A Canadian has started a petition calling on the CRTC to require telecoms to improve their customer service response times. The petition, which is available on Change.org, argues that the federal government should mandate a maximum response time of 10 minutes for all telecom companies operating within the country.
According to the petition starter, Frank Brown, companies that fail to comply should face penalties proportionate to their customer service failures. Brown, the former president of Wahl Canada, says the idea came from his own experience of spending hours trying to resolve a simple issue.
Long Wait Times
Brown’s experience included a 45-minute wait that led to a department transfer and, ultimately, a dropped call. However, he stresses that this issue isn’t related to a single company, with all kinds of similar complaints having been shared by customers with all of the carriers.
This is despite the fact that Canada pays some of the highest telecom prices in the world. Companies like Rogers have been cutting their customer service roles, all while investing billions into other areas like sports.
International Comparison
In his petition, Brown notes that other countries have been pushing companies to reduce their response times, with Spain being the most prominent example. In December, the country passed a law requiring telecoms and other large companies to answer calls within three minutes, 95 per cent of the time.
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Brown thinks that a 10-minute limit would be a reasonable limit in Canada. At the time of writing, Brown’s petition only has 141 signatures. Those interested in signing can do so on Change.org.
It’s worth considering that if such a law were to be implemented in Canada, it could have significant implications for the way telecom companies operate their customer service departments. The fact that Canadians are paying high prices for telecom services and still experiencing long wait times is likely to continue to be a point of contention.
Regulatory Action
The CRTC has the power to regulate telecom companies and enforce certain standards of service. If the petition gains enough support, it could lead to the CRTC taking a closer look at the issue of customer service response times in the telecom industry.
For now, the petition remains a call to action for Canadians who are frustrated with the current state of customer service in the telecom industry. As the petition continues to gain support, it will be interesting to see how the CRTC responds to the concerns of Canadian consumers.
