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Bell learns to speak business

SIMON AVERY

Telecom Reporter

Latest comment posted at 11:45 AM EST 07/08/08

Frank and Gordon are back in the woods, as Bell adopts the slogan “Today just got better” ...Read the full article

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  1. Don Adams, The Conservative Centrist from Canada writes: Bell may be changing it's names and ads, but if they don't change their policies, it isn't going to help them.
  2. Dan Green from Palm Beach Gardens Florida, United States writes: BCE was taken private, to sell off what is not fixable, re package what is left, and take it public again, at a big fat profit . My best guess is Sympatico, and express vue will be gone soon.
  3. ente EighteenEightyEight from Canada writes: Here here.

    Changing brands doesn't mean squat if they can't improve their service offerings and customer support.

    I recall at some point a saying people had about different names and same piles?
  4. Flinton Rice from Toronto, Canada writes: I think this is why we're seeing all those puzzling 'er' ads all around the city. My money is one 'Faster, Better, etc'.... type campaign.

    Maybe they'll use Daft Punk's song.
  5. Mark S Noel from Canada writes: To bad, those little beavers were great.
  6. Erik Richards from Winnipeg, Canada, writes: Lamer.
  7. Russell Gordon from Canada writes: I am so glad they got rid of the beavers. I've thought they made the adverts terrible, right from the first time I saw them.
  8. Bad Bob from Montreal, Canada writes: Improve your service and make the prices more reasonable and only then you can change the names to confuse the people.
  9. Paul Polock from windsor, Canada writes: the reason i left bell was because of service, not the names, get the service right and people might care about what you name the product, until then, i am now a mercenary for the cheapest provider.
  10. gil bert from Calgary, Canada writes: I really didn't like those beavers, but maybe CBC will pick them up for Hockey Night in Canada.

    They need a new theme, and the beavers will work for cheap.

    That way they can retire Don & Cherry.
  11. Irish 222 from Ottawa, Canada writes: The only 'er' Bell should be emphasizing is the 'er' in 'CustomER'...as in 'CustomER sERrvice'. This has been a totally foreign concept to Bell so far and until they get a grasp on what it means, they are doomed.
    show me
    'BettER CustomER sERrvice' Bell..then I might considER you an credible option.
  12. Russell Roy from Calgary, Canada writes: Yah....put the emphasis on better customer service. Stopped in yesterday to renew a contract and the staff in the store were not able to answer any questions....they apologized for how slow their system is (c'mon you're a tech company). Although I stopped at a Telus Mobility to see what they had to offer and it was like I was tearing the person away from his solitaiire game to try to pry some information from him....Fianally found someone at Bell who could help me and renewed.......Some healthy competition would resolve all of this......
  13. johnny R from Canada writes: Same poop different smell...
  14. jim in London from Canada writes: The purchase of BCE by Teachers will be proved a major mistake and heads should role at the top. This is a poorly run company in decline and only survived by holding the population hostage to excessive fees and now their technology is yesterday and time is ticking on their demise-good riddens!
  15. Henry Allen from East Bank, Don River, Canada writes:
    Canada has a company called Bell
    A new strategy it's trying to sell
    Bell's pushing 'er'
    But, it won't go far
    High prices, poor service both smell.
  16. Robert Boyd from Windsor, Canada writes: You nailed it Jimbo.
    As a thirty something year employee (now retired) my only hope is that the pension plan holds up.
    This puppy should be gassed.

    ' jim in London from Canada writes: . This is a poorly run company in decline and only survived by holding the population hostage to excessive fees and now their technology is yesterday and time is ticking on their demise-good riddens!'
  17. Raingod Toronto from Toronto, Canada writes: Some advertising agency! Their great idea is to reinforce Bell this and Bell that, when the image of Bell is stogdy and unfashionable. Simply copying Rogers naming convention won't do anything. Bell should get a refund...

    Better to have left Express (faster forward time-saving) to Express TV Express Internet, and Express Phone. And even Express Mobile!

    And in any event Bell should stop obviously partnering with a fading Microsoft on their tech solutions (Movie store, MSN) and at least try to be tech-neutral (and Mac-inclusive) to try and stay in the game.

    On the other hand ExpressVu is a nice picture in HD....
  18. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: They can put as many annoying beavers in their ads as they like, but they better not change my sympatico email address.
  19. FSA LDU from Mississauga, Canada writes: Hey Bell, try these words in your campaign:

    - cheaper
    - faster
    - better
    - easier
    - friendlier
    - smarter

    Give us quality at a better price, and you'll own the world. Keep up with the same quality of service you have now, and all you've done is put lipstick on the pig.
  20. Brad Richert from Vancouver, BC, Canada writes: Canadian customers don't want a re-branding campaign. They want better service. Nationwide, we are choked by three horrendous telephone, cellphone, and internet providers. Bell is easily the worst out of the three. Rogers may slaughter people with their poor pricing and Telus may have limited and inconsistent, but it is Bell who really shows they care nothing for a customer with their incompetent customer service.
  21. T. Dee from Mississauga, Canada writes: The reason I left Bell is the outsourcing!!!! If you can't understand the other individual on the other end how are they suppose to help you!

    STOP OUTSOURCING!!!

    Bell is saving money, but at what cost to the consumer!
  22. Darcy Bennett from Somewhere in Ontario, Canada writes: I'm with Alistair. Bell had better not change my sympatico address. If I have to go through that, along with everything else that their lousy service has put me through, I'm going elsewhere. Enough is enough!!

    By the way, I like Frank and Gordon. They're the only things I really liked about Bell.
  23. Darcy Bennett from Somewhere in Ontario, Canada writes: I certainly hope Bell is going to rid themselves of Emily, the robot. Not once has she/it directed me to the correct department.
  24. Flat Earth from Canada writes: I think the earlier posters have generally caught the essence of dealing with Bell.
    Customer service is an oxymoron relative to Bell. They should be fined by the CRTC every time they use those words in their advertising campaign.
  25. Bob from Montreal from Canada writes: The first thing they should do is get rid of the India call centre. They are trained to deflect your call and not solve your problem. I know of many people who have left Bell because of it. Know this trick - press the language selection for 'French' and you will get a Canadian who will solve your problem - they will speak English and just say 'oops' I must of pressed the wrong key...
  26. Astute Brute from Canada writes: They should really finish off the slogan as 'Today just got better FOR BELL' since that lovely $0.15 per received text message starts tomorrow.
  27. That Guy from Canada writes: 'Conservatives Lie from Canada writes:
    For those not paying attention: BCE was 2/3 purchased by AMERICANS!'

    Then we should apologize to the Americans.

    OR

    Maybe they can actually turn the company around.
  28. Paul Picard from inbetween Toronto and Montreal, Canada writes: The truth is that canadians have requested a free market 15 years ago, CRTC has given us what we wanted and has also restricted the telco's Bell, Telus etc, today we complain about those past monopolys because they struggle to compete, i do not see a huge difference on my bill's and by the way the new comer's have increased their prices.... what is happening now, you need to pay to get a Bell tech in your house, did not have too in the past, oh yeah what about Fido having crazy rates 7 years ago,,, do they still have a cheaper rate plan..... customer service, did you know that bell couldnt merge to one bill because or regulations, Telus and Bell couldnt match on price without getting approval (6 8 months delay) one more outsourcing, i see monthly ad's in paper for open door events from telco's and Cable co to enroll staff into customer service depts no one shows ups, even with a 40K avg paycheck, We Canadians forget that this is one of our largest enterprise and it has struggle because the market has change and that these monopolys did not get a chance to fight back for years, in my mind the future of Bell looks much better now then it was last year, it will rebecome a canadian favorites if they can play in an equal playing field.
  29. Terry Hinkelman from Port Coquitlam, Canada writes: Bell can make all the changes they want! Until such time as someone there figures out how people should be treated they are wasting their time and money. This company has no idea whatsoever what the term 'Customer Service' means!
  30. Koolest Cat from Canada writes: Pfizer!!!

    So now Bell ads will look as creative as all those Viagra ads Pfizer is running.
  31. Geoffrey Dawe from Newmarket, Canada writes: Until such time as Bell changes their attitudes, specifically around customer service, marketing changes will only benefit the marketing companies. As their subsciber numbers show, you can't fool all of the people, all of the time.
  32. harry carnie from Northern, B.C., Canada writes: 'today just got better'?..............well sorry,
    sure as h*ll will NOT be trying their products /service again to find out.
  33. James Meatball from Beamsville, Canada writes: I'm definitely with 'Bob from Montreal' on Bell's need to stop outsourcing its so-called customer service to India. Thanks Bob for passing on the trick of pressing the button for service in French and then talking with a Canadian!
    Last time I had a major problem and got the runaround from the people at the call centre in India, I demanded to speak to someone in Canada, and actually did get transferred to someone in Ottawa (I think) who got to the bottom of things quickly and correctly. So that works too.
  34. James Meatball from Toronto, Canada writes: While we're at it, let's get rid of Emily!!!
  35. Some Guy from Canada writes: ANTITRUST!
    ANTITRUST!
    ANTITRUST!

    Bell is moving to usage-based billing for ISPs, and a stupid name change is the headline? Wake up! How can Bell get away with its practices??? At this rate, Canada will become a 3rd World Country in terms of access to the Internet. This is sickening.
  36. Anti Elvis from Calgary, AB, Canada writes: I've always wanted to date Emily the robot.
  37. Ivan Canarus from Toronto, Canada writes: .
    Is the Internet service expansion is a great strategy ? Just assume that all customers have already connected to the Internet.

    Sure, they pay for access monthly and this is a good news. But customers switch to use Internet-phones for long distance call, download music and videos, vendors use the network for providing own services. Customers could find any service in the Internet cheap or free.

    What does it mean ? It means that to develop the Internets access is the dead end for the operators in a long term perspective.

    What the operators have to do ? To develop new services which will substitute the Internet. But it is another story...
  38. Fraser Howard from Toronto, Canada writes: Bell Canada continues business as usual - big marketing, non-existent service. I actually responded to one of their ceaseless 'come back to Bell' promotions a few months ago after Rogers could not fix the piercing shriek that serves as their Home Phone call-waiting alert. I spent a long time on the phone with Bell placing my two-line, full-service order. They gave me an appointment which required me to be home all day and you guessed it - nobody came. (I called them three times during the day - each time they confirmed that a tech was on the way).
    I spoke to 'Bell Customer Service' (the World's Champion oxymoron) the following day and they treated my complaint as a common occurrence for which they were supremely unapologetic.
    When hell freezes over...
  39. No Name Economist With Different Ideas from @sympatico.ca, Canada writes: Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: They can put as many annoying beavers in their ads as they like, but they better not change my sympatico email address.

    Alistair. this was my first thought as well. I hate companies that rebrand. It costs millions and we as subscribers pay for it but the name Bell does have a ring to it... Get it? Ring to it... Bell Ring.... Phone Ring.... Bell....
    Never mind.
    Sounds like something one of the beavers would say... I'll miss them
  40. Gardiner Westbound from Canada writes:
    Nonsensical policies and lousy customer service promoted me to leave Bell. A new advertising motto won't bring me back.
  41. A Canadian from Toronto, Canada writes: Old Vinegar in new bottle!!!!!
  42. The Objectivist from Canada writes: hey I like George, he's a good man.....but you can slash and burn, fire ad agencies and pelt the beaver until the cows come home and NOTHING has changed where it counts, at the front line with the consumer. Better faster cheaper services.

    how about trashing the internet cap to start? that'd make me switch from bell's oligopoly partner, but wait, oligopoly partners act together don't they, i forgot.

    If the 100 day plan is all about better service to the customer, when do i the customer actually get to experience any of it?
  43. Dick Moutray from Kitchener, Canada writes: Just don't change my damned email addresses
  44. John Connor from Around Town, Canada writes: Koolest Cat from Canada writes: Pfizer!!!

    So now Bell ads will look as creative as all those Viagra ads Pfizer is running.

    But will the end justify the means?
    After all, will it help Bell get "up" and running in the end?
    Or will the customers wind up getting it in the "end"?
    Just curious.
  45. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: At least Bell still offers decent home phone service. Last year I managed to delude myself into thinking that Rogers Home Phone might be a better deal. The emotional scars will never heal. Rogers also refused to cover the towing charges incurred for hauling their gigantic modem back to the Rogers kiosk.
  46. BC Refugee in AB from Canada writes: Bob from Mtl....you're my hero!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From now on French it is! Thanks
  47. Terry Sole from Toronto, Canada writes: I'd rather Bell improve their services, especially their email service, rather than spend time/money on a new name.
  48. The Objectivist from Canada writes: No Name, your post got me thinking, here's the pragmatists view on rebranding.....

    VP marketing sweating bullets, new, big guy is wielding the axe, jeez i gotta do something powerful, dramatic, show him i can man up......what to do, cheesy animated animals, no, so last year.... must go big or go home. Wait, re branding, that's it!

    Well, just a second folks. A brand is supposed to have brand equity. For companies that know what they're doing that brand equity is more valuable than the rest of balance sheet. So what does it say when a giant company says lets rebrand? It says after the 10's, maybe 100's of millions of dollars they've spent over the years on advertising and marketing, they've f**cked up soooo badly that it makes more sense to flush it all; that they think their actions, their value propositions and customer relations have negative brand equity despite those advertising budgets. Frightening. I say leave things as they are, fire more of these monkeys and pass the saving along....something that might actually positively impact the customer
  49. slapdash dapoint from trawna, Canada writes: "Wade Oosterman, president of Bell Mobility and chief branding officer for Bell Canada, said ... But there is still a need to explain technology to the market, he said."

    -- uh, based on many responses to any technilogical moves bell makes, it would seem more bell staff than induviduals in 'the market' need to have the technology explained.

    “It's not about taking the mystery out of it, but highlighting that these are the key things that matter to you as the end user. "

    -- that's where i've been wrong all along!! i thought i knew what i wanted, but really i should have been listening to bell employees who have been telling me to pay more for lower quailty services!! fahk - so much wasted time and energy...

    others have said it, bell can rebrand all they want... but when you polish a turd, you still end up with...

    :|
  50. L T from Canada writes: Since Bell is now owned by the Teachers, all they are looking to do is make more profit to pay for their pensions so I doubt there will be any improvement...

    That said and since they are 'house-cleaning' to a certain degree, I agree with many comments... good riddance to the two beavers who were annoying, get rid of Emily who is also annoying and update your website - it is horrendous! I hate Rogers just as much but, at least, I can actually navigate their site.
  51. j r from mississauga, Canada writes: As I’m reading all these un true comments about Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers with solutions to all their communications needs, including telephone services, wireless communications, high-speed Internet, digital television and voiceover IP. The Only company that can really and truly say they are the most reliable and you can depend on them to always be ready for you. The company that has set the bench mark for all other copycat companies out there, the company that was the only one there when there was a major black out, you guys all need to sit back and think if it was not for BELL there will be none of these great communications technology that these copycat companies are trying to offer you. Bell has been around for more then 125 years so obviously something is being done right! If you are all willing to sacrifice price for quality then it sucks to be you. Bell new look is exactly what they need its a fresh look for a fresh start so everyone get ready you are about see Canada's largest communications company at its best!

    P.S. try not to leave your comments after you come across a bad experience it tends to cloud all of your judgments

    GO BELL
  52. Full_Monty 222 from Canada writes: You don't need a slick new multimillion dollar ad campaign, you don't to get rid of the brand names or kill off the beavers.
    here' the secret..
    Offer your customer quality products, great rates and excellent customer service!(what a concept) Existing customers will be happy, the word will spread like wildfire and new customers will be knocking down your doors.
    It ain't rocket science folks...just a little Marketing 101.
  53. Shawn Goldwater from Home of the 76 Summer Games, Canada writes: Bob from Montreal makes a good point. However, I must say that my own experience with the India call centre hasn't been that bad. Yes, the accent can be a problem for me (I'm hard of hearing) but aside from that they seem as skilled as their Canadian counterparts.

    I'd hazard a guess that there are millions more tech-savvy folks in fast-rising India than here.
  54. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: This conversation was recently overheard in the BCE boardroom:

    Bell VP1: "We need to make some changes." VP2: "Yeah, I'm getting sick and tired of these ugly beige walls." VP1: "You don't understand. I'm thinking beavers." VP2: (Chuckles) "Aren't we all." VP1: "No no. I mean Frank and Gordon, the beavers in our commercials." VP2: "Dude, that's sick." VP1: "I'm talking about a new ad campaign to boost our bottom line." VP2: "Have you thought about maybe improving our network infrastructure and our customer service?" (Boardroom erupts in laughter.) VP2: "Sorry, couldn't resist that little joke. Carolyn, get the ad agency on the phone please."
  55. slapdash dapoint from trawna, Canada writes: j r from mississauga - how's that bell pension look'n?
  56. Conservatives Lie from Canada writes: Interesting, I posted here earlier reminding people that BELL is now 2/3 American owned, not owned by teachers. Teachers only owns 1/3. Controlling interest in your national telecommunications network is now AMERICAN OWNED.

    My comment, and the comments that responded by quoting my comment have all been removed.

    Seems Bell Globe Media, now CTV Globe Media, is engaged in quite the game here.

    Let's see how long this comment stays posted. Not that it matters, the fact that Harper structured the sell off of our national telecom company to Americans through his Income Trust Betrayal is being talked about all over the net, beyond the reach of Bell Globe Media censors too.
  57. Randal Oulton from Canada writes: Wow. So hundreds of thousands of sympatico.ca email addresses changing soon?
  58. R M from Ottawa, Canada writes:
    Customer Service Re-brand theme:

    "Bell H*ll"
  59. peter mikichak from Guelph, Canada writes: I have used Bell for years and detest Rogers. Many of the criticisms about Bell are valid but I have heard many horror stories about Rogers as well. Bell's attempt to consolidate billing under My Bell is a complete mess to try and manoeuver around and they implemented it more than a year ago. Re tech support for Sympatico.....most of the tech support I have spoken to in India are competent and helpful although accents are sometimes a problem. Tech support within Canada has been generally good even on some complex network problems although 4 different tech support persons all had different erroneous explanations for one problem which was eventually solved by a tech person in India. The most incompetent and obnoxious tech person was from Quebec. If they dump ....@sympatico I will dump Bell...that would be sheer stupidity on their part just for new marketing hype.
  60. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: Conservatives Lie, maybe they deleted your comment because you've been posting the exact same cut-and-paste crap for over a year now. If you must criticize a politician, criticize Dalton McGuinty for refusing to pay for your autism treatment, thus comdemning you to a lifetime of pointless, repetative behaviours and Internet posts.
  61. That Guy from Canada writes: Conservatives Lie from Canada writes: My comment, and the comments that responded by quoting my comment have all been removed.

    Actually, my response is still there. But just in case...
    I don't care if Bell is 2/3rd owned by Americans. I really don't.
    In fact, I can only hope that they can do a better job of running it than the Canadians who ran it into the ground.

    I no long buy any service from Bell (I used to have 4) so I really don't care what happens. I feel sorry for employees who lose their job, but if they have any good skills, they'll find something better.
  62. That Guy from Canada writes: @Alistair McLaughlin from Canada.

    But your response works too!
  63. Eastern Ontario Robert Bythelake from Eastern Ontario, Canada writes: No marketing campaing can ever bring me back to Sympatico. I was a client for over 10 years but got so fed up by their customer avoidance system that I left them this year. All support calls are routed to India or some other foreign country, all with heavy accents that, partly due to my own tinnitis, I could never understand. Escalation of problems to a management level of Bell resulted in nothing, or at best a response several weeks later. I even got my last response 4 months AFTER I had switched ISP.....that is really good service! Their websites are so badly programmed as to be just about useless, especially for their own customers on dial-up (which is what we had), as pages took MINUTES to load. Satellite TV is in the same boat, with all support calls out of some foreign heavily accented country. The last time I used the support was to install their new version of software for our box, which they installed improperly (eliminating just about all the normal TV stations that we subscribe to) and we had to call them back and deal with another nearly intelligible tech support person until he was able to figure out what they had done wrong. You can have the finest ads in the world, but until these kings of support issues are resolved, it will not matter. With all this in mind, the new owners paid too much for Canada's worst servicing company.
  64. Joe N from Toronto, Canada writes: I want better customer service! I want a highly skilled and trained person to take my call 24/7 and fix it ASAP! It is rediculous that I have to speak to someone who has an accent!

    Oh and I want it all cheaper!

    Better customer service means hiring better educated people. This results in higher wages. Make up your mind folks. I don't care which one it is. Customer service or cheaper rates. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
  65. Doug F. from Hanmer, Canada writes: I am amazed at the number of people who are just concerned with their Sympatico E-Mail address.

    Frankly if you are still using that overpriced, under-capped, over-hyped, ISP you have much bigger problems than that.

    Shop around people. Sympatico is a RIP-OFF which is why Bell is trying to hide it under a 'new' identity. I used to have both Sympatico and Expressvu.

    Until I actually looked at the other alternatives and found that Bell was uncompetitive.

    Stop fretting about your E-Mail and start worrying about retaining a poor overpriced service provider.

    That's what a free(well somewhat free in Canada's case) market is for. Use it.
  66. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: Doug F, I get high speed internet service from Bell for 29.99 a month on a three year contract. And I just switched to digital ExpressVu for $52 per month, which includes 5 theme packs and time shifting. That is very competitive. After years of getting bent over by Rogers, I'm quite happy with my Bell services.
  67. No Name Economist With Different Ideas from @sympatico.ca, Canada writes: I have to say I have been happy with Bell and have no intention of switching but I have not had the same luck as others when they talk about the off shore customer service for sympatico. This really has to stop. About 3 months ago I had a problem with my wireless modem, it freezes and I have to reboot it.
    The poor fellow went through all the canned scripts and made me jump through a whole bunch of hoops went offline to ask more questions and finally said we will send you a new modem. I have yet to receive the new modem but was enrolled in their music download subscription and received two copies of their virus prevention software.
    I called about my bill after seeing the $10.00 charge for the music service and spoke with this polite young woman in Ottawa. She was very apologetic, credited back the $10.00, cancelled the service and was so incredibly professional and friendly I thought I died and went to heaven.
    Because of this young person in Ottawa I will remain a loyal Bell customer.
    Now if I can just get her to get that guy in India to send me my modem.
  68. Northern Boy from Sudbury, Canada writes: You can change the name, but you can't change some of the worst customer service in Corporate Canada. I'm into week 3 and 3 contacts to Bell to have someone acknowledge a letter that was sent after a series of surprisingly terrible customer service experiences. 3 weeks later, I'm still waiting for my first reply (although I did get a 'we will respond to your correspondance within 48 hours auto email around a week ago).
  69. Hugh Draper from Vancouver, Canada writes: Their teaser campaign would have actually meant something if they used the three letters: "est".
  70. That Guy from Canada writes: Joe N from Toronto, Canada writes: I want better customer service!
    Oh and I want it all cheaper!

    Make up your mind folks. I don't care which one it is. Customer service or cheaper rates. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I can't speak for anyone else, but I did not leave Bell for a lower price.
    In fact I'm paying more* than I did with Bell. I'm just getting better value.

    Bell, kept lowering product quality *and* service quality all the while *raising     prices. So I was getting the worst of your choices.
  71. Conservatives Lie from Canada writes: Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes:

    Harper wants to Thank you for not paying attention.

    If you are not concerned with the fact that your government appears to have willfully lied to the population of Canada in order to stage the sell off of your national telecommunications company to a country that has made it very clear that they no longer respect their OWN laws in respect to wiretapping, then you are a bigger idiot that I thought.

    Seriously people THIS is the issue at hand.

    Bell Canada is now American owned!
  72. W R from Stratford, PE, Canada writes: Bell TV, Bell Internet. They needed an advertising agency to come up with such bland, boring brand names??
  73. That Guy from Canada writes: @Conservatives Lie from Canada,

    Are you sure that your tin foil hat isn't a bit too tight?
  74. The Lakeman from Nova Scotia, Canada writes: We get our T.V. programming through Bell ExpressVu which is now to be called Bell T.V. I certainly hope that more changes are in store than just changing the name. Bell T.V. programming is terrible. Most times there is nothing decent to watch. Even the Pay Per View movies are terrible; you can't even buy a good movie from them. I am just waiting for my wife to give her approval and I will disconnect it regardless what name they give it. I don't know what I will do for viewing entertainment; does anyone know if there is a good alternative in internet T.V. or movies. I sure would like to shake Bell T.V. and save the $65.00 a month for something else.
  75. Amguada Kickboote from The Sewage Treatment Plant, Canada writes: .
    Call it what they want, Bell is still a four letter word in my household.
  76. Dodge Chaarger from GTA, Canada writes: Juliet says in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet "O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet"

    I say "Sht smells like sht no matter what name you give it"
  77. Gogh Forit from Canada writes: Who really cares if the company that provides a service is domestic or foreign owned. All that should matter is the price and service. Everything else is foolish jingoism. Eventually most businesses (except for the mom and pop variety) will be owned by foreign interests.
    Since the customer base for these companies is in Canada in this instance, how is bad that the company is owned by interests other than Canadian. I haven't gotten one discount from any Canadian company that I deal with simply because we both have the same citizenship. None of the cars we Canadians drive are owned by Canadians so why is it such a sore point. If we as a country as so darn smart, why aren't we buying up those Canadian companies so as to keep them truly Canadian which is a slogan for Zellers but that company is owned by Americans.
    Let's face it. Most Canadians are only in getting things as cheap as they can and if that can only result in having outside interests run the business better, what's the problem?
    I'm sure that this comment will produce the usual spate of criticism from the looney left. Let the loonies loose.
  78. Albin Forone from Canada writes: Before Sympatico, I lived through the buyout of the old NetCom by now defunct ATT Canada. My NetCom email address continued to work at the same time as the new address, so I only began using forone@attcanada.com on my own volition, as a spam-purging tactic. My guess is the new customer-sensitive Bell will do something like that. Bell's big danger is that land lines are becoming redundant to cell, and their residential internet service is tied to a land line subscription at a separate $50 per month. If (capital "I" even in mid-sentence) Rogers were ever to become any good, many in Toronto would live by cell phone and cable internet alone.
  79. Gar war from Canada writes: In response to Paul Picard from inbetween Toronto and Montreal, Canada's defense of Bell on one side and to all the critics of the Bell' Customer service. Personally, I have had no problems with the customer service personal as such, even those off shore. The problem has been with the concept of 'customer services' at Bell's Head Office. When Bell's management cuts such and such service, raises the prices of something else, messes with your bill, interrupts your service or any other mirade of screw ups they have made, it is not the individual service operators fault. They can only fix the problems that they can fix. Unfortunately fixing the idiots that make the decissions is not a button they can press. That's why no one goes to the Bell recruitment fairs. Who want to be the voice defending these bums.

    If there is any one action by Teachers that gives me hope that they can turn this beast around is their promise to can 2500 management types. Whether they get it right or not depends on which one of these idiots get their pink-slips.
  80. Tetchy Citizen from Canada writes: Bell is one company that would benefit from simply comparing itself to its competition, which is even more incompetent, less customer-focused and with pricing that's just as bad (thanks to the CRTC).

    Why, why, why do Canadians stand for such awful telecommunications service and ridiculous pricing?
  81. Conservatives Lie from Canada writes: Gogh Forit from Canada, Canadians tried to maintain ownership of Bell Canada and BCE, and Bell Globe Media (The Globe and Mail).

    Your Harper government lied and changed laws to allow the BCE take over to happen.

    Why should you care?

    Well for starters, the American government has already made it very clear that they ignore wiretap laws requiring court orders before wiretapping. They have said so publicly. Repeatedly.

    And Americans now own your telecommunications network, and some of your media outlets. It's open season on wire taps in Canada, done from the USA, by the USA.

    It's very sad to watch Harper sell Canada to America while reading posts from people whose biggest concern seems to be that Expressvu doesn't offer them the kind of programming that they like to watch while drooling upon themselves.

    You get the government you DESERVE people.

    And judging by these sad posts, you deserve to wake up one day wondering why you are "suddenly" pledging allegiance to the American Flag.

    Hopefully at least some of the readers here are paying attention and thinking instead of sitting in front of the tv drooling while Canada is being taken apart by your own government.
  82. That Guy from Canada writes: @Conservatives Lie from Canada,

    Um, didn't "my" Harper government block the sale of (Canadian) MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates to (American) Alliant Techsystems?
  83. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: Conservatives Lie, I think I speak for droolers everywhere when I say that your comments are extremely insensitive and mean. We try not to drool while watching TV, but they keep showing that Wonder Bra commercial with women's boobies and stuff, and we just can't help it. Please try to be a little more considerate. We're not all perfect non-droolers like yourself.
  84. i have to laugh from Toronto, Canada writes: I HATE ROGERS.
  85. Some Guy from Canada writes: The notion of that cheap rates and good customer service are mutually exclusive is false. That is why Bell is stridently trying to destroy smaller businesses, which offer both competitive prices and personalized customer service from local employees, by extralegal uses of the law and monopolist practices.

    Bell cannot compete, so they leverage whatever political influence they have on the legislature in order to destroy competition in the market. What Bell does would be illegal in the European Union. There are no rational purposes for Canada to allow Bell to continue this way except for self-enrichment and corruption.
  86. annick aubert from toronto, Canada writes: Let them get rid of Emily and only of Emily, the rest is working just fine for me.
  87. O Canada from Canada writes: Hated those beavers - so glad they're gone!
  88. david ferguson from halifax, Canada writes: in Nova Scotia, Bell runs under the Aliant name. In the past year we have had five internet service calls (during which time someone had to be home, mind you for an entire morning or afternoon) and the home phone another five or possibly even six service requirements. Online and call center support (I am a MS certified systems engineer, was utterly worthless..

    new ad campaigns are not going to resolve these issues. basically, you are a phone company that cannot consistantly provide a usable phone connection. i'd work on that and leave the beavers to the imagination of my five year old daughter.

    marketing and call center ploys will not change the public perception based on fact of a company much too big to provide customer service. even employees tell me that they are being thrashed by the cable companies now providing full package services...i wonder why that could be?
  89. Mark armstrong from writes: Bell should work on getting their internal departments to start working together.

    Maybe then, I'll actually get billed for the amount I was promised by the sales and marketing people.
  90. O Canada from Canada writes: Conservatives Lie from Canada writes: It's very sad to watch Harper sell Canada to America

    How can PM Harper sell Canada to a continent? I believe you meant to say that he is selling Canada to the United States? Remember, in this country, that country is the US or States - it isn't a continent in and of itself.
  91. aniphylactic shock troops from Victoria, Canada writes: The other day I called Bell on a cell phone issue.

    I always start hammering right away on the 0 or 1 button to get a live customer dis-service rep.

    Don't know whether I ended up in India or Chicoutimi, but the guy on the other end was uintelligible and, when I asked him to call my local store to straighten something out with staff there, he spent five minutes deflecting the request. I finally asked him whether his phone only worked for incoming calls or if they had taken away his dialling keypad.

    Bell Bl0ws.
  92. Greg Norman from Canada writes: Bell is known for lousy service and long wait times for customer service (nothing more annoying than computer generated phone operator)...I'm glad to say I NO LONGER HAVE ANY BILLS/ACCOUNTS WITH BELL. That was a goal of mine; after they pissed me off for the last time. I'm sure people can relate.
  93. brian bishop from Brantford, Canada writes: .......
    I launched my own Bell campaign six months ago, I canceled all my Bell services!
  94. Yes, I was born in a barn.... from Canada writes: OK, I admit it.
    I have a Bell Landline. I pay the absolute bare minimum per month JUST so I can have a DSL connection for my internet.
    Internet that I pay less than $35/mo for 5.0Mbps service with NO CAP.
    So, for $57/mo I get a home phone that 911 can find and works in a power failure and BETTER internet than Bell can provide, even using THEIR lines.
    I have Star Choice for TV I never watch.
    I feel I have succeeded as much as possible in steering clear of the dictatorship that is Rogers and Bell as much as possible.
    Spend the time and look around. There are LOTS of options for great customer service, and they are cheaper than the big girls.

  95. Tony . from Waterloo, Canada writes: Anti Elvis from Calgary, AB, Canada writes: "I've always wanted to date Emily the robot."

    Same here! I actually worked up the courage to ask her out once but she turned me down and told me to go talk to someone in India :(
  96. Conservatives Lie from Canada writes: Alistair McLaughlin from Canada, you posting lame, witless insults doesn't change the facts.

    The facts are that our national telecommunications service is now controlled by American interests, and Harper staged that sell out with his Income Trust Betrayal.

    Toss out as many lame insults as you want, it won't change the fact that a VITAL Canadian interest is now American controlled.

    Harper can NOT be trusted
  97. Andrew S from Canada writes: Looks like Bell is going retro. CP24.COM 1995, Bell Logo 1970, same old crappy service 1900-2008.
  98. Brian Martin from Canada writes: I'd personally prefer the last Frank and Gordon commercial involve their getting run over by a car.

    I cancelled all my Bell services over a year ago. If they spent half as much time and effort trying to service me as a customer as they have trying to get me back as a customer they might actually still have me as a customer.

    I also pulled almost half a million of corporate business from them because of how badly they handled my home phone issue. No dial tone for 4 days, two service calls, the second resulted in crossing my line with my neighbours and when they refused to come back and fix it immediately, I grabbed my leatherman, cracked open the Bell pedestal and fixed both my phone and my neighbours. Then they screwed up my final billing and I had to go all the way to Kevin Crull, the President of Bell residential services to get that fixed. He eventually resolved the billing issue but never did follow up on any of the other promises he made.

    It is remarkable that these guys are still in business at all.
  99. Joe Johnston from toronto, Canada writes: Not sure why all the hate. We as consumers have brought a lot of this behaviour on ourselves. People complain that service sucks, but they are too cheap to pay for service....They want 24x7 pro help but want to get it for free. Why do you think they outsourced call centers?

    When it used to be just Bell with its higher rates and nobody else im sure the money was there to fund local call centers and pay a good wage etc...now that their is a lot of competition and costs have gone down on services like long distance how does a company keep giving the kind of service that people demand? They raise prices or they find other ways to get cut costs...ie..out source help....Companies are responsible to their share holders and to make money...they are not there to give stuff away for free.

    The new ads look pretty good, and hopefully with a new CEO they will fix some of the problems that people struggle with everyday. People on here are too negative, its always the unhappy people who write on these forums. My service works well, and I am optimistic that Bell will improve.
  100. bill johnson from Quebec, Canada writes: They lost our 4 cell phones, internet, home phone and satellite. They suck. Problem? Try calling after 6pm. They are a communications company with a communication problem. No easily accessible customer service after 6pm. I laughed, however, when they called to retain my business - the call came in the evening after 6pm. They surely are one of the biggest reasons why people will enrol in the do-not-contact service that they themselves will run. We should have legal euthenasia for companies like Bell.
    • Posted 07/08/08 at 10:08 PM EST |