In January 2007 we bought a 2 year Bell Expressvu contract which includes the model 9200 receiver/hard drive recorder. The good news is that the 9200 recorder works well, the bad news is the sloppy installation and Bell’s crummy customer service.

By the time the installers told us they had completed the job, the mess had been made. We didn’t see the mess until they left.

Here’s what they did:

Outside, Bell’s wires slide down the outside of our home in a most conspicuous manner. Inside, the wires were hastily tacked to our baseboards; corners were cut as the installation guys took the course of least resistance. 90 degree angles were made into 180 degree angles which created one ugly mess. Originally, neglected piles of sawdust inspired me to take the pictures of the disgusting mess.

Complaints to the Bell dealer resulted in a very nice man doing a half-hearted repair job. It truly is difficult to make a silk purse from a pig’s ear.

For a lesson in frustration, why not call Bell’s “help line” for technical support? After punching a complex algorithm on the phone pad, eventually a live body will pick up. Unfortunately that live body seems continents away; geographically, culturally, and objectively. While my objective is always to receive TV reception, their objective seems to be to sell additional theme packages.

I can hardly wait for the end of this Bell contract, at which time I’ll gladly invite Shaw back into our home.