This is a long one folks!

I ‘ve spent WAY too much time on the phone today, but not with friends, family or clients.  Instead, I’ve been on the phone with my cell phone provider, Rogers.  Rogers Canada is one of the largest providers in the country alongside competitors Telus and Bell (but not for long). The story I tell is of a customer service perspective and I will try to be as fair as possible but I have to admit my emotional frustration has gotten the best of me, not to mention the loss of income for taking a full day to deal with this ridiculous issue.

January of 2008 I purchased a plan through Futureshop under the provider Rogers.  I selected Rogers because at the time I needed a SIM card and Telus did not provide one.  Wanting a BlackBerry I was talked out of it by a Futureshop employee who convinced me the HTC Smartphone was my best bet .  I was also looking for a business plan so I could access email and internet when not in the office.  I have never been so sorry to own this HTC Smartphone as I am today.  I have 1.5 yrs. left to go before my cell phone plan is up.

Fast forward to last week, and the LCD screen on my phone decided to fade and disappear. (see photo) Trust me I am not swinging my purse around like a crazy person, although I am close to tossing the phone in the trash right now! I decide I will take it back to Futureshop to see what they can do for me and this is where my time-consuming expensive little night-mare begins.

Attempt  #1. Much waiting –  for the staff to eat their icecream and stop chatting and a smile-less young person finally decides to help me and can only give me this answer:  “Rogers does not offer ANY discounts for you for another data phone, only a regular phone, because you bought an HTC Smartphone.”  HUH, your shop talked me into a Smartphone that Rogers will NOT support?

So Futureshop is telling me Rogers says although I HAVE a dataphone, I cannot get an ‘upgrade’ on a data phone until the cell phone plan has surpassed two years?  All I am qualified for is a regular phone unless I spend the 599.95 for the Blackberry they have in stock.  I also discover that the young person who sold me the phone in the first place did NOT register it as a company plan like I thought.  (Okay, I should read my papers more carefully, but I simply did not realize I did not have a corporate plan given he wrote down my company name and corporate number when I bought it.)

I think, okay, calm down now, surely this is a limitation of the Futureshop person acting as a Rogers Rep – Certainly if I talk to Rogers I can clear this up because they won’t want to lose me as a customer.  I will simply go home and call Rogers myself!

Attempt #2. Call to Rogers:

• Nice fellow by the name of Bruce informs me there are no upgrades at all to another dataphone for the HTC Smartphone until I have waited out my 2 year mark. Had I bought a Blackberry I  would be eligible after only 1 year. (Does HTC know that Rogers does not offer as good support for the Smartphone as they do the Blackberry?)
• I have an important point: I bought a phone WITH a plan. If Rogers did not feel the phone would last out the life of the plan, (evidenced by their lack of support for it) then they shouldn’t be selling it as a package deal.
• I also find out that Cancelling this cell phone plan will cost me 500.00 – holy cow! Does that mean this plan was worth 1000.00 when I got it because I am halfway through?
• They can put me into a nice little LG phone but without data. (does HTC know that I bought an HTC plan but they are promoting a “downgrade” to a non-data LG phone? Not to mention, I am paying for a data plan, damn it! I want to receive my email here)
• He wants to help but his hands are tied, I ask about upgrading my plan to a better one so they will support a better phone option. He suggests I call the business and corporate customer service. I try, they are not open nights or weekends (of course not, because that would involve customer service).
• I have to wait until Monday.  I’m busy Monday (people have to work) so tried Tuesday not because I don’t have to work, but because I need a working cell phone and PDA.

Attempt #3.  Call to Rogers on Tuesday:

• I dial the only number I can find online and it takes me to a nice girl named Suma, who is polite but needs to be reminded to speak into her headset 3 times because I cannot hear her.
• Suma gives me the exact same answers above, but adds some additional information:
• The only way they can upgrade me is if I purchase a Blackberry and yes, they will give me a discount:
  • BB9000=549.00; BB8900=449.99; BB8310=399.00; BB8220=349.99
  • Why does that not feel like a discount?  WOW no matter what I do the fact my HTC smartphone could NOT outlast my phone plan will cost me anywhere from 349.00 to 500.00.  Hmmm, Rogers, was this your plan all along?
  • I am not satisfied because I feel these are rather expensive options considering I can purchase an unlocked Rogers supported phone online for less than 200.00 from Kijiji.com and simply stick my SIM card into it – but wait- I want to give Rogers another chance.  I am frustrated but I ask – “What if I were to upgrade to the business account I wanted in the first place, would that make a difference?”
  • She passes me over to someone in the Business and Corporate (finally).

Attempt #4. Business and Corporate at Rogers

• I did not document this person’s name.  But he was trying to be nice.  I warned him that I am not frustrated with him personally, but that I am very frustrated and I am very angry with Rogers.  I must go over the entire story again, explaining myself several times because he was not understanding what I want.
• I wanted to know if Rogers would back the combination phone/phone plan by offering me a solution that did not break the bank and kept me as a loyal customer.
• He told me EXACTLY what the others did, with the addition of one more piece of information that amounts to this:  Options that come up on his screen are limited to how much money I have spent in the past with Rogers.
• Now I am outright angry! Does this mean I am worthless as a customer to them because I don’t spend bigger bucks?
• This fellow suggests I try customer care AGAIN.

Attempt #5. Rogers Customer Care

• I tell this nice fellow, James, that I am getting very upset ,am more than frustrated and I do not believe that Rogers cares to keep me as a customer.  I am hoping he can provide me with better answers to prove otherwise. He is exceptionally considerate, does all the digging he can because I share with him the following information:
  • If I cancel my plan paying the 500.00 penalty, go with another provider and get the top-of-the-line Blackberry I will save myself 50.00 or more than any options at Rogers.
  • If I go online and hunt down an unlocked Rogers Blackberry for a HUGE discount, ride out my plan and move on in 1.5 years, Rogers does not get any upgrade dollars from me at all and I vow to find a different service.
  • Frustration builds as I never do get an answer about upgrading to a better plan, perhaps a business plan.  They all seem to want to keep me right where I am, stuck between a rock and a hard-place.
  • He repeats all of the identical information I have already learned and basically agrees with me that my best bet if I want to save costs is to go elsewhere or get a used BB from someone.
  • Poor fellow was stuck between being loyal and trying to show me he was very understanding.

Attempt #5. Rogers Customer Care

• By this time I am so ticked off I just want to limit any thing I have to do with Rogers.  I realize I have one more question to which I need an answer:  I speak with a girl. “What will it cost if I remove the data plan from my phone and go with the least expensive cell phone plan?”
  • This means removing my 200/unlimited Eve/Weekend Plan
  • Removing the Data Service plan (it’s only 2MB as it is)
  • Taking off the “Smartphone Value Pack” (Goodness knows why I would keep THAT)
  • The girl lets me know my plan would be reduced to 32.00/month BUT there is a hitch – of course there is!
  • The cancellation of my data package will cost me 100.00.  WHAT??
  • Unbelievable , this is the icing on the cake!  They WILL NOT provide a decent discount on a comparable data phone only a regular cell without data BUT THEY ARE PENALIZING me for cancelling the ‘data’ part of my plan? You have GOT to be kidding me!

ROGERS!  Shame on you!

Listen, I don’t want it for free, but my expectation is this:

If I have a data plan I cannot get out of without a penalty, then at least put a data phone on your list of possible ‘upgrades’!

Do yourself a favour.  Check out the internet for other stories about Rogers before you choose to buy! I wish I had.