Bell Fibe install Fail - Manager option take it or leave it (Toronto)
I thought I was being pranked. Three separate appointments. Three different technicians. All sent to install a DSL line I never asked for, on a Fibe order I placed almost 2 months ago. Here's the full story for anyone considering Bell.
March - I sign up for Bell Fibe
Called in, signed up for Bell Fibe internet, scheduled an install appointment. Simple enough, right?
April 3rd - Technician #1 arrives
Tech shows up and immediately tells me he can't do the install, his work order says DSL, not Fibe. He notices the old DSL line at my place has been cut and decommissioned. To his credit, he was thorough: he documented everything in his comments, noted that a Fibe install was needed, confirmed there's a fibre optic box ready to go (neighbouring houses already have Fibe), and even showed me his notes on the spot. He assured me the next tech would come out for Fibe. Okay, fair enough mistakes happen.
April 27th - Technician #2 arrives (after a 3+ week wait)
New tech arrives. I ask how long the Fibe line install will take. He looks at me and says: "I'm here to install DSL."
I thought he was joking. He wasn't. Same problem, wrong work order, no Fibe equipment on the truck. He was a good guy, reported it back to his office, and said someone would call me. A manager called a few hours later, apologized, and said he was personally putting through a new work order to get Fibe installed on May 8th. He assured me it was fixed. I took him at his word.
May 8th - Technician #3 arrives
You already know where this is going. Third technician shows up, I asked about the Fibe install. "I'm here for DSL."
I couldn't believe it. After two failed appointments, a personal assurance from a manager, and almost two months of waiting, Bell sent the exact same wrong technician a third time. The tech was apologetic, said there was nothing he could do without the Fibe parts, and left.
*Then came the manager call that sealed it*
Within 30 minutes, another manager called me. No real apology. His tone was condescending from the start. His solution? He asked me if I wanted to just install the DSL line or cancel my order.
That's it. No acknowledgment of two months of wasted time. No offer to make it right. No escalation path. Just: "DSL or cancel."
I reminded him I was a brand-new customer who had been assured twice that this was resolved, and that this is how Bell treats people before they've even become a customer (I can only imagine how they treat existing ones). I told him I wouldn't touch Bell and cancelled on the spot.
If you're in Toronto and thinking about switching to Bell Fibe (or dealing with their horrible customer experience) learn from my experience. Their internal work order system is clearly broken, nobody communicates between departments, and when it goes wrong, management doesn't care. Going with a different provider. Not looking back.
Note: I'm also filing a complaint with the CCTS (Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services).
If you've had similar issues with Bell, you can do the same at ccts-cprst.ca