Long term customer - PRICE HIKE! 😡

[dmsimone]

So I've been with Public for quite some time now, and out of the blue received this email the other day.

What gives?! What's the point of being an early adopter if the "rewards" are just going to be clawed back.

Seriously Public, this is ridiculous.

This is a 50 min a month plan with no data... COME ON!

[ShawnC13]

@dmsimone They will say they have studied the other providers and feel they are priced competitively in the market space.

[softech]

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@dmsimone wrote:

Well, this blew up more than what I was expecting... A lot of you had good points (some decided to just yell) but it all boils down to operating costs. I'd love to hear from a PM employee in the know, with what drove them to the price hike. Especially since there can't be many $10/mo plans in operation...

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@dmsimone  Highly doubt you will hear anything. Even they come out and say anything, it would be the usual stuff.  You won't get a details break down or analysis of why $3 and not $2, or why a increase with just $10 plan and not other plans at the moment

[HALIMACS]

@dmsimone 

Good on you for raising this issue.   I highly doubt you'll hear from any PM employee.   The reason they're doing it is simple; they're trying to push lower priced plan holders to higher priced plans.

That's all.

No one at Public Mobile (or TELUS) will ever say that publicly.

They'll instead position it something (to the effect of), "we're trying to enhance the value for services of our more long-standing customers by providing them with more services at a slightly higher price point".

Ok, now the eyeroll... 🙄

[dmsimone]

Well, this blew up more than what I was expecting... A lot of you had good points (some decided to just yell) but it all boils down to operating costs. I'd love to hear from a PM employee in the know, with what drove them to the price hike. Especially since there can't be many $10/mo plans in operation...

[softech]

Porting is too easy these days.  The Robelus no longer believe this "relationship"  or trust thing.  That's why you see they rather focus on getting new accounts than giving any thing to keep existing customers

[Korth]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

... as long as there was something worth staying for versus not staying, I would not just leave.

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Fair enough. Though broken trust is hard to mend. There's long-lasting (and valid) expectations or suspicions of betrayal in the future. Maybe worth staying. Or maybe not.

Of course, relationships between wireless subscribers and wireless providers aren't deep interpersonal intimacies, lol. It's easy enough to pull away from untrusted wireless options if other wireless options only cost a few more bucks per month.

Public Mobile spends so much trying to build up their brand. Then knocks it back down every few years. I guess it's Telus directives this time around - they didn't even bother to hide their "mobility account" terminology in the email - but that really makes no difference, a betrayer is a betrayer (and might always betray you again) regardless how pretty and friendly you dress it up.

[ShawnC13]

@paprika,so if you have been with PM for 3 plus years that is equal to a couple 2 year contracts with other providers. Would you think your plan would cost the same each time you renew your contract?  On the other hand your  have to remember how much you have saved over those 3 years compared to being with another provider. 

I find to often that consumers feel the seller of a product owe them something.  Are your groceries, vehicles, utilities the same price they were 3 plus years ago?  Costs go up. I paid $195 to fill my truck with gas last week, when I fill it next time I know it is going to be more as there has already been an increase.  

[hTideGnow]

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@paprika wrote:

They had a marketing pamphlet at Loblaws cellphone kiosk desk that showed the "How Low Can You Go"  image. 

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HI @paprika , you know what, with this game, you cannot go too low that you cannot manage, you will fall and loss.  so, PM has to bring it back up or it will fail

[HALIMACS]

You don't need to convince me of anything @Korth 

And to answer your last question, as long as there was something worth staying for versus not staying, I would not just leave.

[softech]

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@paprika wrote:

If Public Mobile is going to increase their price, they should do that to the new customers, NOT to their LOYAL customers. What a terrible treatment!

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Loyal customer @paprika , you already keeping the old Rewards system.  You are getting $2 Autopay discount and at least $3/month (possibly $5)  for loyalty discount, while new customers have no access to such a great plan (unbelievable price) and stuck with the new rewards system which they earn less.

Telus does not owe you anything.    They have a book to balance. 

[softech]

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@Korth wrote:

. But at least you probably got a good run and saved money for a few years, so not a total loss.

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@Korth 

Agree.  Those on $10 already  enjoyed the saving already.  And, they are still on the best plan PM providing today.

I understand no one like price hike, but with that much anger?  Anyone misread the terms and thought PM said $10/month for Life?

Just add for comparison.  Fido had Talk Text plan for $10 , but the price was increased to $12 on Nov 2020.  So, at least we enjoyed almost 1.5 year of service at a better rate than our Fido buddies/puppies

Yes, $3 is a bit steep and PM could have  throw in some freebies (e.g, 2GB free, 500 mins extra, etc) to ease the pain a bit. 

Also, anyone remember they are on Prepaid service and understand what Prepaid is?  Prepaid means there is no contract binding both parties.  So, customers can leave any time but at the same time, the provider can increase price or stop the plan with not much obligation.

And , everyday we see people asking PM to bring us all the new features,  VoLTE, higher speed, more data, eSIM (the list goes on), but all we are willing to pay is the same amount from couple years ago ?  

[paprika]

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[paprika]

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[hTideGnow]

HI @paprika   Can you name us a provider that promise that it will NEVER increase the price or make any change to what is include in the plan?

[Korth]

@HALIMACS 

It's an issue of broken trust. It's happened before, when PM abandoned their Pioneers, when PM blundered through waves of misrepresented Koodo migration offers. Once the brand is stained and tarnished it loses appeal forever. How long would you loyally continue investing into a relationship where your partner has cheated?

[paprika]

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[HALIMACS]

One can, technically, bring their bill down to $0, @paprika 

It's just gonna take a bit longer now that a pricing adjustment may now be on the table. 

[Korth]

Evidently they don't have too many subscribers still hanging onto their $10 legacy plans.

Few enough people that they don't expect to lose much business. Some customers will be disenfranchised, lost, pushed away (forever). Others will pay the new price because it's still cheaper than any other option on the market. The managerials have probably done some math which shows an overall revenue increase (along with an all-important shareholder-pleasing ARPU increase) for Public Mobile and Telus.

"Grandfathered" plans continue to exist at PM's discretion. It's an implied and (up to now) a mutually-beneficial understanding, not a fixed rule. The only obligation PM has is to fulfill the terms of the prepaid 30-day plan cycle. They have no obligation to let customers renew discontinued plans again at the same price.

This is worrying for those of us who rely on long-term Rewards. When will PM decide to change the traditional agreement because our "loyalty" costs too much to maintain? Discontinue our legacy plans? Force us to "opt-in" to their less desirable Points system? (Probably on the same day that many of us angrily delete our accounts and port over to Lucky or Chatr, as a matter of personal pride and principle if nothing else, lol.)

Every business reaches a point where they're willing to liquidate (and burn) their "unprofitable" customers for immediately profitable gains. This business is cut-throat, all about money, not about charity. It's sadly unrealistic for consumers to expect a good deal will last forever. But at least you probably got a good run and saved money for a few years, so not a total loss.

Edit: 😡

[paprika]

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[Anonymous]

 @esjliv : 50 minutes provincial out/unlimited from anywhere in, same texts, 50MB. And of course a texting add-on of 500 international texts for $5 alongside the $5 500 minutes Canada-wide. Make this the $15 plan and everything else up 5 bucks. The $10 plan gets forced into this plan. The texting add-on would give this some attraction. The data would be a nice touch. Having the $5 Canada-wide can allow the 50 minutes out to be provincial.

[esjliv]

@dmsimone  - it is not good to have prices on anything (unless you are on the receiving end of those funds!).

I am sure this is likely due to staying in the market price ranges of their competitors. If they can still keep their customers, without these customers moving onto lower priced plans to other providers, I can see why a business  would make this move.

It would be nice if the sweetened the plan though, wouldn't it? Like, rather than 50 minutes, push it up to 75 or something as such.

[HALIMACS]

Yes, @dmsimone , it would appear that public mobile may be trying to phase out the prior grandfathered plan by pushing the price closer to the $15 plan. 

Just my 2 cents worth. 

[hTideGnow]

Hi @dmsimone ,  I hope you understand you would not be paying this $10 forever.  Who will run this business if they can never change the price

[kaytus]

i totally agree with you.