If you subscribe to Rogers Cable and live in Ontario, you will have noticed that a new Quick Start guide popped up about a month ago, requiring that you click the Guide button a second time to get to the actual program guide with the day's TV listings. The sentiment was nice, but the concept was completely annoying. And it seems as though I'm not the only one who felt that way, as the company has released a statement about "service enhancements" that now allows a subscriber to defeat this.

I give kudos where they're due, and Rogers is slick in calling the new defeat option an "exciting new tool" based on customer feedback. Ah, a PR spin at its best.

"Our customers told us they enjoyed the new menu and its features," says Rogers in its prepared statement, "however, they also enjoyed more control in how they could view the menu."

Translation: customers fought back saying "when I hit the Guide button, I want to get the programming guide! If I want to have quick access to news, sports, weather, and On Demand content, there's a pretty easy way to do it. Scroll to the desired channel, and hit Enter."

To defeat the Quick Start menu, scroll down to Self-Service, Select Change GUIDE Order, then choose TV Listings First. This will adjust the order such that when you depress the Guide button upon start-up, it will immediately go to the TV Listings; just as before. Unfortunately, pressing the Guide button a second time will still take you to the new Quick Start menu versus adjusting back to full-screen TV mode as it used to. Baby steps, I guess. (Full step-by-step instructions and visual guides on making the change are available here http://redboard.rogers.com/2010/we-listened-how-to-customize-the-order-of-the-quick-start-menu/.)

Frankly, I'd like an option that says "kill-the-stupid-Quick-Start-menu-entirely", but alas, it appears that at least some customers appreciate the menu enough for it to be left in tact. (That, or Rogers doesn't want to completely kill its idea just yet.)

For those five people who might actually use it, the Quick Start guide provides one-button access to things like On Demand channels, weather reports, and games. Why Rogers feels this would take precedent over actually watching TV - that is, enough to overtake the Guide itself - is beyond me.

Nevertheless, it takes guts to admit a mistake, and rectify it immediately. Even if it's deemed an "improvement", "enhancement", or as a means to provide the "best experience." Just admit it, guys. It was a bad idea that few liked.

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