The battery on my MotoKRZR cell phone can’t hold a charge for longer than an hour. I went to the nearby Bell World, where they wanted:
a) A sales receipt. I can’t provide this as it was a free promo phone given to me by mega-PR firm Hill and Knowlton to promote Moto phones.
b) The phone itself. They tell me that they can’t simply sell me a new battery — it has to go back to service.
If that hasn’t turned me off Bell Canada as a mobile provider, the note at the bottom of their web page about fees for Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Palm devices certainly does. I quote:
System Access Fees are charged by all wireless companies to help pay for the network and the ongoing software, technology and other upgrades to that network. Generally, the higher the fee, the greater the opportunity to invest in network quality to enhance your experience. Just one more reason to choose Bell.
That’s right: we pay more not for better service, but for the opportunity for better service. I should use that trick the next time I negotiate my salary. They’d have been better off just skipping this mealy-mouthed explanation of why they charge more, or perhaps simply said “We’re counting on your laziness so that we don’t have to be competitive.”
So, folks — which Canadian mobile provider is the least lousy of the bunch?
Update
This isn’t the first time I’ve been annoyed with Bell Canada — see my 2003 entry, Hell Canada, in which I deal with bureaucratic ineptitude at the Bell Canada store.
16 replies on “Thinking About Switching from Bell Canada [Updated]”
I’m a Fido guy and haven’t had a bad experience.
Virgin Mobile have the cheapest pay-as-you-go rates, but their Customer Service Representatives are apparently all 15 years old. “We charged you for minutes you never used? WhatEVER!”
So, Fido I guess. At least until Rogers completes its assimilation.
I’ve had really good experiences with Telus.
When I was shopping around for a Blackberry I waited for half an hour at the Bell store just to talk to a rep… and even then it was only half an hour because I walked out at that point.
I went with Rogers.
I waited at Bell to talk to a rep, never did.
Went to Telus and was helped immediately. Everytime I have a question or problem (like, err, losing my phone…twice) they have been lovely and helpful.
I’ve never had problems with billing or reception.
Telus rocks.
If you were happy with the quality of the cellular service, then go with Telus — in eastern Canada, they’re making use of Bell network equipment (the two providers have an agreement to share towers across Canada) so you’re using the same towers. My partner and I (me in Edmonton, her in Nova Scotia) have been on Telus since June, and aside from some dropped calls in my 60-year-old, cement-lined basement the service has been great.
Like Susan and Lerren, we’ve had great customer service from Telus as well (when we were getting my partner’s phone, the Telus rep suggested saving money by buying a prepaid phone and having it activated on a plan (the prepaid phone was about $50 less expensive for the identical plan phone).
Been with Telus for over 6 years. Never had an issue with the customer service, the wireless service or the phones themselves.
I’ve had my fair share of dealings with Bell Canada just last month, but it was with the Sympatico internet service.
In terms of mobile service providers, I’ve been with Rogers for the past 7 years and I’ve had no problems with them at all. I have heard stories about them too though.
Best of luck in your quest!
Why not just spend $10-$15 on a new battery? I replace my cell phone battery about every year when it starts to get weak. $10 on ebay, $15 elsewhere (ore $50 from an OEM shop.)
i won’t contribute anything but a screaming rant about both major carriers. I will say that Fido has such a small market share they seem to be pretty good at Customer Service. Haven’t heard anything bad about Telus yet either.
@Joel: I tried to get a battery from Bell Canada, but they won’t sell me one (for reasons that make no sense, hence this article). I’m looking at alternative sources.
Free products and batteries … grrr. Remember the TD iPod Nano promotions? My honey got one … battery was dead when he got it. They want $90 at the Apple store to replace! So much for a freebie … and both Future Shop and Best Buy wants to send it away for replacement. So right now he plugs it into his laptop. Drive me nutso though.
Bell came in to fix my home phone line one time, and they decided to 1)break our fridge door, 2)remove some portions of our flooring, 3)break our wall bottoms, and 4) charge us an extra $100 as a “miscellaneous” cost. (no joke).
I hate bell & their beavers.
Hope everything works out with your phone though!
eBay is the way to go, price-wise. No mobile phone dealer is going to sell you a genuine Moto replacement battery for 15 bucks.
Otherwise you could try to use the powers of the Accordion to contact, say, PR guys and warranty support at Moto and wheedle them to replace the battery for you. Moto used to have a customer service centre way up near Woodbine and Steeles that would do that sort of thing.
Joey; the MotoKRZR is a generic phone with all the carriers, can’t you just go to a third party cell store and buy the battery?
Locally, I’d just go to The Battery Store (seriously, that’s its name). It’s a US chain, but I imagine you’ve got something similar up there.
Not only did they sell me a replacement battery for my mother-in-law’s ipod, but they lent us the tools to do the replacement right there on the counter.