet the CEO of Bell is raking in millions while taking jobs out of Canada.
Drew

Jun 30 2007

Kevin - I have to agree with the general consensus that the IVR is just a bit more than a painful process. This is just my own opinion of course, but I despise talking to inanimate objects, unless perhaps I’m in the mood to blame my PC for something stupid that I just made it do. That said, perhaps getting back to the notion of using a keypad to enter options may be worth considering.

You stated: I’m sure you all know that you can access a live agent by stating “I want to speak to someone” or even just “operator” or “representative”.

Well actually, I didn’t. And I’ll be sure to mention it to my wife, a CSR who I’m sure will be only too happy to pass the info along to customers that are beyond angry for having to deal with the system. Not to tell you how to do your job, but perhaps you can send out a communication regarding this?

As for the CSRs in India. I’ve had the privilege of dealing with a few of late and I’m not overly impressed. It is obvious that they are “scripted”, which is fine in and of itself. But when I am speaking with a human, I really expect to have a two-sided conversation, not be “talked at”. The listening skills of these people are almost non-existent. They may as well be an IVR themselves.

“You sent my job to India”: Take the time to read this blog carefully. Your questions to Kevin have in fact been answered, albeit not “as asked”. The one question you didn’t ask is if he feels that mistakes have been made along the way. I’d venture a guess as to say that he’d be the first to admit that some have. And he’d also state that these issues are being revisited. The fact is that Bell has been utilizing technologies in an effort to maintain a competitive edge for over 20 years now. Just ask my ex-wife, sister and brother-in-law who all lost their cushy high paying jobs back in the ’80s to technology. They too were angry. You just happened to get caught up in the process, and for that you have my condolences. My wife and I were also caught up in closures last year and had to make some rather serious choices about just how important her career at Bell is to her. Seeing that office closed, feeling her pain and ultimately having to move away from family and friends has been a hard experience for us too. Take some advice and get over your anger. It’ll tear you up inside.
Ben Dover

Jun 30 2007

To reality check,

You really sound like a sore loser from Bell! The majority of people in this forum are patient, well spoken who have had to put up with an incredible amount of incompetence in trying to resolve their various levels of service issues. Most for a few weeks, some have had to wait for over a year to have their issues resolved. Now is this the lower expectation you were speaking of? You speak of perfection and lower expectations from the competition. You don’t know what you’re talking about as Bell has and will continue to lose customers. Just look at their own quarterly financials if you’re so well informed! So from a company with 125 years of experience and dominance I’d expect them to be able to resolve these kinds of day to day issues with ease and have the best in class service. Clearly this is not the case and doesn’t show when they lose over a 100 000 connections every 3 months for the last 6 or so years, and need the intervention of a group president to resolve these basic issues. Issues which are handled day to day at the CSR level of the competition.

Bell just doesn’t have what it takes to be in comm business anymore.
Calvin Cruel

Jun 30 2007

Memo to “Reality Check”. Quote “Anyway, I think it’s amazing that an exec like Kevin Crull has taken the time out of his day to respond and post on this blog. That if nothing else should indicate that our issues are being heard. How many execs these days are doing that?”

I thought that was Kevin Crulls job to be concerned about customers, employees and shareholders? If he isn’t responding then what does he do?
Its Time

Jun 30 2007

Well BCE has a new owner and that is bad news for the existing management at this underperforming company. It is time for all dissatisfied customers and employees to scream bloody loud and let the new owners know how much they have put up with by this lot of Presidents and VPs of Residential, Mobility and ExpressVu and so on.

If past experience is any indicator, this bunch will be heading for the streets real soon cause the new owners will want their people running the show from now on, Scream LOUD and let them hear you.
It’s time for what?

Jul 2 2007

To it’s time:

I think you totally misread what happend in the takeover. Sabia and his team will continue to run the company. Telus is complaining they weren’t given enough time. News reports say the Telus bid would have been higher, hence better for shareholders. But the OTPP consortium is better for management as they get to keep their jobs. Read the articles in the Globe and Mail and the CBC to confirm what I’m saying is true.
Its Time

Jul 3 2007

It’s time for what?
So…what’s your point?
Do you believe everything you read in the media? (No offence, Ellen.)
There will be huge management changes…check back here and reread this…to confirm what I am saying is true.
Huffman

Jul 5 2007

Hell’s bells!!!!

I have had nothing but problems with both Bell and Sympatico.

Since moving back to Canada in ‘98, I have had crossed lines, static, disconections….my phone was even making calls by itself to another household. A lady called me after using *69 and screamed at me for making silent crank calls.

Last December, our phone line suffered a series of disruptions during bad weather. Rain and Bell don’t mix. When the problem was solved by numerous calls to India amd several visits from grumpy technicians, I discovered that they had disconnected my internet. It took two more weeks to convince them it was their fault and to rectify the problem. Apparently all they had to do was pull a switch.

As a courtesy, they offered me free service for a month. My phone bills did not show any payment required for internet service…but after three months of no charge, I got worried. I called them and discovered I owed money. Unannounced to me, they had moved the billing to ebilling (or whatever it’s called). I tried accessing the bill online using their “simple” website but was unable to view it because I don’t have the neccessary software. I use a Mac!

Customer service said they would move me to a new plan that would save me money and the new charge, along with what was owing, would show up on a separate bill mailed from Sympatico. Fine…all done and sorted…NOT!

A week later, I receive a letter from their collections department asking for the overdue money. I call and make the payment, plus an extra $10 for the week after. This is how they treat honest customers? My complaint ends in an offer of another month for free because it went to their collections department. I accept.

Four days later, I receive another letter saying my service will be disconnected if I do not make a payment in three days. It also says if I have spoken to a billing agent then please disregard the letter. I disregard…big mistake!

I have now received a recorded call (three days later), telling me they will disconnect my service by end of day tomorrow unless I call them. The call came in after they were closed, so now I have to wait until tomorrow to call them at 8 a.m. I guess I won’t be going for my early swim. I’ll keep you posted on how this plays out. I’m not feeling positive.

Their complete incompetence at trying to offer “excellent” service has resulted in wasted hours spent trying to rectify the messes they cause. They can offer me free service, but can they give me my time back? NO!

Personally if they disconnect me, then good riddance! I’ll happily go back to letter writing and smoke signals.
Merle D’Souza

Jul 6 2007

To make things short, I was “tricked” into signing a verbal contract (the rep told me one plan over the phone, I went to sign the contract in store a few hours later, upgraded the prime phone, mate phone came in the mail 3 days later with its own “contract” — found out plan was wrong, but had gone over the 15 min /15 days limit with prime phone). Anyway, sent back mate phone, got lost in mail, Canada Post investigation opened, said it was their fault.

In the meanwhile, phone was being used like crazy (long distance and TONS of internet use). I called Bell as soon as I realized it was lost. Anyway, after about almost 6 months of getting the runaround, I was going on vacation (phone is for my dad) and I was ASSURED that a note would be placed on the account: the phone wouldn’t be cut off, nor would my dad’s credit rating be affected. I was also assured that all the credits would be applied to the account. My dad was paying his regular monthly bills (i.e.: plan+SAF+tax) every month. Two weeks into my vacation, the phone was cut off for 2 days, and a letter was sent threathening to call creditors if money wasn’t paid.

ANYWAY, after 6 long months, mate phone was FINALLY cut out completely. Found out that Bell had overcharged us $491+, which my dad had to BORROW to pay the bill in order for his phone to be reactivated. Then on the NEXT bill, they actually charged him for a “Restoral Service $20″!!! Called up Bell yet again, woman was rude — kept insisting that she was right with the credits. Did calculation her way, realized that the credits were still not enough. Called up again, was on the phone with a rep for over an hour and finally came up with the right number (first rep was wrong!).

Right now, after paying the bills for 4 months, the account is sitting with a credit of $275+ after a total of 5 months (Jan-May). I’ve told them of my intentions to port my number out to Rogers. The Retentions guy tried to keep us, but I am willing to pay the $400 cancellation fee that I shouldn’t have been paying in the first place!

So there … that’s quite a read with quite the story. In short, first given the runaround, had to deal with a lot of rude CSRs, then they overcharged us $491 and even threatened to call in a “third party” (i.e. creditors)! THE NERVE!! I am going to request a credit history record for my dad to make sure that Bell didn’t make a dent in it!

A solution? Verbal contracts should be recorded and kept on file. Bell is a huge corporation (although poorly run), and if there is a dispute, it’s usually the “reps’ notes” against the customer’s word … the Better Business Bureau should really investigate this company … they’re trying to scam MILLIONS of $$$ from poor, unsuspecting customers.
M. D’Souza

Jul 6 2007

We have been with Bell for the past 10 years, and have just had minor billing issues that were resolved with a simple phone call to *611. This is the first time that we have had to go through all this trouble over the past month and a half. I explained to Mr. Ray McNabb (not a regular CSR) that it was solely because we were offered the $45 FamilyShare plan that we had decided to stay with Bell for another 3 years, and get a hardware upgrade. If that plan was not offered to us in the first place, we would have kept my dad’s old phone, gone on a month-to-month plan, and switched once WNP came around. Ms. Wizard (the original CSR) had repeatedly confirmed that the charges would only be the $45 and $9.70 for each phone. She failed to mention that the second phone would cost an additional $15 on top of the SAF+911 fee.

My dad went out and bought the phone on a FALSE PROMISE of a plan that we did not receive. To make matters worse, he is now tied in with Bell for another 3 years just because he bought the phone. He would not have bought the phone in the first place if not offered this $45 plan!!! Furthermore, Mr. McNabb had the audacity to tell me that I should have called Bell Mobility in the first place to verify the plan on the account! I expect Bell Mobility to train their employees to put the contract that was agreed upon on the phone on the contract in their system! All Ms. Wizard told me is to go to the store and tell them that we signed up for a plan a few hours ago! I’ve personally had 3 hardware upgrades in the past and have never had the need to call Bell to verify my contract! Yet Mr. McNabb implied that is was my fault for not calling in to verify the details of the plan before my dad bought the phone when I had just spoken to Ms. Wizard only a few hours before!

Before the second phone arrived a few days later, my dad had already gone over his 15 minutes return policy. How were we supposed to know that the wrong contract was put on our file!?! Mr. McNabb also stated that my dad shouldn’t have used the phone until the other phone arrived to make sure that the plan was still the same – !?!? I don’t see why my dad should not be able to use his new phone for business and pleasure purposes, and to put his life (and business) on hold until the new phone arrived; and furthermore, he would have to pay for the full usage on the bill if he utilized the minutes or not!

Like I said, this whole issue stemmed from a verbal contract with Ms. Wizard that was not honoured. It is solely because of this verbal contract that my dad decided to sign a contract a few hours later and purchase a new phone. If it weren’t for this, he would have stayed with Bell on a month-to-month plan with his old phone until WNP. Now, he is trapped with Bell under a 3-year contract that would cost him $400 to cancel, plus the $91.15 that he had paid in the store for his phone, plus the $35+tax hardware upgrade fee!

Case in point, Bell does not keep its promises, especially with verbal contracts. If Bell is not able to honour its verbal contracts, perhaps those kinds of contracts should be eliminated. Each and every one of Bell’s five million customers should not be held responsible for calling in to make sure that the contract on their account is the one that they had agreed to. Bell, as a major corporation, should be responsible for upholding its end of the bargain/contract. This is not the first time I’ve heard of Bell and angry customers – there are many stories shared on many forums on the internet and by word of mouth.
Are You Reading These Kevin?

Jul 6 2007

I left Sympatico because of the poor slow service levels, both technically and supportwise. I will never go back to Sympatico, but they have these foreign telemarketers still trying to sell me this pathetic product… because I am a “valued customer,” at which point I had the best laugh in a long time.

I was a loyal and valued customer but now I can’t wait to put distance between this former shadow of a service provider and myself. Sympatico without a doubt has the worst service reps of any company out there. Why is it Rogers can still make lots of money and support its customers with call centres based in Canada?
Drew

Jul 11 2007

>> Are You Reading These Kevin? -

Rest assured, he has.

>> I am a “valued customer,”

Actually, you are. Unfortunately, with cost cutting measures being what they have (and the unthinking morons who came up with the numbers to make the cuts), things have got out of hand and customers ultimately are paying the price. Rest assured, he has got the message, loud and clear.

I tried to call Sympatico tonight and didn’t have to “speak” to that dumbassed IVR, which was a blessing. He’s listening, or somebody is, and that’s a good thing..

The trouble is that the system wasn’t broken overnight and it’s going to take time to fix it. Mark my words, it’s not just the customer who has been hurt and in the end that is where Bell is paying its price. When Bell finally realizes that it takes “people that care” to run the company (as is gradually happening), you’ll begin to see Bell get back to being what it used to be.

Take the time to research Michael Sabia and what he’s all about and you’ll know why Bell is where it is. He’s never given a crap about the little guy. He’s all about numbers and profit. In the end, he’s going to have to realize that Bell was built on the little guys and relies on them to make it work. Will he? Time will tell.

Don’t blame the people working for the company, including Kevin. Trust me, he’s doing the best he can, given what he has to work with. His biggest problem is too many people have been saying for far too long “yes, boss” rather than saying “Ain’t no way in hell…” and providing the reasons to fight bad changes. Or if you prefer, too many middle managers with no balls just sitting back and letting things run the course and assuming it is all for the best.

It seems things are changing.. And for the better.
Are You Reading These Kevin?

Jul 11 2007

Drew, you may be correct in your viewpoint. Time will tell. However, Bell will never get the chance to turn around thousands if not tens of thousands, of offended former customers. Bell had its opportunity. We don’t need Bell. They need us. They seem to have that part backwards and now the sound they hear isn’t a pin dropping (sorry Sprint), it is the sound of feet running to anyone who can deliver the goods cheaper, better and faster along with a positive customer experience.

Bell is following all the other corporate cost cutters, much like lemmings, cause the other guys are doing it…instead they should have been independent thinkers and led the way instead of following. I still maintain the real problem behind this is EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT BONUS. It starts with the top and like a daisy chain goes right down to the front lines and impacts the former customers. Sabia is about compensation…His!
Are You Reading These Kevin?

Jul 11 2007

Bonuses

Determining the amount of incentive bonus an executive receives is critical because it directly affects the extent to which many corporate plans are funded. “A firm pays an executive a prespecified target bonus if the executive’s actual performance equals a prespecified performance standard and pays more or less than the target bonus if the executive’s performance is greater or less than the performance standard” (Indjejikian and Nanda 2002, p. 794). There are three basic components to bonus plans: performance measures, performance standards, and the relation between pay and performance.

The short-term incentive payment (STIP) is typically based on performance on an annual basis (typically a calendar year). The percentage of salary that is the target bonus must be determined. For example, the target corresponds to a percentage of salary (such as 25 percent or 50 percent) and is paid out the first part of the year after the final performance for the previous calendar year is analyzed. These bonuses also have ranges, typically from 0 percent of salary to upward of 200 percent of salary, depending on work level. It can be noted from Joe Executive’s matrix that the factors determining his STIP are one-half personal performance and one-half corporate performance.

Long-term incentive payment (LTIP) is based on performance over a longer period, usually two to four years. Therefore, an executive will need to have been employed a number of years before being eligible for a payout. Use of the executive matrix not only identifies the target bonus, but what would happen to those bonuses if Joe Executive were to leave the company under various circumstances. It is increasingly common for companies to tie this bonus to the performance of company stock in order to align executive performance with shareholder values. In this example, Joe Executive will receive an annual target share grant. At the end of each cycle, a percentage of the target grant made three years prior would be paid, with the target being 100 percent.

While projecting these bonuses into the future, there are some interesting factors to keep in mind. In a study (Indjejikian and Nanda) that compared executives’ actual and target bonuses over two consecutive periods, it was determined that if an executive earned more than his or her target bonus in the previous year, there was a 72 percent chance of earning more than the target bonus again in the current year. On the other hand, if in the previous period the executive earned less than the target bonus, there was only a 42 percent chance of the executive exceeding the target bonus in the following year. The conclusion drawn was that earning above-average bonuses in the future is not independent of past performance. Likewise, large abnormal bonuses are positively correlated with abnormal bonuses from prior periods.
Ben Dover

Jul 12 2007

Who really cares what Bell’s doing now? I don’t. A few weeks ago I embarked on a crusade of sorts, helping friends and family take back their time and money that would’ve been otherwise lost in dealing with Bell. So far, out of the 30 I wanted to help, 23 have dropped Bell for everything. That would be voicemail, wire line, cell and for some, even satellite.

Many in Montreal have gone to Cogeco and Videotron, others have gone to Rogers and Primus. All are satisfied as they’re getting the services they’ve paid for. The big difference is that they’re not wasting time on the phone with some moron here or abroad. The last 7 people are still trying to rectify things with Bell regarding money owed to them. After they receive their money, the cord’s getting cut.

Kevin, the financial quarter is right around the corner. How are your numbers holding up? Don’t worry, I’m sure those numbers will pick up once their contracts are up.
The Customer Is Turning

Jul 12 2007

There appears to be a quiet underlying seething disgust with how Bell is treating their customers. Something is happening out there from all appearances. I get a sense of a customer revolt and no loyalty both from customers and from internal employees towards their employer Bell.

Customers seem to be more vocal. Does anyone else sense this gradual undulating rhythm to Bell’s clients seeking other providers? If so, what took decades to build will have Bell join the ranks of T. Eaton Co., the Big Three auto makers, Anderson, EDS, Simpsons department store, the Telegram, Hollinger, and on and on and on.

Yes, Bell could be eradicated just like organizations larger than themselves. Corporate Governance is as elusive as Multiculturalism (but that’s another story). Think it can’t happen? Think again!
Michelle Tanner

Jul 23 2007

I’m certainly glad that I’ve finally left Bell! They have the rudest and most incompetent staff I have ever dealt with, and this wasn’t 6 months ago, this was 2 weeks ago!!! So the post further up saying that things are changing for the better, well as the saying goes, when pigs fly!!! If it wasn’t for “Ben Dover” who put things into perspective, I’d still be fuming over money owed to me for “deals” I should’ve been getting because that is what I originally signed up for. But after waiting and wasting my time in trying to get my money back, I finally gave up on them.

It seemed scary leaving Bell at first because I’ve been with them for years, but once I crossed that line I don’t know why I didn’t leave them earlier. Now that I’ve left, my sons and daughters will soon switch from Bell to Cogeco, a much, much better company with much better people.
Not Surprised

Jul 25 2007

What do you expect from a company where the majority of the front line staff are not actually employed by Bell, but by outsourcing companies operating either here or overseas? These employees make next to nothing, not even enough to rent an apartment.

When you don’t have a stake in the company or your own future with the company, you simply don’t care. Common sense, right? So no wonder there are so many service issues. Those outsourcing companies are nothing more then revolving doors.

Bell… Making it simple to disconnect.
Leah Cebrian

Jul 25 2007

Very nice site, i love it!
Lunchtime

Jul 31 2007

To get back on track, Bell needs to get its billing straightened out once and for all. On the Bell Mobility side of things, the billing is a total nightmare. More than 3 years after the launch of a new billing system, the system is still rife with errors. When does it end?

It’s beyond me how a company as large as Bell can’t seem to get a handle on how to bill telecommunication charges properly. Promised promotions don’t appear, there are improper toll charges, corporate discounts don’t get applied — it never stops!!! And all this from what was supposed to be a state of the art billing system designed by a company (Amdocs) that was supposed to be an industry leader in designing billing systems for the telecommunications industry. What a joke!!!! I pity those who have to wade through a seemingly endless list of billing errors when trying to decipher a Bell Mobility invoice. It’s a nightmare!

Truly I say, fix the billing and you’ll have fixed much of what ails Bell.
ticked

Aug 1 2007

Well, another department has been outsourced to India. The ICE team, which was originally in Kingston, until they closed the Kingston office, was transferred to Ottawa on Elgin Street. It has now been outsourced to India, the reps on the team were told they could either go back on the front lines or to a department called OFA.

This has to stop! Where is it going to end? Canadians need jobs in Canada!! Michael Sabia, stop taking away jobs for Canadians and sending them to India. Bell isn’t saving any money, because the money that is saved goes towards your $31 million you collect if the new owners let you go!!
ticked

Aug 1 2007

Ben dover

I too have now switched all services. I also have been telling my family and friends to get rid of Bell. They don’t care about their employees or their customers. Bottom line to them, I am sure Kevin included, is the almighty $. Let’s face it, Sabia gets $31 mil if he is let go. Money has to come from somewhere, right..so why not OUTSOURCE to people that barely speak English, that have no idea how services in Canada work.
Mike

Aug 3 2007

Ellen, thank you for helping me cut through the bureaucracy. I’m so glad you’re out there as an advocate for consumers. My Bell Mobility problem is now resolved.

I was forced to accept a credit cap of $150 per month. Ordinarily, I was advised by text message and voice message that I was at the $125 amount so I could make a payment and ensure continuity of service.

Last month, my phone was cut off due to being over the limit. I called and insisted that I had made payment via PC Financial online. They insisted that I had not done so. I had the PC Financial payment records that proved it!

Bell then said that I had been paying a nonexistent account and not the correct one. I was using the account number they GAVE me when I set up the online payment option! Where else would I have got a number? Out of a cereal box? From a tarot card reader?

I paid the amount on my credit card and PC Financial recovered the online payments for me, to their credit. Then, I went into a Bell Mobility location to off my bill. The CSR told me they couldn’t accept bill payments in cash — money order or cheque only. Funny that you can BUY your phone by cash or debit, but not pay your bill.

So I went to get a Royal Bank money order. Brought it back, and the guy said he would courier it to the accounts payable department and they would apply it to my account in 3-5 business days. Not good enough. I needed to ensure that my phone did not get cut off, as I use it for work in remote areas, and I was expecting a long distance call job interview shortly as well. He put me in touch with Bell’s call centre in Vancouver, where an exceptionally pleasant and honey-voiced lady did her best to soothe my mounting rage, even as she told me it was simply not possible to do what the store CSR says. It would still take 3-5 business days.

There was one location in Mississauga that accepted cash payments, and would credit the payment to the account in real time, but her system did not show what the location is. Maybe the store CSR knew? He did not know.

Bell effectively refused to let me pay my bill, despite my best efforts to do so. I want to take my number to a company that will actually treat me with the respect I deserve and won’t deliberately put bureaucratic obstacles in my way. I am APPALLED by my runaround and their general incompetence.
Erica Cebrian

Aug 5 2007

Hello everyone,

I too just switched and am finally relieved that all my billing is correct! Since then, Bell has been calling me persistently about switching back and promised that the service will be better. Gimme a break! I told them they couldn’t fix an ongoing billing issue in 2 months and now all of a sudden they can fix it!!! Incredulous as Kevin and most recently, George Cope, was saying that their services to date were “second to none”.

It makes me wonder how good services really are when they’ve lost another 114,000 or so customers in the last 3 months. Is it because they still can’t straighten out billing issues with cell phones? It’s been only 3 years. Or is it because their customer service is still atrocious, or is it because everyone still has to jump through hoops and circles to get the bundle deals they originally signed up for but they’re billed a higher amount anyways?

So remember all of the above any time someone from Bell makes you a promise of something better if you come back! You just might find yourself back to square one in trying to collect money that is owed to you.

Erica
Joyce

Aug 14 2007

I agree that Bell has a lot of problems with customer service. Moving 611 repair to India and their voice recognition software program called “Emily” are their two most recent customer service fiascos.

I am in the telecom industry (a Bell competitor) and most of the Bell customer service reps and technicians are great - but unfortunately we all have to deal with the rude CSR’s who hang up on us, will not help us or confirm that our order is in the system - but never actually complete the order in their computer!

So to everyone out there, when you talk to Bell, get the customer rep’s name or employee number, get an order number and record the date and time that you talked to them - for every call.

FYI - I understand that it costs about $5 per call to process a repair call in India and about $55 per call to process one here in Canada (that is Bell’s determination), but what it really costs the Canadian consumer is much more. We lose productive time at work trying to get a call through to Bell repair - sometimes having to make several calls because we are disconnected (on purpose, possibly?) So the costs are being downloaded to Canadian customers and businesses and off the back of Bell Canada.

You should also be aware that if Bell reduces their rates - local or long distance - they do not always advise you. Everyone should call Bell and check that they are getting the lowest possible long distance rate that Bell charges. Some people are still paying much higher long distance rates from the 1980’s because they never asked to have their account updated and do not know that they are being overcharged!

Also, every year (usually around November), Bell sends you a copy of all the services that you hold with Bell (this is called an Equipment Record). Go over the bill and double check that you are getting what you are paying for. Call Bell to check the current rates on all the services listed and asked them if they can reduce your rate.

Also note - business customers who are leasing their equipment - check your equipment record/Bell bill. You may still be paying for hardware that you purchased 10 years ago or more (and have paid for several times over) and are now not even using.

If you are leasing your equipment (say for 3 or 5 years), be aware that if you do nothing at the end of the lease and do not call Bell about paying it out, you will be automatically rolled into another lease and continue to pay for the equipment that you have already paid for in full. Bell will not advise you that your lease is near its end. Go check your records, call Bell and find out when your lease ends and what happens at the end. So many customers never check their bills or what they are paying for. Look for items listed as Equipment rentals and ask Bell what this is for.

Bell also has great business salespeople, but make sure you get the bottom line on something you are purchasing or leasing. We’ve had customers who were told that Bell will reduce their monthly bill if they purchase new equipment - so effectively, they are getting a monthly credit on their bill. The only problem is they are being rolled into a lease (and not aware of the lease) and purchasing the hardware for about three times its actual cost!

Be informed. Shop around. Check your Bell bill and if sales pitches sound too good to be true, they probably are!
MikeP

Aug 20 2007

A very long letter which I emailed to Ellen and snail-mailed to Kevin Crull, posted at Ellen’s requst:

For reference, my telephone number is currently 519-xxx-xxxx, which is the same number we held with Bell since we opened our initial account in June, 2001. Please note that I do not wish to be contacted by anybody from Bell with reference to this letter except for the person to whom this letter is addressed: Mr. Kevin Crull. I understand that Mr. Crull is very likely a
very busy man, but it is his name on the card to which I am responding, so I feel entitled to demand his attention. While consulting Google in an (unsuccessful) attempt to find a mailing address to which I could send this letter, I found a weblog posting by Ellen Roseman that you replied to personally, Mr. Crull, so I have taken the liberty of Cc:’ing her as well,
in the hopes that she will find this letter of interest.

I am in receipt of your card, which was undated (and lacking a return address), but was postmarked 07 August of this year. In it you invited me to contact a member of your team at 1-877-449-0774. However, I do not want to speak with a member of your team in order to discuss anything at all, as there is very little discussion to be had. I merely wish your company to know why it lost me as a customer, or at least, why I am extremely unsympathetic to displays like this card.

Firstly, the card was addressed to me as I have addressed my letter to you: first initial last name. I know your full name is Kevin, you signed it to your letter, just as I know Bell knows my full name. The fact that my name was used precisely as it appears in the telephone book tells me that Bell doesn’t care to find out my full name. Furthermore, while the note itself was obviously professionally printed on fairly nice cardstock, and the envelope was also of fairly decent quality, my address was obviously printed on a cheap inkjet printer that needed its heads cleaned. To be perfectly frank, this was not a great impression to give, as a company which has taken approximately $7,000 from me in the last six years.

Secondly, I had to dig around to find your mailing address. Ultimately I found it it in a copy of the Yellow Pages; I think it’s quite telling that the only mailing address obvious on Bell Canada’s website is one for investor relations. The address was not included in the note with your name signed to it; only a telephone number was given. I know why that is, it’s so that if I want to tell Bell something like what I’m describing in this letter, I have to give a customer service representative a chance to try to win me back. Your company must give its customers a full range of options to use in order to contact it, and one of those options ought to be regular old land mail. Quite frankly, I’m not interested in having to justify myself to somebody I’ve never met why it is I’ve chosen
to switch to Rogers Home Phone for my service.

There is not one single reason why I chose to terminate my account with Bell, although it’s mostly because we were spending more money than we had to. Living in an apartment building, our telephone lines aren’t the greatest and there’s nothing we can do about it, so we were paying for Bell HSE services that we were unable to use: our maximum throughput was limited to about what we get paying half as much to Rogers for their cable modem Lite package, because of the excessive amounts of noise on our line. Additionally, every time it rained outside, our HSE service would be interrupted for anywhere from 30 seconds to five or ten minutes. I realise
that these issues are beyond Bell’s control, but they’re also beyond mine.

Finally, I will illustrate why I do not believe Bell customer service to be so much as a shade better than any other large business in the world, and worse than many, with a personal anecdote. The sort of note I received today would have been much better received about two years ago, when our land line service with Bell stopped working abruptly. When I called that
evening to complain, I had to navigate a menu in order to get in contact with a customer service rep, who promptly put me on hold, even after I told him I was calling from a pay as you go cell phone - because, of course, my land line was non-functional.

When the CSR returned about five minutes later, he told me that he could see nothing wrong from Bell’s end, and that was it. He could schedule a service call for me, but warned me in no uncertain terms that if the field technician found nothing wrong either, I would be billed for the service call. After telling him that yes, I was sure I wanted somebody to come
visit, he scheduled an appointment for me the Friday of that week (I had called on a Wednesday) for some time “between 8am and 5pm.” Nonplused, I asked for a more precise time frame, as I was going to have to take time off work, and was told that was as precise as it got. I took a full vacation day to stay home, and no technician had shown up by 6pm.

Calling customer service again, I was told that no, the rep had no idea why nobody had shown up, and was promised a service call Saturday, although at least the timeframe (early afternoon) was more precise. Ultimately, however, it didn’t matter, as again nobody showed up.

I called a third time to register my displeasure - again, keep in mind, this was on a pay as you go cell phone from Fido - and was again told that another service call could be scheduled, but if nothing was wrong in the eyes of the field technician, I would be billed. I scheduled a call for Monday, but my phone was again mysteriously working by Saturday evening. I must say, I was sorely tempted to let the technician show up (or not) Monday, and then to contest the charge with Bell and the CRTC when I was billed for it, but I didn’t want to waste a technician’s time for the fault of the company for which he or she worked.

I also seriously considered submitting my own bill for a customer satisfaction survey to your customer service department at my standard rate of $500 an hour for the approximate length of time we were without telephone service (approximately 65 hours, or $32,500 plus tax, as well as the one hour of Fido time at 25 cents a minute). I chose not to do so as I felt it would not get paid anyway, and no tax benefit would accrue to me for keeping a bad debt on the books as it might have if I was still running a business for myself.

No apology was extended by the customer service representative when I called in to cancel my appointment, nor was an offer of pro-rating my service for that month extended. No mention of my wasted day and a half was made. In fact, I felt that the representative thought I had been lying all along, and it was clear to me that he wanted nothing more than to get me off the line. To further add to the insult I felt, I spoke with a different representative each time I called, and had to re-explain the full situation - including previous interactions - each time. During these explanations, I could hear the representative typing away. Since I cannot believe that actual
notes were being taken regarding my case, I had to wonder what they were, in fact, typing. All in all, these interactions left me feeling incredibly insulted and dismissed.

In short, our major reason for staying with Bell after this event was largely inertia and the desire to keep our internet and telephone services bundled. Our major reason for switching was financial, but the reason why I am extremely unlikely to ever again pay Bell for service is because I do not frankly believe that Bell service is worth very much money at all. It seems to me that Bell’s attitude towards customer service can be summed up by the infamous VMS “see figure one document” (for instance, see http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/90q3/fig1.html), and the only reason why it has chosen to send out note cards to customers who finally dump your company is what some would call a naive (and what others might call a cynical) attempt to try to convince those customers that Bell really cares about them. I do not believe that Bell - any moreso than most other large
businesses - really cares about me, but rather about the income that I represent. Given that, I don’t think Bell can blame me if I jump ship the instant it makes financial sense for me to do so.

Incidentally, I am told that given that I live in an apartment building where the demarcation point is not accessible by me personally, it is against CRTC regulations to levy such charges as I was threatened with against one’s customers. I don’t know for sure if this is true or not and won’t waste my time looking it up, but if I am ever in that situation again, please be assured that I will make it my business to find out. In any
event, I do not appreciate being threatened by a company to which I have paid a great deal of money for a service that is not working.

I realise that this is an extremely long letter, so as thanks for your perhaps reading this far, I will offer a (free) bit of unsolicited advice: give your customer service representatives much more latitude in being able to offer customers service, rather than causing the customer to have to demand it. Give them the ability to offer a free month or two of services
when they encounter customers in a situation like mine. Your call centre managers should all read books on customer service and business by people like Seth Godin, and encourage their employees to do the same. I assert and believe that this sort of service and education would more than pay for itself in the long run. I see from your Bell web page that you hold an MBA
degree and an otherwise impressive resume, so hopefully this sort of advice is not entirely new to you, but I would like to impress upon you that if I felt that Bell had such a commitment to customer service, I might never have left in the first place and would be more sympathetic to pleas to return. However, should I change my mind, I assume that the offer of waiving my
reconnection fee has no expiry date, and so I will hold on to my copy of this card as binding proof of this offer.
larry

Aug 22 2007

I am absolutely irate with Bell Canada, who has been attempting to extort money from me forcibly. Money that is proven not owed. Many, many complications in dealing with Bell in Quebec. I have spent over 30 hours with Bell on the phone. They are claiming we owe them over $800 in charges (with no long distance), all these service charges for a 3-month period. They keep mixing their files. Supervisors refuse to speak to me. And Collections keep threatening and demanding or they will terminate service.

I foster for babies and newborns who were born with narcotics in their systems. I need a phone for emergencies. Bell makes false charges and is unsympathetic to the situations… and uses famous words, “that’s most unfortunate.” I have now contacted the CRTC, the Human Rights Commission, Better Business Bureau, and I AM GOING TO START AN ONLINE PETITION in the next few days for anyone who has a current and legit problem with Bell Canada and will be looking for a class action lawsuit. People, we all need to step forward and stand up against Bell Canada the tyrant. I am psychologically destroyed in dealing with them.
Joe

Aug 23 2007

I am a Bell employee and realize how bad the repair service is. Notice how all these complaints are from Ontario. But in Quebec, there are very few complaints. Let’s see why.

Bell Ontario is run out of Quebec. We all know they think backwards. They just don’t get it. All senior V-Ps are French.

Quebeckers don’t call India. They get a bilingual desk in Montreal that answers all their calls. In Quebec, a Bell tech goes to your house, not a contractor who doesn’t have a clue.
Lloyd

Aug 23 2007

The Bell beavers:

First let me tell you that I am a computer professional with over 40 years experience. I currently look after about 65 computers, most of them in the Toronto area.

The Bell beavers are really annoying. I am particularly annoyed because I know how much of a lie they really are telling.

Bell’s Internet service is by far inferior to Rogers. They rarely come close to their claims in speed. Rogers is far from perfect, but its service is dramatically superior to the really inferior Bell Sympatico.

Their tech support is completely useless. Their prime goal is to get you off the phone.

Their system is incompatible with the biggest seller in the anti-virus business — Symantec’s Norton. This just may be in order to push their own private branded software, which is hopelessly inadequate — leading to many customer infected computers.

These beaver ads are annoying to an extreme. Their ad companies evidently think that saturation advertising is effective. These ads aren’t even interesting or amusing. I usually change the station as soon as one comes on.

This is a company that needs to be dismantled. The culture of this company runs deep. It is clearly designed to disrespect its customers, let alone think of satisfied customers as a good thing. They fundamentally see themselves as being guards protecting Bell from those bad guys out there — their unfortunate customers.
Ted

Aug 25 2007

I, like so many others have had terrible customer service issues w/Bell over the years (40+). I can categorically state that their service is not getting better. The absolute worst thing from my perspective is the annoyingly phony facade imposed by every rep that you speak with claiming to provide total excellence in customer service. How insulting, coming from temporary contracted offshore call centre employees with no vested interest other than a weekly stipend. This is a very poorly managed company which remains in business only because the CRTC allows a monopoly/duopoly to exist. I’m old enough to remember the coined phrase, “you never get fired from Bell” and while that may not be true today as before, there is hardly any transparency or acceptance of the fact that things are going the wrong way. There appears to be very little accountabilty anywhere up and down this whole politically woven industry.
Andrew Pataky

Aug 25 2007

Aug.25.2007
Ellen I read your article in The Toronto Star, Re.:Bell Home Phone Chief…
I was a Bell loyal customer for about 20 years, until I realised that for my loyalty they tried to charge every month $4-7, long distance calls to different countries that I had nothing to do with. When I caught these calls they did credit me, but I am asking why try? One million customers don’t catch it, free money is good. Then they started not sending me my monthly bills, of course not receiving a bill, you cannot pay it. Three months later, they send me a disconnect notice. When I call in they argue with me that they did send it to me, probably my mailman did not deliver. So they “resend me the bills”, I paid them all, then started again the same situation. After the third instance I decided to change all my accounts from Bell.

Now they are trying to get my business back They found out about my fax number and they were calling it every day. One day I recalled the number 877-866-8880 and talked to a DERECK, asking him why do they call my fax number. He told me that BELL WANTS MY BUSINESS BACK. Explained to him that the number he is calling is a fax number, don’t call it anymore and I AM NOT INTERESTED TO GO BACK TO THEM. Since then he is calling 3 times a day. Called him back and asked him again not to call. HE SAID THAT HE WILL CALL FOR 30 DAYS, asked him to put me thru to his manager, he said MANAGERS DO NOT TAKE CALLS FROM THE PUBLIC and promptly there was another number 888-378-2355 which started to call.

I am a salesman myself, but I really don’t think this is the way to regain an unsatisfied lost customer. I was wondering if you could forward this e-mail to Mr.Kevin Crull or better, if you could provide me with his phone number and e-mail address?
Andrew
Lex

Aug 25 2007

I’m a loyal Canadian who likes to shop at Canadian owned and operated stores to keep my money in Canada and support my fellow Canadians. However, I am extremely shocked at the way I have been treated by Bell (India). I have just moved and I have all my services with Bell (cell, home phone, internet, satelite). Everything Bell touches seems to turn to… (you know what). They never show up to install on the day they promise. They accuse you of pirating satellite by having your receivers at your cottage (even if you don’t have a cottage).You name it, they’ll screw it up.

I have rescently had the opportunity to deal with Bell’s satellite division (SAT) that is based out of Quebec. I have learned that they are under CRTC’s mandate to shut down any and all satellite receivers that they feel are “suspicious” (even if you have just moved and don’t have it installed yet). If you can’t send them a verification signal right then and there when they demand it, they will shut it down. Then you have to wait a minimun of 24 hours to reactivate it.

Finally, it seems as though Bell forgets how to treat their customers. Whatever happened to “the customer is always right”? How does a company that is so bad at customer service stay so big and successful? I have put up with Bell’s neglect and abuse long enough! ROGERS, HERE I COME !!!
Gordon D.

Aug 25 2007

I’ve recently relocated to a new subdivision in Milton. It’s been a real challenge to get my high speed service up and running. No one at Bell Sympatico seems to be able to conclusively resolve the issue. Frequently calls simply mean reverification of various information to ensure I’m the right person. At the end of it, it’s plain frustration. The customer service standards are definitely poor.

I agree with previous bloggers, you can’t seem to get anyone in authority to resolve the matter. Additionally, I’m seriously considering moving to another company my entire range of service - Express Vu, Cell Phone, Land lines as well as Internet.
Don Hamilton

Aug 25 2007

I have been paying for Sympatico High Speed Internet for a long time now. The service contiues to deteriorate. My Local Area Connection always connects at 10Mbps (I have a 100Mbps card) and always shows that there is “limited or no connectivity”. Download and upload times are very slow, especially when compared to cable.

I have contacted the Help Services many times and never get a fix. This past month, Bell has had the nerve to increase the price on this so-called High Speed Service !!!! When I again took the opportunity to send them my concerns, I just got put off again!! If anyone at Bell can help me, if I have something configured incorrectly on my end, that would be great, but I believe that the problem is at Bell’s end and they will not admit to it and keep charging me for High Speed when I am getting much less.

The pressure to switch everything to Rogers is so great and I have been resisting for a long time, but cannot hang on much longer.

Don
Elsa Mihotic

Aug 25 2007

I moved in March 2007. It took Bell three months to cancel my original service (which I was still charged for) and then a further three months to install new services. They gave me 2 home phone numbers and a dry loop without my consent. It’s taken me three months to get internet. I have logged about 15 phone calls and complaints between Bell phone services and Bell Sympatico services. The left hand doesn’t have a clue what the right hand is doing.

After much arguing they finally gave me one month’s free services and wiped out any debt that was owed through their mistakes. But let me tell you, I had to fight over the phone for hours before any resolution came. Yes, I know I could have gone to Rogers…they installed my cable…but a Rogers employee told me he would never have his phone hooked up with Rogers….he is a Bell customer! I think that tells a lot!
Dale

Aug 25 2007

Count me in as another long term Bell customer who has cancelled my currrently “cancellable” Bell services and moved elsewhere, and will be doing the same with others as my “contract” ends.

Why? I’m tired of having Bell CSR’s hang up on me, put me through to another CSR without giving them the heads up - so I have to go through my story again, unauthorized charges to my credit card for which no one knows what they are for, Internet “outages” that have left me without service for 3 business days in the last two months, with no credit thus far, Technicians that don’t show up when I’ve taken a half day off work and being told that “we don’t do that” when I asked why no one called to tell me that a Technician wouldn’t be coming.

Every time I get a bill I can feel my blood pressure rising, because I’m afraid that an error inside will necessitate a call to Bell, where the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing.

Even escalating things to the “Executive” level doesn’t appear to have helped. After being told 5 days ago that someone would look into my problem and get back to me soon, I’ve yet to hear from anyone.

I know that Rogers and other providers aren’t perfect, but I’ve had more helpful CSRs answer my questions even though I tell them I’m not yet a customer than I do from Bell - and I’m currently paying them close to $200 a month for services.

Enough is enough. I’m tired of this abusive relationship and moving on.
Gord Kenmir

Aug 25 2007

Read these items with great interest since I have gone through most of these problems many times. Two things come to mind.

1. Do the people who are presently interested in buying BCE know what a “Can of Worms” they are buying? Seems a big discount should be in order.

2. Why as Canadian customers, and most of us taxpayers whose goverment dollars have supported Bell for many years, can we not insist that those jobs they exported to India be brought back to Canada? Let that money and the taxes (if any) which they pay support our Canadian econmony, not the Indian economy. Give us support that at least understands English and can communicate back to us in a manner that would allow us to understand what they are trying to say. We should insist Bell bring that service back to Canada by Jan 1st/2008 or we cancel our Bell services. It is clear from the letters that nobody likes dealing with an Indian call centre. I wonder if any of the people working at Bell have ever had to call in to try and get assistance with a technical problem. All Bell personel are not necessarily technical, and when someone who
is perhaps very well versed technically, tries to explain or step you through a problem with a very heavy accent, it can be very frustrating. They should try it sometime.

Just how many hundreds of millions of profit does Bell need to make every year? Perhaps a financial analysis would reveal that if you deduct the cost of lost customers from the supposed savings gained by having an Indian service centre, it would be cheaper to keep those jobs at home and keep the customer happy.
Ann

Aug 25 2007

I currently have home phone, cellular, sympatico and expressvu services with Bell and have been a long-time customer. My expressvu contract runs until January 2008, at which time I will be moving all of these services to another company.

Bell expressvu has yet to send me a correct bill despite numerous emails and phone calls (with incredibly long wait times). They correct it for the current month and then it is incorrect on the following bill. In addition, I have given up requesting that they process each service individually, as they continue to send their “one bill” format anyway.

As far as I am concerned, Bell is the company with the worst customer service around.
Ric East

Aug 25 2007

I have been harassed by Bell Sympatico marketing agents for well over a year. Just over a year ago, I had a DO NOT Call from ANY Bell department put on my account. This seemed to cure the problem until April this year when I started to get calls trying to get me to hook up with Sympatico.

This has resulted in numerous calls to Bell Customer Service, which was escalated to the “Ontario V.P.’s Complaint Department of people who don’t give a $hit”.

Finally, Ellen passed me a couple of numbers and I started to get action !!! Thank goodness for Ellen because on 6 occasions I asked to be connected to the office of the president of Bell. The answer was that this could not be done. I asked if the person knew where the president’s office was located and the answer was NO. I asked if they knew who the president was and the answer was NO !! How can you expect to get customer service from a customer service person who does not know where the head office of their company is located ???

Anyway, I was told on a number of occasions that these calls were not from Sympatico, but by someone who was trying to scam my credit card. So to prove them wrong, I agreed on 3 occasions over a 3 month period to accept their offer. On 3 occasions within 5 days I received the modem and had a Bell account set up !! So much for scammers.

Customer service and the Ontario VP’s office, however, could not determine who had arranged for me to get set up. So much for knowing how your business runs !

This B.S. has gone on and on and there are many more details, but this blog is not big enough.

As things stand now, I was talking to a guy named Louis who is the supervisor of a few hundred marketing people. When I got my last call, he AGAIN agreed to check out the problem but as he was going on vacation he was going to put the issue in the hands of a Mr. Haniss. I was supposed to receive a call from him but I was out when he called so he left a message that he would call back. As that call never came (surprise, surprise) I called him on Aug. 20 and after some conversation he agreed to check into the problem further and call me at 9 AM on Friday August 24. It is now August 25 and I have not heard from him (surprise surprise)!!

Finally this is what I have been told from Louis. Sympatico marketing is done by a 3rd party company and they are expected NOT to call customers on the Do NOT Call List. Trouble is they subcontract their work out to others who have no respect for such a list. I am also convinced these people are calling from India due to their limited English and the arrogant, ignorant tone of the conversation. They also call from #s which have area codes located in Missouri and NY City. No one seems to be able to explain this.

I asked Louis why he continues to deal with companies that contract out. He says he cannot stop them. I said FIRE THEM, but that idea was not accepted.

So today, my problem still continues. Will write again with great excitement if it EVER gets solved,,, but as Mr. Crull has indicated,,, Bell is just too big to get anything done. This is of course B.S. It may be difficult to get things done, but that problem can be eliminated with the firing of the few incompetents who don’t do their jobs.
Ric East

Aug 25 2007

My last post was related to telemarketing and I think I have a solution to this problem. Trouble is that it would take lots of us to move on this, but tell me what you think.

As many of you know by now, the CRTC is about to launch a DO NOT CALL system. Problem is, as I understand it, people you currently do business with (like Bell) and charities will still be able to call.

For me, I want ALL telemarketers banned from calling me, so I would like to suggest the following..

This system would be called the “PLEASE CALL ME” list. Its operation is very simple… If you want to be harassed by people calling you, you put your name on this list and then just sit back and let the calls roll in.

If you DO NOT want calls, you do nothing!!! If you get a call from a telemarketer, you get their name and # and supply it to the CRTC. Punishment would be a fine of $100,000 on the first occasion and termination of their business on the second.

If anyone agrees with this idea, pass it on. Contact your MP and demand he/she do something positive about this problem. If we don’t start to fight hard and fast, we will never be able to get rid of this problem.
Ben Dover

Aug 25 2007

My oh my, I come back from the islands all tanned and beautiful and what do I see?!?! 212 E-mails from new people through word of mouth requesting my help on how to successfully dump Bell. And more interestingly, those people who I’ve helped dump Bell have gone on their own little missions and have helped 47 others get “consistent correct billing and good service”. Just fancy words for saying “Bell Canada, I’m canceling all of my services with you and you can tell winback to stick it!!!”

I see Bell and Kevin’s words still have no substance and was probably recycled from those beaver ads. Still no different for the last 10 years.

Anyhow, I have a long journey ahead of me as I’m on the first of 212 e-mails to reply to and have only two fingers that know the keyboard. Retirement has its privileges, but unfortunately it takes away your secretary.

I look forward to everyone’s future posts and do take heart that there are plenty of good Canadian telco companies (smaller, faster, waaayy smarter, who care and don’t miss the pot much when it’s in front of them) who do a pretty good job of keeping track of all your stuff and for a good deal. Something that Bell Canada still screws up after 125 years of being in the business.

Time to fire them, don’t you think?
jersey girl

Aug 25 2007

I just record one telemarketer phone call on my recorder that is connected to my jack and when I get a telemarketer call I hit play and give them a taste of their own medicine,,,while I eat dinner.
Danielle

Aug 26 2007

It’s widely known that you can’t do anything right without screwing up half a dozen or more times. And what’s with this empathy training that Kevin’s mandated? How about competency training, or how about checking their resume references for one? Bell’s hiring nothing but high school dropouts these days who avoid calls. I’d like to see this eyesore go the way of Eatons.

Danielle
Benoit Breton

Aug 26 2007

Thank God in India they do not speak French, so we are still keeping some jobs in Quebec.

However, Bell is planning to outsource French calls to Morocco and Egypt.

In the meantime customers are “outsourcing” themselves to Rogers in Ontario and Videotron in Quebec.

At the end Michael Sabia and his cronies will leave the dying company with their pockets full of money. Just watch them, that will be the Canadian version of ENRON, and the government is doing nothing.

Boycott Bell India, ask to be transfered to a Canadian rep.
Save Canadians’ jobs!

Do nothing, and the next job outsourced could be yours…
Ric East

Aug 27 2007

How Bell Should Operate:::

I infrequently make international calls to Asia. When I make these calls I always use the same Dial Around Company ( One which you dial 10-10 -…. before the international #).

I have used the same service for about 5 years and about 4 months ago I got 3 calls from their marketing people in the Philippines trying to convince me that I should pay a monthly fee for a reduced rate on my long distance. I Informed them 3 times I was not interested and asked to be taken off their call list.

After the 3rd call I called the President of the company ( who ’s name and phone # are listed on the website). As usual I got an answering machine so I left a message requesting a return call. To my great surprise I got a call in about 10 min. I explained my problem with being called by their telemarketing people. He totally agreed with my complaint and informed me that this marketing firm would be informed that day by fax that my name must be removed from their list. He said he also would demand to know why I had been called 3 times when I had requested the first time to be removed from the call list.

Something must have been done because I have not had another call since I spoke to this president.

How’s that for action ?? Compared to the 50 or so calls to Bell this problem was solved in just one call !!!!!
Josh

Aug 27 2007

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, this is the kind of customer service you can expect when you use revolving door outsourced call centers to handle the customer service. Most of the people you talk to when you call Bell have no stake in the company — unlike Telus, which pays employees well and has a much higher retention rate than Bell does.

What this means: When you call Telus, you actually talk to someone who knows what they are doing.

When you call Bell, you get an outsourced agent that is making a wage so low that they can’t even rent an apartment. They have probably been there less than a year and they are put under pressure to get you off the phone as soon as they possibly can.

Good strategy Kevin. Keep it up.

As for Michael Sabia, he will be a millionaire several times over after the sale of Bell Canada.
Adam

Aug 28 2007

After reading some of the Bell Blues posts, I have realised that the complaints e-mail I spent an hour of my time writing this morning will probably fall on deaf ears. I recommend to anybody having problems to ask to talk to somebody in Ottawa
or e-mail executive.office@bell.ca (it may work!) or just leave Bell.

Below is my story. I do not normally write posts, but I feel somebody may get some benefit from it to know they’re in a similar position.

Sent to: executive.office@bell.ca

Please find below the full text of the Survey (000000080166620) I submitted earlier today as I was unable to submit the full text (4000 character limit).

Question: Are you Satisfied with Bell Sympatico Service?

I have found over the past 8 months of dealing with Bell Sympatico that I only get satisfaction and get to talk to knowledgeable people when dealing with Bell Customer service based in Ottawa or at least Canada.

Every time I have spoken to a Bell telephone representative from India, I find they are not easy to understand, generally do not understand the problems and have an exceedingly poor job of rectifying my issues. In general, I have not had a resolution of a problem from anybody in India. In actual fact, they always make things worse.

Case 1: Ordering an upgrade to high speed.

I ordered the upgrade through your Indian representatives (December 2006), I explicitly asked for an upgrade as I wanted to keep the same email address (right now the only reason I’m with Bell). However, the guy signed me up for a new account, which meant that I would have to use another email address as it was for a different b1 number.

Case 2: Modems more than required

On trying to rectify the account issue with Bell, on the numerous occasions I called and reached India, for some unknown reason, every time I spoke to them another high speed modem was sent to me. In total, 5 high speed modems were sent (a huge waste of Bell Canada money) and returned. It wasn’t until I spoke to a Customer service person in Ottawa (Dan) in February that everything was rectified, and we set up the account for 1 year at $34.95, also giving me a rebate to make the account equivalent to the one I had originally been told I would have.

The largest issue with this was the amount of wasted time talking to people who don’t know what they are doing and having to go to the post office every week to return the modems.

Case 3: Line Card

After using the service, I was partially satisfied, although still had problems with technical support staff in India. I changed my tactic and would only call during the day in Canada (not always guaranteed but more likely to get a Canadian representative who is better trained). In April, my internet service stops working, I call Bell get through to India, after explaining that I had gone through all the procedures for checking the modem and software, the representative says we will look into it and call you back. Eight hours later after no call I call again, and get the same response but we will call back in an hour. After 2 more hours, I call back and they say they have found that the line card has been disconnected for my service and it will take a few days to install another one. (This most probably occurred after cancelling the first new account HS service in February to get the upgrade I wanted). After asking for compensation for the loss of the internet which I was without for 2 to 3 weeks, the people in India (on another call) said I must speak to the customer service people in Canada to get compensation. They told me to call back during the day and someone would transfer me. After speaking to the CS rep in Ottawa, I was compensated for the loss of service.

Case 4: Overbilling

After the line card was fixed on my next bill, which I didn’t notice until August, the discounts for the 1 year contract stopped being given, so my bill shot upto $46.95. I eventually, but in some part reluctantly, called Bell. I spoke again I’m sure to someone in India, who said I was not on a contract, and his information said that I was being billed $40, and had always been billed this. I said “let me fax you my bill because your information is wrong”. He said that there was nothing he could do as the information he had said I was being billed $40. But he could fix my account by getting me onto a better service.

The first service he recommended would have cost me $42 for the first few months and then $49.95 after. “I want my $34.95 that I signed up for,” I said to him, “not to pay more”. So I suggested downgrading the service, as I was unwilling to pay more. In a jiffy he had me downgraded to essential plus (2 year contract) from HS. I said I had reconsidered, but he said I’m sorry it’s already set up now. I said fine, and then asked what happens if I cancel. He said $100 break fee. Hmmmmmm, I asked again, is it already set up and he said yes. I felt, whatever, I’ll see how it is, and break it if I had to. I again said I would like to complain about the abrupt change in service fees without notification. He told me to call the Bell Customer Service number, not Sympatico.

I call Bell Customer Service, they transfer me to Sympatico (in India). They can’t do anything, so they transfer me to Ottawa, where for once, I have somebody who knows what’s going on (Takunda). She immediately sees that I was already on a contract, and the guy should not have changed it, and can’t understand why. She also immediately sees that the discounts I was supposed to have under the contract were not being applied. She reverses the downgrade contract and fixes the overbilling (hopefully).

I can’t believe that only I have had this runaround with Bell and your Indian telephone centre. Outsourcing to lower paid workers is one thing, but not training them properly and actually having them give disinformation is damaging to Bell Canada’s reputation.

After this contract is up I will seriously consider moving to another provider. Guys up at the top there, LISTEN… if your Indian CS reps are not of the highest quality in spoken English, and trained, you’re going to lose your business and your customers. Get with it. Either get rid of the Indian telephone service or spend some money on training. It’s really tough for someone in Bangalore to relate to what’s going on in Canada…….

(disgruntled Sympatico customer)
Ron Kumar

Aug 28 2007

I have a online business and recently (April) moved into new complex in Mississauga. I had to go with Bell high speed internet phone line since Rogers Cable was not available in this complex.

I have 2 lines, one for telephone andthe other one for fax and high speed internet. Every time a fax is sent or received, the Internet is down. I must have spoken to 100’s of Bell employees and they have never sent any technician and they keep sending me wrong modems and telling lies about dispatch of modems.

I have never been so sick of any service as Bell’s. They are bunch of idiots and none of their supervisors will talk to you on the phone. Can anyone please bring down this stupid company?
vijay

Aug 29 2007

I’m Indian and even I hate the crap support from India! So Kevin is this the rigid overseas training that you were referring to? So rigid and disdainful that now everyone is leaving Bell in droves for all kinds of obvious reasons. You must be management material from the way you’re talking. I’d love to see you operate a much smaller operation with that kind of mentality and bet that you’d have it bankrupt in under a year.
jersey girl

Aug 29 2007

Oh, oh, after reading the nightmare scenarios above I am nervous (no fearful) of the day that Bell Mobility outsources to India. Does anyone else share my phobia or will things be ok? I am thinking CB Radio may be the way to go back to. That’s a big 10-4 come on back now…
jersey girl

Aug 30 2007

Breaker, breaker, we got us a convoy rubber duckie. The convoy is heading to the competition from the sound of it.

The first thing I ask any possible provider: Is customer service provided from India? If they say yes, I go elsewhere. Eventually we won’t have a choice, but for now at least Canadian support is efficient and accurate and doesn’t create more issues than it solves.

I am surprised companies like Rogers don’t advertise 100% Canadian service and support. It would be a selling feature for me and I am sure others as well. Indian support is the kiss of death for quality customer support, regardless of what Bell would like you to believe.
jersey girl

Aug 31 2007

The Bell outsourced India Call Centers are so dumb even a caveman could do it!
vijay

Aug 31 2007

I wonder how many customers have switched from Bell Mobility now that we can port our numbers over? I bet we see a huge increase in the number of “connections” lost in the next quarter! Kevin and Michael, you’re doing a good job. Don’t change a thing, really!
grim reaper

Sep 1 2007

Bell is hemorrhaging customers because of India and Porting Numbers. Not including churning. The beavers don’t help either.
Michael A

Sep 2 2007

Ok, this is outrageous. I work at a 310-Bell call centre in Ontario and I feel your pain. I moved on May 26th and took advantage of the new Home Phone Choice service that allowed me to have my $55 install fee credited back to me and to have all my features at a reduced rate… in theory.

I knew from my customers that my first bill would be messed up and that I most likely wouldn’t receive my install credit on that bill… no big deal. However, what I didn’t expect was to continue having the same issue unresolved to this day!

I get a lot of complaints from people on the phone who say that they have called up numerous times to resolve an issue and that they are just going through the motions again because they don’t believe it will ever be fixed. I will never allow anyone off the phone until it is and I don’t understand why, whatever their issue was, took so long to solve. Now I know.

I have been billed individually for every feature on my phone since the beginning. Thats $10 for call answer, $8 for call display, $5.50 for call waiting, $5 for call forwarding and $5 for call screening, plus touch tone, 911, and my residence line of $21.47. That’s $57.96 a month instead of $37.94.

I have called numerous times (since I’m not allowed to fix my own account, of course) and each time I get someone in India who doesn’t understand what I’m talking about. Finally, I give up and go through an internal system that we utilize to resolve billing issues etc with our accounts or our friends and relatives… they found a way to get me my credit for the install, but also found a way to charge me more for my phone service.

Instead of a net credit, I ended up owing more. On top of this, credit services (India again) is trying to disconnect my line because of the outstanding bill (that I don’t owe). I know how to fix it, and so does everyone I work with, but I can’t get them to do it and I don’t have time to keep calling until I get someone in Ontario.

By the way, on top of this I was double charged for a high speed modem that was supposed to be a free upgrade. $160 for a free upgrade? Interesting.

I talk too long on every call I get because I want to make sure that my customer (the only reason I have a job) doesn’t have any reason to call me back. They are the most important person in the world for that 10 or 15 (or 20 or 30) minutes. We know how frustrated you are because we’ve been there too. When you get someone in Ontario (who is actually a Bell employee), you get someone who really cares and dwells on your problem sometimes for days. People in my office are sometimes so upset over the treatment of a customer they spend hours of their own time fixing it.

It never used to be like this. I want the old Bell back. I want our customers to know that even if the company as a money making enterprise doesn’t care about more than your wallet, we as employees of that company do.
grim reaper

Sep 2 2007

Like they always first tell me at the beginning of every call from India, “No Problem” and “Didn’t I treat you well?” After every call, the problem is even bigger and more confused.

India is killing Bell service, quality image and ultimately profits. GM, Ford and Chrysler had the same attitude towards their customers and now they aren’t the Big Three but THE THREE STOOGES.
Bye Bye Bell

Sep 2 2007

As a long time custumer of Bell (20 years), I am now in the process of switching my business to other suppliers. Enough is enough - support services outsourced to India and waiting 2-3 hours, problems with high speed internet and high costs have been totally frustrating.

A small business owner, I do not have time to deal with this company any more and will not return. Sorry to hear that so many customers are not happy.
vijay

Sep 2 2007

Bell’s doing a terrific job. Just believe what the senior management team tells you. After all, they’re the ones with the degrees and lawyers behind them and we’re just customers.

We all have to do exactly what the lady did in one of the quarterly announcements. She aired out her frustrations with Bell for screwing up her Quebec services to Mike, and despite all that, she stuck with Bell. Mike congratulated her mother Theresa-like patience by clapping.

I too would like Mike to clap for me because even though I’m no longer a client I did put up with an awful lot of stupid, incompetent people to get my billing sorted out. It only took me 4 months, 16 weeks and, yes, I have nothing better to do with my spare time. Never mind that I had only residency to do at Princess Margaret and never mind that my Bell Mobility service only worked part time because they kept on cutting service because of an “overdue” account.

I’m sure that Bell can inconvenience more important lives down the road to help with their billing and service issues. Too bad that guys like me have a very long memory and are very influential in the Indian community. Good job Kevin and Mike!!! clap clap clap
sacred customer

Sep 2 2007

Just wondering…are there any good news Bell customer stories out there? I realize this blog is to air grievances, but let’s hear something positive about Bell. Equal time.
Cave Man

Sep 2 2007

I am a Caveman and I take exception to an earlier email saying Bell’s outsourced India reps are so stupid that even a caveman can do it. I want everyone to realize we are highly qualified and superior to India Reps.

I take offence to such intolerant comments. Like Kevin and Mike said, we do not discriminate about where we source our workers…we view them as all the same or something in that vein. Well, I’m here to tell you managers that perhaps you should! We have been loyal for over a billion years like your customers, whereas India Reps are a short-term solution to a long-term problem that they and management have created. I suggest your customers switch or port their numbers to the Fred FlintPhone for superior service. Respecfully, Rock.
Lunchtime

Sep 2 2007

Bell is a perfect example of a company that strives to increase profits not by providing excellent service, but by slashing costs wherever they see waste. The problem is, Bell senior management sees well trained, well paid and happy staff as wasteful. The Indian outsourcing debacle proves precisely this point.

Truly, when it comes to the customer experience in Bell call centres, actually solving customer concerns / complaints takes a backseat to what the CSR is truly focused on; namely, following a very strict call script filled with useless pleasantries and that oh so important mention of the Bell.ca website. Oh yeah, and don’t forget that the clock is ticking when you’re talking to a Bell Canada/Express Vu/Mobility/Sympatico CSR! There are serious consequences for those CSRs who spend a little too much time listening to the customer.

Angry that you continually get the brushoff when trying to get a problem fixed? Ask for the CSRs manager’s first and last name and the phone number for the switchboard and tell the CSR that you’re going to call back and talk directly with their manager. This is key because if you simply ask to speak with a supervisor or someone higher up, most of the time you end up being conferenced over to someone manning a help-desk. The help-desk people are nothing more than glorified CSRs with little more authority than a front line CSR. Again, ask to speak with the front-line CSR’s own manager.

Hope this helps!
ticked

Sep 3 2007

I just want to say, as a very angry Bell employee, due to closure, outsourcing etc., that none of us feel safe in our jobs. When is the axe going to fall? Every day we watch other departments get closed down and have jobs sent to India, our friends and co-workers crushed by what they just learned, people that have dedicated most of their lives workig for Bell. I know people say, “Well, look for another job.” The point is I LOVE MY JOB. That is what is so upsetting.

I do have to tell you people that are posting here, as well as the ones in the future, keep posting!! The public needs to be heard. We get so many calls on a daily basis of customers leaving Bell or frustrated or angry because all the problems you folks have mentioned, plus more.

It’s time Mike and Kevin, and whoever else thinks they are God, to step up and listen to the public, take note of the masses leaving Bell. Do something about it instead burying their heads in the sand and saying, our training is extensive, we are saving the public money,etc. I have one word for all those excuses they are giving, BULL!! Bring Canadian jobs back to Canada. Take a pay cut, Mike. Or better yet, your expense accounts, get rid of them, or your 31 million dollar settlement, just in case you get tossed on your butt like you do to so many others.

Keep posting folks!!
Cave Man

Sep 3 2007

I am only a caveman but it seems there are more and more Bell employees writing in this blog than there are customers now. Makes you wonder if they do indeed have a point here.
Shannon Mitchell

Sep 3 2007

I’m just curious ticked, since you seem to be in the know. Are more people leaving Bell these days than coming back from winback? Michael and that other guy is giving the impression that more people are coming back to Bell than leaving. I just want the truth as everything from Mike, Kevin and George seems to be either understated, overstated, mis-stated etc. Nothing more comforting than their car salesman mentality to bring comfort and direction to the masses.

Also of interest is that more “poor” and “middle class” seem to be having more problems resolving their problems than the “rich” i.e. Blue Jays, Raptors, Maple Leafs. Now why is that…George? Do they have a special number they call that is different from everyone else’s? I do wonder.
Cave Man

Sep 3 2007

My cavewomen wants to get Sympatico. Does anyone have suggestions or comments to pass onto her before she orders it? I don’t believe the beavers.
Lunchtime

Sep 3 2007

My advice to Cave Man, if you need high speed internet service, go with Rogers. Configuration is so much easier and they give you free Norton anti-virus. Internet through cable is so much more reliable than Sympatico’s DSL. Sure, issues can come up with Rogers when it comes to billing and support (just like with Sympatico), but Rogers’ internet service through cable rarely goes down. I’ve had it for more than 5 years and I can’t recall once in those 5 years having the service quit on me.
Lunchtime

Sep 4 2007

Another note to Cave Man. Yes, more and more Bell employees are using this forum as an outlet to voice their concerns over what is happening within Bell. The voices of Bell employees are not being heard when they raise these critical issues internally. The response? Bell employees get nothing but platitudes from senior management regarding how Bell cares for its customers and employees. But a forum like this shows what the real deal is.

Bell, like so many other large companies, only starts acting on criticism when they’re shamed in the media. Need proof of this? Look no further than Ellen Roseman’s numerous examples of how customer complaints get magically resolved when she goes through Bell’s media contact—BANG–instant results! This is another key tool in fighting any big company with whom you are in dispute.

Large companies have no problem looking greedy, foolish and uncaring when it comes to dealing directly with the customer, but when they think they’re going to be exposed in the press as being greedy, foolish, and uncaring, their tune quickly changes.

Hope this helps!
Cave Man

Sep 4 2007

Ugggg thanks, like we’ve been grunting for millions of years..if you grunt it often enough pretty soon the masses of neanderthals will start to believe it and embrace it. Proof…come to our next shareholders meeting and watch and see the “intelligent” neanderthals convice anyone who will listen.
Lynne

Sep 5 2007

During the month of August 2007, our phone line would not work whenever it rained. Bell repair persons came at least two or three times but to no avail.

Then one Saturday afternoon, after some rain, two police officers appeared on my doorstep. They asked if everything was OK and explained that this time, when the line had gone down, a signal had been sent to the 911 services. So the police were following up on that. I explained what the problem had been and said this time, Bell would actually have proof that the phone was still not working properly.

Next day (on a Sunday), a repair person showed up from Bell and took the time to check all the lines and he did identify the problem.

So it took two police officers on my porch to get Bell to finally settle the problem. Talk about a waste of taxpayers’ money, with the police having to come to my house for something that Bell was aware of but hadn’t bothered to deal with properly!
Kirsten

Sep 6 2007

I’m a paramedic way up in Northern Ontario, Moose Factory, servicing everything up there. I found myself without reliable cell phone service quite a few times and it wasn’t because of poor reception. It was because of a long-standing billing issue that they had cut my service off and on.

I signed up for a deal that they had promised and when a bill was received, guess what? No mention of the deal and it was quite a bit higher than what was promised me. And I guess you’ve heard it a thousand times before, Bell doesn’t live up to its promises and has wasted over two months of my time so far in trying to get this resolved.

Living in the north where health and rescue is razor thin, my one lifeline that I depended on was no longer there. And that’s the most frustrating part, because they were told what I do for a living and it was extremely important that they get this resolved.

Everything was critical before, but further amplified as I was pregnant at the time and had no way to reach my husband in an emergency. It is maddening that they would run those adds with the baby and have the nerve to say something like safety and security. What a crock! I’ve since dropped everything with them as they have no respect and decency for their customers.
Cave Man

Sep 6 2007

Kirsten, if ever there was a compelling story of poor customer service and, worse yet, a failure to quickly restore the service and your confidence, this ranks way up there (no pun) with all of the stories.
Denise

Sep 7 2007

Just to let you know, if you write anything negative here, a Bell Canada representative emails you and asks you to call them. You call and they aren’t there, you get their voice mail. You email them and they say they’re going on vacation and to call their associate. You call their associate and you get their voice mail.

I tried to go to online chat with Bell to see if I could finally get some answers to my “bandwidth” charges they are now adding to my bill. They just give you a website you have to log into. You create an account and then you’re told you have to “register” your bill online in order to view your bandwidth activity. But when you register your bill online, you have to wait 4 to 8 weeks to view it AND you no longer get your bill in the mail, so you’re really screwed in finding out what the heck they’re going to charge you for next time if you don’t check your bill online.

WHAT A JOKE> btw - I asked the chat person where they were located, and you guessed it, INDIA! Good news is the “Bell” rep that emailed me is from Canada and is bilingual! wooo hooo. I’m still waiting for an answer from them….. Oh and they credited me my bandwidth charges, only for the credit to cover what this month’s charges were.

If anyone knows another reliable internet and telephone service provider, please let me know! In the meantime, I’ll await the Bell rep’s email and look myself, but I had better go now because I’m being charged for my “bandwidth” activity!
Winchester

Sep 7 2007

I have found Bell’s website to be the most poor, non-intuitive, site I have ever been on. It is like the Winchester House on the USA East Coast…you know the one famous for the Winchester Rifle fortune and Mrs. Winchester who was paranoid with spirits if she didn’t continue to build rooms upon rooms that go nowhere. Honestly, the Bell website reminds me of that house. It’s like the climbing stairs in the gym that keep you moving but go nowhere!

I haven’t been able to get any useful information or service that has meaning to my requirements. For a “communication” company, Bell has failed miserably. I like their residential phone service, but that’s it.
Winchester

Sep 7 2007

Oh my, I just finished going to the Sympatico Discussion Website which I recommend everyone reading before signing up for Sympatico, it reads like a good horror story, I am on Rogers and never had any of these issues and we have wired and wireless multiple PCs with no issues ever and fast service and canadian representation and tech who will come to your home I am not kidding the issues people have with sympatico will make your head spin
me

Sep 7 2007

The Spin:

Hi everyone,
I would like to say thank you to all of you for your participation in these Sympatico discussion forums. It has been mentioned many times that if someone has an urgent problem with their Sympatico service, they can get it solved by contacting either Kevin Crull or the Sympatico Executive Office. When you contact these departments in turn, these departments contact other departments. This causes slowliness in having your problem solved.

In the future, instead of having these types of problems sent to Kevin Crull or the Executive Office, you can post them in the forums to let me know and I will have the problem escalated to my department, which will have it resolved quicker then to have it escalated 2 or 3 times by doing it the other way.

Please note that my department and management team is monitoring these forums and they are aware of the problems that need to be escalated. Rest assured that these problems are looked at and reviewed for resolution by them.

We would like to thank all of you for your cooperation in this matter.

Regards,

Claude
Discussion Forum Administrator

The Customer:

I replied to a similar posting by you on the topic of email. The reason people go to the executive levels is because your systems are flawed. You state that your department can fix these problems quicker. Why is this not being done? Why are people not referred to your section by support staff? The only place I have seen or heard anything is on this post. Your phone staff don’t refer anyone to your section. In fact, you must fight to speak to anyone other than a front-line person.

Another major problem is that at your level, nobody will provide a means to contact them directly. If I’m persistent enough to get to your level, I can’t get back there once I get off the phone. It’s totally up to the Bell person to initiate the contact as the client cannot return to that person. If the person at your level feels the matter is resolved, despite not following up to ensure it’s fixed, it is impossible to contact that person again even with a name, location and employee ID.

Why won’t your people provide a means to contact them directly after the matter is escalated? As you can tell, I’ve been through this and am entering month 11 of a fiasco that has been “resolved” at least 4 times, only to find out a few weeks later that the solution was worse than the initial problem. In each case, the person at your level did what they thought would fix the problem, but did not follow up and the problem was not fixed. I have the names and ID numbers of at least 25 Bell personnel but I can’t get anyone to connect me to one of them due to your walls.

If you don’t want people going to the executive offices, then set up your system to allow people to deal with your people. Don’t let your people hide like they do.

You know who I am. Why don’t you look at the notes on my account and get this nightmare to end?
CommieCowboy

Sep 8 2007

I’m a 310-Bell CSR, and if you want my honest opinion I’ve seen such an embarrassing level of incompetence, stupidity and ignorance among customers, co-workers, internal systems and company policy that my job gives me so much comedic fodder.

I volunteer my name and agent number to clients that I feel had to deal with incompetence and laziness in the past. (One certain residential department in particular is the butt of many water cooler jokes.) A substantial proportion of our calls is a result of this department’s mistakes…

One time I had to put a client on hold for 10 minutes because this particular department copied the last number of the SIN incorrectly and I had no other information with which we could pass our draconian validation process.)…

But to be honest, my job would be a lot easier if everyone — customers, co-workers, and management — would get off their high horse once in a while and acknowledge when they foul up.
John

Sep 8 2007

Thanks Ellen for this site as it’s been very helpful in helping me decide on which phone company to choose from. From others who I’ve spoken to at work, they have had nothing but headaches and trouble and regret the day they’ve signed up with them.
ticked

Sep 8 2007

*APPLAUDING* I hear you commie cowboy..I too am a 310-Bell CSR. We are the ones stuck in the middle between the so called “powers that be” and the customer. There is only so much we can do and our hands are tied. I too have spent many calls fixing errors of the “butt of the water coolers.”

Even though CSRs are supposed to give out names or agent ID, I have yet to get through a full day of calls without hearing someone around me not give this info.

Our biggest problem right now is that our jobs are being sent to the vendors, which I am sorry don’t get the training they should. One person I knew that worked for a vendor told me in his training class they didn’t even take the final exam because they ran out of time. Bring our jobs back to the Bell reps in Canada and customer service would improve 110%.
whohoo

Sep 9 2007

I just bought a Dell PC and yes I know the support is from India. I also have another Dell PC and it has worked beautifully and so I have never had to use India support. Hopefully, it will work as well as the first one. That is the risk I am prepared to take.

So here’s the point…as part of the experience of buying a Dell, currently they are offering Sympatico Internet at $150, reduced. THAT is a RISK I am not prepared to ever take, regardless of purported great deals, blah, blah. After reading these comments not only am I fearful of Sympatico’s India service, but also even more terrified that:

1. Sympatico quality is not what is represented
2. I won’t get what is advertised
3. I will end up spending more money, not saving
4. I am supported by poorly trained India techs (unlike Dell training), the speed is not guaranteed and I don’t know if the service is even available in my area (it seems that even Bell reps don’t know where the service is really offered, according to these comments)
5. The attitude of management is condescending and talk but no action. As proof..these problems would have gone away a year ago.

And the list goes on. It takes forever to get up and running internet with Sympatico.
Josh

Sep 9 2007

Ticked, I agree totally with what you are saying. These vendors employ people without even a high school education. Focus on nothing but sales sales sales and all handle time on the call. The turnover is so high in these places, as it isn’t a career but just a job till they can find something better.

Bell is saving 30 cents to lose a dollar, as customers get so frustrated they just leave. Bell complains about the CRTC holding them back.. then they decide to go cheap on fron line staff while the execs sit back and rake in the cash. Well, a wakeup call is coming.
whohoo

Sep 9 2007

“In addition, some of you express concern about the accents of our representatives. At Bell, we value our Canadian ethnic diversity and heritage and we will continue to hire service representatives of all cultural backgrounds, both here in Canada and abroad.”

That’s great, so we customers deal with reps we can’t understand. OK, then, if Bell won’t change, we customers will change companies. Then you and your reps with heavy accents can speak to each other all day, because there won’t be anything else to do once you have no customers. Duh.
Jon French

Sep 11 2007

Bell’s service is even more appalling now than it was a few years ago. Before, I could get some basic mistakes fixed with a call or two. Where are those people now? Now, nothing gets fixed ever, if at all. And that is why I left and I’m still with Rogers.

Don’t get me wrong. Rogers are not perfect, but they are far less aggravating than dealing with a bunch of Bell imbeciles in all their different flavours, French, English or Indian. Can’t say that about Rogers or even Cogeco. Bandwidth is far superior, AS ADVERTISED, and I have had no issues with outages every time it rains.

Bell can’t compete squarely so it lies about its services and “discounts” with the bundles. Don’t believe me? Believe the hundred of thousands who leave every year.
ticked

Sep 12 2007

Jon I can tell you where the reps went,They got laid off when Mr Sabia closed their call centres so they could go to vendors or send out jobs to India…sorry to say but that’s where they are all going. It won’t be long now before the Bell Canada call centres don’t exist at all and all the jobs are either in India or with the vendors.
Joren

Sep 14 2007

After cancelling my VDSL Sympatico/Expressvu account with Bell, I’ve asked not once, twice but THREE times now for them to send me whatever it is I need to return the TV receiver to them. I started asking for it over a MONTH ago.

Today I get an envelope telling me to return the DSL modem (which I’ve NEVER HAD) within 15 days of the cancellation of my account (which was over a week ago) to them or they’ll charge me $75 for it.

No, Rogers isn’t perfect. In fact they gave me (and charged me) for the Ultimate Cable package when I asked for and was quoted prices twice for BASIC cable… but they’re a lot easier to deal with, touch wood, than the yahoos at Bell.
Jon French

Sep 14 2007

Ticked, it sounds like you’re on a sinking ship with clueless management like Mike and Kevin, the penchant for overcharging services, abusing and mishandling customers, baiting and switching, not honouring contracts etc. Yet Bell is quick to point to the fine print at their convenience and (according to other posts) change account names.

What are you doing about your future, Ticked? In times like that, I’d start to jump ship…no set of handcuffs is that golden.
Bell employee

Sep 14 2007

I am a Bell employee and after reading these posts, I agree that we have a lot of work to do. However, let me tell you that we have the right executive in charge of Residential Services in Kevin Crull to fix the problem.

It won’t happen in a day or two but it will get done. Have you ever heard about another President who gave his email address (the real one by the way) to a reporter and asked her to give it to the cutomers who complained? I didn’t see that often.

I work for him (a couple of ranks lower though…lol) and I never saw someone so dedicated to customer service in my 20 years at Bell. HE WILL FIX THE PROBLEM.

Also, after reading all these posts, I can’t believe how many Bell employees mentioned that they don’t take their communications services from Bell. I don’t understand. It’s your employer; it’s your paycheque. If you were working at a Ford dealership, would you drive a Chevrolet???
whohoo

Sep 14 2007

Bell seems to be pushing the wrong “BUTTONS” these days! Just ask them and their intelligent advertising company about the most recent ad campaign showing punks (youth) wearing buttons with Belsen on them.

To be fair, the ads were pulled and an apology given. Apparently, in the proofs, the wording was too small to read, BUT when blown up to poster size the wording could be read.

Just wondering, but didn’t anyone at the oh so intelligent creative ad agency see the wording? Or were they too busy creating really good beaver ads? Just wondering if Bell is still using the same agency?
ticked

Sep 15 2007

Jon, you’re right we are a sinking ship. I am looking for other employment because unfortunately there soon will be no Bell call centres.

Bell employee, are you a manager? I honestly can’t see any of the employees I have talked to or heard from saying what you did.

As for having our services with another provider, I am sorry, but after the way Mr. Sabia and his headhunters have been whacking at jobs, closing centres with no notice and outsourcing our jobs, do you really think we should pay for that. Even with a 35 per cent discount, it isn’t worth it.

I will take Bell’s money, but until all this outsourcing and centre closing stops..I will never give Bell money again.

Obviously none of your loved ones or friends or even you have ever been affected my Mr Sabia’s great plan for Bell.
MikeP

Sep 15 2007

It’s been almost a month now since I posted my letter to Mr. Crull - no response, although I did get yet another whiny card in the mail asking what Bell did to offend me and how they can get my money, er, get me back as a customer.

The answer now? Nothing.
Lunchtime

Sep 15 2007

Here is the link that shows part of the terrible ad that somehow slipped by those who are responsible for catching stuff like this. Unbelievable!

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_14732.aspx
Jon French

Sep 15 2007

Bell employee,

You’re just another mindless number toeing the corporate line and blindly following corporate policy. Is it any wonder why new startups consistently outperform Bell, despite your much lauded, meaningless 125-year history? You’re probably a Tier D trying to be a C - whatever. At that level, you’d expect competence from your area of expertise. Good luck on ‘building’ your career with that company.

Ticked, have you tried Telus? A much better company, not perfect, but does try to do right.

Management still can’t figure out which end is up yet.
ticked

Sep 17 2007

jon,

Does Telus have a call centre? Do you know if there are any located in Ottawa?
Jon French

Sep 17 2007

Ticked, Ottawa? not that I’m aware of. Lots of jobs in BC, Calgary and Edmonton.
ticked

Sep 18 2007

Jon, yes I researched it. There is none here. My family is here and working, so to move for me is out of the question. However, Dell is looking pretty good.
whine

Sep 19 2007

Court certifies class action against cell phone firms. Finally! Every time I asked what this charge was for, I was given a different and conflicting answer. The company representatives didn’t even know what the charge was really for.

Usually, it went something like, “It’s to maintain our cellular network”. Hmmm, then why don’t other service providers charge separate charges — e.g. a cable charge to maintain cable or telephone to maintain cable and on and on. Cellular seems to feel their charge is more ahhh….special!

OK folks, jump in with your comments…you’ve been waiting and complaining about this for years…now’s your time!
Karen

Sep 20 2007

“It won’t happen in a day or two but it will get done,” from Bell Employee. That’s the sound of a broken record as that same tune has been playing for the last 9 years. And they still wonder why people know they suck and will stay away.

Not even an offer of a free cell phone with long distance and everything thrown in will ever convince me to go with them, even if my boyfriend’s paying for it. I’ll just stick to my Rogers phone and have my billing stay accurate and know what I’m paying for, thank you very much. Bell still gets everything wrong.
Lunchtime

Sep 22 2007

Regarding the System Access Fee issue, these wireless carriers deserve the heat they’re now facing over it. For far too long they’ve tried to place the blame on the government for this charge. They finally started changing their tune a few years ago when customers started calling the CRTC disputing this charge, only to to be told (truthfully) that the CRTC had nothing to do with the System Access Fee charge.

Here’s the problem: For the longest time, customer service reps were trained to tell customers that the System Access Fee was a “government licensing charge”! Don’t be surprised if even today you’ll still have CSRs calling it that. But no, it has little or nothing to do with government licensing. It’s just a way to pad revenue.

In fairness to the wireless carriers, they will usually make mention of it when selling you a new cell phone, but here’s the kicker—it can be raised arbitrarily at any point. The long-term contract you just signed giving you a “price guarantee” for your wireless plan is meaningless, because the Sytem Access Fee is billed separately and wireless carriers don’t consider it to be part of the “price guarantee” for your plan.

So just when you think you know what your costs are going to be at signing, your bill jumps because they’ve now increased the System Access Fee. When you call to dispute it, the CSR then responds, “the System Access Fee is not part of your price plan, therefore it’s not tied to the price guarantee on your contract.” Nice eh? :->
Jane Doe

Sep 22 2007

To be honest I don’t even know where to begin. I’m caught between apologizing and completely agreeing with our customers for putting them through hell, and defending my position as a bottom-feeding front-liner CSR.

LET ME BEGIN BY EXPLAINING A BIT ABOUT WHAT I DO: for 8 hours a day I sit at a computer in a very uncomfortable chair and attach myself (literally chain myself) to my phone with a headset. I log into my phone and let the calls roll in. I don’t have any control over how many calls come to my line, or how often, nor do I really have the power to stop them. If I get someone screaming at me because of some asinine policy that I can’t change and I need to take a 5 minute breather after that call, I’m not allowed. If I’m off the phone for more than a few minutes, I get an e-mail asking me “why are you not logged into your phone? I hope you know this will negatively affect your stats.”

UP-SELLING AND E-MAILS: This is the daily life of a front-line CSR. We have certain stat parameters that we have to uphold in order to continue being employed with the company and if we don’t meet them, we risk being handed a pink slip without the luxury of E.I. (because we would have been let go due to “performance issues”). We literally have dozens of key phrases that we MUST say, like “I can certainly help you with that” and “Are you satisfied with the service you received today?” and “I have this great new offer for you - let’s take a look at your current subscription” and while most of them make sense, they only make sense half of the time. Trust me, I feel like a TOTAL jackass asking for a sale when you’ve just finished yelling at me for how upset you are at Bell.

TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE: Here’s the situation: You (customer) just lost your job and can’t afford to pay for your $86 package anymore and call in to downgrade to the basic package. That’s $55 off your monthly expenses, which is great! But the CSR on the other end of the line gets punished for it. YUP, that’s right. Because you are in a totally unfortunate circumstance… and we COMPLETELY empathize with that, we still hate doing this downgrade for you because it looks like we didn’t do our job as a CSR and we get docked for it. Sucks, doesn’t it? Same thing goes for e-mails and sales and any other “scripted” line we may hand you… we’re not really doing it because we truly feel you would benefit from spending another $10 every month; But if we don’t, we get a coaching (read: a “talking-to”) about our performance.

OUTSOURCING: Those of you who say “this is just the nature of the business” are completely correct. Still, it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Sure, it’s cost-saving but they never really seem to understand that those who work for less money, put less effort into it. Have you ever heard of a McDonald’s employee or gas station attendant REALLY caring about what you think? No, they get a manager. Why? Because they’re not paid enough to care! Our outsourced centres - and by outsourced, I don’t just mean India… we have “outsourced” companies all over Canada working for us. They are trained to do the exact same job as us in the head-offices. I know this for a fact because the person who trained me 3½ years ago went to India, Brantford, Cornwall, Durham etc… to train those employees, so they are never short-changed on the level of training they receive.

HAVING SAID THAT: In India specifically, I DO think there is a language barrier where they don’t have the capability to truly empathize with the customer. One needs to be able to paraphrase in order to properly communicate in a public-service position and while they speak English just fine, their LANGUAGE skills aren’t strong enough which is why they come off as being scripted and “robot-like”

THE BIG-WIGS: As employees and shareholders, we get a print-out of what all of our fearless leaders being home on an annual basis, and much as I’d like to say I can personally see the positive influence these people have on our day-to-day lives… I just can’t. This isn’t to say they aren’t doing their jobs; I just don’t see how they claim to be working diligently to “enhance the customer experience” by barking orders down through the ranks to us bottom-feeders to “upsell” and “make sure you click this” and “you must say that”.

To me, real customer service is not perfect. It all depends on rapport with the customer, and you can’t put forth a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all attitude when it comes to solving customers’ problems, no matter the gravity. My motto is “The customer is NOT always right… but the customer WILL always be satisfied.” Only through compromise and understanding can a consumer-based company really thrive - after all, if it weren’t for our customers, we wouldn’t even exist! Ideally, I would like Sabia and Crull to sit in the trenches for one week (one day is NOT enough) and really see what we put up with in a daily basis. And THEN they can tell us how they plan to really EARN their offensive salaries.
Joren

Sep 22 2007

I moved and was wondering what happened to my bill for the month of August. (Not that I don’t mind getting a Bell bill, but that just means more trouble down the road…)

Call #1 - she can’t help me and transfers me to someone in the “moves” department - does so without telling them why she’s transferring me… so I’ll have to go through the whole story again.

#2 CSR, I suspect was “overseas”. Not very pleasant and eventually disconnected me without my problem even starting to be addressed.

Call # 2 - CSR#3 - helpful, but had the unfortunate luck of telling me that the $55 “move” fee had not been credited as I’d been told back when I moved the service. Then tells me that my bill is on the way - got mixed up between the old billing system and the new “one bill” system.

So I still don’t have a bill and it only took 45 minutes and 2 phone calls to find that out.

Once I get the bill and get it all straightened out, I’ll be going somewhere else for residential phone as well.

Hey Bell, thats 3 services I’ve cancelled now because of lousy customer service… would you like to try for 4?
Joren

Sep 22 2007

Jane, I just saw your posting and you’ve confirmed what I suspected. Taking too long to solve a customer’s problem counts against you as a CSR - so the CSRs pass them off to someone else.

Not to sound cold-hearted, but you certainly must see the writing on the wall, don’t you? I would hope that there are other companies out there that require call centre staff who are concerned with actually solving a customer’s problem.

I’ve been where you are and believe me, just as customers have a choice, so do employees. I doubt for a minute that Bell would care one bit if you quit. That in itself would be motivation for me to look for employment elsewhere.
Josh

Sep 23 2007

Well Sabia will be gone after the takeover. He’s stepping down, but otherwise would probably be forced out. You go cheap on frontline staff like Bell has, and you create problems. And Bell has lots of problems. Cope, Crull, and Sabia (who will walk away with millions) are just a huge waste of money. They have shown little results. Hence the buyout. I think it’s time people start really taking a look at the people who make these ridiculous salaries for doing almost nothing. Not to mention taking jobs out of Canada. I’m glad to see Sabia step down.. And I hope the teachers group gets rid of the rest that are making way too much money for what they bring to the company. Maybe they can go find jobs in India.
ticked

Sep 23 2007

Joren, I too am a Bell employee, and you’re right. To Bell, you’re basically just a number. They don’t care if you quit. They don’t care if they come in and give you 5 minutes notice they are closing your call centre.

Within a couple of years, there will be no Bell Canada call centres and all our jobs will be outsourced. Then the customers will be in serious trouble.
Jane Doe

Sep 23 2007

Actually Joren, passing it on to someone else DOES count against us. We have this thing called FCR (first call resolution) and if your customer calls back or speaks to someone else - even if it’s for a completely unrelated issue - that’s looked upon as your responsibility; like you didn’t solve the issue upon the first contact.

Now, I can’t speak for other people in my position. I can only say that I, myself, attempt my very best to make sure that customer is taken care of by the time I’m through with them. I have a deep commitment to customer service and not because Bell has told me to, but because I have a sense of self respect and I have a conscience that won’t let me be rude or ignorant or just plain oblivious to someone’s concerns.

So please don’t preach that I shouldn’t be doing the job that I’m doing. Bell is actually a pretty good employer, all things considered (I hate to say it but the perks are pretty good). I certainly don’t agree with all the decisions and all the crap that they pull or some of the people they hire…

And you’re right. They WOULDN’T care if I quit. There are 20 people in line for my job who would be willing to take a lot less money for it too. But that just leaves me starting at the bottom of the barrel at some other company and I’ve worked too damn hard for the last 3½ years to give that up for anything less.

But I’ll be damned if I just give in and let them win. I want to go down with a fight and get my deserved severance if, as Ticked says, there will be no Bell Canada call centres anymore.
Karen

Sep 24 2007

To Ticked and other Bell employees,

Don’t worry about us customers because switching is just one phone call away, small claims court is filling out a few forms with a minimal fee, and yes I don’t care if Bell goes down the way of the Titanic. Good riddance.
ticked

Sep 24 2007

WOOHOO it feels like an early Christmas..Michael Sabia is leaving Bell…best news I have heard in years!!
whine

Sep 25 2007

Sabia leaves, but will be back-filled like a sewer ditch, which is what it feels like wasting money on this lousy service and attitude.
Ben Dover

Oct 3 2007

Hello again,

It’s been a while since I’ve been here and I’ve managed to reply to all my Bell sucky service horror e-mails, with the help of my grandchildren and sneak in a few 18 holes. After listening to a wide segment of the population and going through some of their problems, here are a few all time lows: some still ongoing for as long as two years, some with severe medical conditions who got their phone cut, some who are students and seniors with supposed “bundles”, unable to get their bill sorted out after wasting an extreme amount of time trying to get it sorted.

I’m proud to say that most of them were deep enough into their contract that they have left and paid a fee, a few others have filed papers in small claims court, and a few others have chosen to stick around and wait to get their monies back.

Oh I read in recent Globe and Mail article that Bell’s service is a joke and acknowledged by the new suitors.

p.s. The next financial quarter is around the corner and I suspect that the customer erosion has since accelerated.
Dave

Oct 7 2007

I have enjoyed reading the comments of current/former Bell customers and current/former Bell employees and possibly some Bell contractors.

I too have had many issues with Bell, I am a former Bell Mobility customer (8 years), current Bell landline customer and current Bell Sympatico customer.

I have very few issues with Bell landline, other than increases in rates after deregulation.

I do have ongoing issues with Sympatico, billing issues, email going up and down, changing of plan to higher speed and no speed increase.

When you call Sympatico, the only time you speak to a Bell employee is when I complain to Ellen Malcolmson (SVP of Customer Experience) and someone from her team responds. The 2nd and 3rd level people seem to be able to make things happen, not the front level contractors.

The contractors are too scripted, seem to have little training and seem to want to get you off the phone to meet their metrics. They have few tools to solve problems.

With metrics, I sometimes feel the world of business has too many MBAs that manage business by spreadsheets and KPIs and not by “going in the trenches” and speaking to customers about their frustrations about Bell’s customer service.

Ms Malcolmson, how many days a month do you sit in a call centre and take customer calls? George Cope, do you ever take calls from customers, other than large enterprise customers?

How about the line of business leaders, Wade Ostermann, Kevin Crull and, if she is still at Sympatico, Charlotte Burke, do you folks take calls from frustrated customers?

I will give everyone an example of another business that chose to ignore customer service.

Maybe Bell should take a page from Dell (I’m no Dell fan). Michael Dell, the multibillionaire, puts on a headset and takes customer calls. The board also kicked out the highly paid ex-consultant Kevin Rollins, who was wrecking Dell’s business by managing by KPI and hiring an army of consultants who could read a speadsheet, but could not give a rat’s ass about customer service. In Dell’s case, they lost ground to HP.

I sure hope the Teachers Pension Plan cleans house at Bell. If Jim Leach is smart, he will start to look at the bloated middle management of the company, break down the empires that have been built and streamline the processes from the customer in, instead of overhauling existing crappy system/proceses with another crappy process. (Any example would be the new sales system Bell SMB implemented that is less customer centric (nice job, Karen Sherriff!).

It’s also time to put the fossils that have worked at Bell before deregulation out to pasture. They do not know how to manage a business under competition.

Maybe the Teachers should develop Bell’s executive compensation based on customer experience, loyaity and retention, not the share price or how other telecom execs are compensated. It is also time to revamp the board of directors, the people who have sat by and watched the train wreck called Bell over the past number of years. They should be ashamed and return much of their compensation.

I hope some seniors who lost money on their shares and see one of the Bell directors on the street give them a good swat with their canes!!!!

To Bell’s competition, if any of you can find a real good customer service formula, there are plenty of disenchanted customers of Bell who are looking for alternatives.

My thoughts!!
Ben Dover

Oct 9 2007

Dave, check out Ellen’s other Bell Canada thread and read Michael Sabia’s response to a frustrated customer’s letter echoing what we already know. I’ve already commented on it. Is it any wonder why they’re in such big trouble and why they seriously suck?!?!?!?

And by the way, not all MBAs have Bell’s myopic ability for near-sighted forecasting and thrilling misuse of spreadsheets that border on madness. Some of us continue to build great things and actually retire with a true rewarding legacy.
Dave

Oct 9 2007

Ben,

Can you post URL on comments from Sabia’s.

Thanx
Ben Dover

Oct 9 2007

Dave, here you go.

http://www.ellenroseman.com/?p=63#comments

Michael is still fiddling around in the dark with no lights on.
andrew bateman

Oct 18 2007

I have just spent 2 hours trying to get through to a service rep for Bell Sympatico. Guess what, they are all too busy with other clients.

Well, it is now 1.50 AM. Is all of Canada trying to phone the 24/7 line in the small hours of the morning? I think not.

There are so many complaints with this service that I think someone with a bit of legal savvy should organise a CLASS ACTION SUIT. I am not kidding. My time is worth money. If Bell wants to waste my time, fine, but they should pay me for the hours I’ve spent on them.
Jennifer W

Oct 18 2007

Oh my word! Ben, thank you for posting that link to the other thread. I’m astonished that Michael would be still that clueless. Andrew, according to Michael, there’s nothing wrong with their service. Ben, is there a way I can get in touch with you for your help?

I’m fed up myself, as in the past 6 years I’ve found myself regularly calling in to correct my billing information, only to be hit up for more of their pathetic services. Is it by design I wonder? I really think so, because not a month goes by that something goes wrong. I call in and somebody eventually bumbles their way around and by sheer luck gets the bill right for the month.

It is really sad because I’ve been a 25-year client with cell service, 3 landline features and ExpressVu and Internet. Michael, I’ve seen enough of your service and haven’t seen anything of what you’re talking about.

Ellen, thank you for this site. Can you merge those two Bell threads as the content is virtually the same.

Ben, if you know of any telco out there that would want a loyal customer, with a need to stay in touch with world, someone who pays her bills on time, please send them my way. Thank you.
Yours Truly

Oct 18 2007

Just when you thoughts things couldn’t possible get any worse @ Bell, they are discontinuing their relationship with Aeroplan.

That’s right, no more Aeroplan miles starting in the New Year!
tired of bell crap

Oct 19 2007

I signed up for the one bill with Bell specifically because of the Aeroplan miles. This Bell-sponsored program hasn’t been around that long, which leads me to believe this so-called rewards program was no more than a BAIT and SWITCH Scam.

Do any other existing or former customers feel as I do? This just makes it easier to leave Bell.

Does this company do anything ethically any more? The fact that the longstanding CTEA is now joining ranks with a “Union” speaks volumes about the internal conflict and dissatisfaction employees have with management. The CTEA has resisted this for decades.
Scammed Again

Oct 19 2007

Aeroplan and Bell Canada hang up their agreement on travel miles
The Canadian Press
October 15, 2007 - 9:35 a.m.

MONTREAL - Customers of Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) will no longer accumulate miles from Aeroplan (TSX:AER.UN) after the current agreement between the companies expires Jan. 18.

A brief statement Monday provided no details or background on the decision.

“Aeroplan remains focused on, and committed to, the needs of its members and we have begun work to develop a replacement partner from the telecommunications sector,” stated Aeroplan vice-president Rob Shields.
__________________________________________________

Bell Canada Joins Aeroplan

TORONTO, Aug. 19 2004 –Aeroplan, Canada’s leading loyalty program and Bell Canada, Canada’s leading communications company, today announced that they have entered into a national, multi-year, multi-channel relationship that will provide Aeroplan members with another innovative way to accumulate Aeroplan Miles.

This partnership will offer Aeroplan members who subscribe to the Digital Bundle from Bell the opportunity to accumulate 1 Aeroplan Mile for every $1 spent on a combination of high-speed Internet, wireless and digital television services. Aeroplan members will be able to take advantage of this mileage accumulation opportunity with Bell starting in November 2004.

“Our new relationship with Bell Canada is a strategic and powerful affirmation of Aeroplan’s brand promise, our continued expansion as a loyalty program and our capability to attract high calibre partners who are leaders in their respective markets,” said Rupert Duchesne, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aeroplan. “Aeroplan members have told us that they want new opportunities to earn valuable Aeroplan Miles with premier brands like Bell Canada; today’s announcement is the first in a series of partner relationships planned for the coming year that are designed to respond to the needs of our members.”

In addition to potentially benefiting Aeroplan’s millions of members, this partnership provides significant growth potential for Aeroplan as it pursues its business mandate to acquire partners in each major segment of the retail, service, small business and corporate marketplace.

“Bell Canada continues to innovate and deliver new ways of providing value to its customers who expect simple, one-stop shopping. Partnering with Aeroplan to deliver Aeroplan Miles to customers of the Digital Bundle from Bell shows our appreciation for their ongoing loyalty,” said Alek Krstajic, Chief Marketing Officer, Consumer Markets, Bell Canada.

In addition to the savings offered with the Digital Bundle, Bell customers who subscribe to more than one service such as wireline, wireless, Internet, or digital television will receive comprehensive billing details on Bell’s One Bill. Customers can choose automatic withdrawal, cheque, phone, Internet, or ATM payment methods.
____________________________

Seems Bell Canada has difficulty keeping its commitments to customers and partners.
Cheryl

Oct 24 2007

Hello Jennifer.W (posted on Oct 18)

There’s so many companies out there who would want your business. I’ve switched all of my services to Rogers a few months ago ( cell phones, house line with my features, tv, high speed internet with download speeds as advertised unlike Bell, and so far so good. The switch was almost painless as, well the Bell factor kicked in. And the people who do answer my calls are a hell of a lot more competent, and in canada!
Chris

Oct 24 2007

Just finished the April 14, 2007 article at Thestar.com, after finding it through a link on DSL Reports. Good stuff.

The situation at Bell Sympatico appears to have deteriorated, considerably. I know CBC Marketplace is airing an episode, on Nov. 14 and understand Bell Sympatico is mentioned. I believe CITY TV is doing something similar.

I wonder if, after six months, it might not be time for an update on your article. I suspect the only way the problems at Bell Sympatico are going to be resolved is by bringing enough public pressure to bear on management that they have no alternative.

“Bell says it is making consistent strides forward.” In the wrong direction.

“Is it living in a dream world?” Either that or really good drugs.

“Are its rivals any better?” I haven’t dealt with them…yet but find it difficult to imagine they could be any worse and they’re less expensive.
What A Riot!

Oct 31 2007

I just spent over an hour with Bell to disconnect a residential service line and spoke to five (5) Representatives to accomplish this simple task. All were in Canada, by the way. All of them apologized for the delay, which is OK, but after 5 it gets tiresome repeating the same information.

The reason I left is because VP Gary Smith (no contact information) sent monthly disconnection notices to me, even though I am not delinquent and have a perfect payment record of 40 years. So, if Bell wants to disconnect me, “Let’s Play Ball,” because they need me more than I need them.

Here is the best part. When I said to a Bell representative that I will go with Rogers, she said Rogers is new at home phone and the quality isn’t so great and Bell has been in the business for 127 years. I replied that even after 127 years Bell still can’t disconnect a service in less than an hour…not to mention the bBilling fiasco! Bell has had 127 years and STILL can’t get it right, so don’t speak to me about your track record! She shut up and asked me if I wanted the confirmation number of the disconnect.

Like their advertisement says, “Seems Like everyone is LEAVING BELL, not coming home.” Oh, they tried to tempt me to stay by trying to upsell me with Sympatico. I told them I would rather cut off my left arm than use that pathetic internet service. Bell needs to get out of the internet business too.
David

Oct 31 2007

I recently sent Bell a query through the website:

“Why is there a charge for touch-tone service in 2007? We got our first touch-tone phone in 1977…why after 30 years is there still a charge for touch-tone service? I assume 99% of people have it or get it automatically. Could I actually opt for rotary service? Assuming 2,000,000 customers, that gives Bell $5.6 million per month for something we’re given automatically when we sign up with Bell.”

—————————————————————————————————————–

Here is Bell’s response:

Thank you for visiting Bell’s web site. My name is Val and I am pleased to assist you.

We really apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.

Innovation is not without its concerns. I can understand your point of view and I appreciate the opportunity to present Bell’s position on the matter.

Bell is committed to enhancing products and services to meet our customers’ increased service demands. When some enhancements are created, it sometimes involves changes to existing services and/or elimination of others that are not serving the majority of our customers’ needs.

Some years ago, analogue service (dial) was destandardized as our switching centres began full modernization towards digital electronic equipment. The resulting Touch Tone service provides customers with faster and more flexible options to manage their telecommunications (whether it be voice or data) and the ability to access new automated services adopted by most modern day businesses.

When a service is destandardized, we grandfather it. This means that while a service is no longer being offered to new subscribers, current subscribers may retain the service until they disconnect it or move from their present location. Eventually, the obsolete analogue service will be phased out completely.

Touch Tone is now our basic service offering and the $2.80 monthly fee an element of the cost to provision local service. While current rates to our customers (no longer subsidized by long distance revenues) pay only 76% of the actual cost to Bell, they do ensure that we are able to continue providing high quality service to all customers at prices that remain amongst the lowest in the industrialized world.

We appreciate you using Bell’s Online Customer Care Centre. What a great way to communicate. Please feel free to e-mail us in the future.

Thank you

Val
Bell Internet Centre
Janice

Nov 1 2007

After months, yes months, of getting nowhere with Bell and not getting a satisfactory response or compensation from Kevin Crull, I pulled the plug. They seem to think it’s OK to go around in circles avoiding the issue and wasting my precious time while trying to upsell me.

I already had most of their services and, quite frankly, the products are expensive and at the low end of the scale when compared with other products that are out there. So this last time, my 3-year contract was up with the mobile phone. And after the latest screw-up, where they overcharged me yet again and the problem in their system wasn’t corrected as promised, I fired them.

I had 5 services with them and not one of them ever performed as promised. Not a month went by with this ONE BILLING format that something was actually correct. I came back because win-back promised 3.5 years ago that they had improved a lot and had brought in new systems and new training. As the saying goes, once bitten…
Lynne

Nov 4 2007

My story is short. My husband recently died. There are endless phone calls and paperwork to be done when you are responsible for an estate. Everyone has been extremely sensitive and helpful … except Bell.

The woman whom I dealt with tried to sell me products as I worked my way through cancelling my husband’s phone. I kept telling her that now was not a good time. She persisted. Really pathetic! Then she had the gall to ask me to rate her service??
Thomas

Nov 4 2007

Hi Lynne,

I’m sorry for your loss. Kevin, I’m disgusted that your staff can be so callous to her situation. Having dealt with Bell on many situations, I find your customer service is just as incompetent today, in fact more so, than it was 10 years ago.

Glad to see your sympathy training is getting somewhere.

I left Bell this year and not a chance in hell that I will ever go back. As an ex-customer and an ex-shareholder, I wonder how your numbers will hold up in this upcoming quarter. Don’t be surprised.
Bell Should Be Ashamed of Itself

Nov 4 2007

Bell now has the unique position of being the most insensitive disgusting service provider to date. Bell Management is nowhere to be seen or heard. Kevin Crull, it is now time for you to reappear and apologize to Lynne (recent widow). Bell advertises non-stop, which tells me the churn rate is having an impact on your bottom line. Remember, and you will eventually…you need the customers more than they need Bell.
Joren

Nov 5 2007

My condolences, Lynne. Your story sounds very familiar.

When I tried to cancel my Mom’s residential line, I was told that I needed to supply them with a copy of a probated will in order to prove that I was “authorized” to cancel the account.

Good ol’ Bell couldn’t even cancel the account properly and ended up sending a collections company after my deceased mother for less than $15 (as a result of THEIR error).

I live for the day they go under or are cut up and sold off to the lowest bidder.
Theresa

Nov 6 2007

I agree with every one of you that Bell is completely incompetent and provides only bottom of the barrel service. Even then, they’re scraping by. Last week was the final straw for me when they didn’t resolve my ongoing accounting issue and kept me on the phone for another 3 hours. These issues were supposed to have been resolved a month ago afer I had put in 29 calls over two months. Kevin, is this the excellent customer service you were speaking of?

In any case, when I did speak to someone about cancelling my services as my three years were up, they had the nerve to inform me that I have to pay a penalty on top of two months’ notice. Nowhere else requires this much, but then again what do they know? Surely these other places don’t have 125 years of service and still know the terms of the contract. It was definitely a huge weight off my shoulders the day I let Bell go.
Kimberly

Nov 8 2007

Hello everyone! Love this blog. I am going to try my luck at resolving my Expressvu nightmare. If anyone has any pointers, please give me some.

Needless to say, the concept of ONE BILL has jumped back to bite me where it hurts!

I’m in the process of drafting my letter. Will I get a response from Kevin? We shall see.

Kimberly
Hey Kevin You Still There?

Nov 12 2007

Hey Kevin, we know you read these postings, so why not speak to your customers before you lose them all?
Renise

Nov 15 2007

Well, we just got our letter of threats for a collection agency. What can you possibly do to resolve a billing problem with BELL? I am at my wits end of calling useless CSR who are rude and are the reason I am in this mess today. My phone service has changed “types” a dozen times within a couple of weeks. Every time I called up to try and resolve the issue, the CSR would tell me that I should have this “OTHER” package and would change me over. All the while not disclosing to me that I was entering into some kind of sign your life away contract and had many other associated charges that they never bothered to make me aware of until I decided I needed to get out. Now I have a massive bill because I finally went to a different company due to lack of service and they want to take me to a collection agency if I don’t pay it!

Is there no justice? what do other people do when you get a ridiculously large bill that isn’t justified?
Wade

Nov 16 2007

Perhaps Ellen can answer this question but I really question whether this “contract” b.s. is legal. As far as I know there are several factors that need to exist for a contract to be legally binding. Not the least of which is a signature. I’d love for a lawyer to give his opinion of this.

If Bell is sending a collections agency after you, perhaps you should take them to small claims court for damages of some sort.
Hey Kevin You Still There?

Nov 17 2007

How about hitting them with a class action lawsuit for failing to deliver on a myriad of promises including their lastest advertisement that says a customer returns every minute of every day 24/7. But then if you read really carefully, they do say IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYBODY IS COMING BACK TO BELL.

So show us the stats or shut up Bell. Is this false advertising or just advertising that, like Bell, is manipulating customers and unwary prospects? Bell has become so sleazy and lacking moral judgment and business ethics that the truth is they ar

What people are saying:

Search:

Contact

Buzz

Consumer Stories

Links

Navigation

Speaking and books

Meta

657 comments