Recently, I’ve had a LOT of interactions with the folks at Rogers Wireless.

To say my experiences have been uneven, would be an understatement.

I am a Blackberry guy… One of those die-hards that love our phones, and cling to them with a fear that an Android or I-Phone user will somehow snatch it from us.

I have been trying to hold out for the BB10 OS phones, but they keep getting delayed, and the trackball on my old BB9000 keeps dying.

It locked up a few weeks ago, and literally, as I was on my way out the door to go to the Rogers Store, I got a call from Rogers, asking if I wanted to upgrade my phone.  (Insert Twilight Zone music here)

I said yes, and discussed with the gent on the phone the options I wanted, and he suggested the 9810.  He also suggested tweaking my plan, to better suit my needs.

I then got passed along to a “Order Confirmation Specialist”, who confirmed all the aspects of my order, the changes to my plan, and confirmed my account information.

Two days later, I got my new Blackberry… in White.

(I’m a slob, and cannot wear white shirts, drive a white car, use a white computer or have a white phone.)

I called up Rogers, explained the problem, saying that my assumption was they would send me a black phone, like the last three phones… they said “No problem. Ship it back, and we will let you know when we get it back, and you can go to a store, to pick up the one you want.”

Slight delay, modest frustration (my trackball wasn’t working properly) but I dealt with it.

Call Rogers a week later, and yes, they have received my phone back, and I can go pick up the phone I want at any Rogers store.

I went to three different stores, and none stock the 9810… which made me ask the question: “Why?”

I gathered, without anyone saying it, that it just wasn’t a popular phone, so perhaps I would be happier with the more popular 9900 ?

Yes, I am.

The gent (Ravi Chima) who helped me, at the Coquitlam Centre Rogers Store, was awesome.  Going through the details of the phone, the contract and touching on a few of the features I might not know about.

Then, this morning, I get a call from Rogers, asking me if I would like to review and adjust my plan…

“I just did that a week ago”

This call is not being charged to your cell phone…

“No, it is not… You called me on my home phone.”

* Long pause *

Can I please have some personal information to verify your identification ?

“No.  You called me.  If you don’t know who you are speaking to, where you called them, or whether I have updated my plan recently, I’m not giving you ANY information.”

She thanked me for my time, and gave me a number to call, in case I had any questions.

I am ALL FOR good customer service.

But there is a difference between “busy work” and “customer care.”

Busy work, is always moving, always working… but not working SMART.  Not taking into account the customers’ needs, or assessing them as individuals.  It puts ALL customers into one category, and assumes all customers need the same things.

An awful lot of people at Rogers seem to be engaged in busy work.

It takes lots of energy, but is FAR from effective.

I would call them, but the last time I made a comment on their customer service, they robo-called me three times, asking for feedback on my customer service phone experience.

I love energetic and enthusiastic customer service… but there HAS to be a level of autonomy and intelligence applied.

Customer Service Reps shouldn’t be script-reading robots… If THEY are calling me…  they should ask if I like my new phone, if I have any questions or concerns, and then thank me for my business and my time.

Don’t make me second guess my choice, right after I made a purchase.  That is just busy work.

* NOTE: Less than one hour after posting this, I had received the following comment:

Hi Bob,

This is Nicolas from Rogers.

Our apologies for some of the experiences you’ve had. You’re raising some valid points and I shared your blog post with our internal teams.

For future, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via Twitter @RogersHelps or Facebook and we’ll help!

@RogersNicolas

Maybe it is lip service, or maybe something was gained. It will be interesting to see !