Western phone giant Telus has spent years now preparing to clean out the local economy of jobs. The net result has been continued profits. Even before the lockout, there were pressures from management to boost sales and trim service. I should know: I was there.
These profits come at a price: namely, bad service. According to The Edmonton Journal: "Between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003, there were 1,245 quality-of-service complaints against Telus to the CRTC from telephone subscribers in Alberta and B.C., compared to 216 the year before. Due to the massive effort needed to maintain and restore service in B.C., Telus fell behind in repair and installation calls in both provinces."
Again, I was there. And yes the B.C. situation was a mjor contributing factor. But unthinking corporate profit-motive was at least as big a factor.
It's a good thing Telus applied for an adjustment to how the CRTC defines "quality of service" in case it happens again (funny... I could have sworn that Telus PR flak Shawn Hall said that having call takers in Manila would make the next disaster go more smoothly). And applied for another "Q of S" adjustment for when they held the TWU's feet to the fire when that union... the guys who were trying to tell you this was going to happen... was locked out.
Of course, that's just this year's adjustment applications. Feel free to have a dig through the CRTC web site for more. Telus isn't going to tell you about them.
Telus customers will be receiving a rebate in time for Christmas because of all the inconvenience... a whole two dollars and seventy-three cents worth. Or, put another way, about an hour's wages for an outsourced Telus customer service rep in Manila. About half the time it will take you to fix any issues with your account.
These profits come at a price: namely, bad service. According to The Edmonton Journal: "Between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003, there were 1,245 quality-of-service complaints against Telus to the CRTC from telephone subscribers in Alberta and B.C., compared to 216 the year before. Due to the massive effort needed to maintain and restore service in B.C., Telus fell behind in repair and installation calls in both provinces."
Again, I was there. And yes the B.C. situation was a mjor contributing factor. But unthinking corporate profit-motive was at least as big a factor.
It's a good thing Telus applied for an adjustment to how the CRTC defines "quality of service" in case it happens again (funny... I could have sworn that Telus PR flak Shawn Hall said that having call takers in Manila would make the next disaster go more smoothly). And applied for another "Q of S" adjustment for when they held the TWU's feet to the fire when that union... the guys who were trying to tell you this was going to happen... was locked out.
Of course, that's just this year's adjustment applications. Feel free to have a dig through the CRTC web site for more. Telus isn't going to tell you about them.
Telus customers will be receiving a rebate in time for Christmas because of all the inconvenience... a whole two dollars and seventy-three cents worth. Or, put another way, about an hour's wages for an outsourced Telus customer service rep in Manila. About half the time it will take you to fix any issues with your account.
3 comments:
God, don't get me started on Telus. I haven't yet thrown out my axe!
They called my SO when his mobile contract was about to run out: how's the service?
"Actually, it's terrible," he began, but before finishing the call was LOST!
LOL!
Interestingly...a box of chocolates arrived in the mail a few days later. He still switched.
Just wait til the NAC hits!
People are going to be fuming then!
Also, I read that Telus is outsourcing installations to private, non-union workers.
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