A “longtime Bell Canada employee” has spoken with the CBC’s Go Public team to criticize the national wireless, internet and television service provider’s treatment of its employees.
In an interview with the CBC, Bell employee Andrea Rizzo said that working at the company’s Scarborough call centre is a “non-stop nightmare.”
Rizzo said that she feels forced to sell customers services they don’t need, in order to maintain sales targets.
“I feel bad,” said Rizzo in the CBC interview. “I’m not really listening to what the customer called about. All I’m thinking in my head is, ‘Oh wow, this customer just said they didn’t want the service, it’s too expensive. And I’ve sold a service to them that they will not know how to use, or really need.’”
Rizzo later goes on to explain that the coaches at the call centre where she works suggest that she speak quickly, in order to sell more products.
“We’re supposed to mention the price really quickly and then jump to, ‘We can get a technician out for this day and this time.’”
MobileSyrup reached out to Bell for comment and received the following statement:
“We looked into the CBC’s claims when they first contacted us in October. We have found no evidence to support the accusations made in their coverage. Such behaviour would be completely contrary to Bell’s culture and values – reflected in a clear Code of Conduct that applies to all of our more than 50,000 team members across the country.”
MobileSyrup also reached out to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), for comment on the allegations raised in the CBC story.
A CCTS spokesperson responded by stating that “it’s no secret that in telecom, as in most other businesses, salespeople have sales targets.”
“Obviously any suggestion that a service provider is misleading customers, failing to provide necessary information, or taking advantage of vulnerable customers in order to meet those sales targets, would be cause for great concern,” said a CCTS spokesperson, via email.
The CCTS also recommended that consumers not buy products or services without conducting their own research.
“Also, in some situations, consumers who have made an unwise purchase can cancel the transaction without extra fees,” said the CCTS.
Source: CBC
