Referrals without having to give out your personal information

[Crackmacs]

Hi

I could refer many different people to Public Mobile, if I were able to do it in a way that doesn't require me giving out my phone number or other personal information. 

Would love to see some kind of referral code that could be given out, something random (XGRBJUVX) or something specific (Crackmacs), kind of what like Uber has. I really don't see a downside to referring people that aren't close personal friends, so long as they pay their bill ahead of using the service - which is the whole idea with PM.

Please implement that.

ktnx

[Crackmacs]

@stonechucker

I would prefer to see a referal system where I can specify an email address or cellular phone number to Public Mobile, and they forward that communication to the third party to 'accept' or 'reject' the offer to join.

I would provide my name and email / number in the process to notify my friend / family / associate, so that they are aware it's not an out of the blue spammy offer, but a legitimate offer coming from someone they know.

---

That would be an awesome system. I would be totally happy with that. 

[srlawren]

@Crackmacs let me try to explain what I think @kav2001c is saying:  the assumption is that you would not publicly post your own personal phone number on the internet to a bunch of strangers in order to try to get referrals, but you wouldn't mind handing out an anonymous code that has no obvious info about you such as your phone number or email address or anything.  The referral system is really meant for you to entice your friends, colleagues, family, and others you actually know to join PM.  But if you had an essentially anonymous code you could give out, you might do so freely in hopes of getting the referral credits.  @kav2001c considers that a fraudulent use of the referral system, and I think I agree. I don't know if PM currently has any policies around usage of the referral system, so there's probably nothing technically stopping you from doing this even today, provided you don't mind handing out your phone number to just anybody.

[kan]

so read through all this i think @kav2001c is using the wrong word here, its not fraud or abuse. 

its also confusing as ive got a lot of people who are my friends but they dont have my phone number we communicate via other means. not everyone i meet i hand my phone number over to i use other methods so i can keep track and filter things over time. 

sometimes you dont want someone who gets drunk and random drunk dials people at 2 am to have your number but you still want to be friends with them....   

I too could see using a referal code as a better option here, as yes there were people who signed up that i see on weekends or in other places who dont need to know my phone number for personal reasons but are still friends, just not super close friends.

[kav2001c]

I'm not sure why it was so difficult but yes @srlawren nailed it

@kan what would you call it then? It is certainly abuse. And I think most people will agree it is fraud (deception intended to result in personal financial gain)

[Shutdown]

I disagree with it being fraud or abuse. The reason being to PM it makes no difference to them whether or not you refer a stranger or someone you know. They even went through the effort of capping the max reward to $0 so after referring enough people you will not benefit anymore regardless. They are also not really giving away the $1 for free like a charity since they are likely making at least $24+ per month from the new customers. Now if PM had like freedom referral system then yes it could be fraud since they give away like $50 right away, which would equate to 50 months with PM in order to just break even and by then they made far more money then that.

[SD08]

I agree with @Shutdown that it's not fraudulent or abusive.  I believe the point of a referral reward is simply to encourage more people to sign up to PM, by using the word-of-mouth efforts (including online) of people who have already signed up.  Social media/blogs is the new word-of-mouth.  How familiar you are with your referral is irrelevant. Through your power of persuasion, you are bringing someone onboard to PM who might not otherwise have joined, either because they didn't realize what cost savings they were missing, or they simply hadn't heard of PM before. I'm sure PM would rather have the new subscriber and pay the $1 to the referrer than to not have that new subscriber at all.

The OP mentioned putting a referral code on a blog. Who is to say that a person who reads that blog and decides to join PM is any less legitimate a referral than say, a co-worker who sees someone's phone number posted on a corporate lounge bulletin board saying the same thing? How is that any less legitimate than getting a referral from someone you just met at a party? "Yeah, I pay less than $38/month for 4GB of rollover data!" Some stranger overhears and says: "No way! From which company?" In each case, it achieves what PM wants - a new customer that might not have signed up otherwise. Does PM really care how well you knew that person? I bet not. Does the person who wrote the blog and therefore brought PM to the attention of that new customer not deserve something for his effort? I'd say the fact that he may be highlighting PM to many people even more efficiently than talking face-to-face should be rewarded, as it helps PM grow even quicker. That's a $1/month cost for one definite subscriber, not a potential customer that may sign up after seeing an expensive TV ad.  Where else can a company get efficient advertising that costs so little?

[kav2001c]

@Crackmacs but what you just posted IS the downside

This is not what Public intended nor how they positioned it

I won't use the word fraud anymore since you seem to not understand the underlying issue but what you just posted is exactly what Public Mobile does not want (the downside is  they are paying you for what at best is a casual aquaintance not an actual freind/family you referred; you do understand they don't want every person doing a pyramid scheme and referring 40 people for free service right?)

---

@Crackmacs wrote:

I can understand the risk if this were a use service first then pay system, but people are paying up front, so I can't see a downside to referring strangers, essentially. Imagine the people that have those HUGE followings, they'd be able to recruit soooo many.

---

[Crackmacs]

@kav2001c 

---

This is not what Public intended nor how they positioned it 

---

Are you an employee of Public Mobile? You're now speaking on their behalf. I'd hope not, because you don't have a clue what you're talking about. 

I won't use the word fraud anymore

Well, good. There is no fraud taking place nor anything suggested that would be a criminal offense, and it was silly of you to suggest using the referral system amounts to fraud in any capacity.  

the downside is  they are paying you for what at best is a casual aquaintance not an actual freind/family you referred

---

With a hard limit in place that combines with other incentives, which they're making money on. There is no way to go beyond this limit. Your reasoning is pretty rediculous in suggesting that they don't want additional customers through a referral system just because they actual friends or family. Why on earth would Public Mobile or any company care how you know someone if you're recruiting them for a pre-paid service? 

you do understand they don't want every person doing a pyramid scheme and referring 40 people for free service right?

---

Are you just trying to troll? Do you even understand the concept of a pyramid scheme? Top down? Multi-level marketing? I was not suggesting some kind of trickle down referral system. The current referral system in place is fine, I would just like additional ways to take advantage of it. It's a great incentive to bring in additional profit for Public Mobile, and a wonderful incentive to promote and advertise services as an advocate. 

You've kind of backed yourself into a corner here by not understanding what I was suggesting initally then doubling down on nonsense. Not going to respond to you further. 

[kav2001c]

@Crackmacs lol you do realize the word "fraud" was not being used in the criminal sense.

I even copied word for word the dictionary definition for you about it so I find it quite amusing you trying to fall back onto the Canadian legal definition.

There are ways around the hard cap so it is very possible to accumulate a positive balance. This also certainly can be abused (eg bulk purchase of long distance or roaming add ons)

Either way original idea still stands. Generating a random code can easily introduce a negative element for Public Mobile.

As to intents thier posts are here and easily readable by anyone should they be so inclined to look into it.

[rileyjaun]

I dont know about you guys but i wouldnt be refering anyone who I didnt know personally, and in that case giving them my number would be no issue.