2 Friday, December 8, 2023 brooklintowncrier.com Herewith a weepy tale of how not to communicate nor assist a customer. Cue the hanky. A couple seeking cheaper mobile rates visits a telecom store to switch from company X to Y. It is 3 pm and there is a wait outside because the company policy is to not allow in more than one customer per employee. After a few minutes of give and take, they place one phone on post paid (pay per month) and one on pre-paid. They fork over $150 for the six month prepaid. No one says anything about a refund policy. Numbers are transferred (aka. ported) from company X to Y, SIM cards are inserted and the phones are activated. The couple returns home. Within two hours, they receive a desperation come-back-to-us call from X with a magnificent deal. Wow, they say. Sure. But they will need new SIM cards and have to visit X's store in the morning, which they do. They switch back to X without ever using the Y prepaid, 18 hours after paying for it. However, trying to obtain a refund for an unused 18-hour old account is impossible. Multiple calls go to multiple departments and multiple people as the story is told and retold. Each subsequent "customer service rep" screws up the notes for the next one. Rinse and repeat. In graduating levels of promised responses, the couple is assured of a response: first within two business days - no contact - then within three business days - no contact - then within seven - no contact. They are twice instructed to return to the store which says it cannot refund. It doesn't matter if no one said anything about refunds. Policy is policy. They elevate the complaint to the company's pre-paid department then to the office of the president which contacts the store. Evidently the company's name on the storefront doesn't mean the company will assist. Having the credit card proof of purchase isn't sufficient. The store claims a refund can only be issued the same day. News indeed. So the couple offers this "what if." What if you purchase at 7:30 pm, store closes at 8 pm, and you're hit by a truck outside minutes later? Still no refund for your descendants? The so-called last line of help merely repeats what had been told before. There is no apology for the hours the customer spent on the phone. There is no attempt to circumvent nor tinker with an apparent ironclad policy. The couple, which had once been with Company Y for 30 years and shared this, is kissed off with an imaginary wave. Such is the state of the nation's telecoms. Sniff, sniff. Less than half the picture: When Telecoms Don't Com By Richard Bercuson Monday - Thursday 9:00am-7:00pm Friday 9:00am-5:30pm Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm Sunday Closed Top Dollar for Your Trade 1201 Dundas St. East, Whitby SALES 905-668-5846 SERVICE 905-668-8871 PARTS 905-668-8853 ORDER YOUR PRE-OWNED CAR WITH US! SALES (905) 721-6599 SERVICE (905) 721-6588 PARTS (905) 721-6577 445 Winchester Road East, Brooklin Check out our Pre-Owned Inventory on our website! 2024 ELANTRA • 2023 SONATA 2024 VENUE • 2024 KONA 2024 TUCSON • 2023 SANTA FE 2024 PALISADE • 2024 SANTA CRUZ VIEW CURRENT SPECIAL OFFERS AT HYUNDAICANADA.COM OR COME SEE US! SHOP LOCAL THIS CHRISTMAS