The Installation
I get a call from the Bell technician at 6:30 on installation night.
Me: Hello
Him: Hi, is this J Ferguson? (sounded like he couldn’t make out the first name)
Me: Yes
Him: Well, your phone’s working, I understand that you wanted Bell internet?
Me: There was nothing wrong with my phone
Him: So you don’t want the internet
Me: Yes
Him: Ok, is it working?
Me: I’m waiting for someone to come and install it
Him: Ok, well I’ll be there soon
Me: Where are you?
Him: I should be there in about 5 minutes
Was that a sign of things to come? Is my internet working? How bout you install it first dipshit, and then ask me if it’s working.
That was an omen. They showed up and tried to install it but couldn’t.
The jack in the computer room is from a separate line I used to have, so it has been disconnected/unwired. We use a splitter for the fax to connect to the bedroom jack.
He couldn’t pick up a signal great enough from that line and so he said I’d have to install another jack – which would cost $100. I said I wasn’t going to pay for that and he told me that Bell should waive the cost; to get in touch with the business office the next day to see if they’d do that.
In the meantime, I figured I’d better ‘uncancel’ my Rogers account and while I was talking to them, I also ordered the rocket stick, which will keep your laptop with an internet connection wherever you go.
I called Bell anyway and was on hold for so long I hung up. I called them back later and talked to someone and they, in effect, were not going to waive anything, but then I talked to a bunch of different departments.
That night I called back again to make sure they weren’t going to be billing me for the service I didn’t have (as they did a few years ago), and it ended up that they agreed to install the jack for $100 but they would give me 2 months’ free service, which cost more than the jack so I decided to go for it.
When she put me through to the department that installs jacks, they couldn’t get a date quick enough. I’d have to cancel my Rogers again and, if I did that, it would be the end of the month (or have to pay for another month – not doing that at $166/month), so then I would have been without the net for a week or two. So again I cancelled and decided to stick with Rogers.
So now I’ll have my (what I consider) slow service with Rogers as well as the mobile internet for roughly the cost I was going to pay with Bell.
I don’t see why these huge companies can’t get their acts together. I appreciated the fact that they were going to waive some costs for me, but then waiting for a jack installation, and then waiting for another tech to come out and install after I’d already waited for my first appointment was a ridiculous concept.
Their customer service was great. It’s too bad they couldn’t follow through with the actual work.
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Lyndon
Well I hope it isn’ t!! Get well soon sickieR 30;
Glenn
jafer
Leya
Female, taken, fire, Sagittarius, Monkey, Toronto, two kids, one grandson, IT.
53
is the new 30. I want the world to close their mouths when they’re eating or chewing gum. If they don’t, I want to elbow them in the face. 
There’s a company called Tek Savvy or something like that. That offers DSL service as well, you should see if they’re in your area. My friend uses them and raves about them all the time.
The only reason I’m still with Bell is because we bundle all our services, but I’m thinking about breaking up their monopoly on my household soon, if it means I get better service.