I wanted to switch my plan as I have discovered that I don’t talk on the cell phone that often, so I phoned the *611 number. Two days in a row, the system has been down and “Melanie can’t help me at this time” (their automated voice system). After an hour struggle today, where I was unable to actually speak to a live person, I phoned the other line (for cell plans instead of Pay-As-You-Go) and found out several things.

1) The Pay-As-You-Go customer service representatives work from 9:00am to 6:00pm Eastern Standard Time. So, I am technically SOL for today.
2) Using standard voice requests (“agent”, “customer representative”) does not work.
3) Different customer service representative phone lines operate in a way that they don’t talk to each other. So the person for cell phone plans couldn’t help me get through to the pay-as-you-go people.
4) I hate all cell phone plans in Canada, period. The cell phone service here has been the WORST in each of the different countries where I have lived.
5) Even if the phone conversation is recorded, chances are that nobody is going to contact me to correct their absolutely horrendous customer service.
6) Even though I have MORE THAN ENOUGH credit on my cell phone, they still want me to pay $ 20 to make the switch (that’s the minimum top-up for the plan I want). So no easy plan switching.
7) They charged me incorrectly for downloading two ring tones that I did NOT download.

Just as an example, in Mexico, any incoming call (be it long distance or local) is FREE (the caller pays). That means that you can actually have a cell phone just for emergencies or receive calls. Obviously, this has a lot of international phone companies up in arms, because their customers have to bear the brunt of international phone calls to cell phones in Mexico.

Anyhow, I wish the customer service culture here was better. And on that note, Darren from Timing and Delivery has a blog especifically focused on customer service. I probably should go over there and rant. I am also hoping to harness the power of Web 2.0 to see if Rogers listens and changes some of their policies. Feel free to link, Tweet or just discuss on the web.

Related posts:

1. I need a cell phone, PRONTO!
2. I need a new cell phone, so I’m accepting suggestions
3. The best service I’ve gotten in Vancouver