[NOS2Go4Me]

K_OS,Aug 6 2008, 01:19 PM Wrote:When dealing with Apple's CSR's it best to keep your cool and if you get one that is not seeing things your way say thank you and try calling back eventually you will get one that is in a good mood, or better yet take it to an Apple store and talk to them face to face.
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Why should he have to call back? If I call in once to get a problem fixed, I expect that it's fixed or well on its way to being fixed by the time I hang up the phone.

Case in point: Cogeco. (Kev, you'll love this, and no I'm not getting StarChoice after all :P )

Hardk0re told me about StarChoice and their packages. I checked into it and really, I was impressed. However, I wasn't stoked about having to change from cable to satellite, new dish and cabling installs, etc., so I called Cogeco to complain / find out what was available to me in terms of options.

Call #1, operator #1 - friendly, agreeable (mind you, they're all in London, ON, not Bangladesh or who knows where) but lacking the power to assist. They transfer me to the Customer Service Reps with authority to make changes.

Call #2, operator #2 - at first he's a little standoffish and clipped with me as I attempt to explain that StarChoice really does offer 260 channels of standard def and 30 channels of hi-def for 50 bucks per month. No extra fees, no terminal rental, nothing... just 290 channels and I own my own box. He proceeds to tell me that not all 30 HD channels are unique (some are east/west variants, true, but that's splitting hairs) and that a lot of the 260 standard-def channels are dupes (not sold on that one).

I tell him point blank that with a Digital Select #1 @ 48.99/mo and HD @ 6.00/mo, plus my 10.00/mo hi-def terminal rental, I'm on the losing end of the stick. I also complain about the removal and sequestering of Discovery HD to a useless 2-pack with HDNet (the world's most useless HD channel, apparently). He then chuckles and tells me that the Discovery removal from "regular" HD access is his most griped-about HD issue. I also lament the unavailability of National Geographic HD. It's "coming soon", he says.

So then I tell him to give me a reason to keep Cogeco for TV. I also point out my Internet and VoIP subscriptions and how Cogeco generally makes me very happy and currently locks up my communications budget for the month each month.

He then takes a weird turn and tells me that since I would have to buy the HD receiver from SC, I should just buy the Cogeco one. I ask him if they'll even partially credit my last 1 1/2 years of HD receiver rental fees towards the purchase. "No". Well, then what's the diff? I'll just buy the SC one for 150 after the 50 dollar credit on my first bill, 200 cheaper than theirs.

Now he's on the ropes. They then tell me that they'll send me the HD PVR right away (got it last night, already have it recording shows!), free for a year, and then cheaper than my non-PVR rental after that. Fine, but what about the serious lack of channels?

*poof* Suddenly I'm comp'ed a free channel pack for life. Not bad. B) But then I raise the ugly "you guys have half the HD channels of SC" spectre. They then give me HD access and the "extra" HD channels (2 of 'em) free for 8 months while I decide whether or not I want to stay with Cogeco.

So, based on their current market rates (not the supposed eventual HD PVR rental rate), that saves me:

15.99/mo for the HD PVR
6/mo for the HD access fee (which will be lowered this fall to 2.99/mo supposedly)
Approx. 5/mo for an extra channel pack (I say approx cause it goes from 1-3 packs, no 2nd avail on the site but they can turn it on easily)

So that's a savings of about $27/mo right there. What did I do then? Ordered the Movie Networks packages (incl. Mpix HD and TMNHD) for $12/mo for 6 months :D

I'm still ahead of where I was before and I'm happy with it. Sure, it's not "as much" as SC but I'm very happy with the lengths they went to with me to ensure that I was "happy" with their service.

I'll take good customer care over running with scissors and a new service any day of the week, espceially when it lowers my bill.