Last week I wrote about how Bell ruined my Saturday. After a frustrating experience in one of their retail stores, and a number of confusing conversations about their upgrade "deals," I vented here. My goal was to highlight a growing problem in this country. We are increasingly getting a raw deal when it comes to data plans, voice plans, phone, and Internet offers. From the feedback in the comments on that post, I'm not alone in thinking this.
Very soon after my article went live I got a number of e-mails from telcos and public relations firms that represent them. Everything was above board. No one offered free phones or special deals. However, it's the nature of my business that when a tech writer lambastes an industry, PR and media departments take notice. That's not the norm for most Canadians, of course. For most, complaining about telco services and plans is like screaming into a black hole. That's unfortunate and frankly ill conceived. Wireless companies should be far more concerned with the dozens of comments under my original post rather than with my particular odyssey. Seeking to appease a tech writer, one would think, should be secondary to appeasing the throngs of unsatisfied wireless customers (with logical, simple and fair packages and service).
Anyway, to the responses:
Someone from RIM contacted me to inquire about my experience. Knowing I was trying to upgrade to a BlackBerry Pearl 3G, they were all ears to hear about the service I experienced. Since RIM is a hardware supplier, all they could do was listen. Nonetheless, I appreciate them reaching out and I'm impressed with how they're tackling customer support in the online world. Their @BlackBerryHelp account on Twitter is a social media success story, a destination where a core team of RIM people are almost always available to tackle problems you might have with their devices.
Virgin Mobile Canada also wrote with an e-mail, encouraging me to give one of their handsets a try and letting me know that hey have some good deals. The PR manager's note was short and personal, just like they should be.
Keith McArthur ( @keithmcarthur) from Rogers got in touch via Twitter (based on the fact that I mentioned in the post that I pay for Internet speeds from his company that I rarely get). He asked if there was any way he could help out, and suggested I follow up with an e-mail. As I've written about before, Rogers is making an effort to connect with customers online with its Red Board platform.
A rep from Telus wrote and asked if I knew that the company has a special promotion with pink BlackBerry Pearl 3Gs -- not a promotion that would knock the price down but one that helps in the fight against breast cancer. She told me Telus donates $25 toward a digital mammography machine for women in my area with the purchase of a Pearl 3G or BlackBerry Curve 8530. Her note was personal and friendly and she went so far as to tell me that cancer had affected a couple of people in her life and mentioned that this was more than a PR effort for her, it was a cause close to her heart.
And where was Bell in all of this? More than a day after the post went up, I got a couple of phone messages from two different Bell representatives. (The funny part, course, is that a dead phone precipitated this whole search for a new handset. It might just be the way Bell connects with customers, but when someone complains that their phone isn't working it might be a smart idea to reach out via e-mail, Twitter or some other avenue to ensure you get in touch.)
Anyway, after contacting Bell I received a form-like e-mail thanking me for my correspondence. The e-mail was from "Relations Clients" and stated: "Bell Media Relations team referred your article for me to review. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to provide assistance on this matter."
Out of all of the correspondence I received, this e-mail was the most impersonal, although it did assure me that "situations like the one you experienced are inconsistent with our business goals." I couldn't figure out if they meant their business goals involved keeping journalists happy or customers happy. It was the longest of all the e-mails I received, replete with complex paragraphs explaining my options. I think it might have been written by a bot.
As to how I've finally fixed my phone problem -- well, by the time I got the final e-mail from Bell, I was well on my way to exploring my new pink Pearl. I'd not known about Telus' donation program and that sealed the deal for me beyond everything else. It's funny when you think about it -- it wasn't plans or carriers or PR e-mails that made making this decision easy. I felt good about buying a phone that contributed to a worthy cause like fighting breast cancer, and (for now) have this alien glow of ... what ... -- satisfaction? -- after dealing with a telco.
I wonder if they've learned anything.