Seller listed on Public Mobile website told me they didn't sell Public Mobile

[BB2020]

Today I bought a new phone (Pixel 4a!) and was pretty disappointed today trying to get set up with Public Mobile. I went to the Wow Mobile kiosk at Metrotown (by the Indigo), literally because I saw posts on this forum telling me that they were great. However, when I asked for a Public Mobile SIM Card, the salesman told me "Sorry, we only do phones on contract here". Thankfully I did get a SIM eventually from my local cell repair shop, but just know that that specific kiosk seems to be done selling Public Mobile, even though they're still on the Public Mobile website.

[darlicious]

@Leaving 

Which site? Pm? Fine here...

[Leaving]

The website is down and no one is even talking about it. 

[darlicious]

@teserkjn 

That is unfortunate that some retailers refuse to sell sim cards without an activation. Some will say they only need a replacement sim card for an active account and the retailer will relent. As I advised earlier in this thread I would write a review of each location that refused you service so pm is informed of which retail partners are not living up to the expectations of customers. The only way pm can can correct these kind of issues and improve the retail experience is if we tell them.  

[Bovine]

You can go to Londondrug, Walmart or PC mobile at superstore. There is currently a 10$ gift card and free sim card in Londondrug until Jan 1.

[HALIMACS]

That is frustrating, @teserkjn 

I wonder if these locations actually have SIM cards, but only supply them if they do the activation?  (as opposed to just selling them separately for folks who want to do it themselves...)

What are the retailers you're referring to, if you don't mind listing them?

[teserkjn]

I had the exact same thing today. I am ticked. I drove to *4* different retailers who all told me the same thing. How stupid to say you sell sim cards when you don't actually sell sim cards. Going to be going with a different provider now because I'm not impressed.

[darlicious]

@SomeFriend 

My experiences with activations at london drugs have been great ( except the time i caused the whole computer system to crash....lol) they have even let me behind the counter ( pre-pandemic) to enter the sensitive details of the account. And they still price match unlike walmart!

[dude65]

If you can follow instructions, you can set up the sim card from your own home yourself. The instructions are here on the community. If you run into trouble, you can always ask here in the community.

[softech]

I went to Walmart, they will give out the SIM for free and they will assist activation... 

[SomeFriend]

An additional thing to point out is that Metropolis at Metrotown has a Public Mobile booth that’s ran by PM themselves. It’s on the third floor, just slightly right of the escalator up to the Cineplex (I’d say around where the Freshslice Pizza is).  They would definitely sell you a SIM card (with or without activation, completely up to you).

That said, I’ve had multiple lines activated at my local London Drugs (with the free SIM and credit promos) and I had zero complaints with my experience.  

No hassle, just turn over personal info, referral code, plan I want, and a credit card to pay with and it gets activated with a couple minutes!

[darlicious]

@BB2020 

Thats unfortunate that you had an unpleasant retail experience. It is not necessary to contact a moderator you can review the retail location by clicking on the store locator at the bottom of the page. Locate the retailer on the map or the geographical area and click on the list view at the top right corner of the map. Find the store on the list and click on review at the bottom right of the listing. Public Mobile periodically reviews the "reviews". If it was an exceptionally bad experience then messaging one of the pm managers such as Catherine_T would be as effective if not more so than contacting a moderator although it is still an option.

If you are a frequent customer of london drugs are you a LD Extras member? If not you should consider it. You can purchase pm vouchers from the electronics department from $10 - $100. The LDX program allows you to earn a "visit" every time you spend a min. $10 once per day per store. 10 visits will earn you a $5 coupon/voucher redeemable towards your purchase of just about anything in store including pm vouchers it will also count that same voucher purchase as a visit. By purchasing the minimum spend of $10 and $10 pm vouchers they can quickly add up + you get a free $5 coupon on your birthday along with many other perks that go with the LDX program. You can still earn the $2 autopay reward with a card registered and pay with vouchers.

Welcome to public mobile....and to the community! We're always happy to help.

[BasesLoadedWalk]

The best retail location to buy Public Mobile SIM cards in my experience is London Drugs. They never seem to hassle anyone for buying just a SIM card, and they also usually offer the best perks for signing up around. Second to that, The Mobile Shop at Loblaws and Superstore seem to be decent as well.

[AE_Collector]

Not sure about phones though I bet they do. But they do sell Public Mobile SIM cards and do activations.

AE_Collector

[BB2020]

It looked pretty packed at the stores that I passed by (especially Sportchek) but distancing was a thing, so every line looked around 2x longer than it would have without COVID.

Darn I live near a London Drugs! I didn't even know that they sold phones, I mostly there go for snacks and school supplies

[AE_Collector]

Ah okay got it. I don’t think there is as much in it for them activating on Public Mobile and no cut from the phone. Probably just lazy. Was it busy out there today? I’m just in Coquitlam. For others....these stores are in Burnaby BC.

Hate to say it now but you should have gone to London Drugs. Free SIM card not related to purchasing phone from them plus they activate SIM for you and a free $10 credit voucher on top of the $10 credit for using a referral code.

AE_Collector

[BB2020]

@AE_Collector 

I got the phone at Best Buy Station Square (also a bad experience), it was my plan to walk over to this booth to get the SIM then do the activation at home. Even though they don't sell phones outright (or at least. they don't seem like they do) they literally had the new Public Mobile logo on their kiosk (Chatr too) so that can't be the reason why they didn't serve me.

[AE_Collector]

@BB2020 

The way I read your description is that they don’t sell phones outright, only as part of contracts with new cell plans which Public Mobile doesn’t offer. Is that not the case? Where did you end up buying the phone?

[NDesai]

@BB2020 My guess is that REP is probably not aware of PM being offered at Wow mobile or just trying to deal with contacts only for a bit of commission? You can report that store to Moderator team by sending them a private message so they can follow up. If you are ever near that store again and different reps or manager are working, try asking about PM and see if they also deny it. 

[HALIMACS · Accepted solution]

@BB2020 

Glad you were able to get things sorted out.

You may wish to advise moderator staff of this in the event they have a feedback loop through to PM staff who deal with retail locations. 

To contact a moderator, there are 2 methods:

1. Use the ticketing system for a faster response time. Click on the chat bubble in the lower right and type moderator assistance, then select account-related issue, then select you need a human now.  Follow the prompts to submit a ticket,  or, 
2. Send a private message to the moderator by clicking here

Watch for their response in your Community private mailbox which will be indicated by a number on the small envelope icon to the left of your Community avatar.