While I write this blog post I have been on hold with Rogers for over 3 hours, and finally got through to a Rogers representative who has put me on hold again. She has told me that it is my fault that I upgraded my operating system and that, unfortunately, my useless Rocket Stick is now my responsibility. If I want to cancel my service, which I can’t use because I’ve upgraded to Snow Leopard, I’ll have to pay a $500 cancellation fee.

Just to put this in context, Snow Leopard is not a sudden and unexpected move from Apple. Developers have had plenty of time to make sure their software is compatible. There were a few applications on my computer that I’ve had to upgrade this week (for free) because of my Snow Leopard OS upgrade, and all have gone smoothly.

The Rogers sales rep told me that it was my fault that I upgraded, and unfortunately I have to suffer the consequences. (blaming your customer is never good customer service). She also said it was up to the folks at Sony Ericsson, and that it was not in Rogers control. Anyone who has worked with Rogers knows the dynamic between supplier and carrier. If Rogers wants to make it work, Sony Ericsson will make it work – they have global customers at stake, outside of Rogers.

What this says for innovation in Canada is appalling. But the important point is that there is no excuse for Rogers not to have the Rocket Stick fix in their back pocket right upon the Snow Leopard release. With the iPhone partnership, Rogers should be keeping well up to date with Apple’s updates, and have as much hardware compatibility as possible. The Rocket Stick, to Rogers, is the vision of the future – connectivity everywhere. It should work with the latest and greatest software by the second most deployed operating system globally. No excuses!

(and no reason, of course, to be on hold for 3 hours before talking to a sales rep! – but that’s another blog post)

Update: Actually you’d think I’d have more of an update. But a Rogers tech support agent (actually it seemed like a fairly senior one) did get in touch with me. I sent him an update by email last Thursday the 3rd of September. So far nothing back. Will continue to update as the situation progresses.

Update (October 16): Apologies for the late update, but about 2 weeks ago Rogers solved the problem. Turns out there are many types of Rocket Sticks, and the old one didn’t work on Snow Leopard. I’ve now been upgraded to a ZTE version, and it’s working fine. Have to give some Kudo’s to Rogers, but I did get a significant hit on my bill for the upgrade. Ouch!