It is the season for sun-drenched students to hawk the wares of the not-so-scrupulous companies looking to take a rise out of their existing customers with the promise of short-term benefit for long-term pain. Last summer it was Direct Energy showering students upon local businesses to lock into a 5-yr fixed price deal at an all-time high, while sitting on 3 trillion cubic feet of reserves and a winter forecast that was just too warm for their liking.

This summer it is Rogers trying to convert its existing phone customers over to digital phones to avoid the pain of having to lease its lines, installation and repairs from those 'dang it' phone companies. Some chirpy students called my wife on the premise that Rogers wanted to consolidate our home phone and Internet service onto one bill and save us money. She said "Sure, as long as it doesn't mess with our long-distance plan." "Not at all." she was told. We use Yak and it makes VOIP look cheap.

First I heard about it was 2 minutes after I got home from work when two slightly perspiring, upwardly-aspiring summer students rang the bell and informed me of the converstation with my wife, which she confirmed as dinner was being put on the table. "Not if if messes with my long-distance plan." I said. "Not at all." I was told. It took a few minutes for them to connect me to their Head Office Call Centre who spelled out the terms of the plan I had been offered for me to confirm. "This feature and that feature and a digital modem to be installed, and long distance to be billed at the default rate..."

"Excuse me? We have a long-distance plan I am not about to change, and why do I need a digital modem?" Something very fishy here.

"No problem. Just call Customer Service and tell them you don't want to be billed for long distance. I'll give you their number at the end of the call. The digital modem won't change your phone, you'll still be making calls the same way you usually do. It's not VOIP."

Some more information, blah, blah. Got to the end of the call and I insisted on getting the customer service number. Bye, bye to the Rogers twins.

Later that night: I call the customer service line, waste pointless minutes speaking to a robot, only to repeat the same information to a live operator after a tedious wait. I am routed to their 3rd party call centre, and, for some reason they are the good cop. "Sir, Rogers really, really want people to move to the digital phone so they can get their customers off the Bell network. There are no advantages to you, the costs are the same and regarding your long distance this is what you have to do... click."

Starting to think that Big Brother is watching me I redial, go through the same pointless charade to reach Samantha, get her direct line extension just in case I lose the call, and receive from her the same information, with the sentence ending "Regarding your long-distance you will have to go with Rogers on the default rate and would have to call your long distance provider and cancel their service."

At which point I told her that we had been lied to on 3 separate occasions and she apologized for the error. I said it wasn't an error, it was company policy. I cancelled the installation order and will use Rogers for the time being, in the knowledge that I can freely give them up and move to another phone carrier whenever I choose. Samantha was very nice BTW.

The net outcome of this program is that Rogers would have profited from lower operating costs and higher long distance earnings and I, the customer, would have lost money over time for a short term gain of $60 in promotional credits.

This scenario is not unusual. It is the predatory nature of many large companies that corral their customers however they feel will produce the highest return on their operating costs. It is also unethical. Rogers did not have to force the long-distance upon me, or lie about it. Its cost of materials for the modem could have been recovered from other fee-based services it could deliver through the device, or through higher customer acquisition based on improved service delivery within its own network. Now it has me rigidly opposed to attaching to its own network. This is the company that introduced the negative option on premium cable and it is still manipulating its customers for its own ends.

I seethe over this and blame the crassness of the overbearing regulatory systems in this country that protect them in everything they do.

Rogers may want their buck , but I say "Buck back!" Putting the customer at the centre is what builds loyalty, frequency and continuity. Rogers you are in the penalty box. Watch out!