Rogers Still Sucks

I get a kick out of the various sites proclaiming what criminals Rogers Communications are. Specifically their wireless division. I’ve asserted for some time that the problem is deeper than that: The whole company stinks. From customer service to the jackasses running their websites. It’s a terrible customer experience. Why, in the midst of the Bell DSL throttling scandal the CRTC doesn’t do something to improve competition in this country is a huge question worthy of your MP. Rogers is doing the exact same thing (at a cost to your privacy), and requiring customers to pay $60 for a relatively “lightly-throttled” line. The only reason Rogers isn’t involved in that suit is because they’re not leasing their cables to third parties who might complain. There is no safe and reasonably priced third party for data in Canada, wireless or otherwise.

The funniest aspect of the Rogers iPhone debacle is the marketing counter-measures they’re using and using poorly. Phrases like,

“The [prices announced Friday] are only the plans that we think make the most sense for users,” said spokesperson Elizabeth Hamilton. (source: CBC - Rogers draws fire for iPhone rates)

…show just how out-of-touch with reality and their customers Rogers really is. Claiming that they’re offering users a paltry 150 minutes of voice and 400MB of data for $60, and THEN charging an extra $15 so a user can have caller id and voicemail on top of that and then claiming that they do it so the user doesn’t have to pay for too much is ridiculous. It’s like going to a restaurant and being offered a meal that starts at $50 for a bowl of soup. It’s an extra $5 if you want some vegetables and pepper in it. If you want the cheeseburger though, you’ll have to spend $100 (plus another $5 for cheese and a data access service fee of $6). Don’t forget 911 access charges, and GST/HST! Would you laugh at the restaurant owner if he told you they did this so you didn’t have to pay too much for something you didn’t need?

I’ve said it before, I continue to say it, “fuck you Rogers“!