New petition calls on CRTC to require telecoms to improve call response times

A Canadian has started a petition calling on the CRTC to require telecoms to improve their customer service response times.

On Change.org, petition starter and former Wahl Canada president Frank Brown argues that the federal government should “mandate a maximum response time of 10 minutes for all telecom companies operating within the country.” He says companies that fail to comply should face penalties “proportionate to their customer service failures.”

Brown told MobileSyrup in an email that the idea came from his own experience of “spending hours trying to resolve a simple issue,” including 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, as Brown notes, that Canada pays some of the highest telecom prices in the world. It also comes as companies like Rogers have been cutting their customer service roles, all while investing billions into other areas like sports.

In his petition, Brown also 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. For that reason, Brown thinks 10 minutes 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.