Many Rogers customers received an unexpected email on the evening of November 6th, welcoming them to the company’s Smart Drive service.
The email was unexpected because quite a few of the recipients had never signed up for Smart Drive — or even knew what it was. In fact, it caused a sudden traffic spike on one of MobileSyrup‘s articles about the service from curious Rogers subscribers.
I made no conscious decision to choose #RogersSmartDrive. What going on here, @RogersHelps? pic.twitter.com/dxm9zaq0EX
— GO Voyageur (@GOvoygr) November 7, 2017
Rogers told MobileSyrup the email was an accident.
“Some of our customers received an email regarding Rogers Smart Drive in error,” wrote a spokesperson for the company.
“Customers can be assured that no product or service was added to their account. We have sent affected customers a follow-up email clarifying the error. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused.”
The accidental email — while it may have increased awareness of the service — generated some less-than-ideal responses from customers, ranging from confusion to anger.
@MobileSyrup appears Rogers has made a bit of a blunder…spamming MANY people pic.twitter.com/9runikuTUN
— Paul G 🇨🇦 (@pg_72) November 7, 2017
One Twitter user alleged he had no products with Rogers and would file a CASL complaint, though it should be noted it’s possible for non-Rogers customers to opt-in to certain marketing communications.
Another stated: “I better NOT be charged for Rogers Smart Drive. E-mail breach or marketing gone wrong?”
For those still wondering what Smart Drive is: it’s Rogers’ play to connect the car. Users get a module made by ZTE that primarily functions as a Wi-Fi hotspot and also has tracking and geo-fencing capabilities. Those who use the service pay a $10 monthly fee to use the data included in their monthly Share Everything plan bucket.
Telus also has a connected car service — Drive+ — and Bell has something in the works as well.
