1. I don't blame you for not wanting to waste money like that. However, I'm old enough and financially secure enough that I splurge on things like that on a regular basis. (I don't do Starbucks )
2) I never mail anything to a "manager" - only President, CEO, CFO, etc. And always to a specific name. Emails? A waste of time, IMHO, and I'm talking from 30 years experience in public relations. Sure, once in a while they may generate a "form letter" response, but most of the time they get deleted by an underling. Same thing happens to email "petitions". We've tested it all. Snail mail and fax are still the way to reach the decision makers. I have a client, a CEO of a major corporation, who doesn't even know how to use emails and refuses to learn. Believe me, at that corporate level, he is not the minority.
3) Doing your part is what it's all about. Good for you. That's the reason I do it - not really expecting a response, just knowing that at least I wasn't part of the Silent Majority.
4) If we're talking about Rogers, you're right. Most people have really no idea what a huge corporate monster this is. And in Canada, a corporate monster is twice as dangerous - because the government feeds it.
Keep protesting! Always. Never just "take it".