Why does the activation process suck so bad?

[rhtreid]

I have been trying for hours to activate a new SIM card and every time I get to the number selection page the process freezes and I have to start over again which means waiting an hour for the system to release the SIM.

This is by far the worst system I have ever used and I am already considering returning the card to the store for a refund.

Secondly under payment options Visa Debit is listed under acceptable forms of payment and yet I bank with TD and my Visa Debit is not an acceptable form of payment???

[Korth]

Public Mobile is a Telus brand.  Running Telus software.

And Telus software always sucks.  Their websites are boring and clunky and cantankerous.  Their Optik programming (at least on their Cisco boxes) is sloppy and old fashioned and full of paranoid lockouts.  Their end-user softwares (iOS and Android apps, PC and Mac setups) are bloaty, useless, and (I find) they don't in fact do anything useful at all.  Telus Mobility suffers all the same software-side issues as Public Mobile, Telus customers are just less aware of it because they're able to interact directly with Telus reps who resolve their issues.  Koodo is probably just as bad, though I'm speculating.

I expect Public Mobile's back-end webservers are an ad-hoc kludge which was poorly implemented at the outset and has only grown worse over time (even though many people have since improved their own small parts of it) - the only true fix for all the known bugs would be a complete bottom-up overhaul from scratch, an extensive and not inexpensive project, and one which would likely introduce bugs, flaws, and teething pains of its own.

[will13am]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@will13am wrote:

...Somehow they just can't squash the software bugs... 

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@will13am out of curiosity, do you think it's really "can't"?  Or perhaps "won't"?  "Don't care to"?  "Not in any sort of rush at all to"?  "Have an extemely limited operating budget and haven't yet committed the resources to"?  

"I'm not making excuses for" but rather just having fun with semantics.

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To me, won't = don't care to = not in any sort of rush at all to.  I would hate to think that there is such a level of indifference.  With the glass is half full thinking, I want to believe can't at the moment.  A good example is password reset.  There have been mention of attempts made to fix the problem and even success declared only to be proven wrong. 

[Someone_here]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@will13am wrote:

...Somehow they just can't squash the software bugs... 

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@will13am out of curiosity, do you think it's really "can't"?  Or perhaps "won't"?  "Don't care to"?  "Not in any sort of rush at all to"?  "Have an extemely limited operating budget and haven't yet committed the resources to"? 

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How about "all of the above"? 😉

But more seriously, I would go with budget... It's probably an old system, and making changes would require lot of testing, and probably could result in domino effect and break others things... Well, I assume so.

It's low cost and Telus won't invest much, so in the end they "can't" 😉

[srlawren]

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@will13am wrote:

...Somehow they just can't squash the software bugs... 

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@will13am out of curiosity, do you think it's really "can't"?  Or perhaps "won't"?  "Don't care to"?  "Not in any sort of rush at all to"?  "Have an extemely limited operating budget and haven't yet committed the resources to"?  

"I'm not making excuses for" but rather just having fun with semantics.

[Someone_here]

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@will13am wrote:

  The only good thing is that once up and running, access to the self service is not required that much or almost not at all. 

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And even if you do need access after that, there isn't much bugs at that point. Except maybe adding a credit card for some people with apartment in their addresses...

[LEGO]

@stonechucker and @Luddite Maybe we should add to the list of categories “English as a Second Language (ESL)” now??? 

[stonechucker]

@LEGO: perhaps ‘swap’ is the word you were looking for.

[will13am]

The programming on the self serve is definitely one of the unflattering attributes with this service.  It is not like Public Mobile is not aware of the problems.  Somehow they just can't squash the software bugs.  The only good thing is that once up and running, access to the self service is not required that much or almost not at all. 

[LEGO]

@Luddite Not working right now, so why not help others when I can. 
Thanks for suggestion!

[Luddite]

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@LEGO wrote:

Luddite English is my second language.  I am using word “swipe” as “change”. Please, correct me if I am wrong!

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For that meaning "Change" is better. 

You've been busy. Hope you are enjoying participating. 

[LEGO]

@Luddite English is my second language.  I am using word “swipe” as “change”. Please, correct me if I am wrong!

[Luddite]

@LEGO Hi: I've been wondering, what do you mean by "Swipe SIM cards" ?

[LEGO]

There have been past issues with using Visa Debit. I am not sure whether the issue has been resolved. 
Try to clear browser's cache, use private / incognito mode, turn off ad blockers.

If you get through the Activation process, then note, that it’s always better to continue using your old mobile carrier until it stop working, then you know that porting has completed. Swipe SIM cards and enjoy your new service!