© the other press e Opinions March 10, 2004 i ' { : | 4 i 5 Cool phones Bad service Dear Telus, Chapter Ill Ted Morrison OP Contributor Okay, this is getting a little bit beyond a joke. The regular readers of this paper will remember my struggles with Telus, but for those unfamiliar with the situation, here's a quick synopsis: Sometime prior to Christmas, I made an enquiry through the Telus directory website. According to Telus’ directory there are no musical instrument shops within 200 km of Vancouver. I wrote a steamed letter to the “Feedback” section of the website, which was bounced by Telus’ own mail system as “Undeliverable.” In an attempt to vent my fury, I wrote the initial “Dear Telus” piece about the rotten service I felt I had received, and about how this was not an isolated incident, but part of a general trend toward treating Telus customers poorly. Coincidentally, it was at about this time that the CRTC initiated an investigation into Telus’ corporate conduct and lousy standard of service. Upon my return from my Christmas holidays, a letter arrived wrapped in my January bill. Apparently written by Darren Entwistle, it expressed truly hand wringing, heart-wrenching remorse for the wretched service that Telus customers had suffered at the hands of his company. This was too good an opportuni- ty to miss, so I penned “Dear Telus II,” which offered Mr. Entwistle absolution if he would only refund me one month's worth of telephone bill, or in my case $63. Being a conscientious consumer, you must have clipped out the handy form letter and sent it to the company, didn’t you? If you did, I'd love to hear from you, and what response, if any, you received. Here’s Ma xe why: A couple of Sundays ago, I received a call from Brian Keller of Telus. Mr. Keller was polite, sincere, and charming. He was also, if my information is correct, a damned liar. He began by stating that the CRTC guidelines stipulate that service-related calls should be answered within 20 seconds, and (“TI be honest with you”) that Telus “hasn't met that standard in years.” He asked, in essence, whether I was serious about wanting my money back. I indicated to him the affir- mative. Brian further explained that recent surveys conducted by Telus on the effects of the apologetic letter from Mr. Entwistle had indicated that the sudden flash of activity and attention to service had “good sup- port” among customers. He also noted, though, that the same sur- veys had gotten some “negative feedback from people who had issues” (could he possibly be talking about moi’). Brian said of the negative feed- back, “We've really opened up the door for customers who felt that we could do better.” Eventually, with much preparing the ground, my buddy Brian (we were quite chum- my now) got around to asking if I had experienced any “service out- ages” in my residential telephone service. I explained that I hadn’t, but that wasn't why I'd written. As I’ve explained to you, dear readers, I had written my request for a refund in order to persuade Telus to put its corporate money some- where in the region of its corporate mouth. Brian listened reasonably with much hm-hmm-ing (you know, the auditory equivalent of the http://www.otherpress.ca 1 vigorous head nod?). Eventually, Brian said that he understood my point perfectly, but that “unless there has been a significant inter- ruption in service” it was forbidden by the CRTC regulations for Telus to issue me a refund. I asked several questions to con- firm what I thought I was hearing: That bad ol’ CRTC actually forbade Telus from cutting me a cheque? Yes, Brian stated, “For us to give a refund would be illegal.” That CRTC—what a bunch of bastards! Well I wasn't going to let them get away with it. I found their website and wrote to them. Unlike my letter to Telus, this missive got a response within days. Here is the full text of the initial response. “Dear Mr. Morrison: This is to acknowledge receipt by the CRTC of your email. In answer to your inquiry, the CRTC regulates the dominant local telephone providers through the Terms Of Service, which you may find in the front pages of the tele- phone directory. Note that the Commission does not regulate the rates or quality of service in com- petitive areas such as long distance, internet, wireless or paging. It was not clear from your com- ments which telephone company you were referring to. However, if a regulated or non-regulated compa- ny has overcharged you, there is nothing in the CRTC’s regulatory mandate preventing a company from crediting your account with the proper amount. Should you wish to provide the name of the company, the CRTC would be able to direct your concerns to the company for its assistance. I trust this is the information you require. Sincerely, Cheryl Grossi CRTC Client Services” Now wait a minute—that seems to answer my question, but let’s be absolutely specific here. I wrote back to Ms. Grossi and explained the situation carefully. “In response to your enquiry: I was not officially overcharged for services...My request asked the company to show its sincerity by putting its money where its mouth was and refunding me one month's worth of fees—$63 worth. If the service is of substandard quality, surely I have been overcharged in any event? Anyway, in this situation, stipu- lating that the company charged me normal monthly fees for the month: Is there anything in the provisions of the CRTC to stop Telus from issuing a refund cheque for that $63 bill should they choose to do so? Thanks again, Ted Morrison” Okay, so I’m being super-clear here. I asked the CRTC if there was any obstacle preventing Telus from choosing to issue me a refund cheque under this specific set of cir- cumstances. Ms. Rossi’s succinct and definite answer was as follows. “There is nothing in our telecom- munication regulations preventing Telus from issuing a refund cheque to one of its customers for a service disruption or quality of service issue, in any amount including $63.00. The Commission expects telecom providers to be responsive and provide good customer service to their subscribers.” Ms. Grossi didn’t say whether the CRTC is taking this up with Telus. But that’s okay—I am. | | Follow the Rainbow A Celebration of Positive Space Joel Koette OP Columnist “Positive Space” is a place that is welcoming, accepting, and support- ive of sexual diversity. The Student Union's pride collective will be holding a barbeque on Monday, March 17, 2004 from noon till 4pm. The barbeque is being held to increase the awareness of the Student Union’s “Positive Space” campaign. The campaign is designed to ensure that lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals are able to work and study in an environment free from discrimination. The Student Union has distributed materials to all the faculty members so that they will have the opportunity to fully sup- port the campaign. Laine Le Vecque, the Union’s Pride Collective Assistant said, “Awareness of the Positive Space campaign has really started to grow. Walking through the halls, you can’t help noticing positive space stickers or posters on windows and doors.” The Union’s campaign has received some high-profile support. “Susan Witter, the College President has been very supportive of the cam- paign and even put a Positive Space sticker in her office window,” said Le Vecque. However, Le Vecque said that not all members of the College commu- nity have been supportive of the campaign. Some of the campaign packages sent to the Business and Commerce department at the New Westminster campus have been returned to the Union. “The Student Union is disappointed that some members of the Business facul- ty believe that it is acceptable to engage in discrimination in the class- room. However, it does illustrate why the campaign is important,” said Le Vecque. The Students’ Union encourages all Douglas students to attend the lunch. On the topic of diversity, March 22 to March 26 is diversity week. There will be activities and presentations taking place at both campuses. The pride collective has invited a speaker to discuss Transphobia. The speaker will be discussing what gender identity is versus sexual orientation and trans- phobia within the queer community. The pride collective encourages everyone to attend the presentation, as it sounds like it will be extremely interesting. If you have any questions about how to get involved with the Pride Collective, visit the Pride Resource Centre on the top floor if the Douglas Student Union in room 328 or by phone at 604.527.5474. Welcome back everyone.