Getting De-Rogerized

It's something I should have done a long time ago. But I have finally had it with Rogers Communications and I'm severing all business connections with them. That includes phone, TV and Internet. I had some trouble with phone service a couple of years ago. I had switched long distance service from Bell to Sprint, to take advantage of some good deals. That meant paying separate phone bills - Sprint for long distance and Bell for local calls. Than at one point Sprint said they could also take on local service and I said, "why not?"

I was happy with Sprint for years until I got an ominous letter saying that Rogers had bought out Sprint and would now be the phone service provider. Soon after, I started having trouble with the phone line. Getting through to repair was an exercise in futility, and when I finally did get someone to look at the line, they charged some $90 because it was "not their problem" even though the guy had to re-install wires in the box outside the house.

My Internet service has always been dial-up with a small Montreal-based company. But now that I plan to help build a business web site, dial-up won't cut it anymore. I didn't want to have any more cables installed in the house, so I asked Rogers for their ADSL service. I had to wait 10 days for them to deliver a modem and was assured that DSL would be on the line as of the delivery date. When I still didn't have DSL on the line the next day, I went through the frustrating exercise of contacting tech support. Every time I got a person on the line I had to repeat my phone number, password, address, postal code, etc. I was constantly told "not my department" and shunted around to someone else. The 5th or so person I got had a voice like Tattoo from Fantasy Island. It was extremely annoying, especially when I was told that my DSL wouldn't be in place for yet another week.

That tore it. I was hoping I wouldn't have to keep my current ISP for another month, but I have no choice. I contacted Bell and I am transferring all services over to them. Bye-bye Rogers!

I've been wondering why Rogers is so incompetent when it comes to service. Then it dawned on me. The place used to be run by one Mr. John Tory, whose reputation as a bumbler in the political arena is a matter of record. Even though he's no longer at Rogers, the damage caused by a guy in charge can last a long time. Just look at the province of Ontario.

I found I'm not the only one cheesed off at Rogers. On quite a few blogs, I've read about Rogers reps asking hapless customers how they can be satisfied. The answer is that Rogers customer satisfaction is an oxymoron. The only way to be a satisfied Rogers customer is not to be a Rogers customer at all.