I was talking to my father today and he was telling me his recent experience with a Rogers CSR. He had an issue with his box (which was quickly resolved) but when he asked why WQLN was not available in high def in St Thomas the reply was that they don't broadcast in high def. Not only that, it was impossible for any station to be received in high def with an antenna. My father assured the rep that it is not only possible but he uses an antenna on his trailer in Port Dover to receive many high def channels.

A check with the 'supervisor' netted the same assurance that high def OTA is impossible.

It's a good thing that my father, at least, knows otherwise.

Go figure....

Sales reps dont know anything about the technology itself, they just say what theyve been trained to (whether or not theyve misunderstood that aswell)

Sales staff will do anything for a sale in order to get a binding service contract signed! It is illegal in Ontario to provide such misleading information to sell any service or product, but they'll still do it because they can.:mad:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1408100&postcount=737

^^^^^
In this case though, it was a technical issue, not a sales pitch, and it seemed to turn into a bit of a debate. I'm not siding with the CSR, and definitely not siding with Rogers, but in this case, I don't see the company in the wrong from an ethics standpoint, as the sale was already made a while back (posters father already had a box connected, but was having a technical issue). Unintelligent...well that's another story altogether. If you're going to have a debate, at least be educated in your rebuttals.

The CSR was probably told that there was no HD on OTA. I remember I had a Bell rep going around door to door trying to sell TV, Phone and Internet. When I told her that she couldn't beat the price of tv that I paid on antenna, she said that she was told that "they are getting rid of that"

BDUs will tell anyone anything, and when it really comes down to it they will be supported buy the CRTC

Anyone who had training for customer service and technical support service phone knows that they're just humans paid by the company (or a sub-contractor) in order to help out customers, not robots. Majority of these humans go home after a day of work and get their paycheck every thursday morning. Some are knowledgeable on a lot of subjects, others just help out customers with what they learned in training. Such typical persons have been told that you can only get high definition using a terminal. What do they know about over-the-air high definition signals? That's the only information they need to do their work.

Then, there are Level 2 phone technicians, who have knowledge of the RF spectrum, know all about free options, and how the whole system works inside and outside, all the little tricks that Level 1 phone techs haven't learn in training.

Then, there's the retention department, with a list of pre-configured replies for any situation, written by the marketing department. Now, if retention department or Level 2 techs tell you that high def by antenna is impossible, they are lies. A level 1 sales/tech is just not knowledgeable enough.

Marbles_00,

Company reps include sales, techs and otherwise just about anyone who represents the company's service or product to the consumer

Yes, "be educated" is the entire issue. There is no round-about-way that is excusable when it comes to reviewing how a rep,.. represents or mis-represents the company they work for. It does not necessarily have to lead to a new sale in order to be illegal practice. It is the companies responsibility to train any/all reps that will be on the frontline contacting the public,... sales or otherwise,... to ensure that they are not mis-representing the company,... otherwise it's a case of negligent default as if a company is condoning their reps to say whatever it takes to keep or recruit customers.

The company should either train their reps on the truths about OTA or they should opt to teach their reps the safest way to avoid conflict by simply saying: "I know nothing about OTA works"

Went to my local independent computer store and noticed they are displaying more and more TV antennas- the owner says sales of antennas are going very well. The owner said, "why pay for basic cable every month, when you can have 10 to 15 channels free with an antenna?"

^^^
Noticed the same thing myself. You can buy some sort of "digital TV" antenna just about anywhere these days.

Nice! Hopefully the OTA phenomenon will continue to expand in scope.

Few months I asked one of the local stores if they sold outdoor TV antennas... I was told there is no more signals for TV antennas and you have to purchase a satellite system. The salesperson/technician also installs Bell & Shaw systems. I suspected at the time they were trained to say that to potential customers.
I see they are now carrying some Winegard & Channel master products. :) Looks like someone got an education. Maybe installing TV antenna systems might be more lucrative for them than they thought?

Noticed the same thing myself. You can buy some sort of "digital TV" antenna just about anywhere these days.In southern Ontario and southern Quebec for sure, but it's still a bit uncommon elsewhere, even in this part of BC where OTA signals are plentiful. It is catching on though.

It would probably help if US signals were as readily available throughout the lower mainland instead of just pockets. In Toronto and Montreal, It seems that US signals are more readily available. Seattle signals have too many obstacles for many areas. Wish they would set up repeaters in Bellingham. It would be far easier to promote in there areas. :(

I have Telus TV for specialty channels but have had technical trouble of late. The Telus techie came by today to fix it and noticed that I was watching TV. He soon noticed my antenna gear and got excited. He had heard about the over the air stuff and was planning on trying it.

Long story short, once he fixed by Telus TV signal, I showed him the websites for this forum, links to schematics for a few antennae (M8, DBGH, etc). and TV fool so he could get a sense of where the signals were coming from. Before he left we switch back to my antenna signal and I let him page through it, check signal strength, etc. He had no idea a PBS repeater was available locally.

By the time he left, he was ready to give it a shot. I hope his enthusiasm does not cost him his job!

This article just appeared in our local newspaper, the London Free Press.

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/07/06/19960256.html

One of our forum members gets honorable mention in the article too. :D

Wow just in time for them to be losing their CBC station.

Antennas making comeback

Tonight, a woman I know, who's a real estate agent, tried telling me that TV antennas were illegal in Mississauga! I soon set her right.

So, folks, what do we do to promote OTA? It is expensive for stations, and less worth their while if most people get it through cable or satellite anyway. Are fighting a losing battle?

JamesK, was it perhaps a condo with it's own rules? Maybe she was using the word "illegal" too loosely?

^^^^
There's certainly a ton of condos in Mississauga....