6 days ago
'Flip Fido Customers to Chatr': Rogers Stock (TSE:RCI.B) Ticks Up Despite Customer Service Concerns
Things are getting difficult these days for customers of communications stock Rogers Communications (TSE:RCI.B), especially if something has gone wrong. Reports note that about 1,000 Canadians were let go from Foundover, and all of them were working on an account with Rogers. The unexpected hit to Rogers' customer service has not balked investors, though, as shares were up fractionally in Tuesday morning's trading.
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Rogers noted that it has '…made changes to our vendor mix,' but did not specifically mention layoffs at Foundover, which handled its customer service contracts. The layoffs included technical support staff and customer care reps, as well as managers for those teams and '…all call centre positions,' one report noted. Rogers itself noted that customers '…increasingly use digital tools and self-services,' which in turn meant Rogers needed to make '…some changes to our vendor mix.'
Foundover, for its part, denied laying off 1,000 people, and would not share exact numbers. But former employees of Rogers' suggest that Rogers is increasingly looking to letting artificial intelligence step in to handle customer service issues. Fido, a 'flanker brand,' turns to an AI chatbot and virtual assistant to handle calls, and Rogers also required employees to use an AI tool to '…track their calls,' one report noted. Rogers was reportedly obliging its employees to '…flip Fido customers to Chatr, and Chatr customers to Rogers.'
Satellite-to-Mobile Service Goes Live
Rogers is also starting up the beta version of a new service, a satellite-to-mobile text messaging service that opens up a huge swath of Canadian real estate for at least some kind of coverage. In fact, coverage now extends over 5.4 million square kilometers of Canadian ground thanks to the service. The beta is actually free to join, and once the beta ends this October, Rogers Ultimate Plan users get the service for free. Other plans will have it available, though at C$15 per month with a discount for anyone who was in the beta.
Users will be able to get in on not only text messaging, but also text-to-911 service. Rogers will not stop there, though, as future updates are planned and will offer access to apps and data, and even, eventually, voice service. Voice over internet service is not exactly new; 10 years ago they called it 'VoIP.' But seeing it put to use more extensively today is a welcome development.
Is Rogers Communications a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on TSE:RCI.B stock based on seven Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 12% loss in its share price over the past year, the average TSE:RCI.B price target of C$51.82 per share implies 13.47% upside potential.
