A bit of good & bad service today.

I was trying to activate an old receiver that belonged to my father. I called up Shaw, and after explaining the situation (and before I could even give the serial # of the receiver I wanted to activate), the rep told me I'd need to have the original owner of the receiver call Shaw to allow me to use the receiver. OK, fair enough.

I called my father and had him call into Shaw. He did, and I ended up missing a call back from him saying everything was good, and Shaw was going to phone me to get the receiver activated. I missed that call as well, and thus I phoned in to try and get the receiver activated again. Turns out I didn't have the right serial # for the receiver at this point, and the rep on the phone couldn't understand that there should be notes on the account stating what to do (or what had been done). As she was quite rude about this, I disconnected that call as it would take a bit to get at the bottom of the receiver to get the correct #.

Here's where the good customer service comes in. The agent my father spoke to? He actually did everything needed to be done to have the receiver activated on my account, and left a voicemail indicating this. Turns out I didn't need to call that second time after all. :)

Well, after filling out an on-line complaint (about sound drop outs), I received a call (voicemail) to schedule an appointment for a tech to check out my set up. I returned the call the next day and left a message, left another message the following day, and as of today (1 week later) have not heard back.

Push for it I got a new 3416 after a bum 6416 refurb and it does make a diffrence
yeah, i posted my result in another thread. see here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=882824&postcount=1066)

hopefully it makes a difference, if not, at least i know they are all like that. i'm just glad i finally got a brand new box after everything was said and done.

Great customer service. Our internet went down and we called the support line. They couldn't get it working so they made an appointment to send a service technician out. The next day the internet came back on it's own so we phoned to cancel the appt. The service person on the phone advised us to go ahead with the appointment as even though our internet was working, our line seemed to have some interference.

So, the service guy shows up ten minutes early, replaces some connector box on the telephone pole (said it was rusty), replaces my modem and puts a new connector on the cable-end that goes into the modem just in case that's contributing to the problem. I mention that our t.v. cable is older and the connector end is sort of loose, so he puts new connector ends on both TVs. I ask him if I have the proper splitter box where the cable comes into the house and the signal is split, so he checks that as well and replaces that. Before he leaves he also checks the condition of the cable on the outside of the house.

Glen

I've always had pretty good service from their CSRs on a variety of matters.

The only real problem I've had with them is their callback system. I used it twice, and never got a call back either time. The second time, a couple of days later I told a CSR that I used the callback feature and I never got a call. He actually checked their system and did find my callback entry and was surprised that I was never called back.

I did have some horrible experiences with them way back in the early 90s, but they've really made huge strides since then.

...So, the service guy shows up ten minutes early, replaces some connector box on the telephone pole (said it was rusty), replaces my modem and puts a new connector on the cable-end that goes into the modem just in case that's contributing to the problem. I mention that our t.v. cable is older and the connector end is sort of loose, so he puts new connector ends on both TVs. I ask him if I have the proper splitter box where the cable comes into the house and the signal is split, so he checks that as well and replaces that. Before he leaves he also checks the condition of the cable on the outside of the house.
Glen

we've had good luck with techs checking our lines, replacing our cables, putting new connectors on etc. with the exception of them sending our techs to looks at audio/video drops on TV, which they can't do anything about, we have always been happy with their CSR's.

Personally have found their customer service to be substandard The installer was insolent.Their reciever is appalling Their channel selection can be improved The remote is very poorly designed

Had bell for 8 yrs. The picture quality, the remote & 9200 are of superior product & quality.

Unfortunately had to move to new place. They do not have BELL or allow dishes.

As to programming , there are too many simi subs & forced insertions of canadian feeds over true hd US channels. True hd programming & broadcasting is what I want to be paying the premium for . Unfortunately there is forcecasting on Bell also

As much as I dislike Shaw and there monopoly on cable service here in Calgary, they have greatly improved their service to customers at home. I called last night and a tech was at my door this morning by 10am. This is truly spectacular. The tech that showed up said he is an Install tech but Shaw is now utilizing people from all sections in an effort to provide 'next day' service. I told him I was aware of this as two calls ago the guy who came was a computer/internet tech. This guy explained that Shaw is now encouraging all techs to spend time with other departments when they are not tasked so they can better understand 'the big picture'. I have to say I am glad for this but at the same time I would think they would much rather not have to do all the service calls for so many faulty STBs. This tech told me Shaw is spending piles of money on service calls to swap out mostly Morola boxes and that Shaw is fed up with Motorola as a company. Since Pace boxes have only been available for a couple of months, I told him I wouldn't be surprised if they quickly catch up given my own experience as I am now on my 4th Aspen.

How's that for some dirty laundry?

All the problems I have had with the Pace PVR aside, I have no complaints with Shaw service. Every appointment made has been kept and the tech's have been generally been good, one was very thourough in his testing and checking of the cables, from the building entrance to my devices. They seem to be quite happy to replace the PVR too, with some company's asking for a replacement is like looking for hens teeth.

I have also had no problems with internet and telephone service from Shaw that have required a service call.

What I can say though, is "thank heavens I am TELUS free" :D

always thought shaw killed the others when came to customer service. they held back when i first added telephony to my bundle and subsequently gave me stuff (transparent but still an effective approach), a discount to match current offering, threw in international other than US. there were generally no wait times. internet always lightening quick.

however they seemed to have slipped a great deal of late. sometimes huge waits calling in, the network in westside van at times is insufferably slow.

but i rue the day i ever have to go back to telus to keep shaw honest. i'll never forget how things were there in the tech wreck of 2001/02 when they all but abandoned support.

was pleasantly surprised w bell mobility who i've been w for 18months until fall of 2008 when in a misguided effort to bolster cash flow to help get the solvency report needed for the privatization they begun a widespread billing fraud. what i went thru was laughable beyond debate. i'm an analyst and went pretty deep looking into it including calls to crtc, head of customer service for western region, other small companies suing bell, and the whole thing was a joke.

deregualtion and oligopolies are a toxic combo and our providers know it.

hopefully the oligopoly continues to weaken and we can look forward to a better offering from our communications co's. sure was nice to see the stocks (Telus wireless warning) get slammed this week.

Great customer service. Problem: our internet kept going down. We called, they were able to come the next day.

It turned out the problem was a badly corroded connector at the side of the house and the cable from the connector going into the house was old type coaxial cable.

They replaced the coaxial cable though had to change the route the cable runs into the house as the old cable went around a few corners and under a closed-in ceiling and was stapled in.

Then they noticed that the same old type coaxial cable was running to the t.v. upstairs. They asked if we've had reception problems. I smiled and mentioned audio drop outs, plus in the past few weeks we were getting picture freezing and pixelation. So they replaced the cable going to that t.v. as well. It was neat how they were able to route the cable through the enclosed basement ceiling just by attaching the new cable to the old and pulling (our basement ceiling has screw on panels that don't remove easily.)

Anyways, all in all good customer service.

it was quite the surprise when a while back shaw/star choice took away my channels. I live in the Niagara region and watch local Buffalo channels for weather and news, so I can keep up with what is happening locally in the US. Well apparently, Shaw decided that I didn't need Buffalo channels and that Detroit channels would better serve me. Their theory is that these networks were duplicated in the same time slots from different regions and apparently peolple were complaining about it. NOT ME! I live in Niagara, I don't care about Detroit weather and news. I travel across the boarder in Buffallo so I want to know what is happening with weather, news and sports there, not in Detroit. I thought that I was paying for the service to recieve feed from local stations, but Shaw tells me that is not what everyone else wants for me!!!! Is anyone else upset about the channel change? Has anyone else complained? How do we get our channels back? Customer service responce tells me, they are sorry but this better serves everyone, like who, people in Windsor?

Part of the reason a switch was made to Detroit was there were ongoing issues with the feed from Buffalo. Detroit did not seem to suffer the same issue so at the time it was also a technical change for service improvement. Now as to if it will be switched back I would say the old addage "If it ain't broke don't fix it" would apply.

My recent experience is that Shaw (Kelowna) has adopted a CANNOT DO customer service policy.

After a power outage on May 15th Shaw were unable to reset box so sent a tech out on May 25th. Tech was to swap out HD box but did not have one on his truck that worked. Call back arranged for 8:00 to 10:00 am May 29th but tech did not show up. I phoned Shaw to find out whether tech was still coming. CSR advised he CANNOT tell whether tech is still scheduled to visit. When I ask him to call dispatch he says he CANNOT call them. Then I ask for a supervisor and he advises I CANNOT speak with a supervisor as they are busy. I say I will hold but he says I CANNOT wait for a supervisor. He leaves me on hold. I call back and get the same story. CSR's are not allowed to speak to dispatch even if a tech fails to turn up for a scheduled visit. I explain to CSR that I am left not knowing whether I should wait or perhaps tech is not going to turn up at all. CSR says he CANNOT tell me what I should do. I ask for a call back on my cell phone by 11:00 am but CSR says he CANNOT promise I will get a call.

Eventually CSR leaves a message on my home phone (not cell as I had requested) at 11:45 am to say tech will arrive between noon and 2:00 pm but I had already left for work.

Later that day another call to Shaw results in an explanation that someone in dispatch decided to cancel my scheduled visit. A call to tell me before cancelling the scheduled visit would have been helpfull but I guess they CANNOT do that. A further tech visit is scheduled for June 1st but I have to be available between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm. I asked for a phone call before the tech arrives but was told they CANNOT do that. Still waiting for that supervisor to call.

Shaw's "CANNOT DO" customer service policy prevents CSR's from accessing information to assist clients and they are not allowed to refer complaints to a supervisor. This leaves the CSR with the unenviable task of telling clients all the things they CANNOT DO.

Shaw's service seems to run hot and cold. I have again had the problem where 5 or 6 HD channels disappear and several others are pixellating badly to the point where they can't be watched. I clean the connections and the CSR tries resetting the 6416 but no better. The only solution seems to be to place a service call which is a whole 5 days later. But again, as has happened several times in the past, after about 8 hours, all the stations are magically restored and all is good.

A coincidence? I think not. Apparently, there is a threshold of complaints that have to be made before anyone at Shaw seems to recognize that there may be problem and then they make whatever correction is needed.

Unfortunately with limited competition, you pays your money and you takes your chances.

Than how do I get my Buffalo feed back, I do not want Detroit, I do not want to pay for a Detroit feed! I want Buffalo back. I want my Buffalo sports and news back! Tell Shaw to get it back.

I would not believe Shaw would go through the added expense of switching everything back to Buffalo when they do not know if the issue that caused the switch in the first place had been fixed.

My recent experience is that Shaw (Kelowna) has adopted a CANNOT DO customer service policy.

After a power outage on May 15th Shaw were unable to reset box so sent a tech out on May 25th. Tech was to swap out HD box but did not have one on his truck that worked. Call back arranged for 8:00 to 10:00 am May 29th but tech did not show up. I phoned Shaw to find out whether tech was still coming. CSR advised he CANNOT tell whether tech is still scheduled to visit. When I ask him to call dispatch he says he CANNOT call them. Then I ask for a supervisor and he advises I CANNOT speak with a supervisor as they are busy. I say I will hold but he says I CANNOT wait for a supervisor. He leaves me on hold. I call back and get the same story. CSR's are not allowed to speak to dispatch even if a tech fails to turn up for a scheduled visit. I explain to CSR that I am left not knowing whether I should wait or perhaps tech is not going to turn up at all. CSR says he CANNOT tell me what I should do. I ask for a call back on my cell phone by 11:00 am but CSR says he CANNOT promise I will get a call.

Eventually CSR leaves a message on my home phone (not cell as I had requested) at 11:45 am to say tech will arrive between noon and 2:00 pm but I had already left for work.

Later that day another call to Shaw results in an explanation that someone in dispatch decided to cancel my scheduled visit. A call to tell me before cancelling the scheduled visit would have been helpful but I guess they CANNOT do that. A further tech visit is scheduled for June 1st but I have to be available between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm. I asked for a phone call before the tech arrives but was told they CANNOT do that. Still waiting for that supervisor to call.

Shaw's "CANNOT DO" customer service policy prevents CSR's from accessing information to assist clients and they are not allowed to refer complaints to a supervisor. This leaves the CSR with the unenviable task of telling clients all the things they CANNOT DO.
An update to my story about Shaw service............or lack thereof.

I was promised tech would visit today (June 1st) to swap out the HD box. I waited from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm but again the tech failed to arrive. So far I have made over 15 phone calls and waited more than 14 hours for a tech visit but the issue is still not resolved.

What does it take to get their attention?

Should definitely not take that much. Is there a local office that you could go into to talk with someone face to face? If not I would recommend contacting the office again and just ask to speak with a supervisor. There is always one on shift during daytime hours (8-5) and they are there to take live escalations if needed.

Why would you say there was a problem with the feed? That is not the what I was told by customer service. In fact the feed was great, we never had a problem with the feed, but I have noticed the feed from Detroit is not as good as Buffalo. I think it is all about profit for Shaw and taking away choice for the consumer. Consumer looses again!!!