Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Open letter to Bell Canada

Dear Bell,

The fact that your call centre is open only 8-5 Monday to Friday is far worse customer service than I would expect from such a major corporation. Those office hours are such that many people with full-time jobs will be unable to contact your call centre from home at all, as they'll be at work or commuting during all your office hours. This is particularly problematic if they require technical support for internet or satelite services, in which case they have no choice but to call when they're in front of the computer. Furthermore, some people are not able to make any phone calls from work at all due to the nature of their jobs, so they may have no possible way of reaching you by phone, at all, ever.

While being open 44 hours a week is certainly acceptable for small businesses and many professional services, the standard in North America in the 21st century is that major businesses and utilities are open longer, preferably 24/7. I can reach my banks and credit card companies 24/7, I can reach my TV and cell phone services 24/7, I can reach a representative of my property management company 24/7, I can buy groceries or drug store products 24/7. Phone and internet services are just as important, so your users expect to be able to reach you 24/7.

While I'm not the type to go around switching services at the drop of the hat, your very limited call centre availability has certainly reduced my loyalty to Bell and Sympatico. It is now no longer a given that I will get my landline from Bell when I next move. And if my phone and/or internet gets disconnected because I can't pay my bill because I don't know how much it costs or when it's due because I can't access it online because I don't know the account number because the account number is printed on the bill which I can't access, I will be seeking out another service provider rather than attempting to get my Bell and Sympatico services reconnected.

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