[OT] Something about that Greenwich meridian

[Paul King]

Yesterday (Friday) evening I call Sympatico to cancel my internet service (they 
never seem to be around when I call them; at Bell World at Square One Mall, I 
was told to phone 310-SURF to cancel my service rather than bother them_, and I 
was told by their tech support (the only ones who picked up the phone at that 
number) that the business office was closed, and to call back "tomorrow". I 
observed that "tomorrow" is Saturday. "Are they really open on Saturday?" I 
asked politely. Some confusion ensured for a few seconds, then "Oh, yeah, you 
have to call on Monday".

I don't think this was absent-mindedness. This was more like: she checks her 
calendar, then she checks the Sympatico office hours, then oh, yeah: they're 
closed on Saturday. My impression is that she made a rushed remark so she can 
reach her call quota (otherwise these call centres get rid of them), then she 
has to spend extra time to correct her error.

If that was a real Bell employee (someone on Bell's payroll working in Canada), 
that kind of gaffe would be unheard-of (granted, they bungle up other things, 
but they NEVER make mistakes regarding the times they are off work). The kind 
of money Bell seems to be saving by outsourcing their call centre to overseas 
is less of the "more bang for the buck" variety, and more of the "pay peanuts 
to hire monkeys" variety. And the "Canadian call centre", in the embodiment of  
"Emily" the Bell Telephone Fairy, seems to work for no peanuts at all -- 
electrons, maybe :-)

It struck me how all this amounts to contempt for the customer. It all gives 
the impression that we who pay the astronomical bills for the internet and 
phone service are not really their first priority. For my part, it gives me a 
feeling of being left out in the cold.

Paul King

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