Walmart Halifax, NS

[Fenix]

The other day I asked my brother to pick me up 2 sim cards at the Walmart he was at, it would've saved me time from walking or catching the bus since he was already there. Well, was I surprised to get a call from him only to find out the Walmart clerk insisted it be activated with a plan right there on the spot and there was no other way. Well, lets just say he is lucky I was not there to tell him exactly what PM is all about and how he was 100% wrong.

Anyways long story short, because of Walmart employee's ignorance about Public Mobile I had to catch a bus to the local mall and hit up a WOW Boutique. It was easy enough, I asked for two PM sim cards and they asked if I want to activate them there, I said no I plan on doing it at a later time when I figure out which plan I want. She sort of hesitated, she was unsure of how I would do such a thing I believe. She actually took the time to check out the website and was kind enough to mention that in order to activate online I required a credit card or payment voucher.

So for those in Halifax NS, I would avoid any Walmart and just go straight to your nearest WOW. As for Walmart, I believe Public Mobile should provide a handy leaflet to let them know whats up, make sure they understand what self-serve means.

[Jdeboer87]

@Fenix Ahhh so you must have had one of those sales people affected by that weird thing, I think they call it greed, (although from what I hear Walmart doesn't pay all that well) guess I am lucky that the people at my Wal-mart actually want to help people. Did you end up getting everything all hooked up easily, its usually quite easy.

[Fenix]

@Jdeboer87I would believe that if they did not insist on activation when it's clear the customer knows exactly what they want. There have been one too many stories where someone was simply going in to buy sim cards to activate at home and have been told they can't do such a thing. I also understand each scenario is unique but it seems to be alot of the same experiences when dealing with Walmart. No matter, I get it but it would be nice if the Walmart staff would simply let customers do things they way they want to do it.

@StormyI'd believe that because the girl at the WOW I was at, seemed hesitant to sell them alone, but they also understand that customers can do what they want lol

[Jdeboer87]

I absolutely understand what you mean about this, and I ended up asking more questions to the wireless staff, and essentially the reason they tend to hesitate selling the sim cards out without activating them is they want to ensure that you are getting set up correctly, and if you have issues after setting it up, they have no one to contact either, except the online forums/ (however there is a line that they can call as they are doing the activation so if any issues arise they can make sure that they are fixed before you leave)So instead of having a couple unhappy customers trying to get refunds on things like SIM cards that are not refundable. They want to ensure you really are comfortable going and doing everything online.

[Stormy]

A whole $5 if the guy at the last WOW mobile I went to was telling the truth.

[will13am]

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@MoreYummy wrote:

Many retailer staffs are not trained.   Especially walmart, those wireless boutique sometimes know more, maybe less things to do, just wireless.

Perhaps well trained and driven by a profit motive, aka commission.

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[Fenix]

I never realized this was a Q&A forum topic, @will13am I assumed this was a discussion topic but I am aware of the issues people have with Walmart thanks for your input. Anyways, I wanted to share my experience as I have noticed a few others have as well, and the more they're exposed the better.
@mimmoI'll be sure to let Mary know the store information so these guys can get caught up with Public Mobile, as I woud like to be able to buy vouchers and extra sims at Walmart when I need to but why bother when they insist on something that is simply not true.

Thanks everyone for chiming in, it's nice to see such a freindly and pssionate community built around PM.

[mimmo]

@Fenix send some of the store details to @Mary_M as she is the mod that has tried collecting info on the Walmart stores.

[MoreYummy]

Many retailer staffs are not trained.   Especially walmart, those wireless boutique sometimes know more, maybe less things to do, just wireless.

[will13am]

@Fenix, this issue has been brought up.  We have been informed that we do have the option of activating through the store or doing it ourselves.  I don't understand why the information is not flowing to the retail partners.