dbd33

This site is infected by attack advertisements denouncing American phone companies who want to operate in Canada. One features someone claimed to be call centre employee in Moncton. I see the advert and think "Bollocks, when do you ever get a call centre employee of a Canadian phone company who is a) in Canada or b) speaks English or French?".

I would not be sympathetic to the fate of the Canadian phone company staff and stockholders if I heard that the lot of them were to be wheeled out and shot; IMO Bell sets the absolute gold standard for shitty customer service and the companies have been robbing the public blind for years. Nonetheless, my opinion of them is lowered by the obvious mendacity of their adverts.

Am I alone, is anyone else pissed off by them?

Former Lancastrian

I guess who is spinning the best tale and why they dont like the idea of Verizon or other companies operating within Canada.
There have been many articles on if this is good or bad for Canada competition means lower prices though some argue against that.
Depending where you live your choices might be limited. Is somebody in New Brunswick really considering MTS or Telus as their provider.
I dont use a cell phone so I really couldnt give a toss about Bell, Rogers, Telus, Verizon or T Mobile all fighting for that slice of the pie.
Its almost as bad as Provincial Liquor Law monopolies. Boo hoo the Beer store only made 700 million in profits

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...eer-store.html

dbd33

I don't have any dealings with the Beer Store and so can't get worked up about it.

Much as it pains me to say it, I think the Canadian phone companies are more offensive than the LCBO. The LCBO charges high prices, offers poor service and limits selection, it grants its staff a package of pay and benefits completely inappropriate for the form of work and is a bastion of cradle privlege. It is without merit and should be abolished tomorrow. Nonetheless, one can make a case that it provides well paid jobs in obscure corners of the province (where there are LCBO stores and not just agents). If it were gone the average wage in, say, Collingwood, would plummet.

No such argument exists for the phone company, Verizon likely engages the services of as many firms in India and the Phillipines as does Bell.

Almost Canadian

I am with you. I haven't seen the ads on this site but the radio ads piss me off no end too

haggis88

AdblockPlus for Firefox/Chrome

i can only see adverts on sites which have set them up as frames for their own sponsors...even blocks adverts on Youtube videos aswell...best add on i've ever downloaded!

Novocastrian

Jolly good for you.

But to the earlier issue, I also haven't seen these ads but I can imagine that dbd33's ire is fully merited.

dbd33

Not my machine and not my browser, I can't change it.

I'm not routinely exposed to Canadian media so I didn't realise they also advertise on the radio. Ugh!

mandymoochops

Agreed

"That's just not fair................."

Wow thats a super grown up line to spin from a big company

On that basis alone I hope her company never gets to buy anything ever again and she has to sit on the naughty step for pouting.

bats

I haven't seen any, no doubt I will now.

james.mc

It's not fair

Maybe a quick look at what's on offer in other countries might make the Canadian operators start wondering why they are about to get their arse kicked by the competition!

Limited internet? Pay to receive calls? Tied to a 3 year contract (recently changed to 2 years, but only due to government pressure) That's not fair either.

No sympathy for them!!

CanadaJimmy

I haven't seen any banner ads, but I too have heard the equivalent radio ads where they go on about "Fair for canada". I completely agree that they are extremely annoying.

They completely miss the point too - the US company isn't getting a "discount", YOU (Bell/Telus/Rogers) were blocked from buying Wind & Mobilicity because you're growing your Canadian oligopoly and killing competition. Verizon IS allowed to buy it because it's a brand new company in the arena and is not trying to buy out competition, but rather buy INTO the market.

orly

Managed a year on Bell before I bought myself out of all the services I had with them (cell, internet and TV). While "expensive" I could take a $650 odd hit as I'll make that back simply by using WIND for my phone. Quite astonishing they offer more on a plan that costs me $27.50 a month than Bell could offer for $60. And that was before Bell, like Rogers and Telus, became even more ridiculously priced recently.

Ditched their satellite TV too. Pretty unimpressed at their PVR which, for some reason, could only record a channel if you were actually watching it. Tried to explain this rather obvious flaw to their goon on the phone but they just couldn't grasp the issue.

orly

An interesting read: http://benklass.wordpress.com/2013/0...s-open-letter/

Someone else can surely say whether it's all accurate or not as I wouldn't have the faintest.

MillieF

Yes me too, and descant of 'well we might be crap and super expensive, but we're Canadian' doesn't impress either.

januarymix

I'm with dbd. I'm sick of uncompetitive, non meritocracy based, overprivileged and undeserving entities.

Kind of reminds me of the United Nations, but at least they have better press.

Maybe Sue can help with these 'ads'