SIM card pickup depots

[pckku]

I know this has been raised before: local pickup of PM sim cards as an added alternative to mail. Many people prefer to pickup the sim card asap so that they can sign up with PM right away. This also allows us to recommend and sell PM services to our friends by getting the sim ready for them and guide them to sign up. A depressing example: ordered sim card online trying to take advantage of PM's limited time promotion, but the card delivers after the end date and miss the promotion!!! Would you be pissed?

Drug stores (many are also postal outlets as well as selling TTC tokens),  Costco, select malls are all potential pickup depots. There is costs involved but PM will also save the delivery costs of the sim cards. This hybrid format still respects the "virtual store" concept, and compliments the sim card delivery. Maybe in the future, this can expand into other PM business lines.

[will13am]

Selling SIM cards along side vouchers would work well. 

[stonechucker]

You're getting a sim card for $5+taxes, and free expresspost shipping via Canada Post.  If you're in a major centre, it's at worst 2 day shipping, 5 for rural.  Give the right address when requesting the sim, and you're golden.

Yes, having sim cards along with vouchers would be great, but that's an added expense for Public Mobile.  The best case scenario to get local pick up wouuld be having PM Sims available in Telus and/or Koodo store fronts / kiosks.  I don't think this will happen.

[xCameron94x]

i had one bad exepirence when ordering a SIM during the $40 promo period. It took about 4 days and i still did not receive anything (I'm in Toronto). I contacted support and they sent me a SIM card through fedex which arrived next day. the xpresspost is a great option and for $5 its a great deal, seeing as how companies can charge $15+ for a sim card (but you get the SIM card on the spot). I think the shipping fees that they pay are cheaper than selling them at other stores/pickup locations

[srlawren]

@pckku I know it sounds like a simple request, but there are a number of things that complicate this.  There's shipping to these pick up locations, inventory management, cost of having cards sit at the point of sale, etc.  Vouchers on the other hand are virtual and require no inventory.  The retailers print out a little slip of paper with some info including the PIN number you enter into self-serve, and thus PM doesn't have to worry about shipping them things and so on.  Adding a physical item even small and inexpensive like a SIM card requires an inventory and distribution network, which would be added cost to PM.  Being a no-frills carrier means we have to deal with ordering a card when needed.

[pckku]

@srlawrenI agree with you on costs involved for PM.

Both Koodo and Public Mobile are value brands of Telus. The choice between between Koodo and PM is very vague, with PM operates as "self-serve and virtual value brand". Without the current PM's Text and Talk promotion, Koodo's prepaid plan of $15 (base: unlimited Intl. text) + $25 (500 Canada-wide and will not expire) is perfect for seniors or people who don't talk a lot. Sooner or later, I think Koodo and PM will merge into one because Kooko already offering both post- and pre-paid options. In my opinion, it will be a good and perfect business sense for the merger - consolidation of administration, operation costs and maximize the use of their current Koodo stores and outlets. Currently, with a virtual store concept, PM's growth in subscribsers is limited as there is very limited exposure of the PM brand and the "self-serve" concept intimates a lot of people. Not many people are tech savvy to port their current phone service provider to PM. Thus PM will lose that market group as well. 

In order to increase the PM subscriptions( which they should before Telus considers the merger with Koodo), PM must make investments to assist their current users to promote and sell PM services to their friends. One possible way is establish local outlets for PM sim cards pickup and purhase of vouchers, and to give 2 free sim cards for each successful referral, in addition to the normal cash incentives of $1 per 30 days subscription. In this way, our members can  make use of those free sim cards as marketing tools to recommend PM to more friends.  They can also take advantage of their current phone support for Koodo and Telus and made them available to PM customers. PM has the most competitive plan currently available with excellent network coverage and performance and I am very happy and satisfied to be part of the PM family.