This past Saturday, I left Sandpoint a bit early to head into Ottawa to find Brian Dyck (a well liked Ottawa Police Officer), who is fighting a courageous battle with ALS.
I managed to find a parking spot at the Canadian War Museum (not an easy task) the place was busy with many walkers supporting loved ones in the Walk for ALS taking place that morning. I was amazed at the spirit of the people involved all wearing T shirts emblazoned with their family or friends name.
I located a group of Brian's supporters and followed them into the theatre where an audience listened to speakers from Bob Rae to John Baird. I was happy to hear about the funds raised by the participants and the many local companies backing the campaign.
I was there to find Brian or his family to present a cheque from The 911 Network. I did manage to finally get close to Brian, but he was moving pretty fast in his electric wheel chair and his wife and child were running along side. I did manage to catch up and quickly hand Brian's wife a cheque for $250.00 from our membership. I told her that is was simply for them. There are times when we just need to help people directly and there are times to support the global charity.
It was a brief exchange and I never really did get a chance to meet Brian. I hope our support can benefit his family to a small degree.
Thanks again for your support of our program. It is making a difference.
Kind regards,
Pat
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Our members support Mike Pare and his fight
On Friday June 11th, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mike Pare. An Ottawa Police Officer who is undergoing stem cell therapy treatment for his fight with cancer.
Mike is a very positive, warm and strong individual. He was very thankful of our donation and was very supportive of The 911 Network, as he is and has been a registered member. He commented on how important his cell plan was for keeping things working with his family life. He exchanges pictures with his wife and often uses the text features to keep in contact during long treatments at the hospital. He mentioned that I should tell the membership that it has also been great for cutting costs as there are many unexpected expenditures in the process of continuing his treatments.
We were very happy to make the donation to Mike to help with his expenses and hopefully make some of the process more comfortable. We are right behind Mike in his efforts and by meeting him personally, I believe Mike to have the character and fortitude to see through this difficult time. Keep smiling Mike!
My meeting with Mike was part of a blood donor clinic that was held in support of Mike and with emphasis on Stem Cell donation. Stem cell donners can be matched by a simple blood test and I encourage our emergency service workers and health care professionals to consider this worth while endevor to help others like Mike.
The clinic was held in the Ottawa Police headquarters gymnasium and was attended by many Ottawa Police staffers. I also had an opportunity to meet Chief Vern White while donating blood on behalf of my brothers and sisters with Ottawa Fire.
In all, I came away from the event feeling very positive about The 911 Network and what we can do for people like Mike and feeling good about meeting Mike. I admire Mike for his positive approach and wide smile which was there all morning. If you get a chance...donate and support people like Mike...Thank you to the membership for your donations and continued support of The 911 Network.
Kind regards,
Pat
Mike is a very positive, warm and strong individual. He was very thankful of our donation and was very supportive of The 911 Network, as he is and has been a registered member. He commented on how important his cell plan was for keeping things working with his family life. He exchanges pictures with his wife and often uses the text features to keep in contact during long treatments at the hospital. He mentioned that I should tell the membership that it has also been great for cutting costs as there are many unexpected expenditures in the process of continuing his treatments.
We were very happy to make the donation to Mike to help with his expenses and hopefully make some of the process more comfortable. We are right behind Mike in his efforts and by meeting him personally, I believe Mike to have the character and fortitude to see through this difficult time. Keep smiling Mike!
My meeting with Mike was part of a blood donor clinic that was held in support of Mike and with emphasis on Stem Cell donation. Stem cell donners can be matched by a simple blood test and I encourage our emergency service workers and health care professionals to consider this worth while endevor to help others like Mike.
The clinic was held in the Ottawa Police headquarters gymnasium and was attended by many Ottawa Police staffers. I also had an opportunity to meet Chief Vern White while donating blood on behalf of my brothers and sisters with Ottawa Fire.
In all, I came away from the event feeling very positive about The 911 Network and what we can do for people like Mike and feeling good about meeting Mike. I admire Mike for his positive approach and wide smile which was there all morning. If you get a chance...donate and support people like Mike...Thank you to the membership for your donations and continued support of The 911 Network.
Kind regards,
Pat
Monday, April 26, 2010
Some people are happy!
Every now and again, I actually get some good feedback! I have been trying really hard to make sure that all of you understand that I am working for our membership.
You are able to get rewards for your membership, ie the Bell opportunity and save hundreds of dollars, and at the same time, donate your membership fee to a family who is experiencing a medical crisis. As mentioned, we have donated over $500.00 in the month of April towards members families experiencing child medical crisis.
This makes me feel really good about The 911 Network and what we can do to create positive results in our membership and for fellow emerg and health care professionals.
So, here is a quote I recieved tonight from a new member..."Thanks Pat
I would like to compliment you on your quick responses and your honest advice. great doing business with you...."
Regards
Michelle Frost
We do really try to ensure that we are providing our members and potential members with good service. We want everyone to know that when they make a payment to The 911 Network, that it really matters.
Kind regards,
Patrick McIntyre
You are able to get rewards for your membership, ie the Bell opportunity and save hundreds of dollars, and at the same time, donate your membership fee to a family who is experiencing a medical crisis. As mentioned, we have donated over $500.00 in the month of April towards members families experiencing child medical crisis.
This makes me feel really good about The 911 Network and what we can do to create positive results in our membership and for fellow emerg and health care professionals.
So, here is a quote I recieved tonight from a new member..."Thanks Pat
I would like to compliment you on your quick responses and your honest advice. great doing business with you...."
Regards
Michelle Frost
We do really try to ensure that we are providing our members and potential members with good service. We want everyone to know that when they make a payment to The 911 Network, that it really matters.
Kind regards,
Patrick McIntyre
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The 911 Network donates to two families in need!
Thank you to all 911 Network members, as in the month of April, we have donated $500.00 to families in need within our network.
We donated $250.00 to support Lauren Lush, who's mother is one of our emergency services members. Her story aired on CTV noon news on April the 6th.
"It is very generous of you and the 911 network. I'm touched by your generosity, and can't put it into words how much this means to me and the family." "Thanks again,Evelyn, John & Lauren".
We have also donated $250.00 to the family of Geoff Wall, who's daughter's life has been changed by cancer. Our funds are in support of her mobility requirements. Geoff is another member of our emergency services team in Ottawa.
We are always interested in knowing of people in our emergency services and health care teams that are having a family health crisis. We are happy to help by providing a portion of our membership revenues to a family in need.
Kind regards,
Patrick
We donated $250.00 to support Lauren Lush, who's mother is one of our emergency services members. Her story aired on CTV noon news on April the 6th.
"It is very generous of you and the 911 network. I'm touched by your generosity, and can't put it into words how much this means to me and the family." "Thanks again,Evelyn, John & Lauren".
We have also donated $250.00 to the family of Geoff Wall, who's daughter's life has been changed by cancer. Our funds are in support of her mobility requirements. Geoff is another member of our emergency services team in Ottawa.
We are always interested in knowing of people in our emergency services and health care teams that are having a family health crisis. We are happy to help by providing a portion of our membership revenues to a family in need.
Kind regards,
Patrick
Monday, March 29, 2010
Some Changes are Coming
Hi there,
It has been a little while since I have entered any info in the blog...sorry about that! I have been busy with trying to finish some work around the house, entertain children at March break and fight a lot of Bell Mob fires...and oh yeah..work too.
Things are going really well right now with a lot of new members joining up and with a really good lead with The Brick. We hope to sign the Brick in a couple of weeks.
I am also considering reducing the number of businesses that support us, as many businesses have high employee turn over and this can cause us problems with members showing their cards at many of these businesses. New employees need to brought up to speed with the program or even know it exists.
We seem to do well with Booster Juice in Ottawa! But other businesses require me to spend a lot of time visiting and ensuring that the card is accepted and remembered. This is partly due to how many card carrying members use the card and how often a business sees it. I am even considering eliminating the card and simply having businesses that want to support us, issue their own certificates and cards.
I am always interested in feedback from you as to what you think? I seldome get feedback, well..except when you get a bad bell bill....I have had two great responses from new members, one said thank you for supporting emergency service members and I had a nice call today with a "thank you for what you do for us". Its amazing how this can motivate you to keep going and working at this great program.
We are looking forward to some new opportunities this spring.
Cheers
It has been a little while since I have entered any info in the blog...sorry about that! I have been busy with trying to finish some work around the house, entertain children at March break and fight a lot of Bell Mob fires...and oh yeah..work too.
Things are going really well right now with a lot of new members joining up and with a really good lead with The Brick. We hope to sign the Brick in a couple of weeks.
I am also considering reducing the number of businesses that support us, as many businesses have high employee turn over and this can cause us problems with members showing their cards at many of these businesses. New employees need to brought up to speed with the program or even know it exists.
We seem to do well with Booster Juice in Ottawa! But other businesses require me to spend a lot of time visiting and ensuring that the card is accepted and remembered. This is partly due to how many card carrying members use the card and how often a business sees it. I am even considering eliminating the card and simply having businesses that want to support us, issue their own certificates and cards.
I am always interested in feedback from you as to what you think? I seldome get feedback, well..except when you get a bad bell bill....I have had two great responses from new members, one said thank you for supporting emergency service members and I had a nice call today with a "thank you for what you do for us". Its amazing how this can motivate you to keep going and working at this great program.
We are looking forward to some new opportunities this spring.
Cheers
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Ahhh...some relief...
Ok. So I had a good meeting with our reps from Bell Canada today. It appears that much of the storm is over with the billing crisis and account shuffling. (There may still be a few of you waiting for credits and cheques), but for the most part things are on track. Whew...and sorry you had to experience all of this.
Please let me know if there are any major issues out there, as I would like to send our Bell reps your cell number and verify where things stand.
I also realize that there has been a lot of frustration in working through this and a great deal of distrust and resentment when it comes to working with cell phone companies. While I can appreciate that this has been agrevating and time consuming, it is also not the fault of the people you are working with for the solution, myself included.
When speaking to our Bell reps, they have encountered everything from threats to personal insults thrown their way. While I have been known to get pretty worked up myself and missbehave from time to time, we still have to appreciate the fact that these people are working with us to offer us one of the best cell plans going. They too get frustrated with how things get processed and when thing go wrong. They want to have easier jobs like the rest of us.
Also keep in mind that the bill you received for the $140.00 would be a normal bill for anyone else and yours has been/ will be closer to $22 to $28 on average. (excluding extra data packages, long distance and the like.)
So...let's move forward and keep a good thing going. I am hoping that you want to continue working with us and that Bell Mobility wants to keep working with us as well...
Kind regards,
Pat McIntyre
Please let me know if there are any major issues out there, as I would like to send our Bell reps your cell number and verify where things stand.
I also realize that there has been a lot of frustration in working through this and a great deal of distrust and resentment when it comes to working with cell phone companies. While I can appreciate that this has been agrevating and time consuming, it is also not the fault of the people you are working with for the solution, myself included.
When speaking to our Bell reps, they have encountered everything from threats to personal insults thrown their way. While I have been known to get pretty worked up myself and missbehave from time to time, we still have to appreciate the fact that these people are working with us to offer us one of the best cell plans going. They too get frustrated with how things get processed and when thing go wrong. They want to have easier jobs like the rest of us.
Also keep in mind that the bill you received for the $140.00 would be a normal bill for anyone else and yours has been/ will be closer to $22 to $28 on average. (excluding extra data packages, long distance and the like.)
So...let's move forward and keep a good thing going. I am hoping that you want to continue working with us and that Bell Mobility wants to keep working with us as well...
Kind regards,
Pat McIntyre
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Going crazy with Bell Mobility....
So, now your phone has been disconnected due to non payment of a huge bill...you shouldn't have received.
Where should I start with this...well it began with fraud in The 911 Network account and Bell's efforts to move our plans into an account that would see that The 911 Network was not accountable for unpaid cell phone usage.
Well, that was the theory...what has happened is a comedy of errors that is hardly funny anymore.
As Bell began moving people to the new Corporate Individual accounts, it seems the data entry clerks began making errors putting our members in the right plans, including all the free features etc. This caused many people to get billed at non discounted rates, that I had negotiated on behalf of The 911 Network...Ugh.
So, we have been advising people to pay their regular fee until this gets sorted out...what that has resulted in, due to the automation of their billing system..is to suspend these phones for non payment....double Ugh..
So, you and I both are going through hell for this. I am sorry you have had to make frustrating phone calls to talk to uninformed Bell call centre reps who further agitate our members with their ignorance of the situation. I myself am handling calls all day long and hundreds of emails.
This does not help our fundraising program...it wastes my time in generating new opportunities for our members as well as dealing with the day to day operations of The 911 Network. Triple Ugh..
So, here is what I am advising to help us get through this...(Bell hasn't offered to step in here and solve the communication issues, so I am going to try) Send me an email with your cell numbers (one's affected by the changes) with your name and email address. I will send these on to Rick Turner (Area Account Manager) He will un-suspend the phones as well as get the ball rolling to get you back in The 911 Network account with the right features.
I don't want to get into a debate as to what cell phone company is better and whether the deal is worth the hassle...please understand that I have experienced all of the same issues and have been just as frustrated. It would appear that customer service and effective service died sometime ago in the area of cell phone companies. We have as many people moving from Rogers to Bell as visa versa. I can say however, that The 911 Network has power in numbers and we are seeing this more and more. If we keep working together as a large purchasing group, we can affect change and seek greater opportunities...I am just sorry that the road to get there is often bumpy...
Thanks and send me those emails.
Yours in futile frustration,
Pat
Where should I start with this...well it began with fraud in The 911 Network account and Bell's efforts to move our plans into an account that would see that The 911 Network was not accountable for unpaid cell phone usage.
Well, that was the theory...what has happened is a comedy of errors that is hardly funny anymore.
As Bell began moving people to the new Corporate Individual accounts, it seems the data entry clerks began making errors putting our members in the right plans, including all the free features etc. This caused many people to get billed at non discounted rates, that I had negotiated on behalf of The 911 Network...Ugh.
So, we have been advising people to pay their regular fee until this gets sorted out...what that has resulted in, due to the automation of their billing system..is to suspend these phones for non payment....double Ugh..
So, you and I both are going through hell for this. I am sorry you have had to make frustrating phone calls to talk to uninformed Bell call centre reps who further agitate our members with their ignorance of the situation. I myself am handling calls all day long and hundreds of emails.
This does not help our fundraising program...it wastes my time in generating new opportunities for our members as well as dealing with the day to day operations of The 911 Network. Triple Ugh..
So, here is what I am advising to help us get through this...(Bell hasn't offered to step in here and solve the communication issues, so I am going to try) Send me an email with your cell numbers (one's affected by the changes) with your name and email address. I will send these on to Rick Turner (Area Account Manager) He will un-suspend the phones as well as get the ball rolling to get you back in The 911 Network account with the right features.
I don't want to get into a debate as to what cell phone company is better and whether the deal is worth the hassle...please understand that I have experienced all of the same issues and have been just as frustrated. It would appear that customer service and effective service died sometime ago in the area of cell phone companies. We have as many people moving from Rogers to Bell as visa versa. I can say however, that The 911 Network has power in numbers and we are seeing this more and more. If we keep working together as a large purchasing group, we can affect change and seek greater opportunities...I am just sorry that the road to get there is often bumpy...
Thanks and send me those emails.
Yours in futile frustration,
Pat
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