Rogers--the saga ends

In the interest of not boring you to death, I'll write the Readers Digest version of this personal story. I wrote the previous sentence before having written the story. Let me apologize ahead of time for the length of this sordid tale.

Last year, bugs in the log-in process for my cable TV provider's website prevented me from getting in to view my account. I used to log in monthly to make sure I knew the right amount to pay since I had signed up for paperless billing. At the time, I felt I did the right thing for the environment, myself and Rogers Cable.

Anyway, I called them up to report the problem and they assured me they would fix it and that I should try it again in 30 minutes...which I did...and which they didn't. Various permutations of this scenario repeated itself from every few days to every few weeks between myself and a different customer service rep for the next three months or so.

On my next call I angrily told the agent that I was tired of repeating my story without results and demanded to speak to a manager. Rather than apologizing to me, the agent instead raised his voice to me saying that if I wanted him to help me, I need to tell him what the issue was. I told him again that I wanted to speak to his manager. He gave me an ultimatum:"Do you want my help or not?" I was equally adamant in my demand: "I want to speak to your manager". The next thing I know, the phone went dead. The S-O-B actually had the gall to hang up on me.

I sat there incredulous for a few minutes collecting my thoughts. I vowed then that I would terminate my service with this company--a company I had given my business to for some 25 years. Unfortunately, since then, I have been unable to find a suitable replacement. However...

Recently, I was talking to someone I know who works at Rogers who told me that it is well known within the company that their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. He gave me the name and e-mail address of someone newly appointed to deal with dissatisfied customers. I immediately sent out an e-mail and basically relayed my disgust about how I was treated and that I intend to terminate my TV service because of it.

That was last Thursday. Late this afternoon (Tuesday), there was still no response. I phoned Rogers to follow through on my promise. Of course, I was asked why I decided to cancel. I said "Frankly, your customer service sucks". At his urging, I repeated one last time the sordid story. He genuinely seemed appalled.

He proceeded to profusely alternate between apologizing and making offerings of discounts and free hardware. I refused his "trinkets" and told him that if others in his company that I had dealt with were as cordial and understanding of the value of a good and loyal customer, neither his company nor I would find ourselves in the current situation.

The kicker, and the word is very appropriate since it really is Rogers last kick at me, is that their policy is that the service is not terminated for 30 days from the date of cancellation. As mind-boggling as it seems to me that they can get away with such a ludicrous thing, I didn't even bother to argue the point.

Sooo, I will be sans TV service one month from now. I'm sure I will miss it--after all, I've been an addict since I was a small child. But, like going cold turkey on any addiction, the pain will ease over time, and I expect a full recovery. And I wish nothing but the...worst for the longtime supplier of my "fix".

Goodbye and good riddance to bad rubbish.

Here's a freebie for all you faithful readers

I have documented my displeasure with Rogers Cable customer service very well in this blog. I have been anticipating giving them their walking papers, but it's difficult to wean myself off TV viewing. I'm hoping that it won't be long that I can get for free or a minimal charge, my TV fix from the web. Paying $61 a month for what is mostly crap on the idiot box these days is um, idiotic.

I already have available a multitude of sporting events that my second tier cable subscription doesn't include by going here. The site also has a lineup of network, specialty and comedy programming, some of which are 24-7, here. And not only is it free, but no sign-up, log-in or e-mail registering is required! Don't say I never give you anything.

On the horizon, is a piece of hardware that you pay for once for about $100, and you never have to pay a red cent for all the programming you can stand. Ever. Now, that's the kind of deal television executives should have been providing all along instead of charging a king's ransom for a half decent lineup and then nickel and diming us to death for converter boxes, digital cable, high definition, etc. Read all about it, here.

Rogers, your days are numbered...

Happy Birthday!

Actually, it's my city's birthday. The place I've called home for over half a century is 175 years old, today. In terms of other major cities, Toronto is just a toddler. Yet, this city is one of the most vibrant, cosmopolitan (yet never forgetting its meagre beginnings), culturally diverse cities in the world. I'm not sure which I am more proud of--Toronto or Canada. To me, each represents the epitome of what a city or country should be. Mayor David Miller points to the city's public services, strong work ethic, frugality, and sense of social justice as keys to Toronto's success. I would agree with that sentiment. The city has come a long way from it's Puritan roots. I've heard stories that up until the 50's, city playgrounds were "locked" on the Lord's day so that children could not use them. Personally, I recall that you'd be hard-pressed to find any business open on a Sunday, including gas stations and stores. When I took my first vacation in Florida around 1979, arriving on a Sunday, I couldn't believe my eyes when we found a supermarket open. "Heathen!", I thought. ;) Even on week days, Toronto bars could not open until noon and could not serve alcoholic beverages until hours later unless it was accompanied by a meal. Pubs had to close at 1 a.m. Since then, Toronto has joined the ranks of the un-anointed with bars staying open until 2 a.m. and most shops opening on Sundays and those with tourist attraction designation are even open on statutory holidays. I used to have personal photos from the 50's but my ex- was too vindictive to let me have them after the divorce. So, instead I'll post a few of Toronto landmarks then and now from the web with commentary about my connection to them. Old City Hall: This is a relatively new photo of relatively old building (1899) still in use, today. I believe they still use courtrooms here and it boasts a jail in the basement for unruly "guests". I hate to admit that in my troubled youth, I was indeed a guest here once.

New City Hall: Built in 1965 to a tremendous positive reaction for it's unique architectural design, the taller tower is 27 floors and the "flying saucer" in the middle is the city council chamber. My school took us here on a field trip shortly after it opened.

Maple Leaf Stadium: It was built in 1926, but the team was already playing at another stadium since 1886. The team was part of the International League. I used to hear that names like Willie Mays, Sparky Anderson, etc. played here. When I was a kid in the early 60's, my friends and I used to regularly walk about thirty minutes to the stadium to collect discarded pop bottles to refund for candy money. Toronto would not get an MLB team until I believe, 1977, playing out of Exhibition Stadium, which by the way, played through a snowy day its very first opening day. Some question whether we have a major league team, today. Americans don't seem to have noticed that the Toronto Blue Jays won back to back World Series championships in '92 and '93.

Rogers Centre: Current home of the Blue Jays and Canadian Football League Argonauts. I was lucky enough to have been invited to watch a MLB game by a client who had a private box. When the stadium was first built, luxury boxes were going for $1 million for a ten-year commitment. Ouch. And that did not include the price of tickets, food, drinks or gratuities!

Maple Leaf Gardens: Built in 1926, it is regarded as the holy shrine of hockey. The Toronto Maple Leafs won four cups in five years here in the early 60's. Haven't won one since. Ouch. Cheap seats then were $2. When I was in my teens, I paid a scalper $20 for a $4 ticket. Ouch. Air Canada Centre: Today's home of both the Maple Leafs and the NBA Toronto Raptors. Due to poor performance of the leafs, I haven't attended a single game here. Due to the poor performance of the Raps, I attended only one game here because I got a free ticket. Downtown Toronto: Then.

Downtown Toronto: Now.

Toronto skyline: This shot was taken from Toronto island. Prominent is the CN Tower, built in 1974, at 1815 feet tall, it remained the tallest, free-standing structure in the world until 2008. Those "tiny" buildings to the right are as much as 90 stories tall. My brother-in-law, who is a welder, has his name permanently etched into one of the tower's steel girders. Around 1980, I had dinner in the revolving restaurant. What do you think?--Does $22 for lamb chops sound expensive for 1980? Ouch. I still have the two glasses shaped like the tower that our drinks were served in.

I left out a number of venues deserving mention. Maybe I'll feature others in future postings.

Historic event...pffft.

I let an important(?) event slip by without mention. This past Sunday, a regular season NFL game was held outside of American soil. The Buffalo Bills played host to the visiting Miami Dolphins in a muchly hyped game here in Toronto this past Sunday. I am not and never have been a football fan, but it was difficult not to hear of this "spectacle".

I use quotes because unlike the excitement inherent in most any NFL game, from all accounts, this one was fairly dull. For one, there were few real fans. Not only because neither combatants brought many of their supporters, but because not enough interested Canadian fans could be found to fill the 54,000 seats. Apparently, I'm not the only non-fan--there were seats available at game time. I wonder how much it had to do with the fact that the Rogers family figured $575 a ticket was a fair price for the best seats.

Did I mention that the action on the field was even worse than the attendance? It turned out to be a field goal fest with the Bills on the losing end of a 16-3 final score.

The high point of the day came before the game even started when the girl singing the Canadian national anthem was singing too slowly and the entire stadium sang out loudly and at the right tempo completely drowning out the singer.

Rogers update #5

Another week and another non-e-mail from Rogers. I think I've been patient enough. I just sent the following to Rogers in regard to their last e-mail that said the issue was handed off to another department and I was assured someone would contact me:

Tell them not to bother. I have my answer. Not only does Rogers have no scruples, stooping to tricking people into viewing their ads, its customer service stinks. I'll be passing along the message to as many people as I can all over the web, on message boards, through e-mail, blogs, etc. As soon as I find a suitable replacement, I'll also be terminating my Rogers account.

Have a good day, sir.

Rogers update #1

When I e-mailed Rogers about their devious ad, I got an automatic notification e-mail indicating that someone would respond to my query with 24 hours. Here it is 48 hours later and I'm still waiting. I guess it shouldn't surprise that one who is devious is also a liar. The clock is ticking, Rogers...

Interesting note that while they have failed to respond to their loyal customer's enquiry (me), in the last 24 hours alone, I received two items from them seeking more of my business. Yesterday, I got some snail mail, and today, I got an e-mail. These were both targeted, bearing my name and or indicating the recipient is a a "valued Rogers customer". Apparently, they do not have access to a dictionary if this is their idea of "valued".

Shame on you, Rogers

For anyone who doesn't know, Roger Communications, Inc. is a media and telecommunications giant. You want to know how big? It has a market cap of $21 billion. That's with a capital "B", folks. Recently, I joined a free poker site that uses "FreeD" as currency that you can exchange for real money. How do they make money, you ask? By displaying ads incessantly. And they entice you to click on theads by giving you a FreeD for each one. What has all this to do with
Rogers?

Lo and behold if it wasn't an ad for Rogers. There is no message and no Britney25f. Now, I could understand it if it came from a small, fly-by-night company, but for an established (and respected?) company with almost 100 years of history behind it, it surprised me, and to put it bluntly, stuck in my craw. How low will Rogers stoop to try and get my business, which, by the way, it already has. I've been sending a cheque every month for the better part of 30 years for cable TV service, which currently is over $60.

Shame on you, Rogers. Such tactics cheapen you. I expected better. Will you do the right thing and remove the offending ad? The poker site is nopaypoker.com

I sent Rogers a copy of this post. I'll post their response.

I should mention that the same ad promotes Bell, Fido, MTS, Sasktel, Telus, and Virgin Mobile.

Paying the Bills

As a cable customer, Rogers Cable, owner of the "Dome Formerly Known as Skydome" and host of baseball's American League Blue Jays, wishes to offer me a chance to win a pair of tickets to "see the NFL's Buffalo Bills lock horns with the Pittsburgh Steelers" in a pre-season contest. The scheme is part of a multi-year deal bringing NFL teams here to show Canadians what real football is like (not Canadian football with its silly three-downs rule). I imagine its real purpose is to see if Toronto would support an NFL team of our own...and, of course, make oodles of money for Rogers.

Lord knows Ted Rogers needs money desperately. His company is the largest cable operator in Canada. He runs TV networks, wireless communication services, phone services internet service and the list goes on. For years, now, he's been begging me through endless mailings, flyers and ads to buy more services from him. Oh, and did I mention he owns the Blue Jays along with their fancy digs?--a facility he paid approximately $21 million for in 2004. Now, I don't begrudge a man trying to eke out a living in these rough times of revenue sharing that virtually ensures that no billionaire owner ever assumes any risk of losing money, but what about the poor Toronto taxpayers who were fleeced out of their hard-earned tax money to pay for the dome in the first place?

Teddy paid less than five cents on the dollar for the magnificent house that Art built and his first order of business was to rename the structure to "Rogers Centre". Shrewd thinking. Nobody could ever accuse him of practically stealing the Skydome because you see it's the Rogers Centre. Under then Toronto Mayor Art Eggleton's watchful eye, the retractable roof Skydome was constructed at a cost of a whopping $487 million--almost half a billion dollars! You could invade a small country for a price tag like that, couldn't you? Hell, we could have annexed Alaska when the Americans weren't looking. Who would notice?

Getting back to Roger's offer...he wants me to see the Bills and the Steelers live. I'm not sure why, though. You see, even if I watch them on the tube, there's a good chance that I would be watching them on his TV network. Of course! He wants me to buy his beer!

Note: Rogers bought Skydome from Chicago-based investors group Sportsco International who had purchased it out of bankruptcy in 1999 for about $92 million. But this doesn't make nearly as interesting a story.