When an individual gives a company business, month after month, he, or she, expects a certain level of satisfaction, support, and respect. Bell Canada has proved to me that this expectation is foolish, and misplaced. Read on to find out how they managed to do that.
Ever since I purchased my HTC Raider from Bell in Dec of 2011, I have been plagued with a lack of LTE signal. Originally, I assumed it was due to the fact that there was no LTE coverage in my area, but even after the towers were revamped, I have not noticed LTE connectivity.
In November of 2012, after several hours of unsuccessful calls, I approached a Bell store to help me resolve the issue. The Store rep replaced my SIM, and sent me on my way. Still, I did not get LTE connectivity. I returned to the store, and was met by a new rep, who introduced herself as the store manager. She informed me that the person I had spoken to originally did not even work at the Bell Store, and was someone from another Bell store, sent to cover.
The Store manager inspected my phone, did a reboot, wipe, and a few settings changes, and told me I should send the phone in for repairs. So, I did. I returned to the store with the deposit for a loaner phone, and handed my phone over to the manager. She, in turn, handed me a chunky, WP7 device. I was disappointed but figured it would only be a temporary arrangement. My phone was promptly sent in for repairs, and the manager told me she would call when the phone returned.
A few weeks later, I had heard nothing from the store, so I called in myself. The manager answered, and told me that the repair center had claimed that I had done “internal tampering,” and needed $250 to repair my phone. I immediately told the manager that I had never even opened the device, and she said that she didn’t think I had either. She told me she would decline the charge.
My phone was returned to the store. My problem has not been fixed, and the Repair center is quoting a $250 fee to repair some sort of internal damage. The void sticker on my phone, intact when handed in for repair, is now breached, and invalid. Taking back the phone from Bell will only back me into a situation where no one will be able to help me solve the issue.
So, I was left stranded with a sub-par loaner device, and a phone, in Bell’s possession, that had been damaged after leaving my hands.
To try and alleviate some of the pains of the glitchy loaner phone, I returned to the Bell store. I was greeted by another new rep. I asked for the manager, and was told that HE was not in the store. Surprised, I told the rep that I was under the impression that the manager was a lady. It turns out, the store rep who had been talking to me all along was not the store manager. In fact, the man I had originally spoken to, back in November, was the manager.
The new rep offered to help me out, so I told him the issues with my loaner, and that my phone had still not been repaired. The store rep promptly told me that the loaner was not the store’s responsibility I tried to argue that I was not able to access features that I was paying for, Data for starters. He laughed, and told me that “Bell provides loaner phones as a courtesy. If you’re not happy, you can return the loaner phone and sit on your ass till your phone is repaired.” Ignoring the rude language, and attitude, I requested that he at least help me sort out the issues with the loaner, like the loose back plate. The response I received was “If you have so many preferences, why are you with Bell?”
This outraged me a bit, and I told the rep that it was not alright to speak like that. He responded as follows. “Please stop coming in here to bargain.” Under his breath, he muttered “Indian kid.” This was extremely infuriating, and I left the store immediately, stopping to thank the rep. Once outside, I called Bell’s customer service. After trying to appease me with some offers, they advised me to go back to the store, and request the number of the regional manager.
So, once again, I entered the Bell store. Standing at the counter, was the fake manager lady. She politely asked me how she could help today. I asked her for the number of the regional manager. She responded by telling me she did not know it. “I can give you the number of the store manager,” she said. After some time, I agreed. She wrote down the umber, for which she had to consult her coworkers, and handed me the card. I returned home, and tried calling the number. I reached the voicemail… of a banquet hall.
I have no idea how to proceed in the face of such utter disregard for customers who would, given the right treatment, be loyal for decades to come. As a human being, I would have expected better respect from representatives of such a massive, multi-million dollar company.
