For whom the Bell tolls

I sent the following email to Bell Canada today in frustration. The name has been X'ed out to protect the innocent.... well, me, actually.


Attention: Office of the Manager

My name is XXXXXXXX and I have been a Bell Canada customer for almost 15
years. I am very close to ending this relationship.

Although some, if not all, of this information may be on your files, I thought
it may be helpful to document my experiences. I moved to an apartment building
on Monday, June 26th (my new phone number is XXXXXXXXXX) and did not have
service when I moved in. I called 310-BELL to follow up on this, and was told it
would be rectified within the next 48 hours. I explained to them at this time I
needed phone service by Thursday evening, because I need to plug my office
computer into that phone line for work purposes.

On Wednesday, June 28th, I received a call from a Bell technician at my office
asking why I wasn't at home. I explained that no appointment had ever been made, and that I was at work. The technician said he looked at the apartment
building's phone box and needed access to my suite to fix the problem. He asked
me to call Bell Canada to "reschedule" the appointment, which I did. I set up an
appointment for between 12:30 and 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 29th. I also took
the day off work specifically to let the technician into my suite. I should also
point out that I called 310-BELL again on Wednesday evening to confirm my
appointment.

On Thursday, June 30th, I spent the entire day at home for naught. I called
310-BELL at least four times between 12 and 6 to check on the status of my
appointment. At 5:30, I spoke to an operator who promised me that the technician
would show up by 6 p.m. I have since learned that she could not guarantee me
that; however, this is what she told me. Each time I called, I received a
different (and sometimes contradictory) story: the technician was sick, they had
already been at the building, they had referred my situation to Bell's business office, etc. When I called after 6 p.m., a Bell operator suggested that they
would definitely be there by 9 p.m. to look at my line. So I waited home another
three hours, again for nothing.

According to a senior agent I spoke to at approximately 8 p.m. (I had asked
three separate times to speak to a supervisor, and my request was REFUSED by
your operators twice), a technician was in my building at 7:20 p.m., had tried
to call me (doubtful, because my cellphone never rang, and that's the only
telephone that works in my suite), and had left after checking the apartment
building's box. Why they would check the exact same thing twice, I'm not sure.
In any event, I was told by the senior agent that it was too late in the day to
re-send a technician, and that Bell has a backlog because of a busy holiday
weekend. Of course, had this problem been dealt with on Monday, we would not
have to worry about the holiday weekend. I am now unable to take off anymore
days of work, and again, I need telephone service for the weekend for my computer.

Not once during this entire situation did I receive a call from anyone at Bell
updating me on the status of my order; I had to call each time to receive
updates. The operators I spoke to were all very friendly and patient, but their
contradictory messages are simply unacceptable. Regardless, no one has been able
to solve my problem, which is not having a working telephone.

Also, I should point out that I realize my accounts here may seem farfetched. I
understand that your company records its calls for quality assurance, so please
feel free to go back and listen to the almost dozen conversations I have had
with Bell operators.

After almost 15 years as a customer, I would expect better from Bell Canada. All
I am asking for is to have telephone service. I don't understand why this is such a difficult procedure. I am not asking at this point for reimbursement of
my day off work, my cellular phone calls or anything. I simply want phone
service.

As I have mentioned to your senior agents, if this situation is not resolved by
the time I am home from work this evening, I will be looking at alternate
telephone service. Please contact me today if you have any questions, or if
Bell Canada cares about losing one of its clients. Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXX



And I mean it. If I arrive home tonight with no phone service, I'm switching. Any other Canucks in my shoes that have switched to "alternate" phone services? I realize that my business isn't a huge deal to anyone, but I've just had enough with the b.s.