Shaw Customer Service - good and bad - post comments here

[hugh]

This thread is for folks to post good stories and bad about Shaw Cable Customer Service.

If your posting a bad post, then at least try to post what knowledge is lacking and how the company might improve service rather than calling CSR's useless or idiots.

Remember CSR's are human too and sometimes they don't have all the answers

[Icemann]

I've had very mixed dealings with Shaw. Sometimes its horrible (The CSR telling me I need to plug my 6208 directly to the wall outlet or it won't work properly.) and sometimes its pretty good (The second tech who came to my house actually phoned back to the headend and confirmed that everything was setup right and that the headend was experiencing the same problem.)

I think in the end its a training and personnel issue when you get good versus bad service at Shaw.

[Nanuuk]

My only real complaint is that you often get stuck on hold for a millenia or so. Other than that their service has been excellent (unlike the 90's). Can't speak to their internet support as I'm on Telus.

[Hairball]

MY personal dealing with Shaw have always been good. One improvement I can think of is better communications to the CSRs in all the regions Shaw services. The CSRs can't give you information they don't have.

[HeaTransfer]

Shaw customer has been pretty decent.

1. the callback service is quite nice (sometimes when you call and there's a long queue, one is given the option to leave one's phone # and Shaw will call back). Have never had to wait very long on hold because of this.

2. Had a negative experience with one CSR who implied I was sexist idiot when I asked her to delegate upwards.

3. Wrote letter about said incident to Shaw and it was handled professionally and to my satisfaction.

4. Bought a DCT5100 mere weeks before the 6200 came out (after all shaw CSRs pleaded ignorance about 6200). Received a programming credit for the difference in terminal pricing after complaining.

5. Biggest problem with the CSRs is, IMO, the fact that they aren't provided with the information that they should have to answer all customer questions. They try but can only share what information is provided them from upstairs.

Overall, upon reflection - very good customer service. I can bitch about their HD but I can't about their customer support.

[klemieux]

75 percent good.
25 percent bad.

Having to wait on hold for a long time is bad but when you get a knowledgable CSR it is quite good. The wait times seem to occur mostly whent there is a problem or during prime time (6-9pm pst). The late night "nerds" (no offence) after 9pm pst have always been very good and they seem to be on top of most current issues and know what the problem is. During the day it is hit or miss.

[Bell-boy]

Originally Posted by HeaTransfer

5. Biggest problem with the CSRs is, IMO, the fact that they aren't provided with the information that they should have to answer all customer questions. They try but can only share what information is provided them from upstairs.

I've sat in on a technical training session and a question was posed by a senior field technician pertaining to signal to noise ratios to a Shaw system Engineer. The response to his question was Why would you need to know that? The tech was then treated as if he had spat on that engineers shoe. In the next few weeks after that there was alot of suspicious management activities regarding that individual. Now no one asks questions, so if you don't get answers from the bottom (CSR's) try going "upstairs".

HINT-Don't be seduced by suave talk and offers of trinkets. If it doesn't get fixed, escalate and keep good documentation. This will probably result in more suave talk, better trinkets and a resolution.

[phade]

Use Shaws call back feature. Then go about you day. They will call you back. It works great.
phade

[kev604]

Use Shaws call back feature. Then go about you day. They will call you back. It works great.

I've used the call back feature before where you leave your phone number and I must say it works very well. Saves you from sitting on the phone and since you don't lose your place in line the call back is pretty quick.

[Crash7]

I had filled out some product service forms on Shaw's website the other day. I mentioned how my internet and phone services have been perfect but mentioned the constant audio dropouts and picture freezes with my digital tv. The guy was extremely polite and seemed very eager to help. He ran me through many troubleshooting tips and even sat on the phone with me while I watched tv for a few minutes, looking for problems. After 45 minutes on the phone with him, he scheduled a tech to come and mentioned he would call me back the day after to discuss. These kind of things really make me feel that Shaw is trying their best to address problems and is the reason I'm still with them. Great customer service.

[jgib01]

I have been a subscriber for about 6 months, and for those 6 months it has been mostly bad. Got a deal in May of getting full (analog) cable for 6 months for $20/mth. As summer was approaching and we watch less TV then, I figured I cancel my dish and go with cable till the fall.

When our service was to be hooked up, the first tech they sent out said our signal was too weak, and that a new drop would have to be put in before we could get service. He was going to check on how long it would take to get that done. Got a call from them some days later, requesting permission to break up some concrete in our back yard to put in the drop; gave them the go-ahead. Some more days later, another tech shows up, says he would do the hook-up, install an amplifier, and we would have service at least until the new drop was done. I agreed, and voila... our rather lacklustre quality cable service began. Lower channels were O.K., but not great, and upper channels were unwatchable. Summer passed, and I sort of just forgot about them putting in the new line... guess in the back of my mind I figured I may go back to the dish at some point anyway, so why push the issue.

Last month, I decided to try out internet service through Shaw as well, as our Telus "1 year cheap-o" deal ran out in September. The net tech came, on October 19th and told me that our signal was far too weak for internet, even with the signal amplified. He said he would have someone contact me about finally getting the new drop done, and that that would likely happen the following day. With no response by October 25, I sent an e-mail to them describing my situation, frustration, and requesting our cable service be cancelled, and telling them to scratch the internet order. In that e-mail I also requested they send confirmation they received my cancellation request.

On November 2, still no reply, so I sent another e-mail requesting again they make contact to confirm my request to cancel. Received a reply the following day stating:
"Hello Jason, Thank you for your email. We have forwarded your email to the senior management in Lethbridge so that they can look after your request.
Please feel free to contact us if you need further assistance or for online technical assistance visit our Customer Support Site at http://support.shaw.ca. Thank You for choosing Shaw"

Clock is still ticking, it is Nov 5, still no call nor e-mail from them, and we still have the cable hooked up. Now, it seems that not only are my Shaw days done, but so too may my Star Choice days be through (after all they are the same company). Though it pains me to admit, I am being driven ever closer to Bell than I ever thought I might venture!

Edit: November 14... still no reply!

Edit: After one more e-mail following the 14th, finally got a call from someone locally. They seemed surprised that I wanted a disconnect, and thought I was just wanting info on the new drop being put in. Apparently, they had "problems with their crew during the summer" that were repairing the drops. The person locally apologised, and said if I wanted to come back to cable he would get the repair done as soon as posible. Despite my numerous e-mail, it still seems they missed the boat in passing along the info from the e-mail CSR to the "senior management in Lethbridge". Now I am left with one more task... trying to get my money back from service for the November bill. Don't know if it is even worth my time.

Edit: January 4, 2005. A Shaw tech shows up at my place today checking things out. I wasn't home, and the tech spoke with my mother-in-law. The tech stated that they understood there was a problem with my drop and that it needed to be fixed; they would need the homeowners' permission to bust up some concrete to do the repair, probably within the next couple of months. Completely oblivious. Just when you thought it couldn't get any sillier...

[Piri]

My first post here after a few months of lurking while I gathered up information for my switch to HD equipment and programming.

3 weeks ago I called Shaw and they stated it would be 2 wks for someone to come out to install the box so I popped in to there worrisomely impressive building and picked up the 6200 (thinking better a less expensive one that works than...). They made a minor over charge at the desk which they apparently corrected when I pointed it out.

I phoned Nov. 3rd and pleasantly whined that I overpaid and they refunded $100 (which I would never of received if not for knowledge gained from DHC). Great.

I then went and checked my account history through the secure site to check and found an incredibly tangled paper trail of my account over the last month. Surely they could simplify this to allow morons like myself to be sure of what I am buying. I was going to paste it here but it was too long and disjointed. Suffice it to say there were 119 lines to document my switch to the full digital package and correction of a minor overcharge they made at the desk and the provision of the refund.

It would be great to have a more concise and understandable statement

[HDCowboy]

Just hooked up 6408 on Saturday night.

Called Shaw early in the day (noonish) and confirmed that they could activate a new purchase 6408 after regular business hours. (inject sarcasm here)Tech said something about being open for that 24/7/365.... hmmm.

Ran to Visions at 5:50 pm believing the hours of operation from the website information. Was promptly informed that the Christmas shopping hours started that night and they would be open till 9:00 pm.

Got the box home and couldn't do a damn thing with it untill 11:30 pm. All happy with the connections... called Shaw 1-888 something number and pressed "4" for STB activations. That was forwarded to "repair" CSR's.

CSR for repair, asked if the box was on my account yet. How could it be? I only picked it up that evening... Then he said "can't help you as the GI code for the box isn't in the system yet... I asked about the 24/7/365 box activation thing.... Oh yes he says, if it's entered to the system, he can activate it. I says, you'se guys gotta get that ability to punch in GI codes for us night hawks. He agrees but says that I'll need to call back in the morning to activate at 7:00 am or after. - resigned to fate I slept restlessly.

Called in the AM. nice lady (Joanne maybe) asked about the call I placed the day before. She states quite clearly that the night boys can input GI codes. She doesn't understand why he wouldn't do it, except to say that maybe he was just lazy and didn't want to. She insists that the 'repair' guys can do this install stuff 24/7/365... hmmmm. She also suggests that she will put in a complaint for my terrible customer service experience.

Not sure what the super complaint is supposed to do. 6208 running good so far.

[Uwish]

my stories amplify what many has been said here already. I have had HUGE issues with shaw CSR's and my HD feed in "small town AB". They consistantly told me there was nothing wrong with their end and it was something wrong with my unit.
In the end, there was nothing wrong with my unit it was the head end all along. I will say this however, they credited $50 to my account effectively cutting my bill for Nov in half and I got two phone calls back from CSR's to confirm my HD was up and running...AND, at 830 one evening the poor cable tech in town dropped by to also confirm my HD was now working.
In the end, if they would have just "listened" to what I had to say in the first place it would have saved them (and me) hours / days of frustrations. I do give them credit where its do though, they really went out of their way to make me happy when they did confirm it wasn't an issue with my setup.

On another note, I was told numerous times by shaw that there are NO limits on bandwidth BUT you are not authroized to use any FTP / Web server on personal accounts.

[faston]

Originally Posted by Uwish

On another note, I was told numerous times by shaw that there are NO limits on bandwidth

They don't need to put limits on bandwidth, they have throttled all P-to-P traffic down to about 1/3 of dial-up speed. I missed an episode of The Wire (darn 6208....guess I had my weekly recording set to 'keep 1' (the default) and it happily told me that it was going to record it right up til when it.....didn't record it), and had to find on on BT. Took me 40 (!!!) hours to download a 350mb file. Normally that would take, I don't know, 15-20 minutes?