Pinned Topic/Thread to Track ALL Promos and Plan Changes

[pm-smayer97]

Would it be possible to have PM create a single PINNED Thread that is used to link to any new announcements of Promos and Plan Changes?

What I envisiion is quite simple...

Every time there is a change in plan offerings, promos, etc., a link to the announcement or topic post, no matter where it is posted in the forum, is posted in that tracking thread (not the details themselves).

The benefits would be twofold:

- new promos and/or plan changes are easy to find...they do not get buried as other stuff gets posted.

- users, NEW and old, can subscribe and get notified of these new changes, whether to change existing plans, or add new plans (e.g. we are a growing family with growing needs).

- you CAN SUBSCRIBE to a specific Topic thread but you CANNOT SUBSCRIBE to a Category of threads in this forum (unless you use an RSS feed...but that is too complicated for the average person).

I have tried so many other ways to keep track but I keep missing good promotions because timing is always off...

This would be such a simple thing to do here and it would be most greatly appreciated! It would simply require a PM employee to update it once in a while. After all these do not come out every day, every week, or even every month.  😉

 P.S. I would make this Pinned Topic locked down so no additional replies can be posted. users can reply to the topic at the referenced link...

[pm-smayer97]

@mimmo "...it takes 2 seconds to open a bookmarked page check announcements then go back to checking facebook/ or reading the news etc... "

Again, this is NOT just about effort...this misses the point about TIMING! 

Please, let's not repeat the same arguments...

[nrg_svr]

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@mimmo wrote:

...unless pinned would be lost after a day... it takes 2 seconds to open a bookmarked page check announcements 

I agree, at least on a home computer, it's very easy to create a favourite to the announcements or even just the community landing page where the latest three will be 'featured'.

And for sure, if the topic would not get pinned, there is no point in doing it. As it will get no new subscribers. If PM were willing to pin it, it could be attempted, and see how it turns out.

I brought up another unrelated issue last night with a couple oracles, which would be a topic hijack if I mentioned it here in detail, but in short, it's regarding the 'how to contact' a mod topic... which itself does not actually provide the link in the first post for sending a private message to the moderators team. Instead, you are advised to go searching for an avatar and to make a few other clicks.... (and hopefully get there eventually). A few small fixes to issues like this and other concerns would make the community topics much more useful and less frustrating in general, which would help support brand loyalty.

[pm-smayer97]

"Probably not going to happen. In general carriers don't like to make it easy for existing customers to spend less money/cost more internally hence so many deals being for "new" customers only."

@koimr1 The problem with this thinking is that it misses on the fact that customers have growing needs, so it is not just about changing plans but adding new accounts by EXISTING customers. And since this community tends to be passionate about the PM brand, there is also the word of mouth advertising to be gained ... so there ARE SERVERAL benefits to PM to do so. 

[mimmo]

@nrg_svr I thought of trying something like this for common issues /problems or a s a possible FAQ system.  But in the end realised it would be too much trouble and time, and unless pinned would be lost after a day.   As mentioned using the tools at hand is the simplest solution,  RSS or bookmarking and checking  forums. it takes 2 seconds to open a bookmarked page check announcements then go back to checking facebook/ or reading the news etc... 

[pm-smayer97]

@nrg_svr Thanks for the idea. I actually tried to do exactly that several months back but this community acted like a pack of pirannahs and tore the idea apart...geesh!  

For a forum that is supposed to be supportive, that was the strangest thing I have seen, and I am a moderator in another forum for a large software company. What a difference...

Anyway, I hope a moderator will see this thread and will see the benefit, and for the 'cost' of so very little effort. 

[pm-smayer97]

"...you'll likely not get a response from PM as I don't see where you've tagged them - I've done so for you now so hopefully you get some kind of feedback."

@koimr1 I did not know you could do that. Thanks for doing it for me.

[nrg_svr]

As a compromise, a community member-at-large could create a topic that they post links for new plan offers/promos/announcements in, all it would require is that a MOD 'pin' that topic so that it stays in view - otherwise who would ever see it and subscribe to it after the first week goes by.

The only downside to this is that if the topic is not locked, it would be open for people to reply within, and/or dredge up as they sometimes do and ask for support on a related or unrelated issue, etc.... And if it's locked, a community member couldn't likely update it. (without PM staff setting up all kinds of permissions and editing serttings, etc...)

Someone could create the topic and in the opening post, explain how they envision it working, and ask that people NOT reply to the topic, but that if they have questions about the individual offers/announcements, reply in the specific topic for that offer...

Could try it and if it looks like it might work after a week, ask someone to please PIN the topic. PM wouldn't have to do much beyond that. Let the community run it.

I could volunteer to set this topic up if there's no other takers. I've run forums elsewhere before and I have some experience setting up these kind of 'work-arounds'.

[koimr1]

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@pm-smayer97 wrote:

"...or anything that posts about Public Mobile then subscribe to that."

@chandlerparsons  I'm not looking to get all the chatter around PM. So thanks for your feedback but you clearly do not understand what I am suggesting as a solution, so your reply does not contribute to addressing it. Thanks anyway.

I'll wait to hear back from a PM employee.

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Probably not going to happen. In general carriers don't like to make it easy for existing customers to spend less money/cost more internally hence so many deals being for "new" customers only.

Also, you'll likely not get a response from PM as I don't see where you've tagged them - I've done so for you now so hopefully you get some kind of feedback.

[mimmo]

@pm-smayer97   i completly understand what you are asking, It would just require PM to post the announcement and then post a link in a thread, (which you subscribed to)  so you receive notifications in email.   easy peasy.

Unfortunalty no one in the forum,  other than employees, has the ability to do anything about it.  We all make do with workarounds, as suggested above.  You could post your request in this thread https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Community-Technical-Issues/td-p/214529/ju... or message brooke  or david_j, but not sure if anything will come from either  of those routes.

[Luddite]

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@pm-smayer97 wrote:

"...or anything that posts about Public Mobile then subscribe to that."

I'll wait to hear back from a PM employee.

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It will be a long wait to hear back. Don't count on it. You may want to add your idea here: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Sign-up-by-April-26-Improving-our-custo...

[pm-smayer97]

"...or anything that posts about Public Mobile then subscribe to that."

@chandlerparsons  I'm not looking to get all the chatter around PM. So thanks for your feedback but you clearly do not understand what I am suggesting as a solution, so your reply does not contribute to addressing it. Thanks anyway.

I'll wait to hear back from a PM employee.

[chandlerparsons]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@wetcoaster wrote:

f you want to keep track of the announcements but don't like RSS then make a habit of checking in once a week?

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FYI if anyone does want to use an RSS reader to watch for new threas in the Announcements posts, I've got a how-to posting on how to get started doing so:  https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Brief-Guide-How-to-subscribe-to-a-communi...

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Here. This is the easiest solution to your "problem" @pm-smayer97

[pm-smayer97]

@srlawren  "I also don't think it saves you much effort,"

Actually it DOES save a lot of effort... because by implementing this, users no longer have to worry about EVER missing an opportunity once they subscribe.

Many of you spend a lot of time in this forum (I see the many posts) but many of us do not. It is all about time AND timing...

[pm-smayer97]

Why are you folks so intent on arguing against this suggestion? There literally is VERY LITTLE EFFORT on the part of a PM staffer to do what I am asking.

This would benefit EVERYONE! All anyone would need to do so is subscribe to the pinnned post. What is so complicated or hard to understand?

I am not asking any of you do to this. I would actually prefer to get a response from a PM staffer.

[pm-smayer97]

@Korth  Thanks for the feedback but again I am not asking for anyone to sent text messages, e-mails, or PMs. This is simply making use of features already built into this forum WITH NO SPECIAL EFFORT.

[srlawren]

@pm-smayer97 with all due respect, if you don't have time to visit the community, how would a pinned thread help?  It's not really any different checking a specific thread than it is looking for new (bold) posts in the Announcements area.  I get your point that this is a low effort for PM to do should they decide to, but I also don't think it saves you much effort, if any.  Instead of bookmarking "the thread", just bookmark the Announcements page and check it every few days.  It takes well under a minute to click the bookmarked link and look for new topics in Announcements that might interest you.  I'm pretty sure you can find 60 seconds.  You can do it from your phone, from a computer, from a tablet, anything with a browser.  

[pm-smayer97]

@webcoaster Thanks for the feedback BUT the big issue is of timing and time. Not all of us have time to spend checking the forum for an annoucement...Of course the biggest issue is timing because you never know when a plan change or promo will come out, so you can check weekly but some promos only last a few days. There are many other situations.

Again, I am not asking anything really special. This is a VERY SIMPLE set-up that does not require any significant effort AND it uses the built-in feature of this forum WITHOUT special configuration or anything... so still remains NO FRILLS!

[srlawren]

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@wetcoaster wrote:

f you want to keep track of the announcements but don't like RSS then make a habit of checking in once a week?

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FYI if anyone does want to use an RSS reader to watch for new threas in the Announcements posts, I've got a how-to posting on how to get started doing so:  https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Brief-Guide-How-to-subscribe-to-a-communi...

[pm-smayer97]

Thanks for the reply but like I said, this is not practical and not 100%. What I am proposing is a VERY SMALL change to what PM does...

They already post announcements and such about plan changes and promos in the forum. All I am suggesting is that they have a pinned topic where they then simply post a link to that new post, so that customers can subscribe to that pinned thread and get notified via e-mail. 

This is NOT a big thing to implement. Just requires buy-in by PM.

[Korth]

You've just gotta check in every now and then, PM doesn't seem to be in the habit of sending texts, private messages, or emails.  In the past, PM customers selected for certain offers (like Koodo migration plans) have received text messages and relevant promo codes, while those who did not qualify (because they had the "wrong" PM plan or region or whatever other reason) did not receive these texts.

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/plans

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/bd-p/Announcements

You'll also find that good PM plans/deals tend to be actively discussed in the PM Community (and even at other sites like RFD or reddit) while they're available.

[wetcoaster]

All official statements from Public Mobile are in the announcement section. They don't get buried in other posts. Once you are on the community landing page, they are very prominently placed, you don't have to go through any other posts to see them.

While more customizable tracking options would be nice I don't see it happening. This is a no-frills self-serve provider. If you want to keep track of the announcements but don't like RSS then make a habit of checking in once a week?