Rogers customers complain of customer service nightmare, having to wait hours for simple problems to be resolved
When Anil Sedha decided to cancel his Rogers Business Internet service, he expected to get online, click a few buttons and be done. But the customer support link was broken. A chatbot told him he could cancel only by calling.
Thus began the Winnipeg man’s estimate of a seven-hour ordeal that lasted several weeks last summer, mired in a maze of hold music, dropped calls and endless transfers between departments.
“It was a non-stop theme of ‘We have huge call volume,'” Sedha said. “I tried calling at different times of the day and on different days.”
No matter when they tried, they say the result was the same: waiting for hours, talking to representatives who couldn’t help, hanging up mid-call and having to start all over again.
“How many days am I expected to call someone to cancel a simple Internet service?” he asked.
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Sedha’s experience is not unique. Dozens of unhappy Rogers customers recently wrote go public and posted on social media, complaining about long wait times, complicated cancellation processes and poor service.
Many people question the recent Rogers call center layoffs and complain about how the three major providers – Rogers, Bell and Telus – dominate the industry. Together, they control most of the country’s mobile, TV and internet markets, a problem critics say has worsened. When Rogers was allowed to take over Shaw In 2023.
Customer service experts say it’s the lack of competition that’s really the problem.
“It reduces the need for these telecom companies to compete and provide good customer service because they think, ‘Customers need us, so we don’t really need to do anything to improve our service,'” said Eugene Chan, an associate professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Metropolitan University of Toronto.
A spokesperson for Rogers declined to speak on camera, but said A statement The company interacts with millions of customers every month and works hard to “deliver great experiences.”
recent call center layoffs
While customers complain about poor customer service, Rogers is reducing the number of people handling those calls.
The company recently ended its contract with FoundEver, a Miami-based company that employed hundreds of Canadians who handled Rogers customer service calls. Neither Rogers nor FoundEver would say how many people were laid off, or whether those positions were transferred elsewhere.
Two former employees who lost their jobs in those layoffs say they were told in staff meetings that Rogers, like many other large corporations, is “promoting digital adoption” — which they believe means greater use of AI.
The two said much of their time last year was spent training AI systems.
Rogers customers tell CBC’s Go Public they have been left frustrated after spending hours trying to resolve basic issues. Meanwhile, insiders say the company is increasingly relying on AI assistance to handle customer service calls.
Using a tool called Agent Assist, the AI will listen to calls, prepare notes and even suggest troubleshooting steps to employees. Agents had to approve or correct the AI’s responses, a process that was closely monitored through their performance metrics on each call.
“Recently, they released something where it actually tells the agent what steps to take to troubleshoot,” a former employee said. “It’s listening to the customer’s problem, so the agent doesn’t have to figure it out.”
CBC is not identifying the former employees because they fear professional repercussions.
While AI could streamline operations for Rogers, the former employee said it risks removing the human elements that many customers need.
“I think this will make customers feel cold, not warm, from the agent,” said the former customer service agent. “If a family member has died and someone is calling to close the account, how can AI feel compassion?”
Another former employee expressed concern, saying that Rogers’ policy often required agents to present offers or upsell to customers, even during sensitive calls. He says human agents may decide not to do so even if it bothers them, but he suggests AI agents won’t make the distinction.
Rogers says its investment in AI is “enhancing” its customer service by making it easier for agents to find solutions “more efficiently.”
Rogers promised to create jobs
Rogers is under scrutiny from regulators because, under the terms of the Shaw merger, the company is required to create 3,000 jobs in Western Canada by 2027.
The telecom giant says it is on track to achieve this, with over 1,800 jobs already created. But the terms of the merger don’t prevent them from reducing staff in other areas. The recent layoffs at FoundEver do not count as staff reductions at Rogers, as they were contract employees.
At the time of the merger, Rogers also Promise Moving foreign jobs back to Canada to provide “100 per cent Canadian-based customer service”.
But now, a Rogers spokesperson says “most” agents are based in Canada. He did not say how many jobs were transferred overseas.
Customer forced to use Telco Ombudsman
Dealing with Rogers has also been frustrating for Fran Munro of Pender Island, B.C.
A few months ago, a technician came to replace his old modem – a routine service call that turned into a billing nightmare because it created a new account even though his old one had never been turned off. As a result, Monroe and her husband received bills for two different accounts.
Despite paying the new bill every month, he kept getting overdue notices for the old account – and eventually, he was warned that his service would be disconnected if he didn’t pay.
Like Seedha, she spent hours on end, was repeatedly transferred between departments and still couldn’t find anyone who could fix the problem or even explain what went wrong.
“I spent a lot of time and some sleepless nights wondering, ‘What am I doing wrong here? Why can’t I contact anyone?’ Munroe said. “It’s extremely disappointing.”
Rogers then shut off the couple’s television service, something Monroe suspected was due to billing confusion.
It was only after contacting the Complaints Commission for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) – an independent ombudsman that handles unresolved telecom disputes – that he finally got help. CCTS does not handle general customer service complaints, but was able to intervene because the problem involved billing errors.
Rogers apologized for the “frustrating experience”, cut Munro’s monthly bill by $40 and offered a one-time $250 bill credit as a “goodwill gesture”.
Munro said he was relieved to have the situation resolved but was disappointed by how difficult it was to reach a resolution.
Call for regulatory reforms
Meanwhile, other countries are mandating minimum levels of customer service and forcing companies to make it easier to cancel contracts.
Spain is drafting legislation to require large companies to answer 95 percent of calls within three minutes and limit the use of automated systems. The European Union is adopting rules to make it easier to cancel contracts and Germany already requires companies to provide “two-click cancellation” for many contracts.
Canada has no such LThe law is separate from the law that allows users to cancel mobile services simply by signing up with a new provider. chan says tTelecom companies are not required to provide good customer service, as there are no regulations requiring them to do so.
“They can get away with it in some ways because there are very few federal regulations that govern the customer service experience,” he said.
Keldon Bester, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP), says there should be legislation to ensure customers do not experience unnecessary friction when terminating a service.
“Cancelling a service should be as easy as signing up for a service,” he said.
Sedha agrees.
“What’s so complicated about just providing a simple ‘I want to cancel’ button?” he asked.
one in statement To Go Public A spokesperson for Canada’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development said the government has taken steps to make the industry more competitive, such as allowing telecommunications providers to access the Internet on their competitors’ networks.
7 hours to say goodbye
After weeks of frustration, Sedha finally learned that to cancel her service, she would need to send an email – something no one had mentioned to her in her several previous calls.
“My first reaction was, ‘Are you kidding me?’ ” He said.
A Rogers agent then said she would be denied another month of service because she had to send the equipment back – but Sedha backed down and got that fee waived.
Sedha’s ordeal only ended in August when she sent a final email and sent her equipment back — after spending nearly seven hours trying to reach someone at Rogers who could help. The experience has left him concerned about how others may have to deal with the same problem.
“What if it was one of my family members? A senior? Or a new immigrant?” he asked. “How will they handle it?”
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