A letter from Dave on the infamous $40 for 4GB price change

[Dave_M]

Hey Community,

I am writing to you today to let you know that we will not be moving forward with a price increase on the infamous “$40 for 4GB” plan ($120 90-day Province-Wide Talk + Text + 12GB Data), contrary to the SMS that customers on that plan received yesterday.

After sending out an offer to select customers, we heard your feedback loud and clear: we said no surprises, and we surprised you. While all good things must come to an end at some point – that point is not today. As a brand, we have always been proud of our transparency, and of our commitment to our customers. We are sincerely sorry for any frustration caused and we want you to know that this has been a learning experience for us all.

We have been reminded that you, our customers, are vocal and passionate. We’ve seen how much some of you love Public Mobile and we’ve also seen how many of you like the added value that our sister brand, Koodo, has to offer. To that end, we are happy to say that the Koodo offer that our Public customers on the “$40 for 4GB” plan received still remains available for anyone who wishes to take advantage of it.

Thank you for your continued support,

Dave

[will13am]

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@PhoneSeekerwrote:

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@will13amwrote:

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The RFD forum has an ignore feature. 

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I should probably get some fresh air and get off the internet.

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Speaking of fresh air, I was just about to head out the door to get some intensity minutes logged into my garmin before the temperture starts to drop. 

[PhoneSeeker]

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@will13amwrote:

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The RFD forum has an ignore feature. 

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I should probably get some fresh air and get off the internet.

[computergeek541]

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@Korthwrote:

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@computergeek541wrote: 
As I am opted out from marketing via text messages, Public Mobile was not allowed to contact me about the Koodo offer.

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How do you "opt out" marketing txts?  I wanna do that!

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When you receive one of those Koodo migration offers, you can reply back with the word "unsubscribe".  That will tell their computer not to send you such text messages.  Additionally, I also use my phone's software to block all text messages from any of these known Public Mobile numbers/codes.  I don't need/want text messages advertising offers to me, nor do I wish to receive top up reminders, "your plan was renewed" messages, or any of those annoying bi-monthly or quarterly (or whatever the length of time is) CCTS spam.

 On a related matter, Public Mobile's privacy policy is stated at https://store.publicmobile.ca/pages/privacy-policy .  There is also a form on the Telus website to opt out of direct marketing (I just can't remember where it is).

[Korth]

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@computergeek541wrote: 
As I am opted out from marketing via text messages, Public Mobile was not allowed to contact me about the Koodo offer.

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How do you "opt out" marketing txts?  I wanna do that!

I usually receive Public Mobile texts from "100", "611", and "5129" ... although (live and learn) I linked them all to a single contact (which I named "They want money again") so my phone just lumped and threaded all these messages together, lol, I can't easily discern which number PM uses for what.

[Sergey]

Probably, they will come back soon with another better offer.. like $30 plan and $150 maybe

AFter when the most of us accept that, they will increase the price for moving customers

It is a just big shark business

[DavidNS]

The class I initially inquired about- the group of people who switched to koodo before the PM branch of Telus said "oh, nevermind"- had more than their feelings hurt.

[sbreakin]

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@Korthwrote:

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@sheytoonwrote:

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@sbreakinwrote:

This evening I went back & read the previous letters from Dave and the inciteful comments from the community.

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I think you mean insightful 😉

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I think both are applicable, lol.

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Haha. I did mean insightful but maybe spell check had alterior motives or was reflective.  

[will13am]

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@PhoneSeekerwrote:

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@wetcoaster wrote:

@will13amwrote:

@kav2001c, there are some RFD members that are a few aces short of a full deck.  

And unfortunately they are not just posting there...

@kav2001cwrote:

@will13am apparently I was singled out as one of them since I "work"  for Public

General populace are idiots and most of the comments are riduculous imo

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@kav2001c   I never said you were. Nor do you fit the criteria, that is, making a brand new account within the past 2 days, and only having posts praising Koodo and berating what appears to be PM customers.

@will13am Here's an example: https://forums.redflagdeals.com/search.php?author_id=1420485&sr=posts

He just made an account and implies that he knows Public Mobile's revenue contribution to Telus, which is information that Telus does not make available to the public. His comments also suggest that he has some "skin in the game" and is unusually annoyed that PM customers have contacted the CCTS.

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The RFD forum has an ignore feature. 

[Luddite]

@guinness22 I think someone kindly merged your idea into this thread. Likely because of my response which was lost but can now be recreated from my steel trap memory.

I do agree with your sentiment but think PM may need some assistance foretelling the future before implementing major changes. My vote is on Gyromancy; http://mentalfloss.com/article/19008/quick-10-10-weird-ways-predict-future

Methinks silly season in upon us. 

[guinness22]

All will be Grand Eventually. 

[PhoneSeeker]

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@wetcoaster wrote:

@will13amwrote:

@kav2001c, there are some RFD members that are a few aces short of a full deck.  

And unfortunately they are not just posting there...

@kav2001cwrote:

@will13am apparently I was singled out as one of them since I "work"  for Public

General populace are idiots and most of the comments are riduculous imo

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@kav2001c   I never said you were. Nor do you fit the criteria, that is, making a brand new account within the past 2 days, and only having posts praising Koodo and berating what appears to be PM customers.

@will13am Here's an example: https://forums.redflagdeals.com/search.php?author_id=1420485&sr=posts

He just made an account and implies that he knows Public Mobile's revenue contribution to Telus, which is information that Telus does not make available to the public. His comments also suggest that he has some "skin in the game" and is unusually annoyed that PM customers have contacted the CCTS.

[Korth]

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@sheytoonwrote:

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@sbreakinwrote:

This evening I went back & read the previous letters from Dave and the inciteful comments from the community.

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I think you mean insightful 😉

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I think both are applicable, lol.

[Korth]

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@sbreakinwrote:

Thanks for reminding us to appreciate the plan we have.  Costs, expenses change and I realize there could be need to update terms or prices at some point. 

Hopefully the plan remains stable for a reasonable time and we're enduced to Koodo.

It can last for few years as I experienced a grandfather plan at Rogers for many years before changes were  made, although many people's needs change and they'd voluntarily change (such as my cheap Rogers plan with 250mb/mo. How did I manage with that?) 

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My grandfathered PM plan is unlimited talk and text (in all the places I talk and text, anyways) and only 1GB per 90-days ... easy enough for me to manage with that, I only use mobile data for software updates and for random google maps/emails when desperately needed.

I don't think it's worth paying a premium monthly fee for a few GB mobile data (at about 6~12Mbps, sometimes maybe ~40Mbps) when $25/month buys "unlimited" (1000GB+) broadband data (at ~1000Mbps).

But then, I'm not a social media junky.  I don't need to stream videos and music realtime (because I crossload them only my phone from my computer).  I hardly do any browsing and never play online games on my phone (because what's the point of using such wimpy hardware on a puny screen when you've got a real computer, lol).  Although I do understand that my uncool usage model is a narrow niche in a wider world of millennial mobile addictions.  And I understand that other niches (such as mobile data tethering in areas lacking broadband access) are abhorrent to cellular providers but still fall within what I would personally consider "valid" uses.

[sheytoon]

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@sbreakinwrote:

This evening I went back & read the previous letters from Dave and the inciteful comments from the community.

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I think you mean insightful 😉

[MK78]

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@dr-etwrote:

The 3 brands is to keep everyone in the family,

if people have the need then they can move up the chain on their own.

The arguments about 3g ,LTE, 5g is pure garbage .

The infrastucture for 3g,LTE already in place .

most of us satisfied with existing data speeds.

charge extra or offer new plans to those theat need/want more data/speed.

We signed up for the plan,speed ,price rate needed.

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The LTE network isn't struggling, it's not congested. Hell, i got 260meg speedtest a few weeks ago on my iPhone 8. Limiting the "3G" to just barely 3mbps is really slow, since even the 3G network, if you uncheck LTE is likely to give you a much higher speed. I just did it and got 15meg on 3G, with 3/4 bars on my phone at home.

[sbreakin]

Thanks for reminding us to appreciate the plan we have.  Costs, expenses change and I realize there could be need to update terms or prices at some point. 

Hopefully the plan remains stable for a reasonable time and we're enduced to Koodo.

It can last for few years as I experienced a grandfather plan at Rogers for many years before changes were  made, in other cases, people's needs change and they'd voluntarily change plans (such as my cheap Rogers plan with 250mb/mo. How did I manage with that?)

[Shutdown]

They should of made the koodo offer for 100 days so people don't get screwed by having a renewal happen just before the annoucement and giving people a little wiggle room time to make the decision.

[Korth]

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@kav2001cwrote:

$40 x 2500 complaints = $100,000

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My lawyer example was meant to be sardonic, to emphasize the pointlessness of dredging up pedantic arguments over fine legal technicalities.

I do agree that the "damages" were limited in a financial context.  The "damages" were also limited in terms of lost customers, especially since some of them are now on Koodo and still provide revenue for PM's boss.  $100K ain't chump change, but it's a worst-extreme approximation and it's not enough to drive any part of Telus anywhere near bankruptcy.

The real damage is the perceived betrayal.  It's hard to maintain faith or extend trust (again) after you've been deceived, manipulated, or exploited.

But remember that PM is a prepaid service.  Continuity is implied - even rewarded - but there really is no explicit (or legal) obligation for either party to renew once the prepaid billing cycle is complete.  People who want to assure stable business arrangements over the long-term will not find it without signing long-term contracts - this is nothing new.

[will13am]

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@wetcoasterwrote:

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@will13amwrote:

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@kav2001cwrote:

@will13am apparently I was singled out as one of them since I "work"  for Public

General populace are idiots and most of the comments are riduculous imo

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@will13amwrote:

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I must not be looking hard enough, I didn't see anything that looked like Telus staff posting nonsense on RFD. Do you have any examples to share?  

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@kav2001c, there are some RFD members that are a few aces short of a full deck.  

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And unfortunately they are not just posting there...

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There's one in every crowd.  Every village has an idiot.  

[wetcoaster]

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@will13amwrote:

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@kav2001cwrote:

@will13am apparently I was singled out as one of them since I "work"  for Public

General populace are idiots and most of the comments are riduculous imo

---

@will13amwrote:

---

---

I must not be looking hard enough, I didn't see anything that looked like Telus staff posting nonsense on RFD. Do you have any examples to share?  

---

@kav2001c, there are some RFD members that are a few aces short of a full deck.  

---

And unfortunately they are not just posting there...

[will13am]

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@kav2001cwrote:

@will13am apparently I was singled out as one of them since I "work"  for Public

General populace are idiots and most of the comments are riduculous imo

---

@will13amwrote:

---

---

I must not be looking hard enough, I didn't see anything that looked like Telus staff posting nonsense on RFD. Do you have any examples to share?  

---

@kav2001c, there are some RFD members that are a few aces short of a full deck.  

[kav2001c]

$40 x 2500 complaints = $100,000

Not $1,000,000

And beyond hurt feelings the majority of the alleged class suffered no damages

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@Korthwrote:

Pocket lint can pay off, lol.

Lawyer does his math ... say, $1M total damages?  He collects signatures, he takes the case to court, he wins, he collects his 30% off the top, he distributes the balance among all the signatory petitioners.  $300K (minus expenses) available for the Lawyer's son to go to college.  Justice is served!

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[kav2001c]

@will13am apparently I was singled out as one of them since I "work"  for Public

General populace are idiots and most of the comments are riduculous imo

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@will13amwrote:

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I must not be looking hard enough, I didn't see anything that looked like Telus staff posting nonsense on RFD. Do you have any examples to share?  

[will13am]

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@MVPwrote:

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@will13amwrote:

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@MVPwrote:

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@diamondshopperwrote:

Thats nonsense, I was told I would get a prorated refund by kodoo as well. This would only seem to be the right thing to do as we were basically bullied to switch. Can any moderator weight in on this, I would 100% take this matter to the CCTS if they are not refunding the unused portion.

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One thing they can do is to extend Koodo offer to the full 90 days span. 

This will certainly lure more Fall2016 customers to Koodo, especially those with few or no rewards.

There is no point for them to cut-off Koodo offer anymore on March 15, because price increase is not happening (for a while).

In fact, if I were a PM manager planning this, I'd make Koodo offer ongoing, and tweak it from time to time,  gauging by the number of PM customers jumping ship per month 🙂 

E.g. if the Koodo offer were $35/4GB/month, fiasco would not have happened, and the exodus would be pretty massive 🙂

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+1!  I know hindsight is 20/20.  The people who came up with this ill conceived plan sure didn't apply any critical thinking.  If they want a desired outcome, positive reinforcement is far more effective than a negative one.  Had they simply offered something with Koodo that is a bit better than the 2016 fall promo, customers would happily migrate and Telus would achieve the desired objectives plus gaining all important customer trust.  By using scare tactics by way of a draconian 25% increase, they increased our resolve to fight back collectively.  The end result is massive failure to meet objective plus a huge impairment in customer trust.  

I would expect Telus to learn from past mistakes and do a little better next time around.  I am fairly confident future exit terms will be more favorable.  

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Well, it was sorta obvious that a  25% (or %30ish for those with rewards) price increase will incite a public outrage and a popular uprising 😉

What parts of their bodies  were they thinking with? 🙂 

I don't want to sound overly disrespectful of the decision maker(s).  There was an obvious lack is business acumen displayed.  The customer floggings will continue until morale improves.

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[neilselden]

@Dave_M,

Thanks for writing to let us know you are not proceeding with a price increase.

However, I will point out one thing in regards to your wording about "...all good things must come to an end...".  I will remind you of the wording of the $40/4GB offer: PM stated that the offer would be valid for as long as the individual customer keeps the promotional plan.

In the future, be cautious about trying to change the terms of a deal.  It's bad business (as I'm sure you know), it will generate many complaints (as you saw), and it undermines trust in your company (as people have written).

Thanks,

Neil

[Korth]

High density of data packets being transmitted/received (and processed, transferred, switched, etc) on the network infrastructure means higher operating costs.

The carriers could upgrade all their network hardware so that there's multi-gigabit speeds for everyone everywhere.  But all that hardware would cost a ridiculous amount to install and ongoing ridiculous amounts to operate, even when only idling on standby.  Massively overkill infrastructure is simply unsustainable in a competitive market.

Or the carriers could streamline and optimize their service at all levels, matching price structures with technical infrastructures, maintaining a "minimum" quality of service across the whole network and a "premium" quality of service only where demand and revenue are high enough to make it worthwhile.

The question of 3G-vs-LTE hardware on phones themselves is a user issue, not a carrier issue, if the device can't run LTE speeds then the user runs it at "slow" 3G speeds or the user upgrades to a "fast" LTE device.

The question of total data density and bandwidth is a carrier issue.  They have to be thick enough to provide coverage and lean enough to stay competitive and well-fed enough (with subscriber revenues) to survive.  They balance minimum and premium services, they set arbitrary boundaries or "caps", and basically allow those who want fastest speeds to have it without making those who don't need fastest speeds have to pay for it.

I don't really see why this is a problem, lol.  If your "3G speed cap" is objectionable then pay more to access proper "LTE speed".  If you complain that another provider can offer service or pricing that PM cannot match then why do you insist on staying with PM?

[dr-et]

The 3 brands is to keep everyone in the family,

if people have the need then they can move up the chain on their own.

The arguments about 3g ,LTE, 5g is pure garbage .

The infrastucture for 3g,LTE already in place .

most of us satisfied with existing data speeds.

charge extra or offer new plans to those theat need/want more data/speed.

We signed up for the plan,speed ,price rate needed.

[MVP]

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@will13amwrote:

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@MVPwrote:

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@diamondshopperwrote:

Thats nonsense, I was told I would get a prorated refund by kodoo as well. This would only seem to be the right thing to do as we were basically bullied to switch. Can any moderator weight in on this, I would 100% take this matter to the CCTS if they are not refunding the unused portion.

---

One thing they can do is to extend Koodo offer to the full 90 days span. 

This will certainly lure more Fall2016 customers to Koodo, especially those with few or no rewards.

There is no point for them to cut-off Koodo offer anymore on March 15, because price increase is not happening (for a while).

In fact, if I were a PM manager planning this, I'd make Koodo offer ongoing, and tweak it from time to time,  gauging by the number of PM customers jumping ship per month 🙂 

E.g. if the Koodo offer were $35/4GB/month, fiasco would not have happened, and the exodus would be pretty massive 🙂

---

+1!  I know hindsight is 20/20.  The people who came up with this ill conceived plan sure didn't apply any critical thinking.  If they want a desired outcome, positive reinforcement is far more effective than a negative one.  Had they simply offered something with Koodo that is a bit better than the 2016 fall promo, customers would happily migrate and Telus would achieve the desired objectives plus gaining all important customer trust.  By using scare tactics by way of a draconian 25% increase, they increased our resolve to fight back collectively.  The end result is massive failure to meet objective plus a huge impairment in customer trust.  

I would expect Telus to learn from past mistakes and do a little better next time around.  I am fairly confident future exit terms will be more favorable.  

---

Well, it was sorta obvious that a  25% (or %30ish for those with rewards) price increase will incite a public outrage and a popular uprising 😉

What parts of their bodies  were they thinking with? 🙂 

[dr-et]

I agree

I signed for the flexibility of data being spread over the the three months,

my kids not going over where i would have to pay extra. when limit reached no more.

no roaming ,

good coverage.

good price for ontario standards.

[torch]

I just came to say that the damage is done. You've lost my trust.