Dear Shaw:

Please find enclosed the internet modem and cable modem from the home of Joyce Kyi.

Joyce Kyi is my mother-in-law. Initially, I had arranged for Shaw to reconnect her cable, internet, and phone service at her new apartment. However, we were unable to find her phone modem.

The first customer service representative with whom I spoke (Jen), told me the modem was in our living room. After packing all of mom’s possessions, I still hadn’t found it. I called Shaw.

The second customer service representative with whom I spoke (Dana), told me the modem was probably in the garage. We emptied the garage, and didn’t find it.

The third customer service representative with whom I spoke (Matilda), said that the notes on our file about the location of our phone modem didn’t use standard Shaw abbreviations, and she wasn’t sure where it might be. She suggested that I trace the phone and electrical lines in the house until I found it.

Unfortunately, by this time the sale date had passed and the house was no longer in our possession. As we’d searched diligently for the modem, with misinformation from two previous customer service representatives, and as I had now spent over an hour on hold with the Shaw offices, I asked Matilda to forgive us the cost of the modem in setting up mom’s service at her new house.

When Matilda was unable to do this, I spoke with her supervisor. And I would like to suggest that should you be organizing any in-services on resolving customer concerns, that you may wish to look up my conversation with this supervisor as an example of what not to do.

He called my concerns “absurd” and “ludicrous.” He suggested that asking Shaw to forgive the cost of the lost modem would be akin to misplacing a rental car, then asking the car company to overlook the loss. And he found it “ridiculous” that I would be willing to return your cable and internet modem, cancel my installation appointment, and pay the cost of the missing modem, all for the benefit of never having to work with Shaw again.

If the supervisor had been willing to credit all or a portion of the cost of the modem, I would have stayed with Shaw. If he had been willing to offer any other credit to the account, I would have stayed with Shaw. Even if he had sincerely apologized for the trouble we’d gone to, I may have stayed with Shaw. As you may have guessed, he did none of these things.

I have enclosed the internet and cable modems and I assume that my mother-in-law’s account will reflect this. You may send the bill for the outstanding modem.

Telus was very happy to install our new TV, internet, and phone service, at a cost significantly less than what we were paying to Shaw.

Coincidentally, they also called my own home tonight, asking if my husband and I would like to switch from Shaw Digital to Telus TV. They offered us a free PVR.

Which leads me to wonder… how long will it be before Shaw calls my mother-in-law’s house, with a special offer if she’ll switch to Shaw? And wouldn’t it have been better for everyone if you had just kept our business in the first place?

Sincerely,
Tanya Kyi