... This means the next time that she gets a customer like you trying to get their 530 activated - she's going to do the same darn thing! ...

The best part of the problem is this is the ONLY type of call she will get. Remember that the 530 can't be activated by a "normal" person at *C.

They can only be activated by the highly trained specialist in this elite 530 activation department.....

*C knows that customers with these units are a very disgruntaled group right now, hense the need for this special group of techs and people to activate the units. They should also realise that the people that man these special teams should be the best they have to head off the customer service issues on top of the set issues.

But *C does not seem to see this side of the issue.

Customers will usually view a company in good standings, even when things go wrong, if they feel their issues are being dealt with fairly and efficiently. But to compound those issues with very poor customer support only ensures that the company ends up being viewed in the worst possible light...

Lets face it, Star Choice is the same as pretty much every other Telco, etc out there. Compare their server to Shaw, Telus, Bell and you will see that this is not uncommon. How about call a bank, same deal. My credit card still thinks that my prefix is Ms and I've been a guy for as long as I can remember and have made this correction with them 3 times. Bell Mobility is the worst as well and I got 5 overcharged bills in a row and inconsistant CSR responses every time that I called. This is likely not going to change unless one competitor becomes far better than the rest. You can see a perfect example of this when Japanese auto-makers started putting out products that hammered North American products forcing sales to drop and forcing them to work on becoming competitive in that realm.

My reading on these forums have found that SC has better customer service OVERALL compared to Bell so that is good news. Unfortunately it takes a while for a company this big to realize the size of an issue until it's gotten out of control. Thanks for sharing though since knowledge is power...

The best part of the problem is this is the ONLY type of call she will get. Remember that the 530 can't be activated by a "normal" person at *C.

They can only be activated by the highly trained specialist in this elite 530 activation department.....

They're not elite, and its not all they do. I highly doubt there are enough 530 activations to keep them busy all day!
I would imagine its more for tracking purposes or coordinating the $99 professional install of the unit everyone was supposed to take advantage of.

I agree with the comment that they kiss your feet when you are buying new services or calling about installation of new service, but once they got you, the quality of the customer service deteriorates rapidly. It's to the point that I hate to even call them, so most of the time I don't. Most customers cannot be bothered getting into conflict with people on the phone. Most customers will not come to a forum to complain about it. Most customers will just pick up and leave! Aside from doing that they will tell their friends about their horrible experiences, and you know what they say about word of mouth!

StarChoice might be laughing this off now, but let's wait and see who gets the last laugh.

*hugs* to Cory. I understand 100% how you feel.

Hmm when I first got *choice, approx a year ago, I could get thru after one ring but have noticed recently that time has been much more. I am still not complaining but time today was 18 minutes or more. Not sure what the reasons are for the delay time difference from a year ago.

Not sure if anyone else has noticed this.

Hmm when I first got *choice, approx a year ago, I could get thru after one ring but have noticed recently that time has been much more. I am still not complaining but time today was 18 minutes or more. Not sure what the reasons are for the delay time difference from a year ago.

Not sure if anyone else has noticed this.

I have noticed that the time you wait all depends on when you call.

If I call during peak times for the eastern area (when most of the csrs are working) you get anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes wait time. What is nice about that time frame is that you also get access to the call back feature so you don't have to wait on hold for 10 minutes.


Unforutnately if I call at say 11pm PST I get the graveyard shift. Waits are usually between 20 and 70 minutes and there is NO call back feature in use. You have to sit on hold for usually 15-30 minutes waiting for a csr.

I was just wondering if ANYONE has ever been able to find out the direct numbers of mangers, etc at *C. Or has been able to find out how to directly escalate an issue when the customer service line is not working?

I figure there has to be some process, as the Digital Competitive Services Standards that applies to both Bev and *C states


"Each Digital Competitor will make every effort to resolve all complaints received from its customers as quickly as possible and to the satisfaction of the customer.

Each Digital Competitor will inform its customers of the contact point within its organization where complaints may be escalated, if any inquiry or request has not been handled to the satisfaction of the customer during the ordinary course of business."

So I still have not had any luck with *C customer service and actually finding that contact point.

The theory is that you have to speak with a customer service supervisor, and if they can't solve your problem it can be escalated to a manager if they feel a manager will be able to do anything.
Easier solution - Call Star Choice reception at (403) 583-4320 and ask to speak with a customer service manager. Or even the manager manager if you want.
Heck, Jim Cummin's (VP National Operations) number is on all their press releases (403-538-4382) if you want to call him direct. I'd suggest trying to find a mid-level manager though, so call reception.

Why not post your number here Cory.....I'm sure there are people there that read these forums....remember Digitaldude?

Why not post your number here Cory.....I'm sure there are people there that read these forums....remember Digitaldude?
As much as I wish it was different, I hardly think anyone from Star Choice is going to admit they read or follow these forums. Anyone from managment is even less likely.
Forums are risky to companies. While they're a great source of general "buzz" about the company, the opinions expressed are often hugely unrepresentative of the company's actual customer base. Not to mention the fact that anytime they help or acknowledge anyone on the forum, they know it will be posted there the next day, with 10 more people expecting the same thing.

There are plenty of ways to get "heard" by Star Choice, they just all require a little bit of work. My advice? Be reasonable. No one wants to deal with someone who just makes demands and refuses to listen. But at the same time, set out in your mind what you want and what will be acceptable to you. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to help someone that doesn't even know what they want because nothing you offer will be acceptable to them.

Give Star Choice reception a call Monday morning and ask to speak with a manager. You may need to wait for someone to call you back. If you don't think your issue is being dealt with reasonably (ie acknowledged) then look seriously into the consumer laws in your province. Send a registered letter to:
Star Choice Communications Inc.
Attention: Administration Team
2924 11th Street N.E.
Calgary, Alberta T2E 7L7
outlining your concerns once again citing the relevant consumer legislation and how you plan to pursue a complaint/take them to small claims court/etc if a solution is not reached by xxx date. I guarantee you'll get a response, and if you're legally in the right, it should be resolved for you.

Well I made a call to SC yesterday. I was having problems getting the new CBC HD and FOX EastHD. Signal strengths under 10. All other HD and SD channels were coming in no problem. I was quickly sent past the initial CSR to Allen, level 2 tech. (Note: wait times seem to getting longer)

Anyways, after testing this and that he couldn't figure it out either, especially since the other channels were fine. So in the end SC is sending out a tech to upgrade my LNB (I currently have the dual flash-lights) to a quad LNB, running another line into house, and re-checking my dish for proper alignment. So I ask how much - "No charge, you have been a long time customer and we don't want to rock the boat."

I also was told by another CSR back when I activated my 530 that the $50 PPV credit was only available if purchased through SC. Not so. I have had the credit sitting there for over a month unknown to me. So he put a note in my account to extend the 90 days by another month.

Well done.

Thats good to hear. Its nice how often CSR's will just do the "right" thing without even being prompted.

The theory is that you have to speak with a customer service supervisor, and if they can't solve your problem it can be escalated to a manager if they feel a manager will be able to do anything.
Easier solution - Call Star Choice reception at (403) 583-4320 and ask to speak with a customer service manager. Or even the manager manager if you want.
Heck, Jim Cummin's (VP National Operations) number is on all their press releases (403-538-4382) if you want to call him direct. I'd suggest trying to find a mid-level manager though, so call reception.

Yes In theory it would work great.

In reality, I seem to be hitting the wall every time I try to find someone who can actually correct an issue. It seems as soon as anyone hears the word "530" all hope is lost.

I have called admin and asked for the manager of technical support. Twice. Onces I was told there is no such person, and the second time told someone would call me back. I have sent two emails to Jim, no responce.

Right now I have a contact in the customer resolution team who has been trying to get things settled, but the issues keep compounding them selves. At the moment it seems that the upper management is straight out lying to my now about the issues around the 530 and what they are willing to do about upset customers.

I know we all don't run a multi-million $ company like *C, but I think most of the people here have some idea of what customer service should be like. Simple things like calling customers back when they ask, rather than ignoring them would be a good start.

I don't want to get off topic and rant here, so lets just say that the *C customer service model seems to lack the basic concept of simple courteousness. I don't see why a customer has to have so many people sitting between them and someone who can actually make a decission. A simple phone call to talk between a manager who has the authority to do something for the customer would be in their best interest.

There are employees that read here. I've talked to several technicians that have suggested this forum as a good place to learn all about hardware, problems, fixes, and the general satellite scene. I don't know about managers, since I have never talked to them, but some of the level 2 techs do.

New to this forum. How interesting. here are my opinions and views. see them as u see fit, if anyone takes them personally, thats your decision not mine.

I can attest to going thru and having bad agents on the phone, more likely unpleasant ones. I can agree with that.

Wait times: what did you expect with a customer base of over 852000 as of November?. Busy season is usually aug,sept up until Late nov depending the on the amount of Cottages being seasonally disconnected and of course billing inquiries for those that DON'T pay their bill while on vacation for a few months. Add that and whatever usual calls they get. Thats easy math. Granted i don't like the 15-20 mins wait times on occasions. I appreciate it well more than the SHAW wait times by far.

General Public customers: Do you ever realize that YOU may be the issue at times? I as a consumer myself find myself ingulfed in rage at the company or product and take it out at the CSR. but reality is DO YOU ever realize that being a dink, swearing, and demanding stuff out of your WAZZOOO is going to get you anywhere? I have for myself been good with Rogers for example when it comes to my cell phone.
Many of you that complain here (many not all. read it carefully). Ever listen to yourselves? Blah blah blah i demand this and that. I know everything about starchoice, i own u all. blah blah blah. Give it up. Uneducated demands, reactions and blatten rudeness is not accepted to those that are there to help out your demands.
More over is do you honestly think using racial slurs, threats is acceptable in this society today? shall i remind you that stating a racial slur whether i'd be on the phone or in person is a criminal offence? (wait what would i know right? im only closely nit to the law enforcement community along with my nationality being other than "white"). Did you also know making a threat to an agent or the company IS another criminal offence? May i remind you that calls are being recorded all the time. If you are too smart to ignore the facts please and i mean please consider killing yourself and doing the world a FAVOR.

Customer support from SC: While it is true and widely accepted that SC has holes in its procedures. Lets consider a few things. Shaw, Cogeco, etc. have ALL existed well b4 SC. in the scale of things SC is still young, growing pains, even tho they are EXTREMELY F***** painfull. hahah..... Boy there are some things i need to vent about.
1. Shipping times for new or current account holders for receivers/dishes. Espcially from the stories from friends from the west coast (for those that don't know. i mean bc,ab,sk,mb).
2. Fix the freaking 505. and don't release the 530 until the BUGS are patched.
3. FIX THE GAWD DANG "NO PROG AVAILABLE" BS. Its horse s***. I had bell before and their guide was never like that. and when asked about it, no one knows, no one wants to fix it. OR its "huh u don't know what your doing sir". ok than. Not saying im more knowledgeable than them but i'd like to think that i do know a few things.
4. For the love of Pete, hire agents that SPEAK FREAKING ENGLISH when calling late, because during the day, calls go to the calgary (i think) and night it goes to Montreal. Plain and simple, learn the language when dealiing with customers throughout canada (its mainly english).
5. Hold music, look lets face it, it licks horses ass.
6. Me want porn in HD. (haha.. its a joke people take it easy geez... hehe)
7. I'd like to see more HD channels but i understand that the cost involved in leasing a transponders is like $150000 per month or some silly thang. Cuz remember HD from SC is NOT compressed like Bell, but like i said what would i know...
8. They NEVER let you know in due time when new things are about to get released, their marketing team blows goats, unorganized and very weak in addressing new promotional material to the public OR the CSR's as a matter of fact. how do i know? i have a friend that used to work for SC and tho he/she enjoyed working there, they did give me an inside picture of the internal structure there.
9. Finally last thing i can think of right now, oh gawd i hate channel changing, it licks. I know that there isnt much they can do when it comes to that but argh.... still sux.

Bottom line from my point of view. there are things that are bad/good about SC. but overall i think the people working for them in general are great, i believe that . I used to also sell Bell/SC from Futureshop and let me tell you first hand that SC is commandable in their cust.service as i have still today, high end (buys lots and spend lots. hehe) call me on my cell for certain things and i ask them how the SC and they are nothing but happy. And remind yourselves that usually those "rich" people are the pickiest people in the world. hahaha. im not rich so i can't complain. hehe.

So i hope i didn't offend too many people today. for the most part i think this forum's community is quite intelligent and educated and well versed but sometimes we become the worst in people.

If you are too smart to ignore the facts please and i mean please consider killing yourself and doing the world a FAVOR.



In Canada we spell it with a "U"
F-A-V-O-U-R

BTW, nice rant.
You pretty much summed it all up.

oh. haha.. sorry for the spelling mistake. hehe. out of all of that u had to pick on that one thing...u bum

Wait times: what did you expect with a customer base of over 852000 as of November?. Busy season is usually aug,sept up until Late nov depending the on the amount of Cottages being seasonally disconnected and of course billing inquiries for those that DON'T pay their bill while on vacation for a few months. Add that and whatever usual calls they get. Thats easy math.

With a customer base like that, you need to establish an appropriate number of staffing without having unreasonable wait times. If it's busy season, they should know that and increase staffing in accordance with seasonal shifts. And that's easy math.

i agreed. but staffing isn't always an easy thing. as you can appreciate. it does take time to train newbs. i believe they take 4 weeks training and 1-2 more weeks with hands on supervision. but think if it this way too. is that if 600-1000 call in within an hour and they only have 100-250 at most on the floor, it can be difficult.
but also from a business perspective, what IF 50-100 agents just sit there and do nothing when its dead. its wages paid uneffectively and uselessly. I think its alot harder to find that happy medium than we think. but yes i agree otherwise, it should be more seemless to increase staff as business increases.

i agree with your statement that their staff are not informed. it sure explains why there is a different answer from the csr's each time i call. call them today to see what date the 530 fixes will be completed. maybe they will say 2008 this time, or they could say next week. it's your guess.