The story begins on July 25, 2008, the day my cell phone stopped working. I had a Motorola Razor and I was quite happy with it. But all of a sudden, the screen stopped working. It just stayed black. While I could still use the phone to call people, I had no idea how to call people since most of my contact list is not committed to memory. So I had to replace the phone.
This all happened at the time when the IPhone was released so I thought I'd try my hand at one of those spiffy devices. My friend had one and I liked it a lot. I was due for an upgrade through my service provider and asked about the potential of getting the IPhone and the right to pay my service provider an extra $30 per month for a data plan.
"You're on the corporate plan." says the service rep.
"Oh yea," I say, "well I don't work for that employer any more, but whatever."
"Well," says the rep "because you are on the corporate plan you can't get the IPhone for the stated price. You have to pay $699."
"Then take me off the corporate plan." I say.
"Well, then it's like you are starting a new plan and aren't eligible for an upgrade and you'd still have to pay $699." says the rep.
"What?" I ask. "You mean that some homeless guy off the street can get the IPhone for $199 or whatever and I can't?"
"Um, yea."
At this point I'm getting frustrated. "What is the benefit of the corporate plan?" I ask.
"You get a better voice plan." says the rep.
I settle for another Razor. It had treated me well and I wasn't in the mood to fight with some guy that had little power or desire to help me anyhow. The phone cost me $20 and a 3 year commitment. Fast forward 1 year plus 1 week or so later and my Razor dies again. Same problem.
"I'm going to the service provider today and they are giving me a free phone and they are not making me sign an extended contract." I proudly proclaimed to my colleague. So I traipse down to my service providers' nearest location and ask for a free phone. Of course I get a lot of resistance, even though I've been a customer for 10 years and pay them more than $200 a month. After much back and forth I learn that they can do nothing for me unless I sign up for another 3 year plan. I can get a free phone if I want.
"But the phone is only a year old." I complain.
"Yea, but the warranty expired last week." is the response. At this point that I'm upset, but I can see there is no sense in arguing with this guy. Again, he has no power and he doesn't care. He's more interested in the girls walking down the street that he can see through the window. So, I settle for a free phone with the shortest contract commitment possible (which also happened to be the longest; 3 years).
I had the phone about 18 hours when I decided it was not the phone for me. I don't have a land line and since I use it all the time, I figured I should like my phone a lot. I convinced myself it was time to upgrade to a smart phone. So I go back to the service provider to see if the IPhone deals are any better for me since they have a $99 price point now. I knew I would get the same story, because I'm still on the corporate plan, but didn't see any harm in trying. So, I ask if I get can the IPhone for $99.
"Of course." replies the rep. "You should too. You'll love it." So he starts the process of setting me up on the IPhone. He's going through the system, typing away and asking me questions. I'm starting to think this is going to work. All of a sudden he makes a funny sound like he's not sure what's going on.
"Oh" he says, "you're on the corporate plan." He then explains that the cost 0f the IPhone for me is now $400 (a nice drop from $699). I ask about the Blackberry and they are roughly the same price. Essentially, I have to pay $300 more for an IPhone or $100 more for a Blackberry than somebody they have no history with. I even say this and he doesn't seem to care too much.
I ask again, "what is the benefit of being on this corporate plan?"
"Well, you own the phone." was the response this time. Now I've been a client of this service provider for some time and so is half of Ontario (or more). Everyone that buys a phone and signs up for a contract owns the phone. I explain this and the guy just looks at me like I explained the Pythagorean theorem to him in Mandarin.
"OK, get me off the corporate plan!" I demand.
"Sure." he says. He goes through the motions of taking me off the plan but stops.
"Um, you know the price of the phones won't change for you because we don't have any history of you.". I had heard this the previous year.
"OK, then cancel my plan altogether, I'm going somewhere else." I say thinking I'll trick them into bending over for me and pleasing the customer.
"Sure." he says, "but you'll have to pay us $20 for every month you committed too and didn't honour, about $460."
I'm losing my will to fight at this point.
"Fine." I say, "Keep me on the corporate plan and get me a Blackberry."
I decided to bend over, drop my pants and pay the extra $100 for the Blackberry. I chose the Blackberry because my employer does not support the IPhone and I wouldn't be able to receive work related messages. In retrospect this doesn't seem like the most logical decision making process. Do I really want work related e-mail messages?
"We don't have the model you want in stock today." he says. "But it will be here tomorrow. We'll set you up on a loaner phone and get you into the Blackberry tomorrow night."
I go to my IT department to make sure the model I'm getting is kosher with the network and all that jazz. They tell me I need to make sure I'm on the enterprise data plan and not the Internet data plan. I ask if they will know what I'm referring to and they assure me this happens all the time and my service provider should be well aware of the enterprise data plan.
So I go back to the service provider's location and I tell the rep that I need to be on an enterprise data plan, not the ordinary Internet data plan. I get the same blank look as the night before (remember, Pythagorean + Mandarin = dumb).
"There are two types of plans." I explain. "My employer only supports one. So if I want to get my work e-mail, I need the enterprise plan."
"All of our plans support enterprise." is the response. In fact, the rep went on to say "We're not (insert name of competition here)." He was being very indignant about the competition and bragging about his employer. He could tell I wasn't buying it and apologized. So he signs me up for a data plan.
I go to work the next day and install the necessary software and passwords so I can get my work e-mail linked with the Blackberry but it doesn't work. "You have the Internet data plan." my IT colleague tells me.
"Of course I do." I say. At this point I'm not surprised at all. I call the service provider to have the plan changed. I was on a 750MB a month plan, with no charge for overages for the first two months and an option to upgrade to 6GB per month for $30.
"You can't have the plan you initially purchased on the enterprise package." the service provider tells me. "Your choices are 7MB per month for $40 or 1GB per month for $45." "Also, you need to change your voice plan and addons like voicemail and texting." Essentially, my wireless bill is going up by $50 instead of the estimated $30 because of this corporate plan.
"OK, fine." I say. I'm getting used to being screwed over by now. "But wait, you mean 700MB per month right?"
"No, it is 7MB or 1GB for an extra $5." she says, which leaves me wondering who would get a 7MB data plan.
"OK, gimme the 1GB. And by the way, what is the benefit of this corporate plan again?"
"I don't know." This was the first honest answer I've had from any representative of the service provider.
My phone is working now, but I feel like Jody Foster in The Accused and I'm left with the following questions:
- When did big companies stop caring about their customers? I have been a customer of theirs for 10 years and spend over $200 a month and they couldn't give me one damn free phone. I'd have settled for any piece of crap that dials and rings when its called (at first anyway).
- Why don't the service reps know what they are talking about? They thought I could get an IPhone at a normal price and couldn't. They didn't know about the enterprise vs Internet data plan issue even after I told them about it.
- Why do they offer these special plans that just cost you more money? I save $10 a month on a voice plan but have to pay $15 a month more for data, plus more for texting and voicemail, and $100 more for hardware. Hardly seems like a deal to me.
4 comments:
The same kind of crap happens to me with Roger's. At this point, I really wish I had promised them my first born, instead of paying them vast amounts of money every month. And the phone will ALWAYS die a week after your warranty is up. I think they have them programmed for that. Ugh. When I call them up and ask them for a deal, I get nothin'.
Their weird thing I've noticed with Rogers is an interesting dichotomy exists with them. Three short stories:
1) My wife purchased a ringtone a couple of years go (Interpol, not that it matters, but I'm that guy!), which then disappeared from her phone. We went into a Rogers store and they said she could get a credit, but she'd have to call the support line to get it. Insert a skit here with me saying "You're a Rogers store, why can't YOU issue the credit?" "'Coz we don't." "But you'll take my money for a new phone." "Yes." "So you can transact business here, as you are wholly owned by Ted?" "Yes." "Why can't you issue the credit?"' FOR 45 MINUTES. I'm not exaggerating here.
2) Rogers (and most cell phone cos) great their plans to get NEW business. I've been a loyal customer since I moved here, and was one of the first people on The Wave, their cable Internet service, and there was STILL no option for me to upgrade to the iPhone, or get my wife a new one, but all kinds of deals for people to switch
3) Now something good: When I wanted to order one for Dawn, I went to the store and they said "Nay nay, you can't order over the phone like last time." This struck me as the wierd, so I called them and they said yes I could order by phone, but they were only taking orders on the day of release. "But," said the rep, "I can call you on the day of release and take your order then so you don't have to fight the phone lines?" "For reals?" "Yes, for reals!" and asked what a good time to call me would be. And sure enough on that morning at that time she called and took my order, and I had the phone in three days.
So...sometimes something good does happen. The ratio is one time in three.
I have had one good experience with the service provider who will not be named but you already know who it is. It was a particular telephone rep who even left me her email address for when I needed help. She was extremely helpful and pleasant. Of course I lost her email address and have to deal with people who don't know or don't care or, most likely, both.
Ah well, I'm rolling now and I understand that the service is just as bad across the street. So whatever, I just like to complain (obviously).
G, great to hear there are other reps who care.
I hate every single option we have out there. it's like that with our tv, phone, internet, everything. and the minute something goes wrong, no one can help you. we're all just stuck with shitty service because we have no where else to go.
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