SteveX Compiled

Rogers has been calling me a lot lately. Twice in the last two days for the Rocket Stick, a USB wireless adapter that will let your laptop get on the Internet from anywhere.

The iPhone 3G supports tethering, and Apple has been nice enough to enable tethering on all their data plans for no additional charge. Seriously I think this is a great move by Rogers. Data is data, and not charging extra for it is just a nice lack of evil (whereas AT&T does charge extra in the US).

With the iPhone and bluetooth tethering, I can open up my laptop, click Connect on the Bluetooth menu, and I’m online. I don’t even have to take the phone out of my pocket. This is easier than digging around for a USB wireless adapter, and I’m quite happy with the performance.

So they’re trying to sell me the Rocket Stick and I just don’t need one. But whoever wrote the script that the sales people follow wasn’t going to take “No” for an answer.

To start with, saying that I had an iPhone apparently triggered the ‘customer has an iPhone’ script, which involves telling me that the screen size is too small, that I’m going to get eye strain using it, don’t I type email and find the onscreen keyboard difficult, and so on. Nice way to trash talk the product that you sold me.

I explained that I connect the iPhone to my laptop. Now I was on the ‘customer has a laptop’ script, which involves asking me if I ever use it outside the house, and wouldn’t it be nice to have the Internet anywhere. So I explain how tethering works and that I connect the laptop to the Internet using my iPhone.

Apparently there is a page for that in the script, because next she was trying to make me see some value in the Rocket Stick over bluetooth tethering. “I understand you’re using your phone to get online, but don’t you find that unreliable?” Um, no, it works fine for me, thanks, and if I did find it unreliable, I’d be calling Rogers, since they’re the ones that supplied the iPhone, the network connectivity and the ability to tether!

She eventually accepted that I really didn’t need another way to get my laptop online. Then she asked about my wife, who doesn’t have an iPhone and clearly needs a Rocket Stick. Sigh.

I wish these sales calls had a safe word that you could use that’s code for “I’ve considered the option you’re trying to sell me and I really don’t want it, I know why I don’t want it, and your sales call isn’t going to change my mind. You’d be better off moving on to the next customer”. I hate being rude to the folks calling me, but I know if I let them proceed I’m wasting their time as well as my own.

(And, I’ve had to explain to three different Rogers reps that when I move, I am cancelling my Rogers service not because I don’t want Rogers at my new location, but because it’s not available. And no you can’t have my postal code to check again, because the last 2 people did that and I know for certain that it’s not available there. No, I don’t need you to check again. No, you can’t have my postal code. No. Sigh.).

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at 8:50 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.