If you recall (or if you read about it from the link above), I had to argue with the Bell ExpressVu agent just to get them to give me the programming I wanted. In the end, he did as I asked. Low and behold, when my bill came it was exactly as I expected. Heck, I was almost disappointed to see it correct! ;)

They credited me for the correct number of days I was out of service and the best part was that they actually re-adjusted my Sympatico start date to be the day I was finally able to active my account and not the original date. It’s sort of hard to use a DSL internet connection if you have no phone line. ;) At least they realized that automatically.

Now I’m just waiting for the programming credits I’m supposed to get with Bell ExpressVu. We’ll see how long that takes.

The only other amusing thing is that Bell ExpressVu has recently increased all their pricing. For once, being in a long term contract is working to my favour! They are going to keep my bill the same for the duration as long as I don’t make any changes. That’s easy enough to accomplish – I don’t think I want to deal with getting Bell to do anything to my account anytime soon!

[ The post "Bell Canada Update" originally appeared on Ivany. Why not subscribe to our RSS feed directly if you haven't already?]

On Saturday August 20th, I got my ExpressVu dish installed. Mr. Bill Williams Jr. came and took care of everything. He did a very nice clean install and it didn’t take him very long. Once he was completed, he called up Bell ExpressVu to handle his part of the activation. No problem. Then he handed me my cell phone (oh yeah, remember, I didn’t have home phone service at this time because Bell Repair couldn’t figure out how to swap a line card) and I got to talk to Edgar. Oh Edgar. What a wonderful “Customer Service” agent you are.

Edgar starts out ok but quickly I learn he’s going to make this difficult. I’m simply trying to activate my service, nothing more. I had the Bell ExpressVu brochure (bell.ca copy ivany.org copy) open in front of me and I had already used Bell’s interactive channel/theme pack chooser online. I tell Edgar the 5 theme packs I want because according to the brochure and the website, if I choose 4 theme packs I get one free for $20/month. That makes 5 theme packs for $20.

Edgar proceeds to tell me that I can’t do that. He tells me the only way I can get 5 theme packs is to take the Movie Lover’s combo which is $64/mon (instead of the $45 I would be paying according to the brochure) but he’d be nice and give me it for $39 for two months. Uh. No. Edgar, I want the 5 theme packs for $20.

Edgar then proceeds to tell me that he’s trying to get what’s best for me and that there is no way to get 5 theme packs for the price of 4. On top of that, he tells me he’s been with Bell for over 2 years and it’s never been this way. Oh really Edgar? Maybe you should do some reading because it’s this way now.

Finally after more of me telling Edgar what he doesn’t know and him insisting over and over that I am wrong, he caves and agrees to give me the 5 theme packs. Insane, I had to actually argue with the guy to get him to give me what I wanted. All he had to say was that he didn’t think it was the best option and then just do what I asked. Nothing more!

[ The post "Bell ExpressVu Customer Service" originally appeared on Ivany. Why not subscribe to our RSS feed directly if you haven't already?]