Popularizing OTA DTV In Canada

[stampeder]

A discussion here about the CBC's OTA Future as of 2012 has been moved into it's own thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=153161

[ota_canuck]

So,,, why are these monopoly BDU companies not being held responsible for the lies that spew from their sales and customer service representaives? In allowing their sales representatives to lie in order to make a sale and/or allowing their customer service staff to lie to stop someone from cancelling a service,... they are guilty of breaking several Ontario consumer act laws.

See: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/sta...c30_e.htm#BK17
Consumer Protection Act, 2002

S.O. 2002, CHAPTER 30
Schedule A

Consolidation Period: From January 1, 2011 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 2010, c. 8, s. 36.

PART III
UNFAIR PRACTICES

False, misleading or deceptive representation

14. (1) It is an unfair practice for a person to make a false, misleading or deceptive representation. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A, s. 14 (1).

Examples of false, misleading or deceptive representations

(2) Without limiting the generality of what constitutes a false, misleading or deceptive representation, the following are included as false, misleading or deceptive representations:

6. A representation that the goods or services are available for a reason that does not exist.

10. A representation that a service, part, replacement or repair is needed or advisable, if it is not.

11. A representation that a specific price advantage exists, if it does not.

14. A representation using exaggeration, innuendo or ambiguity as to a material fact or failing to state a material fact if such use or failure deceives or tends to deceive.

[audacity]

It's hard to get worked up by salespeople lying to you because they do it all the time. Just yesterday I had someone from Telus come by who was trying to explain to me how Telus 15mbps ISP service is functionally just as good as Shaw BB50 and BB100 and was pitching the whole dedicated Internet line idea. All sorts of nonsense!

Most consumers have been around enough to know that this is par for the course when dealing with salespeople. Now, I'm all for getting the truth out, but I don't think we need to get the govermnent involved because salespeople lie (and fish swim).

[El Gran Chico]

Good point, audacity. Sales people have the seller's interest at heart, not the purchaser's.

If someone needs facts on OTA, they should be coming to this forum first!

[HWP]

I'm a salesperson and I don't lie. I don't have to because what I sell benefits my client. When I meet a person I can't help, I don't try to sell him anything.

Cable/Satellite salespeople are selling something that benefits their customers, too, and therefore, do not have to lie about it. Lying is wrong morally and legally and they should get in trouble for it from authorities if they do. I would like to see an expose on TV if salespeople are being trained to say OTA doesn't exist. We should be upset about lying from salespeople especially from large corporations. There are a lot of people who really can't afford subscription TV they should not be lied to about the availability of OTA. If BDU's don't want to advertize about OTA, that's fine, but they cannot lie about its existence.

In my family, the month we cancelled our cable and land-line was the same month we increased our RESP contribution by $150/month. With the bonus from the government and estimating a 4% return, I can predict that one of my children's university education will be paid for from money not spent on Rogers. To lie to a consumer and tell them OTA does not exist is wrong and illegal and hurts lives.

Salespeople are not inherently liars. But it is smart to be an informed consumer.

[ImHooked]

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....

[nbound-au]

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

[ota_canuck]

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.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...&postcount=737

[Marbles_00]

^^^^^
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.

[octopod]

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

[cm3020prob]

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.

[ota_canuck]

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"

[goforit]

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?"

[Jase88]

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

[keithr386]

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