A letter from Dave on the recent changes

[Dave_M]

Hello Community,

The past week has been full of announcements and changes: we launched 3G speed plans, we made our SIM cards available at Walmart, we changed the pricing for 4G LTE plans, and we changed how our support model works. That’s a lot. I want to take the time to thank you for coming on this journey with us, for reading all about the changes, and for voicing your opinions (good and bad). I also want to take some time to share with all of you, the path of learning we have been on at Public Mobile, in hopes that it provides context to some of the changes you have seen.

Nearly two years ago, we defined what ‘doing wireless differently’ would look like, and we launched Public Mobile in beta. At the time, we had a grand vision of being a small niche brand that appealed to a very specific person - a ‘life hacker.’ Many of you joined us during that time and have been with us through the ups and downs (and we love you for it). Since then, we have learned a lot. We have learned about our competition, our industry, and most importantly, we have learned a lot about Canadians and how they use their wireless services.

Those learnings are what have brought us to today and to the changes you’re seeing now. We’re coming up with new ways to deliver more options for Canadians and new ways to remain competitive. Many of these decisions were challenging to make - change always is - but we believe they are the right things to do to continue to offer Canadians more choice and flexibility at great rates on Canada’s largest mobile network. And we believe we’re celebrating those changes by being transparent about it through our “Less for Less” campaign: managing expectations and making sure that customers know that they are trading some frills in favour of lower prices.

Today, I ask you to continue supporting us on this journey. If you have a plan you love, keep enjoying it. If you have a friend who wants a great network for less, tell them about us - why we’re great and why we are different. We aren’t for everyone, but we believe we are the right choice for a lot of Canadians. We are not who we were a few weeks ago, but we are proud of how we’ve evolved to keep up with the wireless needs of Canadians and hope you will join us on this path.

Sincerely,

Dave

[Rockdaddy22]

Let's just hope they have better promos than Chatr to justify no call centers. We'll see

[Rockdaddy22]

Maybe those mods will work longer hours, costing more. Maybe they're getting raises. It'll streamline the process making it a better user experience.

Of course none of us like the price increases 😞

[Michael77]

Sorry but I can't help but feel that if the pricing is going to same as Chatr then PM should have live agents to talk to. Otherwise, PM's prices should be lower than their competition. Just saying.......

[ShawnC13]

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@NDesai wrote:

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@Taekgun wrote:

"Less for Less." It denotes that you are only paying for what you need when you come to PM. At this point, it should read "less for the same." The same or higher prices then are charged with other providers. Far less and inconvenient customer service when issues arise (and we are yet to see issues not be the norm during promos). 

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Right, but recently, PM launched a new Support Structure. They brought up more mods to the community, and so, they don't consider the new customer support as a weakness anymore. And this is what many are failing to see. 

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@NDesai, adding the Social Media Mods to the Community Mods doesn't answer any members questions.  They are saying for the increased cost they are expecting more customer service options.  This re-allocation of current staff doesn't inrease the options for customer service. I am not saying that more options would give you better service as I have been very happy with the current model.

[Rockdaddy22]

I can't argue with you there. They need the lowest prices in the industry to compete. They should have the lowest prices across the board compared to every other carrier.

[NDesai]

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@Taekgun wrote:

"Less for Less." It denotes that you are only paying for what you need when you come to PM. At this point, it should read "less for the same." The same or higher prices then are charged with other providers. Far less and inconvenient customer service when issues arise (and we are yet to see issues not be the norm during promos). 

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Right, but recently, PM launched a new Support Structure. They brought up more mods to the community, and so, they don't consider the new customer support as a weakness anymore. And this is what many are failing to see. 

[JackL]

@ShawnC13

I have been with Virgin Mobile for years before PM, I had good deal with them and they never increase price for existing customer during my service period. Sure every TOS mention it, but it gets down to if the company actually do it or not. Good point that legacy plan was offered by something else, now let's see how long would PM honor those 4GB promo plans without changing its price.

@Rockdaddy22

The point is, Oracle is NOT enough to replace the call center as you already mention it, you are not their customer service. If PM asking the same price as what others do, they better offer what others have. That is why I am calling PM being cheap.

In the end, PM still lack of many things to asking the same price as what other providers do.

[Rockdaddy22]

@JackL
I can only speak for myself, but I don't think oracles or many community members do it for the money. We aren't customer service, we are customers like you. It's more of a hobby than anything. Public Mobile does have actual customer service, the mods, they get paid a real wage. I've been here almost 2 years and I love it here. I'm eagerly awaiting the next promo to refer people. I just hope the promo is worthy.

[ShawnC13]

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@JackL wrote:
Totally agree with u.
On top of that, PM system is BUGGY. Activation problems, signal problems etc.

If you want to charge as same as what others have. You better offer what others have as well.

Your $10 Oracle people is far not enough to replace call center. And you are being cheap. I am sure all those people spend more than an hour on the forum to help people out, and $10, not even minimum wage for an hour of work. Tsk. Now you want to charge more from customer. NO!

How likely am I willing to recommend friends to PM?
Absolutely NOT.

Am I satisfied with PM?
After price change, absolutely NOT.
Buggy lack of support, lack of roaming countries, being cheap, lack of communication by changing price without notice. Not honoring legacy plan by keeping the price. Now let's see how long PM would increase price on those people who got 4GB data promo previously.

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@JackL, it states that prices and plans can change without notice.  That will be the same with all providers PM is no different. Legacy plan pricing was honoured for over 2 years.  We must remember it wasn't Telus that offered the Legacy Plans. But they did offer the Fall Promo and the Freedom Promo so it will be interesting to see how long those prices stay around.

[Taekgun]

"Less for Less." It denotes that you are only paying for what you need when you come to PM. At this point, it should read "less for the same." The same or higher prices then are charged with other providers. Far less and inconvenient customer service when issues arise (and we are yet to see issues not be the norm during promos). As stated in the initial post, I too was intrigued by the "life hacker" concept of this service before the changes - get the same service but also be apart of this community, help problem-solve for others, pay less compared to other companies, a DIY style, only get what you want/need, no frills. I thought this was novel, it resonated with me and I in turn could help sell this model of service to others.

There WAS a model of service here that was refreshing, something different than the big telecoms were offering with pricing that wasn't the norm for Canada (actually pricing that was similar to many other parts of the world, ie. Europe and the US).  We all understood that in exchange for this price, it would be more incumbent upon us to manage the everyday stuff (price plans, renewals, add-ons) through self-serve and not to have anyone to call - we were okay with that and the community admirably stepped up time and time again to fill this void - they too had bought into the concept of service.  I know that the price-changes don't affect most unless there is an across the board increase for everyone, but the one thing that did change overnight is the identity of PM of being that "life hacker" and "no frills" service-model we all adopted as our own, to a re-hashed model already at work by another big telecom.

@Dave_M, I can only hope that management can see that they were on the right track initially, and shifting to a Chatr model really damaged your brand, severely damaged.

[JackL]

Totally agree with u.
On top of that, PM system is BUGGY. Activation problems, signal problems etc.

If you want to charge as same as what others have. You better offer what others have as well.

Your $10 Oracle people is far not enough to replace call center. And you are being cheap. I am sure all those people spend more than an hour on the forum to help people out, and $10, not even minimum wage for an hour of work. Tsk. Now you want to charge more from customer. NO!

How likely am I willing to recommend friends to PM?
Absolutely NOT.

Am I satisfied with PM?
After price change, absolutely NOT.
Buggy lack of support, lack of roaming countries, being cheap, lack of communication by changing price without notice. Not honoring legacy plan by keeping the price. Now let's see how long PM would increase price on those people who got 4GB data promo previously.

[Slinxci]

@Dave_M

I have been used PM for three years. I am live in NS, and last month I finally see PM prepaid card sold in local store. I was so happy and recommanded my friends to swich to PM, but just after my recomandation, PM changes all its plans, PM now is offering 3G data for $126/ 90days, It was $120/ 90days for 4G or LTE. my friends wouldn't join to PM, they are not stupid. It also become impossible to recommand PM to others. I am going to change my plan after this cycle, now I can't get the plan i want after this 3 months. PM has been worse, since I start to use PM, It always "promote" its plans, it was acceptable that slightly increase its price.But this time, I am not sure if I will continuely stay with PM after this 3 months.

[computergeek541]

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@shawnie_boy wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:

I appreciate that Public Mobile is acknoledgding the comments of community users and that some/many are unhappy about the changes.  However, other than that, I see the statement as saying nothing more than that.

Unfortunately, I don't see these price changes as offering more choice and maintaining a "no frills" approach, but rather offering the same prices as others (resulting in less choice) but expecting customers to sacrifice services offered by other carriers at or about those same price points.

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 Completely agree. I've been bugging PM to implement some extra services now as they should (name display, VOLTE etc..). They can't charge these new prices with no frills. 

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The thing is that the 18GB/90 days is fine if you need more data, and they might not/probably would not have offered it at the $156 price.  But the increase in price for the LTE data is ridiculous, to the point I'm not even sure Public Mobile wants new customers.  And while that $156/90 plan might be fine if you need that much data and you don't mind the slower speed, who is going to sign up to that when a 90 day contract is required? Customers will just go to Chatr, receive Canada-wide and US calling instead (although in a zone, but depending on where you are, won't be an issue for many people) and skip the 90 day requirement.

[Freewheel]

Looks like few are buying what Dave is selling.

Glad I  got in on the $38 12 gig 90 day deal.

I'll stay on for as long as its honoured.

But no way can I recommend this new pricing structure to anyone.

dissapointed .

[shawnie_boy]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

I appreciate that Public Mobile is acknoledgding the comments of community users and that some/many are unhappy about the changes.  However, other than that, I see the statement as saying nothing more than that.

Unfortunately, I don't see these price changes as offering more choice and maintaining a "no frills" approach, but rather offering the same prices as others (resulting in less choice) but expecting customers to sacrifice services offered by other carriers at or about those same price points.

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 Completely agree. I've been bugging PM to implement some extra services now as they should (name display, VOLTE etc..). They can't charge these new prices with no frills. 

[pakmode]

Mutiny on the Bounty over here...lol.

*watches quietly, chewing popcorn*

[computergeek541]

I appreciate that Public Mobile is acknoledgding the comments of community users and that some/many are unhappy about the changes.  However, other than that, I see the statement as saying nothing more than that.

Unfortunately, I don't see these price changes as offering more choice and maintaining a "no frills" approach, but rather offering the same prices as others (resulting in less choice) but expecting customers to sacrifice services offered by other carriers at or about those same price points.

[makkahn28]

I do agree

[Watoko]

@geologyking, Well said!

[Paddle8]

Just wait on Telus to stop honouring the grandfathered plans and then see what'll happen. There's no point in PM existing if it's just a worse version of Koodo. Time to get a call centre.

Next they'll cancel referral, auto-pay, and community participation credits. More for less indeed.

Data costs are a ripoff. It needs to be regulated like home internet.

[geologyking]

@xCameron94x If the Competition Bureau rejects the complaint as falling outside its mandate, all you've lost is 10 minutes of your time.  The more people that do make the complaint, overcomes some inertia at their level hopefully.

What seems to be happening right now is everyone here complains about the change, says it sucks and then threatens to leave if their grandfathered plans are affected in the future--we need to do more; we need to make our complaints loud and to whatever government agency may have jurisdiction.  There are reasons why Canadian consumers get screwed and one of those reasons is our ability to complain in a bubble.

By all means get in touch with your MP as well--you're right that the issue is bigger than just PM.  It sucks that PM used to not be part of the problem.

[Acekiller]

qutie well written, but doesn't help people disliking the rate increase.

[CalvinW]

That's one long paragraph of saying absolutely nothing. Typical PR stunt...

[More_Chaos]

@xCameron94x@geologyking

That's not exactly what I meant. Rogers, Bell, Telus (and whoever else) often have written into their contracts that your charges may change (usually increase) without warning (*angry fist*). PM has not exactly changed any charges to any of us personally (as far as I understand - if they have, complain your little hearts out), they've merely offered up some new plans that the majority of us find archaic and non-competitive. They have not forced us to buy into these new plans, nor have they charged us for them.

[xCameron94x]

I would agree with @More_Chaos, by you suggesting that we complain to the CB, basically everyone has the right to complain about rogers, bell and telus for their prices. We all know nothing is actually going to happen, because Rogers, Bell and Telus have just been increasing prices over the years. So it is not worth the time to send a complaint that will probably never even be read in the first place.

[More_Chaos]

@geologyking

Um...so here's what the website says the form is for: 

"Please use this form to notify the Competition Bureau if you believe that a company or an individual has contravened the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act, or the Precious Metals Marking Act."

While I didn't actually go and look up those acts, I'm pretty sure PM is not in violation of those acts. PM certainly has not forced anyone to switch to those new plans, they merely gave everyone some new choices (not choices I would personally make, nor many of those who've made comments from what I gather).

So if you feel you've actually had your rights violated, definitely go file a complaint. If you just find that the situation sucks but haven't actually had anything wrongful imposed againse your will, I suggest you not clutter the government's already overflowing complaint bin with something that does not belong there.

[More_Chaos]

@makkahn28

I don't know about that...even their short several week promos cause utter chaos in terms of activation and porting...1 hour promos may very well shut down the site for a short period...

[geologyking]

@Dave_M Unfortunately this is a non-answer to what are serious concerned clients.  

I encourage everyone to visit the Competition Bureau of Canada website and to make a complaint about the massive overnight increases in LTE plans.  The url is:

http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/frm-eng/GH%C3%89T-7TDNA5

We can walk for sure, but letting the right offices of government know about problems is vital.

I also encourage everyone to think beyond our grandfathered plans(which can change) and to potential new customers who will now look at PM and say, "no thank you" and not, "that looks great, sign me up."

[makkahn28]

Ya know, we MUST at least be lucky we have cellular services.

The rates maybe a bit hefty, BUT I think PPL might prefer this over having to deal with this:

[Dougk]

This letter from Dave was nothing more then nothing in writing....thanks for that insight lol