12-07-2004, 03:23 AM
Bad: Bell Sympatico
This was my ISP back when I still had dial-up. They started offering a "Lite" DSL service for about $1/month more than my 56k connection, so I called them up and placed an order to get connected. They said a tech would be out in 3-4 days with a DSL modem and get me hooked up. A week went by, so I called them back. They had no record of my order. I re-ordered it, and waited some more. Another week went by, so I called them back. No order on record. I went through this 2 more times. They lost my order 4 times. The last person I spoke to about my troubles was a senior supervisor who assured me that this would never happen again. Well, it did. I no longer use Bell as my ISP.
Good: Rogers
I was so pissed off with Bell Sympatico, I called Rogers (the other big Canadian broadband provider) and asked what they had available to compete with Bell's "Lite" service. They had a 128kbps/64kbps package that was identical to Bell's, only without a monthly transfer cap (and it was cable instead of DSL, not that I cared much). I told them of my problems with Bell, and the person on the other end of the line laughed and said she heard a LOT of stories just like mine.
The next day, a tech showed up with a Cable modem and hooked me up. He even gave me a free PCI network card (I honestly didn't know my computer at the time didn't have one already installed), and several dozen extra feet of cable just in case I wanted to relocate my computer to another part of the room. Everything was completely free. The modem is a rental covered under the monthly fee, and the installation and network card were free of charge.
I now have Rogers as my ISP, cable TV provider, and wireless phone provider. Last month I found out that since I have 2+ services from Rogers I was eligible for a 15% total discount. I applied the discount towards getting full 3.0mbps/384kbps service. I went from 128kbps/64kbps to 3.0mbps/384kbps as I was on the phone with Rogers. I even had a download going and watched in awe as my speed went from 12 kilobytes/s to well over 200 kilobytes/s.
All told, I pay a little over $80CAD/month to Rogers for my internet, cable TV, and wireless phone. Every time I contact them for help with any of my services, things get done INSTANTLY, often while I'm still talking to them on the phone. I've never been on hold longer than 2 minutes, and everyone there has been extremely polite and helpful to me. They never talk down to me or walk me through stupid procedures like rebooting my computer or rebooting my modem.
The only downside to Rogers is that they have a very aggressive sales department that calls me monthly asking me to sign up for other services.
This was my ISP back when I still had dial-up. They started offering a "Lite" DSL service for about $1/month more than my 56k connection, so I called them up and placed an order to get connected. They said a tech would be out in 3-4 days with a DSL modem and get me hooked up. A week went by, so I called them back. They had no record of my order. I re-ordered it, and waited some more. Another week went by, so I called them back. No order on record. I went through this 2 more times. They lost my order 4 times. The last person I spoke to about my troubles was a senior supervisor who assured me that this would never happen again. Well, it did. I no longer use Bell as my ISP.
Good: Rogers
I was so pissed off with Bell Sympatico, I called Rogers (the other big Canadian broadband provider) and asked what they had available to compete with Bell's "Lite" service. They had a 128kbps/64kbps package that was identical to Bell's, only without a monthly transfer cap (and it was cable instead of DSL, not that I cared much). I told them of my problems with Bell, and the person on the other end of the line laughed and said she heard a LOT of stories just like mine.
The next day, a tech showed up with a Cable modem and hooked me up. He even gave me a free PCI network card (I honestly didn't know my computer at the time didn't have one already installed), and several dozen extra feet of cable just in case I wanted to relocate my computer to another part of the room. Everything was completely free. The modem is a rental covered under the monthly fee, and the installation and network card were free of charge.
I now have Rogers as my ISP, cable TV provider, and wireless phone provider. Last month I found out that since I have 2+ services from Rogers I was eligible for a 15% total discount. I applied the discount towards getting full 3.0mbps/384kbps service. I went from 128kbps/64kbps to 3.0mbps/384kbps as I was on the phone with Rogers. I even had a download going and watched in awe as my speed went from 12 kilobytes/s to well over 200 kilobytes/s.
All told, I pay a little over $80CAD/month to Rogers for my internet, cable TV, and wireless phone. Every time I contact them for help with any of my services, things get done INSTANTLY, often while I'm still talking to them on the phone. I've never been on hold longer than 2 minutes, and everyone there has been extremely polite and helpful to me. They never talk down to me or walk me through stupid procedures like rebooting my computer or rebooting my modem.
The only downside to Rogers is that they have a very aggressive sales department that calls me monthly asking me to sign up for other services.