Customer service

[Deano53]

Another thing I find really odd about this company is when we go to sign up for instance at London drugs or wherever they have access to a live person ( no problem ) as soon as we sign up ( big problem ) All of a sudden customer service for us is not available. But what’s really interesting is when I need to get an issue resolved I reach out to London drugs or wherever we sign up and they have access to a live person . Anyone else sees what’s wrong with this picture? 

[Namu]

A very informative thread.  I earned my first community reward just by asking a few questions about how my new service works and replying to some threads that piqued my interest 

[darlicious]

@LeePublic @Yummy 

Lol....you two are too kind! Thank you.

[LeePublic]

@darlicious You should work at WhistleOut Canada based on your extensive knowledge!

[Yummy]

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@darlicious wrote:

@Yummy 

If you want referrals you have to start your "headhunt" now....the holiday season is

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WOW! I think you should start some kind of 'mobile deals' consulting company!

So many great advises. THANKS!

[darlicious]

@Yummy 

If you want referrals you have to start your "headhunt" now....the holiday season is when pm offers its best promotions of the year. It's usually a free month credit and a 5gb bonus data add on that are often stackable so they can be combined with other promotions like the deals and activation bundles offered by CCS or London Drugs sometimes offers a $10 or $20 account credit. Then combine these with hopefully the third annual "more the merrier" campaign of free data and minute add ons and you can get promotions with a value of $200+.

Despite the terms and conditions of most promotions bonus data add ons almost always stay when downgrading a plan so even customers intending on only needing the $15 plan can reap the benefits of these promotions as long as they are willing to activate with a larger data plan for the first month and change to $15 plan on the second month. The credits received will then pay for their plan for several more months. This is the up selling you start with in order to plant the seed to switch providers.

So begin your recruitment drive now by.....

1. Identify customers that are low data users or would be good with the $40/5gb plans and under as these plans generally offer  better value than other providers.
2. Look for people who own their device, flip phone users, those who are near the end of their contract (4 months or less remaining) and are not into the latest and greatest as these people will be under contract for the rest of their lives and anyone who complains about the high cost of their bill or their provider is ripping them off!
3. Lower income or those without good credit so that you can also offer to get them the autopay reward by adding a credit gift card to their accounts.(Just pm me if you need a card number.)
4. Find out what people pay for their plan and what it includes so you can suggest the appropriate or equivalent pm plan and the cost savings.
5. Ask interested parties their plans renewal date so you can follow up a week before that date with the current promotions, terms they may need to follow like entering their email address, remind them to get their current account details like account #, order a CCS activation bundle if applicable (minimum 5 days if not more at that time of year) and ask for their email address if possible so you can sign them up for deal alerts and/or register their email for flash sales.
6. Create some extra email addresses that you can register for flash sales, promos and deal alerts. This way you can always offer a current promotion even if the registration for it has ended.
7. Order a few extra sim cards from CCS and even and activation bundle ($50 plan is usually the best) especially if it's an extra good deal from them. Normally you can order an activation bundle from CCS during their flash sale and get it shipped unactivated. The promotion stays valid until activation so in the worse case scenario you can sit on that bundle for months if needed and recover some of that cost by charging for the sim card or full first month plan cost.
8. Cover both the positives and negatives of public mobile but be able to offer solutions or work arounds for any concerns and be willing to mentor them thru their first month with public mobile from getting them started on the community, setting up their self serve account and navigating the pm site etc...or offer account management for those unable to do it themselves.

Having these things in place means you will be ready willing and able to help referrals when they are ready to switch, assure them of any concerns and help them if they do encounter a problem. Many people are genuinely scared to leave their "no think just pay thru their nose" provider but once you assauge their fears and give them the tools to manage their account and service love the self empowerment they achieve, the knowledge they gain and the savings in their wallets.

[softech]

Honest, I came PM for the good price plan.  Don't need the huge data so those $50+ plans elsewhere not for me.

Then I found the Community.  I thought I know a lot with phones stuff before actively participated here.. then I found out I know so little but learned a lot here since

So, it's fun to stay here to learn the technology and tricks here .. and PM "paid" me to learn.. what's better than this.  🙂

[Deano53]

True

[Yummy]

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@darlicious wrote:

@Yummy 

More importantly and one of the main reasons I joined was I wanted a $0 bill and that is best achieved through referrals..

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Considering lowest plan - $15 it IS realistic to pay $0. $2 - autopay, $5 years loyalty, $1-$2 - Community and 6-7 referrals. But not everybody can persuade 6-7 people who already have mobile service to switch to company with no live support. Plus all those 6-7 people should not know each other otherwise they would like $1 off their bills for referrals.

[darlicious]

@Yummy 

More importantly and one of the main reasons I joined was I wanted a $0 bill and that is best achieved through referrals. I have found that on average the easiest referrals once convinced to switch for a lower cost bill are also people who don't use a lot of data nor do the use the internet or computers in general which means you either have to help them learn or do it for them. 

And really I was that person and luckily I am a quick learner so after decades of computer resistance I finally took the plunge and learned all things public mobile. Other than a couple of Americans that I referred for a month and a couple of ghost referrals I haven't lost a single referral.But I had to come to the community to do that so a community reward is a nice bonus as you learn and then help.

[Yummy]

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@BlueB wrote:

Unofficially, @darlicious tracks our progress every month and generally has some good insight on how our contributions, solutions, and bravos builds up into the ranking.  For me, it's fun just to learn a little and help a little in the community!  🙂

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I guess very few people here are for rewards or ranking.

For me, most important is to learn more how to handle issues with PM so I do not bother Community or CSA and to learn about phones.

[BlueB]

@Deano53 

Just to add a little more to this - most people visit on occasion to help out to aim for that $1-2 off every month and that seems to be the "sweet spot" for most people because otherwise it's just not worth the "pay."  🙂

Unofficially, @darlicious tracks our progress every month and generally has some good insight on how our contributions, solutions, and bravos builds up into the ranking.  For me, it's fun just to learn a little and help a little in the community!  🙂

[Deano53]

Very wise words of advice 😊 thank you. 🙏

[Dunkman]

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@Deano53 wrote:

Thanks so much, it isn’t the reason I joined though, but in saying that , can u fill me in on how to earn these credits on our monthly bill? 

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@Deano53 

Here is the help article on rewards:

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/reward-rules

The exact formula for community rewards is not known to the community.  Combination of bravoes, solutions and posts in a given month.  

It is easier to earn the lower amounts per month. It takes a lot of time to earn the higher levels. As we joke on the community forum, you can likely earn more money collecting bottles and cans on the street then spending time here. Earning $20 is not reachable for most people, except for oracles (invite only). $15/month likely need to spend at least 2-3 hours everyday. Less than minimum wage if you average it out. 

If you like to help out and enjoy online community, then go for it. If you are trying to earn money via community rewards, it is not worth the time.

[Deano53]

Thanks so much, it isn’t the reason I joined though, but in saying that , can u fill me in on how to earn these credits on our monthly bill? 

[BlueB]

@Deano53 

It's great to have you here!!  🙂  If you continue to be active, you can earn some $ credit towards your monthly service too... double-bonus! 

[Deano53]

I just want to finish up today ( I have lots of other stuff I have to get done) by saying this has to be one of the best decisions I’ve made to join this community ( no kidding) the response and help here is amazing (bravo to you all) if businesses acted like this we wouldn’t have the problems we are experiencing when dealing with them! Hope you all have a awesome day and thanks again I truly appreciate it 👍😊

[darlicious]

@softech 

At London Drugs you put your credit card in the terminal like any other card transaction but it is charged to your card as PUBLIC MOBILE. However you are then given a printed reciept of your activation details and payment along with a reciept from the credit card terminal. 

Yes it is set up to immediately remit the payment to pm. But the transaction has gone thru the retailers card payment system and their own payment system/register. It is simple to issue a refund to the customer. It's just more work for them to get their refund. Every retailer can do this. Not every retailer prides themselves on the customer service they offer.....that is the difference and the customer knowing when and where and with whom to demand satisfactory service from...

Even CCS will issue a prompt refund because the owner prides himself on satisfying every single one of his customers. It's pride of workmanship and for some its more important than the almighty dollar. A small businessman or a large retailer can chose to be out of pocket for "3 to 5" business days in order to have a happy customer who will be a repeat customer.

[Deano53]

Wow had no idea , thanks for that 

[softech]

@darlicious  curious , how London Drug activates?  did they actually "tap" the credit card ? or you will see a charge as London Drug instead of PM on the credit card?    

(haha.. we have London in Ontario but no London Drug here .. not even in London, Ontario 🙂 )

Definitely it didn't work the same way as Walmart Mobile, as far as I see, they are just middle person in terms of activation, no money going through Walmart at all and hence no refund

[darlicious]

@softech 

I know for a fact London Drugs will issue a refund at the source. They also have a customer service satisfaction guarantee. You just have to talk to a manager and ask/demand that they uphold their own policy. Then they can deal with the headache of getting a refund from public mobile.

[softech]

@darlicious 

physical card presenting at the spot might not apply in this situation

Technically the mobile shop did not take the credit card, they just submit the credit card number in the portal like we did ourselves at home (of course it is a slightly different portal, a portal that will give the retail commission !!) 

So, at the end of the day, it was still PM taking the money "online" and hence the retail was unable to refund on the spot.    In my friend's case, the mobile agent did try to call another backdoor number to PM, confirmed the the money was charged twice and 2 accounts opened.. but still nothing can be done .  So, the solution to this is the favorite saying from our friend here daily:   Only one way to solve your issue , explanation to customer service by Moderator Team ...   LoL

[Deano53]

Let me just reply to what you said about if I go to a brick and mortar store and the refund comes immediately, I bought something from Walmart and went back to their store and returned it and it took a week to see the money returned , but yes in some cases it’s right away but from my experience not only Walmart but others as well in my area have taken days to see a refund even when I go to their store, it may seem like all I do is return stuff ( not true ) but I have occasionally:) 😊😂

[darlicious]

@Deano53 

It's very simple....unless the physical card is present that is the time it takes to process a credit to your card especially when dealing with 3 different businesses possibly 4. The original activating retailer, the card processor for them likely moneris, public mobile and its processor and your financial institution or credit card issuer. Ok up to 5 !

If you demanded customer satisfaction and a refund from the original retailer with the physical credit card to put in the terminal you would of had your refund on the spot. As I said having a physical card present makes all the difference.

[Deano53]

Precisely!!! 

[softech]

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@Deano53 wrote:

 It may be policy just like it’s the townships policy to play music loudly but laws need to be changed so we don’t get screwed in the end. 

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I hear you..and totally agree.  When they (especially big businesses) ask us for money , they need it NOW or they will either cut the service or interest on top... when they need to refund us the money, it takes light year , lots of paper work and excuses..  and where are the interest???  

[Deano53]

Wow, yea I agree there are way more serious issues going on right now in the world, so yes I should not complain, sorry about that , hope I didn’t ruin anyone’s day ( no harm intended)😊

[Deano53]

Let me add this if I may .. I live in a certain township in bc. And I’ve been in   disputes about the noise an outdoor pool is allowed to play ( not the kids playing and making noise it’s about the music they play at the outdoor pool ( they built it in a residential neighborhood , no kidding ) they tell me that the rules about noise doesn’t apply to the township, so I just simply tell them to change the laws so it DOES apply to them . So I relate this to the way we as consumers are being treated and how long this refund process takes. It may be policy just like it’s the townships policy to play music loudly but laws need to be changed so we don’t get screwed in the end. 

[darlicious]

@Deano53 

This is pretty standard turn around time for a refund or a chargeback to your credit card for even a bricks and mortar business let alone an online only mobile provider that is not set up for pre-authorization billing. Its a little different when a physical card is present for a refund.

Earlier this year I ordered a cell phone from SDM online to be shipped to my house....it never arrived. It took 4 1/2 months to finally get my refund credited back to my card that I had to pay for  more than 3 months previously. There are worse things in life.⚰⚱📿

[softech]

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@Deano53 wrote:

They didn’t offer me that option .. but it seems that yourself and possible many others( not criticizing you believe me ) I appreciate your response but why does it take 3-5 business days or in this specific case 11 days ? I get what your saying about long weekends etc but this should be able to be done instantaneously after checking for 5-10 minutes . The excuse about long weekends and holidays is completely unacceptable in my opinion . Just saying.

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haha.. Community response take 3 to 5 minutes and we likely would have give you the trick to have the money move to your real account for a faster resolution.

Yes, It is unfortunate that asking for money back on credit card always take long, not just on PM but most businesses.   Let's hope you see the money today (or tomorrow the latest) and you can enjoy the service and hope you will get better experience to ease the bad one.

[softech]

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@Deano53 wrote:

 I’m emailing the guy that took over my case and I’ve asked him the question I’ve posed here about having to wait 10-15 days and he just ignores me and won’t answer a basic simple question .. he now says he processed the return and I should see it today 🤷🏼

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Lets hope you will see the refund on your credit card today

did you exchange message with him on the Community inbox?  you should keep replying him daily for an update

Yes, my relative had the same issue about 2 accounts created (phantom account).  It took awhile for his initial request of full refund on the credit card.  But another agent took over and he asked for money the fund to the "real" account and it was done pretty much same day.