Direct Energy Woes Continue with Recent Customer Service Issues

Recently I decided to get rid of my Direct Energy water heater. Our family needed to investigate a new furnace and Air Conditioner as well as wanting to add a Natural Gas BBQ line for our BBQ in our backyard. The opportunity presented itself to investigate which was more economical, to continue to rent with Direct Energy or purchase our own. 

The first stop was to pull the facts together by investigating the Direct Energy Water Heater rental charges on our Enbridge bill. When we began investigating our options back in July 2014, Direct Energy's monthly charges are on bill were $25.49 plus $3.31 in HST for a total of $28.80 per month. 

I had noticed that Direct Energy had been quietly increasing the rental rates of the hot water heaters on a yearly basis between $0.50 and $1.00. So I knew the price probably was only to increase instead of stabilize for a while. But how would this compare to owning?

I started by searching out reputable companies in the local area who were referred to me by either friends, condominium management companies and consumer choice awards. I wanted to make sure that I could trust a company with our large investment in replacing our Furnace, Air Conditioner, BBQ line and, possibly, hot water heater. After receiving the referrals, Googling them and trying the BBB ratings, I began asking for quotes. Fast forward through the summer and Ottawa HVAC was selected. 

I did a quick calculation and found that in five and half years I would have recouped the purchase price of the water heater in comparison to renting with the current Direct Energy rates.  With a 6 year parts and labour warranty along with a 8 year tank liner warranty I easily was covered by both a reputable company and a well known brand name water heater warranty. So no need to fear the Direct Energy threatening marketing letters that if my water heater were to break I would be out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for some obscure part.  Add in the fact that, according to a number of sources, the average water heater lasts between 8 to 12 years with Direct Energy claiming up to 16 years. Thus, by the time all was said in done, owning seemed better than renting.

I communicated with Ottawa HVAC off and on until September. They gave me a complete list of instructions about the days they were coming, what they expected to happen and the time frame they hoped for barring any surprises in construction that might pop up. Ottawa HVAC did a top notch job on the place and only needed 1 extra day due to bringing a short ladder. But they apologized and had it fixed the next day. They even did all the paperwork for the

Ottawa Hydro / Ontario Power Authority rebates on the new furnace and A/C and submitted it and took back the water heater to Direct Energy at no charge.  Great company!

Direct Energy though was another story.  

I knew going in there was likely to be issues.  The Toronto Star's Consumer Columnist, Ellen Roseman, has written extensively on consumer issues involving Direct Energy both in her printed columns and her blog.  A simple search in Google of "Ellen Roseman Direct Energy" is enough to make your head spin.  So I went into investigating the Water Heater return knowing I would have to do meticulous notes as there was likely to be issues and runaround.  

Even before giving Ottawa HVAC the go ahead, I did my homework on how much it was going to cost for Direct Energy to end my current contract and accept the water heater rental unit for return.  I had read many a horror story of others being charge outlandish rates by Direct Energy to end their contract and be charged $75 to have them come and pick up the unit.  Then of course there were the Water Heater return horror stories like Michael James' where the water heater was returned and signed off for and yet Direct Energy continued charging them the rental rate. 

So I wanted to Direct Energy to confirm with me what exactly was going to happen for the return and how much this was likely to cost before I started the water heater process.  In other words, lets get Direct Energy to clearly explain over the phone, with them recording it for "Quality Assurance Purposes" of course, what exactly the process was step by step and costing before blindly going forward with little success. 

Note:  Below includes the phone records.  Phone numbers were obtained either via reviewing my Enbridge bill or searching via Google.

The Research

Below are the section of the phone records I wrote on the phone call with the Direct Energy Water Heater Rental Department.

August 20, 2014 @ 4:40 P.M. - 1-866-554-5591 - called Direct Energy Rental Department and spoke with "Michael", a Customer Service Representative in the rental department. He pulled up my file and we went through it together.  I asked the  Questions and  Michael, at Direct Energy, answered the questions below: 

Question: What are the charges to return the water heater?

Answer:

- No cost to drop off.
-No billing would occur after the unit is returned.
-RMO slip is provided to contractor upon when completed with an Rental Removal Order number printed on that. Make sure to get a copy of it for your files.

Question: What are the steps to return them?

Answer:

1. Get a reference number by calling the same number you reached me at, from Direct Energy which is good for 30 days.

2. HVAC company removes and returns water heater.

3. HVAC company receives RMO slip.

4. Customer gets RMO# and if possible, name, date, and time equipment was returned.

5. Check next bill for correct charges.

The Return

Ottawa HVAC scheduled the work at my home to begin September 8th with the Hot Water heater being the first on the list for removal and the tank to be returned to Direct Energy on September 9th. 

Following Direct Energy Michael's Instructions I set forth to begin the return process.

September 8, 2014 @ 2:20 P.M. called 1-866-554-5591 and spoke with Charles.

Asked for Return Reference Number. Charles transferred me to rental team for Number. Kira picked up. Kira put me on hold and call dropped.

September 8, 2014 @ 2:26 P.M. called 1-866-554-5591 - no answer

September 8, 2014 @ 2:31 P.M. called 1-877-334-1846 and spoke with Chandra. Chandra gave a return authorization number of ########-#

I also requested from Chandra that a "no mail" option be enacted so Direct Energy would not send advertising mail after contract was up.

September 9, 2014 - Water Heater Returned to Direct Energy Rep "Chris 4" at "FSL Location 17 - Climec" by Ottawa HVAC (Company TSSA# ####). Tank Serial # is ###### and was removed on September 9th. 

Note: on further research the tank was returned to this Climec in Ottawa. 

After the return, I wanted to double check how the billing would work in terms of timelines. Again, I wanted Direct Energy to explain the billing process, while recording the call for "Quality Assurances Purposes", before things went awry.

September 10, 2014 @ 9:59 A.M. - 1-877-334-1846 -spoke to Tina
Went over how the billing sequence would work.

- 30 to 60 days a credit would be issued .
-next Enbridge bill will be credited for differences.
-Billing will be reconciled to date of return.
Sixty days for this entire process to correct itself? Things were to smell a little fishy. I decided to do a little more research.

September 10, 2014 @ 10:04 A.M. - 905-943-6944 - billing # on Enbridge bill for Direct Energy.
- Spoke with Amad
-couldn't tell me how long after return paperwork would take before seeing credit on bill.
-said he would note on account that water heater was returned and paperwork forthcoming.
-Transferred to water heater return department.
-Call dropped.

September 10, 2014 @ 10:13 A.M. - 1-866-334-1846

- Denver picked up and I asked for manager.
-Denver brought up account and put me on hold.

September 10, 2014 @ 10:17 A.M. - Ashley Manager/Supervisor picked up. 
-30 days for billing to reconcile
-pay next bill in full
-Refund from date of return will be done to Enbridge Bill.
-2 weeks to confirm return of water heater then send paperwork over that Ottawa HVAC has.

Awesome, 30 days (i.e. the next Enbridge Bill after the September bill) everything would be fixed supposedly! Even better a "Billing Manager/Supervisor" confirmed it. Things were looking up a bit. 

The Billing Fiasco

On September 21, 2014 I received my regular Enbridge bill dated September 16th in the mail. I paid the $25.49 + HST charges for Direct Energy in full as directed by Ashley.

On October 23, 2014 I received the my regular Enbridge bill dated October 16, 2014 in the mail.  Interestingly enough there was a charge of "$5.10" for water heater service between "September 13, 2014 -September 18, 2014."   How was this possible considering the water heater was returned on September 9th and signed off by a Direct Energy representative?  So what were the charges for September 13th for and where was my refund for the unused rental term from the September bill?

Ashley's own billing department had also proven her wrong.  This was going take unnecessarily longer than 30 days to fix and closer to previously promised 60 days.  No wonder, it was going to take 30 days for Direct Energy to screw it up and then another 30 days for Direct Energy to fix it.

But here is where the story gets even worse and frustrating.  Direct Energy was obviously willing to obfuscate the issue so much  I would forget about it.  Here is Direct Energy's tactics that I came across:

- repeated dropped calls.
-representatives & "managers" refusing to listen admitting Direct Energy was incorrect.
-representatives and managers issuing case numbers that later proved to be incorrect
-false claims of customer engaging "legal representation" (i.e. lawyer)

But I refused to submit to Direct Energy's various attempts to basically make a no cost water heater return cost something.

Back to my written phone records:

October 23, 2014 @ 3:15 P.M. - 1-877-334-1842
- Jessica picked up.
-transfers me to billing.

October 23, 2014 @ 3:16 P.M. 
Sandra from billing comes on very low volume. Call drops 2 minutes in after she attempts to get my
information.

October 23, 2014 @ 3:18 P.M. - 1-866-386-1134 - Direct Energy Phone number on Enbridge bill.

-Leonar picks up.
-Confirms Direct Energy received water heater on September 8, 2014 based on what she sees.
-Says Customer Service Supervisor would need to resolve this issue.
-puts me on hold.

3:29 P.M. -Leonar gives me Case # ########, repeats it back to me to ensure correct number record and transfers me to Customer Service Manager.

3:32 P.M. - call dropped.

October 23, 2014 @ 3:33 P.M. - called 1-866-386-1134 - number on Enbridge Bill for Direct Energy.

- Patrice picked up.
-Not billing and would transfer me.
-call dropped.

October 23, 2014 @ 3:36 P.M. - called 905-943-6944 - number on Enbridge Bill for Direct Energy
-Tim picked up.
-explained full story of Water Heater Return and issue with charges.
-told case# was incorrect and new case number is needed.
-I refuse to take new case number and request to be transferred to Customer Service Manager
-repeat request to be transferred to Customer Service Manager.
-3:46 P.M. - transferred to Customer Service Manager.
-3:53 P.M. - Customer Supervisor (didn't get name) picked up. and I explained issue.
-3:58 P.M. - put on hold by Customer Service Manager
-4:07 P.M. - call dropped. 

October 23, 2014 @ 4:09 P.M. - Sent Tweet to @directenergy
-requesting assistance and explaining poor Customer Service.

October 23, 2014 @ 4:11 P.M. - called 905-943-6944 - number on Enbridge Bill for Direct Energy.

-asked to speak to billing manager.
4:29 P.M. - no billing manager available as no one picked up after being transferred, so hung up.

October 23, 2014 @ 4:30 P.M. -@directenergy requests DM of phone number to have someone contact me.
-send back my phone number via DM for Direct Energy to follow up with. 

At this stage, I've attempted multiple times to deal with Direct Energy directly to resolve an easy billing issue that any customer service focused company could have easily taken care of.   But Direct Energy was definitely not interested with proof in their methods of obfuscation.  It was time to step it up a notch and get Direct Energy's attention to see what I could do.  

First step, I decided to make sure Direct Energy definitely took notice of my issue, I  tweeted to Toronto Star's Consumer Columnist Ellen Roseman (@EllenRoseman) who I know is a customer service professional in terms of righting wrongs with many a company.

October 23 @ 4:11 P.M. - Ellen responds via Twitter that I should send an e-mail to her with all the details.

It took me a little while to type out all my phone into an e-mail to forward to Ellen. Meanwhile the Direct Energy situation continued to evolve.

The second step was to contact the actual company that issues the bill and accepts payment on behalf of Direct Energy, Enbridge to see what they could do. With Direct Energy having permission to bill on via Enbridge, Enbridge must have a way to help out their beleaguered clients.

October 23, 2014 @ 4:38 P.M. - call Enbridge Billing at 1-877-362-7434
-Ashley picks up.
-Explain the issue with Direct Energy hot water heater return and billing issues.
-Ashley confirms $5.10 on the October 16, 2014 bill is incorrect and I have options. Enbridge does not want to charge their customers incorrectly and Direct Energy is responsible for ensuring correct billing for their products.
-45 days dispute registration through Enbridge where Direct Energy must contact you to resolve situation.
-Ashley calculated I should receive $5.76 credit back overall on September 16, 2014 bill due to incorrect charges by Direct Energy.
-Ashley said I could hold back $5.10 + HST from Enbridge Bill for Direct Energy charges. Enbridge wouldn't charge interest due to the registered complaint.
-Enbridge Case# ########

Next was to turn the tables on Direct Energy.  When renting from them and failing to pay a bill, I would be charged, via Enbridge, an interest rate.  But what about Direct Energy failing to pay me back? Why could I not charge them an interest rate for basically failing to pay me back as agreed?  In other words, why could I not charge Direct Energy for borrowing my money? 

October 23, 2014 @ 4:50 P.M. - called 905-943-6944 - number on Enbridge Bill for Direct Energy. 

- didn't get name of rep who picked up, asked to speak to manager.
-4:53 P.M. - Transferred to Manager.
-Charlie, "Supervisor" picked up.
-Explained my situation again and repeated issues.
-explained that since Direct Energy was now technically "borrowing my money" a 2% interest rate would apply billed monthly.
-Charlie agreed with "o.k." after it.
-Charlie said she couldn't do anything about billing issue and it needed to be sent to back office.

-Asked to speak to someone in the back office to help work through the issue.
-Charlie said "I cannot transfer you to them to resolve. They may or may not call you."

Meanwhile, my interaction with @DirectEnergy on Twitter and Ellen Roseman seemed to have started percolating the way through Direct Energy's offices.

But, as per usual with Direct Energy, the obfuscation continues. It was only my reply tweets back to Direct Energy on Twitter, calling the 1-866 number and trying to get operator and finally incessantly calling back of "Cathy" on the number provided that saved the day.

October 24, 2014 @ 10:25 A.M. - Received call from "Cathy" of Direct Energy at home and wife calls to relay message to me on cell phone.

October 24, 2014 @ 10:30 A.M. - call "Cathy" at 1-866-226-1700 ext. 12048
-rings 5 times and goes to Voicemail set up options. 

October 24, 2014 @ 10:33 A.M. - Called 1-866-226-1700 (phone number from above) and pressed "0" in hopes of clarifying where "Cathy" is and how to talk with her. 
-David picks up.
-I explain the situation that led me to him and wonder how to get in touch with Cathy.
-He looks up "Cathy" and wonders if it is "Cassandra"
-David is Montreal and says he can only e-mail Cathy to call me back. He can't transfer me to her.
-I ask David if he can help resolve billing situation.
-David reviews notes.
-Says Direct Energy's notes says that I said I may consult legal representation.
-I ask David to strike the note as I never said that. David responds he does not have the authority to remove notes.
-David says he cannot help resolve situation with billing issue.
-He said he would e-mail Cathy.

Great, not only was Direct Energy obfuscating but now they were trying to step it up a notch by claiming I was going to hire a lawyer and then refusing to remove this false allegation from their records.

October 24, 2014 @ 11:15 - call "Cathy" at 1-866-226-1700 ext. 12048 - rings 3 times and she picks up.
-Explain situation to Cathy from start to finish.
-Asks if anyone I spoke agree situation was needed a refund? 

-nope, 99% of the people I spoke to said I owed money even after I explained situation.
-Cathy went through the notes and said I was right, that a credit was required.
-September 16, 2014 bill: $2.73 + $0.35 (HST)= $3.08 back
-October 16, 2014 bill: $5.10 + $0.66 (HST) = $5.76 back.
Total credit: $8.84 back total.
-Cathy explained that I will be receiving another phone call from Direct Energy explaining above credit as they are required to due to the Enbridge Disputed Charge Claim.
-I asked about voicemail issue in getting to her. She said she was on the phone at the time and her voicemail has been an issue.

The Resolution

On the November Enbridge Bill things looked up.  "Cathy" had told the truth.  There, on page 3 was a shining credit of $8.50 and on page 1 the accompanying HST rebate as promised!

As for follow up on my situation through Ellen Roseman, I finished the e-mail after the promised refund from Cathy and sent it off. But I can't help think that because I had contacted Ellen on Twitter, Direct Energy took notice and decided to move things along before this whole situation turned even worse for them by ending up in the press.   Ellen followed up with a request as to what I would like now, I asked for a written apology for which I am still awaiting (but doubt I'll get).  Ellen did say she promised to forward on my issue to her contact at Direct Energy to review at their end.

Wanting to be done with it and finally enjoy the sanity of not having to deal with Direct Energy anymore, I waived the $0.02 interest charges plus $20.00 administration fee for invoicing them for the interest and moved on with my life.

Direct Energy continues to flounder in the marketplace and, no wonder, has recently agreed to sell their water heater rentals in the Ontario market. Originally Direct Energy purchased Enbridge's home water heater rental unit in 2002 for $1 billion.  Direct Energy sold this unit to Enercare now for $550 after years of layoffs and moving it's own head office from Toronto to Houston.

With customer service experiences like mine and others that Ellen Roseman has had to step in on, it's now wonder Direct Energy is in hot water and wants to get out. 

Online Scams: Faking Online Reviews

Over at Suddcorp Solutions, I recently posted an article about online review scams on Urbanspoon, Yelp! and others.

If you enjoy reading my restaurant reviews, I can ensure you I have never been paid nor comped a meal by any restaurant.  If I would, I gladly fully disclose said compensation to ensure you, the reader, know the full context of my visit.

The idea behind this post originated after I saw CBC Marketplace's episodes on Fake Online Reviews and how online marketers and businesses try to manipulate both review websites and reviews of products on their websites.

As an leading user in the Ottawa area of Urbanspoon and a social media company owner, I felt the need to show how both the average business owner and consumer could not fall for these fake marketing gimmicks.

To learn more, read the article on Suddcorp Solutions page.

Online Scams: Faking Online Reviews

CBC Marketplace recently aired two segments investigating online reviews both on review websites (i.e. TripAdvisor and Yelp!) and company websites (i.e. Amazon, TigerDirect, etc.). CBC Marketplace found that many of the posted reviews were from either regular average customers, paid marketers or even average customer reviews that have been edited.

The original intentions of online reviews both on review websites and company websites were to allow average people to provide authentic reviews on their experiences in purchasing goods and/or services. For quite a while this was the case until marketers researched the influence of these reviews and how they impacted consumer purchasing. Marketers quite simply found the more positive a product or service was reviewed positively the higher sales increased. This finding resulted in marketers writing their own reviews on review websites and possibly editing customer reviews on company websites as needed. Excellent examples of marketer's using these tactics can be found in the aforementioned CBC Marketplace segments.

Read More >>

No Run Around Customer Service with Philips

2 Years ago, after moving into our home in Ottawa, we began gradually converting our light bulbs from regular 60 watt incandescent bulbs over to LED bulb technology.  A few months after moving in Home Depot had some Philips LED bulbs on sale at a decent price.   I picked up ten and ventured onwards to install them throughout the house.   I had planned on adding more of the same model as my budget permitted but unfortunately, Home Depot had this particular Philips LED bulb as a "special buy".  This meant Home Depot had specially ordered this model line of bulbs for the special sale only and once they were gone, they were gone.  Nonetheless, I kept the packaging so that I could possibly find a close match in the future for other rooms in my house.

Why did I hold onto the packaging? When it comes to purchasing light bulbs I like to consistently purchase the same style of bulb over and over again .  This provides the same shade of light and brightness throughout rooms in my house.  A major pet peeve is walking into restaurants and noticing the soft whites, warm whites and daylights all intermixed.  It's not hard to keep everything a similar colour by standardizing light bulbs or at least their the shade of lighting.

Fast forward to mid-October 2014. One of those Philips LED bulbs had burnt out.  I was smart enough in the intervening time to hold onto the packaging.  Turns out saving the packing was the best move I ever did as both the Phillips Customer Service phone number of 1-800-555-0050 was on the package along with the "Limited Warranty" of:

Philips warrants that this bulb will be free from defects in material and workmanship and will operate 6 years based on up to 3 hours average usage per day/7 days per week, when used as directed. If this bulb does not conform to this warranty, Philips will send you, at its election, a replacement bulb or refund your original purchase price upon receipt of the returned bulb, register receipt and proof of purchase. Please call our toll-free number, write to Philips or send an email at the website below to find out how to return the bulb. This limited warranty does not cover bulbs subject to accident, neglect, abuse misuse or acts of God. REPLACEMENT OR REFUND IS YOUR SOLE REMINTY. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE DURATION OF THIS WARRANTY, LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IS HEREBY EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED. 

I dialed and seamlessly worked my way through the phone options aiming for the lighting customer service agent. Both the packaging and burnt out light bulb were at my side as James picked up my call.

James politely inquired how long I had the bulb and what the issue was.  I replied that the bulb was less than 2 years as I had only been in the house for just over 2 years and remember installing the bulb myself.  I also noted that I had the original packaging and that the bulbs on average, from my recollection, were on less than 3 hours per day 7 days a week thus well short of the 6 years under warranty and 18.3 years as per the claim of savings in electricity on the front of the package.

James apologized for the inconvenience and asked for the UPC code from the packaging.  This was simple to retrieve from the bottom of the box.

James then took down my name, contact information, where I purchased the product and promised a refund would be sent via gift card in the mail.  I should receive the refund in about 6 weeks or so.

Late last week I received an envelope addressed from Philips Lighting in Rosemont, Illinois.  I opened it to find a personalized letter from James with two Home Depot gift cards enclosed as compensation for the product. In fact, the  pair of Home Depot gift cards were for more than I paid for the product!

The only strange thing about the letter was a mention of a "Purolator label" being e-mailed to me so I could ship the light bulb back for analysis by Philips.  But no Purolator label was ever e-mailed to me or included with the letter.  I guess either something was mistyped and the e-mail never arrived.
  

Overall, dealing with Philips customer service was quick and easy. One customer service agent quickly took charge of the issue and resolved it without trying to obfuscate or find a way to deny the customer the promised remedy. Philips to me really stands behind their products and when something goes wrong they are willing to make it right.

DAB Kwik Seal Kitchen & Bath D-U-D!

This past holiday weekend I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on fixing the caulking around the top of my tub.  There was a little bit of mold showing through the clear caulking on the tub that I discovered when removing the decorative rubber piece the previous owners had installed. 

I inquired with my handy man father on how to do this process and went to the ever trusty YouTube to do a little more research before setting up to work.  I followed the steps my father had laid out wich matched this YoutTube video:



Note: The only addition I would make next time is to put masking tape on the top and bottom to form an outline where the caulking should go.

I ensured the tub was clean and doubly dry before opening the DAB Kwik Caulk Kitchen & Bath caulk I picked up from Home Depot and applying the caulk to the tub and tile.

The packing said to wait at least 36 hours before using the shower.  This afternoon at 3:30 P.M., just short of 48 hours 48 hour mark, I rinsed the tub with luke warm water and shower cleaner.  As the water rolled down the wall I ran my finger over the fresh caulk and noticed the caulking flecking off in bunches from around the section where the tile meets the tub.  I ran my finger over the caulk and noticed the remenants on my finger resembled a milky finish.  I looked again and noticed a part of the moulding between the tub tile underneath was showuing through.  The caulk was coming off. in either milk or flake format.  What a complete waste of time.

I ventured over to Home Depot with receipt in hand and returned the caulking.  I ventured over the to the pain section where Home Depot has the caulking and noticed one of the workers there restocking the shelves.  I retold my story of what happenned and showed her the product I used.  She couldn't believe it happenned but recommended the GE Silicone caulking and proceeded to help me out choosing the right one based on colour and purpose and ensured I had a caulking gun to do the job.  I ventured to the check out and left store. 

I now have spent over three days about three hours on this project and am no further ahead than I was before.  I now have to remove the remenants of the old DAP caulking, scrub the newly exposed section with a mixture of bleach and water with a tooth brush, let dry, tape the top and bottom, recaulk, remove the masking tape and wait yet another 48 hours for the caulking to set.

DAP = Mike is no longer a customer / user.

Toronto Paper Comparison: A Reader's Perspective

Newspapers periodically release circulation numbers and various readership studies. The release of the numbers includes percentage increases, number of readers and comparisons to previous years. The papers obviously try to portray the numbers in a positive light towards their readership that basically says "hey we are number one!". So many numbers and bragging it makes a reader's head spin.

This past October my wife found on Redflagdeals.com a free subscription for the Saturday Toronto Star and Monday to Saturday delivery of the National Post and the Globe & Mail.  So each Saturday until next weekend we will receive three newspapers on your doorstep.  I've found this to be a great opportunity to investigate which newspaper I prefer to read based on various aspects that I, as a reader, look for in a paper. I explore these various aspects below for the deliveries of the Toronto Star, Globe & Mail and National Post.

Delivery: The first and most obvious is delivery of the newspaper itself.  For each of the papers I requested front door delivery and all promised delivery before 6:00 A.M.  Thus, every morning of delivery I should have a copy of the paper at my front door at 6:00 A.M.  Here is how the papers ranked:

1. National Post - Only had one missing paper the first Saturday.  After that, I've never had an issue with the paper not being there.   The paper has always come dry and on my front porch.

2. Toronto Star - The carrier on our route delivers the paper closer to 7:00 A.M. on a Saturday since subscription started.  On weekends this may not be such a big issue.  However, for some this may be an issue if they leave for work early before 7 and hope to take the morning paper with them on their commute (e.g. subway, bus, etc.) or to work. Otherwise the paper has been properly delivered. 

3. Globe & Mail - Over the past two weeks the paper has failed to show up on first attempt and sometimes many after that:

a) The first time my wife called circulation.  Circulation had an automatic recording saying there would be no delivery for the Globe & Mail that day and two copies would be delivered on the next day.  Well we waited for the paper to show up the next day and there was only one edition.  

b) The second time it didn't show up I called at 6:50 A.M. and was promised delivery within 90 minutes.  Nothing showed up after 120 minutes (i.e. 2 hours).  So I called again. I was promised again delivery.  Nothing.  The third call, the Customer Service Representative said I was basically out of luck and the next day I should have the regular paper. 

c) Then third time this past week I called and the Globe & Mail Circulation had an automatic recording saying there was an emergency situation at their place and they couldn't pick up the phone.  I called back 30 minutes later and there was a recorded message saying delivery of the paper was delayed until at least 11:00 A.M.  By 10:00 A.M. we had the paper delivered.

If we were paid Globe & Mail subscribers, we obviously wouldn't be pleased.  But as a free trial, the Globe & Mail fails miserably on delivery.

Customer Service:  We've had to call all three Customer Service Centres for the papers. Each paper was ranked based on, how annoying their automated systems were, how long after we dialed in we had to wait to speak to a live person and were the Customer Service Reps able to assist us in resolving our issues.

1. National Post - Called once about a missed delivery.  The Customer Service agent picked up within 30 seconds and had a new paper delivered within an hour. 

2. Toronto Star - Called to cancel our trial subscription.  The Customer Service agent was more interested in figuring out why we were cancelling and then offering us another paid trial offer.  Bottom line, if we were interested in continuing we would inquire about another offer to further our subscription.  

3. Globe & Mail - Called around five times to have the paper delivered in the first place.  An automated voice recognotition system picks up and asks you a bunch of questions in appearance of trying to help.  One time I called and told the automated systemd "missed delivery".  The system responded if I would like to add the Sunday New York Times to my subscription. I responded "no" and then it kept asking me what I was calling.  After repeating the "missed delivery" fiasco above two more times I hung up and retried.  Bottom line, every time I called in with questions on my account (i.e. to cancel the trial subscription or a missed delivery) I end up at a live person anyway.  Is it really hard to train a live customer service person to answer simple questions like: 1. "How much longer do I have on my subscription?" 2. "The paper didn't come today, can I have a redelivery?" After all the Globe & Mail has been around for over a hundred years, newspaper delivery on specified days to subscribers homes on time shouldn't be rocket science anymore.   To make matters worse, I can't remember ever waiting less than 5 minutes to talk to a live person,  but again I kept being reassured that "your call was important to us" and that there were "higher call volume".

Ottawa Bureau Coverage (Parliament Hill):  Newspapers that provided in depth coverage of the House of Commons and other goings on at Parliament Hill tended to rank better.  This coverage included the day to day goings on by the reporters to analysis and opinion by columnists.  

1. Toronto Star: The Star excels at covering Parliament Hill with in depth articles written by veteran newspaper reporters who know the workings of Canadian politics.  From the day to day coverage by Bruce Campion-Smith and Allan Woods  to the columns by Chantel Hebert and James Travers and in depth coverage by senior writers Susan Delacourt and Linda Diebel, it is hard to beat this coverage. 

2. Globe & Mail:  Not to be outdone, the Globe & Mail has a decent set of writers as well (e.g. Gloria Galloway, Jane Taber, John Ibbitson).  They are close to what the Toronto Star has in terms of quality.  However, being a "national focused" newspaper instead of a "Toronto focused" the coverage doesn't really tell me how the parliamentary decisions really affect those that live in and around Toronto.

3. National Post: The Post has gobbs of commentary by John Ivision (not to be confused with John Ibbitson of the Globe & Mail) but the straight news isn't really lacking.   There really is no memorable writers from the National Post that seem to be able to bring the straight goods from Parliament Hill without some sort of "analysis" or "comment" label being associted with their name.   However, the commentary by John Ivison and the odd feature article from the National Post's writers or associated writers from the Post's sister papers do provide some interesting reading.  But overall, the National Post needs to either grab a writer from somewhere else or grow a Parliamentary Bureau reporter that can dig into the goings on at Parliament and give the readers the straight goods without the bias that a columnist would present. 

Greater Toronto Area (GTA) News: Like the Ottawa Bureau Coverage, the GTA should have both reports of what is going on at City Hall (i.e. Toronto City Hall) and analysis provided by columnists. 

1. Toronto Star:  Obviously a Toronto based paper like the Toronto Star would have better coverage of the Toronto area than the other two national papers like the Post and the Globe.  The Star even has better local GTA coverage than it's main Toronto area coverage competitor, the Toronto Sun, as well.  The Star has the lead stories on the front page, letter to the editor on the comment page and a full "GTA" section everyday except on Sundays included in the paper.  The coverage is quite complete from Royson James and Christopher Hume providing their commentary of items both at City Hall and in the community to Jack Lakey taking on City Hall in one of my favourite columns "The Fixer" and of course the usual staff writers investigating the day to day goings on at Toronto City Hall.

2. National Post: On most days the Post has two pages and one or two letters to the editor on Toronto issues.  The Post really only ranks higher than the Globe & Mail as I've found a new columnist, Chris Selley, who I enjoy reading.  Otherwise, the coverage is focused on city hall and matches the same coverage provided by the Globe & Mail.

3. Globe & Mail: The Globe only provids two page on Toronto goings on and some letters as well like the National Post.  However, like the National Post, most readers want the national news instead of the local.  But for myself, Toronto and national coverage together better. 

Comics: The papers were ranked based on the number of comic strips in the paper (i.e. space taken up), are the comics humourous most days and were there comic strips that provided "reliable" (i.e. almost guaranteed to provide at least a smile on a daily basis).

1. Toronto Star:  The Star beats the others hands down.  The Star has really invested in being the number one spot for newspaper comics by having such reliables as "For Better or for Worse, " "Sherman's Lagoon" and others on a daily basis.  But the Star also expanded their Saturday paper's three pages of comics content by picking up  "Garfield" and "Baby Blues" from the Toronto Sun. Also, the newer strips like "Retail" have been a hit as well.

2. Globe & Mail: Beats the National Post because they have six strips and the Post has none. Although these strips are nothing to write home about.

3. National Post: Comics?  None.  Hence last place finish.

Overall: What do the papers bring to me overall that I appreciate.

1. Toronto Star: The Star has great local coverage of the Toronto area and compliments it's local sister paper, The Liberal, with local Toronto area coverage.  A full page of comics is a great asset to this paper that it probably doesn't get the recognition it deserves.  Specialty columnists like Jack "The Fixer" Lakey going after simple day to day problems around town and Consumer Columnist (and blogger!) Ellen Roseman provide good tips and provide an interesting read.

2. National Post: Reliable delivery!  I've never wondered where the paper was after the first phone call.  Every time the front door is opened int he morning there the National Post is guarenteed dry and ready to be opened and explored.  I've also enjoyed the City Hall Musings of Chris Selley as well and may look him up more often after our free trial subscription ends.

3. Globe & Mail: Poor delivery performance  and Customer Service issues seem to be major problems at this publication. After one hundred years in existance in the Toronto area, one would figure that delivering a paper to subscribers reliably wouldn't be an issue.   Otherwise the paper is a decent read for both it's National politicial coverage and business news.

Finally, the main question, will I subscribe to one of the above papers?  No it's not worth having a paper land on my doorstep every morning to read.  Not at a cost of over one hundred dollars a year for a subscription.  Besides for commuting the Richmond Hill area is well served by the freebies of Metro and 24 Hours that easily help to pass the time on the bus.  For news and information in the evenings and weekends I can usually turn to the newspaper and television websites for nothing more than the cost of an internet connection.

Zune comes to an end

Today I received an end of Zune campaign e-mail from chatthreads. They were looking for feedback on the word of mouth campaign. Too bad I barely had the Zune for two weeks, otherwise I would have gladly blogged about it more and provided more feedback.

There is at least one piece of information of product feedback that's needed to be said:

This past week I didn't use my Zune on Wednesday and Thursday. I had taken it out of my "going to work bag". I picked it up Friday morning and headed to work. Halfway to work I tried turning on the Zune. It didn't have any power. This despite the Zune being powered down after use and the "lock" put on each day so even if the buttons were touched, nothing would activate. Apparently the Zune, even when turned off, sucks power from the battery. This is kind of dissapointing as I couldn't use my Zune on that Friday.

But at least, on the bright side of this fiasco, the Zune powers up in less than two hours to full power again.

Powering up to Zune

Last night I had to power up my Zune after two days of use. Instead of connecting it to the computer to charge like you would an Ipod, I decided to try out the AC adapter normally sold separately from the Zune.

After opening the AC adapter packaging, I quickly read the instructions and I was on my way to powering up my Zune in less than the two hours advertised. However, I got a little concerned about the brains behind the Zune on the following items:

1. The packaging for the AC adapter, after removing the recyclable cardboard outer case, is totally questionable if it can be recycled plastic. A cardboard try, like what the actual Zune unit comes in, would be a better option.

2. To use the AC adapter, the user has to use the connection cord between the computer and the Zune. I normally prefer to leave these cords attached to my computer for easy connection and disconnection. The AC adapter is marketed as a quicker option for powering up your Zune when on the go, however this requires remembering the connection cord which is probably still connected to your computer. A suggestion would be to provide an additional connection cord with the AC adapter package.

3. The connection cord on the Zune end I`m afraid I might break. This is because the connection end you must push the two small buttons in order to remove the cord from the Zune. Why couldn`t they make it with a simple USB style connection, like the computer connection end, that can be easily just pulled out. This would reduce the fear of damaging either the Zune unit`s connection port or the having to replace the USB cord for connecting the Computer (or AC adapter) with the Zune.

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Zune Day One

Yesterday I received my free 8 GB Zune from Matchstick.ca along with an AC adapter and Premium Headphones. I eagerly took it home after work and went to work reading the set-up instructions for the Zune. This only took two seconds considering that there are only three steps to...PRESTO!...your synching your Zune with your computer.

What's even better about the Zune is it only takes two hours to fully charge the battery for use. Which is terrific for people eager to get their new electronic gizmo up and running in a hurry.

Today I tested out the basic package (i.e. zune with the headphones it comes with). I started the day with a full battery and, after about three hours of usage I'm only down to 75% battery power at most. This was while I used both the radio and MP3 player format.

The radio and MP3 had great sound quality on the regular Zune ear buds which are similar to the Ipod ear buds except they are not obnoxious white, but black. The radio had great quality in tuning with very little static in comparison to a regular portable radio player. Also, an added feature if the FM station you're listening to supports the technology, the Zune will display not only the FM tuning number (i.e. 98.1), the station name, the song title and the artist name currently playing. Also, the radio function allows you to input a bunch of presets so the user can cycle through their favourite radio stations looking for good tunes while skipping the channels you have no interest in.

As for the MP3 player function while it is playing it has album art, the title of the song and the artist`s name. The MP3 player allows the user to scroll through the normal menu of songs on the Zune if one is looking for a particular song or the usual ``shuffle the songs and play them randomly.`` Also, there are other ways to search for songs include sorting the music by: artist, album, genres and user created playlists. Bottom line, if your looking for a specific song or type of music any way you want it.

Coming up I will be trying out the other features of the Zune including pictures, video, the Premium head phones and powering up with the AC adapter so ``Stay Zuned!``

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