Prologue
I wrote this right after I left Rogers because they were gouging me. I will soon be writing this again for Bell as they are now gouging me. Yes, to get a good deal in Canada, you must constantly change service providers.
As I have said before, if you threaten that you are going to leave a service provider, you must be ready to follow through. With that in mind, my association with Rogers Cable, has now concluded after 32 years of association. During that time, I have seen my monthly TV cable fee go from $18 a month to an astronomical $123.60, which is the final charge I paid this month. Farewell Rogers my old friend, but you wouldn’t give me a better deal.
Why am I Leaving ?
I have regularly called and asked for a lower rate and many times Rogers complied (I even followed my own script once or twice). The last time I asked for a cheaper rate, I was told that was as good as it gets for me, and I was going to have to continue to pay this for the foreseeable future.
Was Rogers service terrible? Not really, it had its moments when things went down for no apparent reason, and such. The cost was the reason I left this service provider.
I now have put all my eggs in one basket with Bell Fibe (and I even have my Cell Phone with Bell). This means for the next little while I will have very little leverage to get better deals (as I am locked in for a while as well). Am I confident that the Bell Services will be better than Rogers? I doubt it, although the Internet speed seems a little faster, the TV has a lag in channel changing that I forgot would be there (in an Video over IP model it is inherent), but the price is about $100 cheaper a month, so I really had no choice but to leave Rogers.
I am tired of having to beg. When I have shown that I am a loyal customer, I should not have to beg. I am tired of seeing new clients get great deals, while I continue to have to pay much more for the same darn service. The whole process makes me weary, and hope that Bell has not “horn swoggled me” in some fashion with this “great new deal” that I have.
Was this a Bluff ?
Sometimes you can’t bluff, you must follow through with your threat. In the new year, I believe it will be time to talk to my Bank again, as I am looking at Tangerine and thinking, maybe it is time to exit the TD treadmill of service fees as well, but that is for the new year.
I agree $124 is too high and I’m all for cutting the cord, but it’s not really that much more in inflation-adjusted terms than the $18 you started paying them (unless you converted that into 2015 dollars already). $18 in 1973 translates to about $96 now, so I guess the price had increased by about 30% over the years, but then that now includes internet service, which you wouldn’t have been getting back then. So the difference doesn’t seem unreasonable, even if the base cost is.
I’m no fan of Big Telecom, but this is kind of like when people complain about how house prices used to be insanely cheaper thirty-forty years ago, and when I run their example numbers through an inflation calculator, the whole thing falls flat. It’s a pet peeve of mine. 😛
Hah, apparently I can’t math. 1983, not 1973, so $18 then is only $39 now. A much greater difference!
Yes and the other fly in your ointment is that all the technology has advanced a great deal but also dropped in price a tremendous amount, so the profits of all of these companies are much higher than in the bad old days too. They may be better services, but they shouldn’t be that much more expensive.
I cancelled my Rogers TV and home phone service earlier in the year due to the high cost. I now get my television via OTA, Netflix and Shomi. My phone service is through Ooma. I’m saving approximately $140/month and have few complaints. In 2016, I will be looking for alternatives to my internet & mobile services, currently still with Rogers.
And I think that will be the next step I take as well, Cord Cutting could be what changes everything.
Great stuff, I own lots of BCE stock 🙂
Mark
Me too!
Bell is no better. High speed is a joke and often at busy times, with no kids on Netflix, cannot even get mail open at 6pm. Want to speak to an actual person, good luck .Closest I have come was on-line chat b.s. with someone on other Continent. Need to periodically cycle the monopolies and try to extract an extra drop of actual service..
I have no aspersions that I am getting a “better” service, it is cheaper, that is all.
I have been contemplating a big switch also. I hope your experience with customer service wasn’t as bad as the Comcast treatment: http://www.businessinsider.com/ryan-block-comcast-phone-call-2014-7
Well done! I’ve never used Rogers services personally but I’ve been less than impressed with their lack of corporate civility in their relationship with the Toronto Argonauts and CFL. I won’t even own their stock!
Why would I even consider Rogers services anyway. I have a bundled package with Telus which includes HD satellite service, high speed ADSL internet and a home phone with unlimited $0.04/min long distance. I renegotiate with the Loyalty Dept. annually to ensure I continue to receive the best deal. My complete package, including taxes, is within $1 of your monthly cable only bill you mention above.
Thanks for sharing your telecom experience with your readers! I wish you the best with your new provider and a happy holiday season!
You will be very interested in reading my story of all the things that happened AFTER I had Bell installed, stay tuned in the new year, I will tell all.