We do not have the latest and greatest TV, so when some kid’s TV channels started disappearing, I called Rogers, here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They said that I needed a box between my analog tv and the input cable, and that I could pick one up, no charge, from a local Rogers store, and they told me the address. I went to that local Rogers store today and they were out of stock, a box was not reserved for me and I should call back to the store to get one because they do not know when these boxes come in. Thanks a lot Rogers. My experience with your company was decidedly negative.
She was nice, the girl at the Rogers store, and I could sense the frustration in her voice. It seems like the Rogers call center tells many customers to come into their store, only to find that the product they seek is not in stock, especially the adapter box that I needed. She looked up my account, confirmed the box that I needed, and then proceeded to write down the store phone number and the Rogers call center number, for which I could call back to see if they have them in stock. There are no holds for products, she says. Ok, except that the Rogers call centre staff told me to go to this specific store to pick up a specific product, only to be told by the store that no product was booked for me?
Though she was on her computer, she could not look up what cable options I had, only that I had cable and was a customer. My Rogers customer information on the services I use was not accessible to her. It was frustrating to her that while she knew her products well, she could not tell me how much more or less I would need to pay in order to switch to HD. Frustrating for her and a waste of time for me.
Why have a “Rogers Store” when Rogers customer service people who work there do not have the tools to actually help customers with understanding and choosing the options that are available to them? I tried going to the web site, but it is confusing, and this is coming from an IT developer. Silly me, thinking that a living CSR in a Rogers Store could clarify my cable tv options. You cannot provide all services from your internet web site, Rogers. it might be cheaper but often times it does not work. It did not work for me.
My first inclination is to reassess all my Rogers services and consider moving to Bell, but then I think of the bad experiences that I have had with Bell in the past, and their terrible call centre software, and I hesitate. Both companies are equally bad and treat customers with equal disdain. Really, Ontarians deserve better than these two companies.
Maybe I should go live on a desert island without internet or cable TV.
When I think of the times that Rogers has left me on the verge of an apoplectic fit, not to mention the control they have on telecommunications in Ontario – it really does make you want to abandon the internet (and I did do just this – but it lasted for a year and it was quite difficult to do)…
Anyhoo, Great website and blog! It was great meeting you at the WP meeting today.