all i do is complain

on sunday at fright night, it was absolutely pouring rain. i had a small backpack w/me containing all of my leon-essentials, including my wallet and cell phone. chris was carrying an umbrella, but after a certain point, it just wasn't doing any good, so we got a bit wet. probably not the smartest idea considering my cell phone was in my bag. well, of course it got a bit damp, but the good thing was that my phone still worked when we went to earl's. yah! later that night when i was setting my alarm for 5:45 on monday, 1/2 my screen was bright red. so i closed it, and re-opened it and then my entire screen was bright red. the next step, i turned my phone off. well, it never came back on again :( i tried removing the battery, hitting all the buttons, charging the battery, but nothing was working. my phone was dead.

now, i love my phone.....the motorola v710.....true, i've had issues w/it, but still, it was a good phone. i was mostly upset because i couldn't access my phone numbers to transfer them over. i'd also lost the few pictures i had on my phone as well :P

so on monday i went to cell1 and explained my situation, and they told me that even though my phone wasn't drenched, it just takes a bit of water to cause the damage, and yes, sometimes it appears to work at first and then dies later. so i asked what my options were. the guy advised me that i could have it sent in for repair, but i would get charged since water damage isn't covered under the warranty. or i could buy a new phone at regular price, since i'm already locked into my contract for 2 more years. well, i didn't have my wallet on me at that moment, so i went back to work for a bit.

i went back downstairs 1/2 hour later (i had leon with me, of course), but the guy was helping another customer, so i was assisted by a girl sitting at the counter. i explained my situation again, and i started asking her questions about the phones.....it went a little something like this.....

me: "so, here's my v710.....what phones do you have that are comparable to it?"
her: "oh your phone's been discontinued."
me: "yes, i already realize that. i want to know what i can get that is similar."
her: "um, those ones over there." (she points toward a glass case that contains about 15 phones)
me: "what? which phones, i don't understand!"
her: (she reluctantly gets off her seat, and walks to the glass case) "these ones right here."
me: "ah, i see. so i don't want to spend too much money on this phone, what cost am i looking at? i also want something w/a camera and bluetooth technology"
her: "they start at $149."
me: (exasperated) "well, which ONE is $149?"
her: "oh, this one."
me: "ok, what about the one beside it?"
her: "it's $x amount."
me: "hmmm..... ok, well, maybe i'll get the $x phone."
her: (she's sitting down again) "ok. well, it doesn't have bluetooth."
me: (WTF? did i NOT just say i want something w/bluetooth?) "well, ok, i'll get the OTHER phone then."

so that was the gist of our conversation, and by the end of it i was pretty pissed off at this girl. i was hoping for better customer service, like what the guy had provided me with 1/2 hour earlier. basically i wanted some information about the phones and what i was committing myself to for the next 2 years of my contract. i also tried to inquire about a loaner phone so i could at least think overnight....."yeah, we don't have those here." "uh, ok." end of conversation.

so i was pretty revved up after she programmed my phone, and i continued to be pissed by the time chris came home. i remembered receiving a letter from telus about their service standards....

"at TELUS, we're committing to providing you, our valued client, with exceptional value, a state-of-the-art network, cool new phones, and customer service that is second to none."

well, i agree w/the "none" part of the letter. if i hadn't just received the letter last month, i probably would have just let it go. but because i had this letter in my posession, i was going to give telus a piece of my mind about their customer service! so i called :-) i was ready to let the CSR just have it.....i was on fire! but then the guy came on the line, and he was so nice and friendly and he explained in kind words that cell1 isn't exactly telus.....they just sell the telus products, but they do give the feedback to each store location. i explained that i continue to stay w/telus because my dad is a retiree and he still does volunteer work at "the boot", and i expect better customer service when i go to the stores to spend my hard-earned money. he listened to me babble on for almost 10 minutes :-) the unfortunate thing was my timing.....their computer system was going down for the night, so he wasn't able to file my complaint, but he told me that at 8 a.m., someone would be glad to take my call. i felt a whole lot better after i talked to him. my jets had cooled, and i was smiling again. that girl at the store was going DOWN!

so i called telus back on tuesday, and relayed my message from the night before. since i was on a complaining roll, i also commented on the customer service i didn't receive a few months ago (at a different store) when i tried to explain to the guy that my phone didn't always ring, and sometimes i couldn't see my camera pix, to which he basically replied "and what do you want me to do about it?" WTF?!

now both of my complaints with two cell1 locations had been officially entered into the telus computer system for someone else to deal with. i was feeling pretty good about it all....i mean, do these ppl get annual reviews like we do at work? i think they benefit everyone involved....come on, i don't always come out smelling like roses after my review, but at least i know what i'm doing right and/or wrong!

so, that's the end of my rant. if you're going to be in customer service, then show some respect to your customers (or at least FAKE IT!)....it doesn't do you any good if i'm going to walk away and give my money to rogers or bell, or whoever else comes along! pretty soon our cell numbers are going to be portable, and believe me, i'm going to the provider who gives GREAT customer service and great prices.