WoW Mobile Boutique in Saint John, New Brunswick

[alanbrenan]

Hi!

I'm a new customer with Public Mobile, and besides telling all of my friends, family and the neighbors cat about how amazing the savings are with PM's plans, I thought I'd take a moment to comment on getting my SIM card!

I purchased my SIM card from the WoW Boutique in McAllister Mall, Saint John NB and noticed, first and foremost, this store was not listed as a retailer on this site. Upon calling them to verify, they initially said they didn't have any. They found one, blew the dust off and said they did.

When I went in to purchase it, they knew very little about Public Mobile and I found myself explaining the company to the two people in the kiosk. They had said earlier that day on the phone with me that they would make sure to research PM so they could answer questions. They sold me the SIM card and ultimately offered me no support in setting up a plan, installing the SIM card and more or less told me I was on my own.

Overall, I feel like Public Mobile is way too underrated for the incredible savings that's offered, and retailers should be more knowledgeable about this company. I, for one, know that I am going to be spreading the word around my community. My co-workers think that I earn a commission the way I talk PM up!

[marsbar]

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@alanbrenan wrote:

The big name providers in my city offer plans that are almost DOUBLE PM's plans. I am on the $150/90 promotion and was previously on a $100/mo plan with Rogers. This means I am saving $50/mo! It's mind-blowing!

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I decided to not change my budgeting spreadsheet when switching from Wind Mobile (no longer exists even though it has been rebranded as Freedom Mobile, the transparency and honesty of the previous mgmt is now a thing of history as since Shaw took over they've been shady AF) to Public Mobile. Because of that, I was able to save up enough to buy a top-of-the-line phone from Sony, unlocked via Amazon Prime, from primarily the savings given from the lower cell phone plan. So amazing. Hoping to use the savings from 2018 towards a trip to England in 2019.

[Michael77]

@alanbrenan,

Welcome to PM. I hope you enjoy the great network. 🙂

[mimmo]

@ShawnC13  I dont think i was bashing them, From what i remember (wish i had taken a pic) they were still showing a 4gb/motnh LTE plans which have not been available for a while, and thier other PM plans seemed more costly than on the website. 

No idea how/when  WOW updates their kiosk touchscreens,  they may not have updated their plan, or maybe PM did not inform them on the plan changes.    The point being if someone is at the kiosk and is curious,  touches PM and sees the wrong plan  or higher plan costs will automatically dismiss PM as a valid option. 

.  

[alanbrenan]

With @will13am's input, I believe I understand why the community is so strong here. We all found Public Mobile pretty well on our own, with little to no advertising. (Besides those who were referred by happy customers!) We're all people who did our own research and didn't follow the trend of buying into overpriced carrier plans.

I only just got a "recommended for you" post on Facebook about Public after signing up for it and talking to all of my friends about it on Messenger!

[will13am]

WoW, so much discussion already!  I think there's an element of YMMV with kiosks that sell multiple brands of carrier products.  Knowledge is probably driven by training, local demand patterns and various other factors.  At my local WoW mobile, they do offer to help activate the SIM at the store on their computer if the customer needs that level of service.  

With regards to advertising, it's a bit of a double edged sword for the customer.  Marketing is built into product price.  I equate advertising as paid tuition for the seller to tell the buyer what they should buy.  The ideal situation is where the buyer figures most that out on their own.  This is pretty much how public mobile operates.

[ShawnC13]

@mimmo, FWIW and in a little defence of WOW's in correct pricing listing.  Our own Plan page has had many issues in the past with showing incorrect pricing for plans.  hard to jump on a retailer when the system itself isn't 100% accurate

[alanbrenan]

Hello, @mimmo!

Ultimately I understand the business logistics of it, I just thought I might share my retail experience here and see if it's rather commonplace. I see now that it is and it's all about the money these retailers (don't) receive that stops Public Mobile from being, well, more Public!

We've got our small, under-the-radar community and that sounds like my kind of place. I'm loving the atmosphere and I can't wait to be a diligent customer and keep an active presence within this community.

I definitely don't think it's right that PM is being misrepresented in touch + compare screens. People deserve to know the true savings if they are to inquire with a comparing screen. To not broadcast PM/Chatr is one thing, but to miscommunicate its' plan pricings? Yikes!

I do hope that there are more people like that who will broadcast great savings, and support the "underdog"!

[mimmo]

@alanbrenan welcome to PM.  I agree with @ShawnC13 there is no reason for employees to support PM because they make no money off PM.

Last week when I went into a wow mobile kiosk, not only were the plans displayed wrong in their computer screen (the ones customers could touch and compare) but they avoided mentioning pm and chatr as possible options at all.

Some Wow however have helped people activate sim cards and I think there were a couple reps posting on behalf of their clients.

[alanbrenan]

@ShawnC13

I suppose you're right in that! I know I personally never turned down the chance to save people money when I worked for an ISP's billing department. That being said, I also made a lot of sales.

Thanks again for your input and conversation, much appreciated!

[ShawnC13]

@alanbrenan, when you are dealing with someone who is probably working for around minimum wage do you think they would consider saving you money or making a bit more themselves?

I do agree with you that PM is great and a HUGE supporter of it but I also understand why it isn't getting the knowledgeable retail support at the locations that are selling SIMS

[alanbrenan]

@ShawnC13

Oh, I understand that PM wouldn't bribe retailers to promote their product, but far be it from those employees to share what is likely their most affordable option.

I also only received the warning about no customer service and I corrected them to say that they do offer community-based customer service that completely embarrasses call centers in how personal and down to earth it is. I took time to read through reviews and community threads to see this for myself and within my first post in this community, I'm met with that same resplendent welcome I read in other posts.

[ShawnC13]

@alanbrenan, I don't think there really is any incentive for employees in these places to learn more about PM.  My buddy used to do commercial accounts for a wireless provider and would get a percentage of new accounts and then a monthly amount as long as they were customers.  I don't see PM doing this to staff at these locations.  I purchased a SIM from Walmart and was warned about no customer service complete online process but she could help me set up a Chatr account.  HMMMMM think this sales person would get a bit of money from Chatr for everyone they sign up?

[alanbrenan]

Thanks for the speedy reply, @ShawnC13!

I'm aware of the $1/mo referral credit and I'm very happy to hear that PM has these rewards available. It really shows that they're willing to take that extra step and incentivize spreading the word and getting people away from money-hungry mobile carriers and on to a plan that works.

As much as I understand there isn't much they can do due to the way that PM is set up, it would be great if their retailers were a little more knowledgeable. I mean I've only started with Public Mobile three days ago and I already know enough about the company, its' plans and benefits that I can proactively "sell" it to anyone I'm talking to.

The big name providers in my city offer plans that are almost DOUBLE PM's plans. I am on the $150/90 promotion and was previously on a $100/mo plan with Rogers. This means I am saving $50/mo! It's mind-blowing!

[ShawnC13 · Accepted solution]

@alanbrenan, welcome to PM!!  Your co-workers are correct well it isn't a commission but you can earn $1 a month referral credit for everyone you sign up with PM.  As for knowledge of PM when buying SIMS from places you are correct they don't know about PM and aren't able to offer support.  There really isn't anything they can do to help you out if you have a problem.  They won't ahve pamphlets in their stores with plans and pricing.  Again welcome to PM and enjoy the savings