Will you stay with Fido/Microcell if Telus buys them?
By Boris Mann on May 18, 2004 - 4:50pm
Yes. I don't care who runs the service. Telus is the same as Fido.
17% (5 votes)
Maybe, if I get to keep my same plan.
70% (21 votes)
No. Telus has pigs in their advertising.
13% (4 votes)
Total votes: 30
Just don't take away my GSM/GPRS...
Right. Yes, that is a big point. Oh, and I also like Fido's no contract options. Who needs more lock-in?
Will Fido's coverage change? That's the reason I left them for Bell.. crappy coverage, and crappy customer service. I suppose the customer service won't improve with a move to Telus, though. *sigh* Our "options" for cellular service in the lower mainland are really a question of which evil we're most comfortable accepting.
In the 3 1/2 years I've been with Rogers, I've never used their customer service, so customer service of lack thereof wasn't a factor in my decision to go with Fido. I'm interested to know specific examples of bad customer service with Fido (or others), since all I've ever read is opinions without what actually happened.
As for coverage, I figure if I'm on the Island (which I am 3 or 4 times a year for never longer than 3 days), then they can just leave a message. Trips to the Island will, I guess, effectively mean trips to the offline world.
When they upsold me to a monthly plan from a pay as you go, I gave them my address. And promptly forgot about it. Until one day, when my phone was cut off. I phoned to find out why, and they said it was because I hadn't paid my bill. I asked them where they SENT the bill, and they had some weird "123 Main Street" type filler address in. Which was obviously not correct. So I gave them the correct address and asked them to send me copies of my bills.
They did send me copies of my bills, but they CHARGED ME FOR IT. And when I phoned up to find out why, it was as if they had no record of my previous conversations with them about this subject. The rep was rude to me, and made it clear that he thought I was lying about giving them my address in the first place.
And that's just one example of my dealings with Fido. :) I'm really tired, otherwise I'd list off a few other similar situations.
Just after I wrote my above comment, there was lengthy complaint posted at Vancouver Webloggers.
The coverage won't change unless something drastic happens...like being bought by Rogers instead, which uses the same technology as Fido.
That's why Fido has the coverage (bad) and features/phones (good) that it does -- it uses GSM/GPRS, a newer, all-digital format that is used in most of the rest of the world.
I've always had good service from Fido, both here and in Ottawa. Like banks, the telco monopoly here in Canada really does mean trying to find the least evil option.
I've called Fido's customer service because I locked my self out of my phone, after too much partying and playing with the settings. They were prompt and courteous. I've called for help with setting up payment through Vancity. Prompt and courteous. And any of the other half dozen times I've called they've been most helpful. I have no complaints with their customer service, or their connectivity since December.
I figure this, if someone is being an asshole to me, they are being and asshole, not the company they work for. Point out to them that your not comfortable dealing with them and ask if they'd mind passing you on to someone else.
I'm sure you've all heard about Telus denying union members access to a union members website. They say its because there's a link on it that had pictures of scabs crossing the picket line.
I don't believe that's true. I think they don't want their customers to see how Telus spends the customers money. See
the voices-for-change.com website and look at this link to the entertainment for telus management provided at the customers expense:
http://ia108628.us.archive.org/1/items/anonymousTelusIdolT ELUSIdolmpg/
The VOC site did most certainly have a link to pictures of "scabs" on the site - there is no denying it on the site either. They have since agreed to not post pictures or threatning stuff on the site or methods of sabatauging the TELUS network. I know TELUS got alot of bad publicity for blocking that site and as such perhaps not their best judgement from a publicity standpoint - but it shows that they are more than money ungers too...they lost and risked alot to protect their working employees when they really didn't have to.
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