Bell Canada ((Actually, the number that called was 866-507-8350 which, when I called it back says that it is a “customer contact centre” of a company called SP Data, calling me with information about “products and service offerings on behalf of Bell Canada.” It seems that they specialize in, among other things, what they term the “warm upsell” which is marketing bullshit for using a pre-existing sales relationship to try and sell you more stuff that you don’t require.)) just called me up (ostensibly to make sure I was getting the “best value for my money,” see the footnote below) to try and sell me satellite TV and DSL Internet service. I was surprised that the sales woman, after I told her that no, I didn’t have cable but had rabbit ears, cautioned me that “if I didn’t get cable or satellite TV that I would no longer be able to watch TV in the future.” Luckily, I knew that her line was a bunch of bollocks.
True, on August 31, 2011, broadcasters in Canada will be required to switch to transmitting a digital rather than analog signal. With an old standard-definition TV, you won’t be able to watch these digital signals without purchasing a converter. With newer HD TVs with digital tuners built in, you can already watch high-quality HD programming over the air (OTA) without having to get cable or satellite TV.
It’s a bit smarmy and somewhat of a scam to call people (current customers, really) and tell them that they need a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist. It just happens that I’m a bit literate in this field otherwise, I could have be sucked into purchasing a service that, at the end of the day, I don’t need. I wonder if Bell Canada is aware that SP Data is misinforming clients in this way?
Industry Canada has a bunch of information if you want to know more.
Update (19-11-2010): I’m happy to publish comments about your concerns or experiences with these companies, but I won’t publish anonymous comments that *just* slag off SP Data staff.
22 replies on “Bell Canada & SP Data spread misinformation about the coming digital television switch”
RE: SP Data
If anyone want the phone calls from SP Data to stop all you have to do is send an email to the Senior VP brian.cato@spdatallc.com. I sent an email to the HR@SPDATALLC.COM and explained that it was impossible to reach anyone and that they were calling me 10 times a day. They forwarded the email to Brian Cato the Senior VP and he responded with an hour of receiving my email. He took my information and assured me that the phone calls would stop. It has been days now and I have not received any calls from them.
Ya I am pretty stubborn and it took me days to do this so I hope this helps…. :)
I am receiving these calls everyday and it’s now 2017! I very forcefully asked for my number to be removed from the list or whatever they are using. I distinctly asked them to not call me again. We shall see if they continue.
last week I was called by someone and I asked for details ,said I would discuss this deal with the rest of the family therefore please call back in a few days–they have not, so I am trying to reach someone from SP data–I have left 4 messages at the 1-866 # and have not had a return call alll week—why?
Usually agents have their own records for call-backs as they are the agent who initiated the sale and don’t want another agent to pick it up via the dialler. Agents get paid both hourly wage and commission, (though I haven’t found the intense pressure to sell by any means necessary as I did at another call center I worked for, and quit because I felt they were unethical). Most likely the agent misplaced the number, had his/her shifts changed, got sick, or left their job. In that case the number would not immediately go back into the dialler, though it might eventually. If it takes a long time – more than a couple weeks, call 310-Bell and see if the agent saved a quote associated with your phone number. If not, see if you can be put back on the dialler. You will always get a better deal via an outbound call than an inbound one.
The call will not be returned as per SP DATA it self doesnt sell anything at all, other than services for other companies. If you want to take advantage of the offer they mentioned to you, you will need to call your provider directly.
Within regards to the first comment I want to advice you that even tho, the rep that call you definitely misinfomed you, you should consider your words before accusing the whole company for something that just 1 SCR told you. SCRs do commit mistakes and some of them, like the one you mention, become greedy for sales and then they use “dirty” techniques to misinform customers.
To conclude just take into account that most of the people at SP Data do their work properly, and even tho there are always people screwing it up, Sp Data as a whole is one of the best outsourcing companies a Telecommunications provider can deal with.
@ANDREW
Thanks for the comment.
You’re right–one customer service rep isn’t the whole company. To say, however, that a customer service rep *does not* represent the company is ridiculous. This person is a employee of SP Data, doing a warm upsell– a job that Bell Canada is paying them for. SP Data is certainly responsible for what they say and how they make their sales–ethical or not.
As an ex-employee of SP Data on their Bell campaign, I can tell you that you are absolutely right.
I was given false information in order to sell products. When I found out that they were lying to me, I was quite disgusted with them. When I refused to push sales, I got in trouble.
That, combined with the fact that I got abused over the phone on a daily basis (this is not a career choice, it was a job to keep me going through university) made me quit.
Also, if you want the calls from SP Data to stop, tell the representative to put you on the Do Not Call list for the company. They will do that for you.
Hi
Does anyone have a number I can call to contact SPData. All numbers I have go to voice mail or are out of order.
Thanks
The number for spdata is 905-645-5610…one ext is 5615
thank you for the number.. my son was let go in Dec. we are still waiting for his Roe..
Right now SPData is in control of Bell’s “Prime Queue” which is the default people to talk to when calling 310-BELL. I would certainly love to leave my name and an extension I can be reached at in the company but unfortunately that’s against policy. I can assure you that most of our team is very enthusiastic and will be willing to do whatever it takes to fix any problems or answer any questions you may have, assuming it’s related to a Bell product/service.
And Gavan; I do apologize for the misinformation by one of our agents and rest-assured that we constantly and randomly screen our agents calls for quality purposes, so as long as this wasn’t a one-time thing with the agent we’ll find out and make sure he/she is properly dealt with.
Receiving a call from 866-507-8357 so late into the night an after acceptable business hours shows the mismanagement & poor training of it telemarketers given by the company – As a established firm like Bell it shows poor judgement on who they choose when they subcontract . When Bell looks at the dollar no matter how fraudulent its collected an doesn’t cancel its contract with that company,, won’t that reflect directly upon them?. When asked to identify what company name was calling? –The account number ? it was refused – Again Bell sharing private information of my finical records –phone # etc -without my prior written consent with a company that has legitimate complaints filed against it to the Better Business Bureau of Canada for inappropriate customer relations.. I would predict that Bell will seek another contactor that can work within the limits and rules an not a fly-by night company that likely is facing litigation – bank closures an collections itself.
I was hired a few months back, and the place seems fine. Not perfect, but I’ve yet to work at a perfect company of any kind – and I’ve worked at plants, schools, town halls and universities. This place definitely seem ethical, however. All agents have to pass criminal record checks, sign confidentiality clauses, and will be fired and likely sued for any breach – not that I know of any personally. Frankly, you’re probably in more danger of getting robbed ordering a pizza or a concert ticket – on the phone OR online. I am not aware of any false information, but then I don’t really take the word of disgruntled ex-employees who were probably fired for a reason. (I have seen agents fired for incorrectly informing customers – this can happen at any centre, but at least they deal with it.)
And while calls (from many companies) do happen from about 9 am-9:30 pm, that is simply because potential clients are available at different hours. When I don’t want my phone to ring, I turn the ringer off. Not rocket science. Telemarketing employs hundreds of thousands of people – including, at the call centre you mention, people with physical disabilities, people of all walks of life, and all ages. If you want to find them all jobs, you can bitch about the huge inconvenience of your phone ringing – would you be rude if it were simply a wrong number? Ask for the DNC list if it really bothers you (but remember you’ll always get a lesser deal calling inbound to any company because then they KNOW you want the product). And if you ask for the DNC list, know that an agent CAN”T put you on it until they’ve informed you of the details regarding the DNC list. If you just shout and hang up, your number goes straight back into the automatic dialler..
And PS, we ALWAYS tell the name of both the company and the call centre, as well as our ID numbers if the person requests it. If you’re asking for “account number”, the agent probably thinks you mean YOUR former account number, which we would have to open another program to find. Not worth it for a belligerent ex-customer.
Sry for commenting OFF TOPIC but what WP template do you use? Looks cool.
It’s a modified version of the Freshy 2 theme.
I worked for them and they have very shady practices – I quit after 2 months of bull shit and minimum wage – totally sucks to be BELL right now. Everyone hates you!!!
gaven lets be more specific on this issue.
number 1- i have a hd tv quite new and currently with a cable company offering basic cable (anolgue) for 30.00 a month. The dtv package with box not including HD can be 50.00 or more . THEREFORE cable companies charging for dtv and hd will cost you.
When the conversion happens in aug 2011 what happens .
1) Do i get digital picture for free
2) Cable companies are billing you for dtv – in 2011 what happens , no more billing for digital tv which means loss of income for cable companies.
3) Will cable companies hike up the basic cable bill which in 2011 will be digital.
So do i need a box from the cable company to receive dtv or will they hike up the cost of cable tv to retain there revenue.
yes hd can be free ota , but in small towns you may not receive reception even with those hd attennas that are for sale currently in the market. thx please respond
Mike. I don’t work for a cable company, so I can’t answer your questions.
When travelling for extended periods this number calls up to 20 times (866-507-8350). There’s a pause, a click, a pause, and then a long beeping every time. It fills my answering machine. I have to call just to clear these calls. It makes me boil. Thank you for posting this.
Call 310-BELL and tell them about the beeping, as it may be a solvable problem with the dialler. It doesn’t help either side to have the machine doing that. Answering machine calls go back into the dialler because we can’t speak to anyone but the person responsible for the services in the home and in most cases they’ll be home within a relatively short time. At most you should hear a click. I promise you no agent I know wants anyone to experience this, except possibly the people who tell us we should commit suicide. (Fortunately most people are not that bad! It’s the same on our end. :-) PS Gavan – we don’t get a lot of questions about the rabbit ears, and I don’t recall covering it in training. Some would likely have to ask a supervisor about it or search our in-house search engine for information, as the person you talked to should have done. I can’t look it up now as we are not able to access any of the internal programs at home, not even our work schedules. They’re very serious about confidentiality. I do know that we can be fired by misinforming a customer in order to make a sale and have seen it happen to one agent. ALL sales calls are checked by QC and other calls are randomly checked as well. PPS I have worked there for just a few months, and will let you know if I find out anything different from what I’ve told you.
Hi there I just received a call from SP data (on behalf of Bell she stated) and then after brusquely answering questions about my viewing habits (I didn’t really tell her anything about what I watch) she was going to go into her spiel about the channels available. I said I was quite happy with what i currently had and wasn’t interested. I then contacted Bell and asked the customer service rep about whether they were affiliated with SP data and she said no.
I am inputting a review on SP DATA on the BBB and will contact Government Consumer affairs on this company misinforming people dishonestly.