Anyway, the sales staff at a Rogers outlet in the city advised her that she would be eligible for a new handset upgrade very shortly, and so she lumbered-on with her partially operational rig with the expectation that a shiny new handset would be delivered at a minimal cost in a few weeks. When replacement day came, she was told by staff at a Rogers outlet that they had "changed their policy" and she would not be eligible for an upgrade for another several months. Of course, she called Rogers customer service and they advised that she should go to the outlet from which she had just come. They advised that the appropriate manager who could deal with her was at a different outlet. That guy told her she needed to deal with Rogers customer service. And so went the Rogers Waltz. Everyone was powerless to do anything in the face of the omnipresent "policy". It was clearly time for everyone's favourite remedy, the Strongly Worded Letter.
I won't bore you with my initial letter, as it was simply an exhortation of the facts and frustrations my wife suffered in her attempt to exercise a reasonable request. However, the tripe that Rogers customer service replied with caused immediate rage in the deepest pit of my stomach. Below, I have pasted Rogers initial reply, my reply and then Rogers further response. As a disclaimer, I have no idea if any of the legal junk I cited has any application to the circumstance... but neither did they. It probably wasn't necessary given that their first response was so abysmal that it was laughable. Rogers "certainly appreciate(s) (my) concern". Although it's the ubiquitous first phrase in every customer service response, I'm not entirely sure how one actually "appreciates" someone's "concern". What is it about the concern that they appreciate? The length of the concern, the tone of the concern, or the way the concern was articulated? The phrase is on par with, "Don't take offence, but..."
If you are livid with your wireless provider, perhaps we should talk - I might be willing to run a test case on your behalf. Enjoy.
Subject: Re: Your Cellular General
Inquiry (KMM76614002I28642L0KM)
Dear Rogers Valued Subscriber, Thank you for your email.
We can certainly appreciate your concern regarding this matter and apologize for any miscommunication that occured. At Rogers we value our existing customers as much as new customers. Please note that all policies are subject to change at any time; our hardware upgrade program received some changes recently which changed the eligibility to 30 months. Unfortunately we are unable to change this timeframe, therefore if you choose to upgrade before your 30 months eligibility date has elapsed you will be subject to an early upgrade fee.
If you have any further questions or concerns, we would as that you reply with your First and Last name.
This is to ensure that we protect your security and the confidentiality of your account.
Thank you for your use of our online customer service.
For future email correspondence with respect to this e-mail, please quote reference number 46888829
Regards,
Nicole L
Rogers Online Customer Support
http://www.rogers.com
Here's my reply:
Dear
Nicole L.:
Reference
# 46888829
Thank
you for your prompt reply to my inquiry (reference 46888829). Although
I appreciate your quick reply, I do not appreciate the hollow platitudes you delivered. You provided no sense of actual appreciation of my "concern". If you truly did "appreciate my
concern", I anticipate you would have provided the contract information I requested in my correspondence. My sense is that you decidedly do not appreciate my "concern", judging by the off-hand manner in which it was dismissed.
And I would not characterize my inquiry as a "concern" as much as a "request". Entitling my request as a "concern"
implies I carry a measure of anxiety and unhappiness that requires placating. I was not seeking your appreciation of my concern. I was actually requesting that someone with appropriate decision making authority reviews my request, provides the information requested and issues a meaningful reply. In fact, I feel the rehearsed, hollow response you provided has actually caused me some concern. Although I anticipate you will probably want to appreciate my fresh concern, I would prefer if you could refrain from appreciating it and simply attend to, or have someone with appropriate authority attend to, my requests.
I am
not convinced you value existing customers as much as new ones. If
you did, you would provide the same opportunities to current customers as you do to new ones, and you would honour the representations and warranties made by your sales staff. Secondly, Rogers IS, in fact, able to alter the timeframe for a hardware upgrade -it CHOOSES not to do so. There is a substantial difference between the two, and you have implied that there is some anonymous, overbearing force which prevents Rogers from adjusting its policies. Might I suggest the overbearing force preventing Rogers from accommodating me
is.... Rogers? You asked me to "note" that Rogers' policies are
subject to change at any time - I have noted such. Please note that I am asking for a change in the application of the policy in my circumstance.
It
is not "unfortunate" that Rogers is outright refusing my request: fortune
has little to do with this matter. My circumstance results from Rogers' intentional, flippant change in its policy, and the application of it. Suggesting the circumstance is "unfortunate" implies
that a remedy is beyond the control of Rogers. I think it is unreasonable and unhelpful, but it is not unfortunate. The current climate of faceless, rehearsed customer service in North America is, indeed, quite unfortunate.
Although
you have implied that this is a matter of "miscommunication", your
sales staff represented that I would be eligible for a hardware upgrade two years into my contract, and I relied on that representation to enter into the contract. Their communication was entirely clear. I furthered maintained my service with Rogers based on representations made by your sales staff that I would be eligible for an upgrade to an iPhone 4 two years into my contract. Again, there was no miscommunication. In accordance with Saskatchewan's Consumer Protection Act, specifically sections 6(g), (i), (j), (q) and (r), I suspect Rogers' failure to honour the representations made by your sales staff constitutes an Unfair Practice as defined by the Act. Despite the clauses in your written Terms & Conditions, my understanding is that oral representations that are not reflected in a written agreement are potentially enforceable under Consumer Protection legislation (see section 37 of the Act). Furthermore, I view the sudden change in the Rogers "policy" respecting hardware upgrades as a change in the Terms
of my contract, as warranted by your sales staff, of which I received no notice. I also anticipate that the transaction between myself and Rogers, wherein the phone was purchased conditionally on a 3-year contract, may be subject to section 18 of The Limitation of Civil Rights Act in Saskatchewan, in which case I may be entitled to simply return my current phone to Rogers and cease any further payments.
Could
you please provide me with the following:
1)
copies of the 2009 Terms & Conditions and the
2009 Service Agreement
that govern my relationship with Rogers;
2)
the date on which my current Service Agreement
expires;
3)
the price of the Early Upgrade Fee referenced in
your correspondence;
and
4)
the current fees that Rogers would charge to
terminate my contract,
and an indication of the appropriate clause(s) in the 2009 Terms & Conditions, or 2009 Service Agreement as I have requested above.
I
would like to further consider my options respecting my current circumstance
with Rogers so that I might proceed in the most efficient fashion possible. I am still open to accepting an upgrade to an iPhone 4 at a current promotional rate, because that is a reasonable resolution to this issue. However, I am not prepared to accept Rogers' initial response to my inquiry and I intend to pursue a satisfactory resolution to the matter in the appropriate forum if Rogers is un willing to provide one. If you are unable to provide the information I have requested, please advise me promptly and forward my request to someone with appropriate authority to do address my request. While Rogers attends to my request, I will seek someone in my immediate geography to help appreciate my concerns over a hot cup of tea.
Yours
truly,
Rogers Reply:
Subject: Re: Your Cellular General
Inquiry (KMM76654909I28642L0KM)
Ms. Dubois, You have reached the Rogers Online Management Support Team.
First, I would like to apologize if your concerns have not been completely answered to your satisfaction so far and if the previous Customer Service representative’s email correspondence seemed somewhat disconcerting. I am certain such was not the intent.
In answer to your inquiries, we can first confirm that we do not hold copies of wireless service agreements. However, such documentation can be found at the Rogers Plus outlet responsible for activating your wireless service on June 20th, 2009 under a 36-month wireless service agreement which is set to expire on June 20th, 2012. Should a cancellation take place before the expiry date, $20 multiplied by the number of months remaining would be charged on a final statement of account following the cancellation of the account. As of June 23rd, 2011, this amount would represent a total of $200 (plus taxes) based on 10 months remaining.
Finally, in light of the circumstances that bring us in communicating with each other, Rogers is willing to offer you an iPhone 4 (16 or 32 GB internal memory capacity) under the terms of a new 36-month wireless service agreement which would begin at the start of your account’s next billing cycle (July 21st). The subsidized pricing offered for this specific wireless device is as follows;
• iPhone 4 (16 GB) : $159.00 plus $35 administration fees and
applicable taxes
• iPhone 4 (32 GB) $269.00 plus $35 administration fees and applicable
taxes
Again, Ms. Dubois, I apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused and await your decision in response to this offer before moving forward on the account.
For future email correspondence with respect to this e-mail, please quote reference number 46888829.
Best regards,
Stéphane B.
Rogers On-line Management Support Team
http://www.rogers.com
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