Saturday 24 April 2010

fido sucks





Ha ha, they do not!

So no mobile blog posts from me for a while :( I know you will all be very disappointed. Here is the email I sent to Fido on their complaints page. I am certainly not expecting any response but what the heck.

I am writing to complain! I have been with Fido since April 12 and am appalled. My Blackberry Curve received a wireless software update on April 23. I tried to install it and my phone crashed -- error 523. I rebooted it several times to no avail. I went online and found out I needed to restore the OS with the Desktop Software Manager but despite Fido's claim that the Curve is compatible with Mac out of the box
- I could not install the DSM on my Mac OS 10.4.

I went to the Fido stall at the Dufferin Mall where they said they could not help me but they called what they refer to as customer service. I would not call it that.

At one point, while on hold, I spoke with the sales rep at the counter who told me that she understood how frustrating it can be because she is also a Fido customer. Not even Fido's own sales reps will endorse the company they work for it seems.

I was on the phone for an hour and a half - first with M_____ and then finally with G_____ whose best advice was that I find a friend with a Windows computer and try to do the reinstall!?!?!?!?! I am not sure how this counts as customer service. It felt like a giant middle finger being waved in my face.
I went to Wireless Wave where I purchased this phone and where they DO understand what customer service means, and the sales rep took me to his friend with a Windows computer. We tried to restore the phone 5 times, again to no avail.

Once again I called "customer service" and spoke to A___. She told me that now that I had spent a fruitless 2 hours finding a Windows computer to use, downloading software and trying in vain to restore the phone, Fido would agree to replace the phone but ... and wait for it! I have to do it over the phone and by mail (even though I am standing in a mall surrounded by phones and Fido sales people) ... but I cannot start the process now because the Fido computers are down!

So I have to wait on Sunday until after 6 p.m. for A___ to call me. More hours of my time. And then I will have to wait 5 days for my new phone ... which I will then have to program. More and more hours of my time.

I asked A___ if the phoneless week would be deducted from my bill but she said that she could not do that. Another giant middle finger waving in this customer's face.
She did offer me unlimited incoming calls for 3 months which I accepted but that barely compensates me for the time I have put in to dealing with this issue. I expect Fido to deduct any time that I am without the phone from my bill. Please let me know what you plan to do as soon as possible.
Arf arf arf!


More Fido Sucks stories.

UPDATE: The Fido woman yesterday told me to call after 6 pm today but i just got an email from them that points out that customer service closes at 5 pm on Sundays.

So I am on the phone with J___ now. Well I am actually on hold waiting for the person who can cancel my contract.

UPDATE: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE: H____ commiserated with me. He understands my frustration. He is also a Fido customer and goes through the same things. I told him I do not need counselling for how to cope with the horrors of being a Fido customer. I told him that I commiserate with him because he calls himself a customer service representative and works for a company that does not do customer service.

H____ says Fido will charge me $500 to cancel the contract even though it is them that cancelled their contact with me by denying me service.

H_____ tried to blame RIM. I pointed out that my contract is not with RIM but with Fido. Fido requires that I go through Fido for all services and so Fido's relationship and deals with RIM are not my concern. If Fido cannot negotiate reasonable terms with RIM, they should not pass on unreasonable terms to their customers.

All H_____ can offer is to exchange my phone and ensure that I receive the replacement by May 4 at the latest. I asked to speak to someone who can make this happen and he told me that he was the highest person I can speak to. After 45 minutes on the phone he finally agreed not to charge me for the 10 days when I will not have phone service as if he was doing me a HUGE favour. He added a $20 credit to my account. He told me several times that this was a big exception

Houssin did point out that the other big telecom companies are just as bad. That may be true but I do not see how that excuses Fido.

I had to get off the phone because of other engagements but I'll be back!

Thursday 22 April 2010

foreshadow


The guy from the city just showed up to investigate the landlady's poo collection in the alley. I was working at the desk and her father, The Farmer, and The City Man stopped to talk under my window.

The Farmer told the City Man that it was me who reported the poo. The City Man said he did not know who reported it. The Farmer said "I know [it was her]. This lady no good. This lady pay rent and ... (I missed what he said). She thinks she is going to live here forever but ... (and I missed this). I respect everybody. We try to make the place nice but they no give us a chance." And on and on.

He talked about how he is just a hard-done-by, hard-working man. The City Man clucked in commiseration and said, "I heard it was garbage. I got a complaint so I had to come out. I do not have a problem with this as long as you remove it in the next couple of days."

The most important part of the conversation for me is the "She thinks she is going to live here forever but ..." I have often felt that it is the goal of the new regime to dislodge me from my perch here on the Lane. I guess I was right.

Tuesday 20 April 2010

lunchtime on cumberland

breaktime @ Terraview

Monday 19 April 2010

amber

And this maple syrup! (Also the bunny on another occasion.)

green

And this glow in the dark dragon fly.

red!

Kim bought me a hummingbird feeder!

sunny afternoon on bellair

Sunday 18 April 2010

elves

Last week we cleaned, raked and weeded the garden space and put down some fertilizer - regular, odourless fertilizer that is usually used by urban gardeners, not the smelly poo that [redacted because of this request] favours :)

We found a new sprig of the Sophie Setnyk Memorial Onion. Last year this onion grew to glorious heights and graced a very special pizza in a very special way so I decided to protect it with a tomato cage until it could grow big enough to fend for itself.

Another thing about Mrs. Setnyk was her love of flowers - a love so profound that she decorated the garden with silk and plastic flowers in places and at times where flowers could not thrive.

This morning I went out to let Callum out for a romp ... and look!


The Sophie Setnyk Memorial Onion has been decorated in true Mrs. Setnyk style. Much of her beautiful legacy garden has been covered over by the new management ... ironically(?) her beautiful border of lilies and phlox has been replaced with rows and rows of onions.

Thank you garden elves for bringing this little touch of whimsy back to the garden. It is as if a long lost friend has dropped by for a visit.

asparagus for dinner

A Sunday feast at Mum and Dad's...

Friday 16 April 2010

blossoms the right way up

pansies sur la table

apple teeny

The apple tree next door suddenly sprung into bloom. We need to enjoy it now because our new neighbour is threatening to chop it down :)

inside blossoms

We brought this bough in to see if it would root :) No signs of roots but the blossoms have bloomed. Nice one pear bough.

april showers

Everybody drinks this morning.

Thursday 15 April 2010

a place to gnome

Spring has sprung and the gnome has moved outdoors.

alley poops

My landlady's father left this giant pile of poo in Bill Cameron Lane.

It is stinking up the whole alley from Dewson to College.

Not to mention our backyard :P

And my living space :(

Sent from my phone - TA DAH!

This birdie just came to visit.

Wednesday 14 April 2010

a nice place to learn


I went to Belleville yesterday to do a presentation about literacy for a group of people who work in literacy, settlement and employment services. Nice people.


I took the train down in the morning and had to wait until 9:30 until I could get a train home. What to do?

Hang out with the amazing folks at Quinte Adult Day School of course. The staff are Marsha, Gary, Chris, Cory and Stacey and are just what you would expect from literacy workers - funny, compassionate and passionate. And, of course, fantastically smart, innovative and creative.

One thing they do at QADS is work with people on job skills and one of the ways they do that is by restoring the beautiful old buildings of Belleville and Trenton to their former glory ... and into well-appointed places to learn.

Needless to say, I learned a LOT!

Thank you QADS people and thank you Community Literacy Ontario for providing us with this opportunity.

now cross-posted @ the Café.

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