Fantastic service at London Drugs Chilliwack

[Korth]

A friend of mine went to this London Drugs to signup with PM. Apparently because she was apprehensive about PM (after reading scandalous Google's hearsay) and felt that she could always demand a refund at "a real store" which a mere PM customer (me) wouldn't provide, lol.

The fellow behind the counter setup her new PM account, her Plan, her payment voucher, her SIM card, her phone settings. He tested incoming and outgoing calling and text, tested data (at londondrugs.com), handled her number port (and called someone to ensure it was completed promptly), he migrated her contacts/etc from old to new SIM cards, he even applied the RBC promo code I gave her to try out. He didn't try to sell any extras, just the SIM and payment voucher (and a different Plan than she initially thought she needed because it offered everything she wanted at lower price).

The only thing he didn't do was set her up as my referral. Only because I wasn't in store with her so no way to login to my account. He did recommend her to get me "on it" so that she could get her $10 bonus, I don't think he cared about me at all, lol. 

She walked out of the store with everything working (on her old Fido number) about twenty minutes later. Apparently this "old guy" was a champ, my comment that "I could've done all that" was countered by a smirk and raised eyebrow. And apparently he admitted during their conversation that he gets no commission, it's just his job.

So good job "old guy" - and my hearth recommendation that PM folks around here go to London Drugs instead of to Walmart. 

[darlicious]

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@Korth wrote:

LD is where I plan to buy my payment vouchers now. They have some kind of rewards/points thing, basically get $5 back for every $50 you spend. Kinda like buy 10 get one free. 

Canadian Tire now treats these payment vouchers as "gift cards" - which means they don't accept their stupid Canada Tire "money" when buying them. 

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@KorthYes they neither accept or give Canadian tire money on vouchers. I just signed up for the London drugs extras program. I don't shop at london drugs that often however since switching to Public Mobile my visits have become a little more frequent especially to pick up pm SIM cards ($10 a qualifying purchase for the extras program) As does $10+ pm vouchers as long as they don't exclude them in the t of s in the future (we have the right to change at any time...)Read the t of s to understand how to maximize and qualify for it's features but basically every 5 visits with a minimum $10 qualifying purchase earns a $5 off coupon. Plus other bonus coupons, contest entries and targeted offers. Generally not a program I would normally sign up for but it is difficult to earn any kind of reward/points program on voucher or credit card payments for pm ( You can earn Canadian tire money on your credit card on payments to pm if you sign up as a reoccurring utility payment.) Coincidentally my birthday is in a few days so I do get a $5 birthday gift coupon just for signing up so that was a no brainer...in Saskatchewan and Manitoba your prescriptions count towards extra visits as well.

[Korth]

LD is where I plan to buy my payment vouchers now. They have some kind of rewards/points thing, basically get $5 back for every $50 you spend. Kinda like buy 10 get one free. 

Canadian Tire now treats these payment vouchers as "gift cards" - which means they don't accept their stupid Canada Tire "money" when buying them. 

[fanfan]

London Drugs also sells a wide range of new PM vouchers including a $10 one finally.

[darlicious]

@Korth  @AE_Collector  @funpig  @sunflowershine  I agree overall the service at London drugs is much better than Wal-Mart ( not a fan either I like to support Canadian owned retailers.) I was disappointed yesterday when I recommended them and they refused to do a price match because it wasn't from a "major" Canadian retailer that had more than one store. In regards to competition  that should make no difference and they honoured my request by the same store at a different location.  The wording in their price match policy states...a Canadian retailer and/or authorized dealer...with the price in print advertising or online. They don't even make a geographical stipulation which most policies require. I guess they're stingier in the suburbs than they are in town. I of course would argue the point but that's up to the purchaser in this case. But im happy to hear that LD in chilliwack is a great retailer for pm.

[Korth]

Haven't tried PM through Walmart myself, partly because too many people have reported bad experiences, partly because always seems to be big busy lineup at the electronics counter anyhow. Contrast vs guy at LD who was evidently underutilized, bored, and eager, lol. 

[AE_Collector]

One of the PUblic Mobile "bicycle" stores presumably. If in BC is that Metrotown or Richmond Centre...I cant recall now.

I have had several friends go to London Drugs now and I got both of my (and wife's) initial SIM cards there though did it myself at home. I have heard nothing but good things about London Drugs from the referrals that went there and nothing but bad about Walmart on this group so LD it is. of course, yes, it depends somewhat on who you get in the store, not just the stores policy's. I believe that I have set foot in Walmart in Canada once and USA once in my lifetime. Not a fan.

AE_Collector

[Korth]

@funpig

A dedicated PM kiosk in a mall?

[funpig]

I think your experience depends upon the particular salesperson.  When I tried to sign up with PM at London Drugs back in July, the saleslady tried to push me to sign up with Chatr instead.

I found that the best PM service was at a dedicated PM kiosk in a mall.  The salespeople are 100% dedicated to just selling PM, so they cannot steer to you a different provideer.  Also, they are paid hourly, not on commission, so they are not pushy.  Finally, in my experience, they are are well trained and will deal with any website glitches.  For example, when they activated my father's account, the PM website was down.  I just paid for a voucher, took the sim and phone, and left it with them to deal with the activation which took several hours delay.  They called me when my Dad's sim was finally activated. 

[Korth]

Walmart should be listening. 

I get the impression that Walmart vs Public Mobile is a very one-sided arrangement, in practice if not on paper. Where PM has to be selective about how much of a blind eye they keep on their partner's "misunderstandings" about their brand.

[darlicious]

@Korth  Chock another one up for london drugs. I have yet to hear a negative story about london drugs in regards to activating a public mobile account or the purchase of a sim card.  There has been the odd comment about misinformation but all other feedback has been overwhelmingly  positive with many people saying london drugs employees have gone out of their way to help out customers having issues that are solely public mobiles fault or caused by its faulty system. As a retail partner along with wow mobile, the mobility shop and some great independent dealers/small businesses they have facilitated thousands of pm customers to realize there are options in the Canadian cellular market other than the big 3 and can save money on their mobile plans. The training and knowledge of their staff and often exemplary customer service has benefited public mobile enormously and on more than one occasion has saved their a$$ and retained customers  who would have otherwise switched or chosen another provider for their mobile service.

*Wal-Mart you should be listening!!!!!

[Korth]

I'm not too concerned about the referral detail. I can get my PM-happy friend to do her part (if she wants her ten bucks, lol) and I'm sure the PM Mods can retroactively fix things (as they've already done for me so many times before) if her/my Referral code doesn't work automatically (and if I ask nicely, lol) .

Just been seeing a lot of negative retail stories (about <ahem> Walmart) being posted lately. So I thought I'd share a positive one... even though it showcases how little faith my referrals have in my PM-migration skills, lol. 

[sunflowershine]

@Korth There is free wifi at London Drugs. You should be able to go online instead. BTW, you may ask the moderator if you can have the referral reward according to your friend's account. See how does the moderator say.