Loyalty- Peace out PM

[qwerty123456789]

We all know there is nothing to be loyal to these days, but it seems to be the most evident with phone companies. 5 years ago I thought PM was changing that narrative when I stumbled across them with their loyalty program, I know they started that earlier than 5 years ago but thats when I found out about PM. I became a PM apologist because a) that was an incredible value for a customer and b) it encouraged loyalty. Now that loyal is going the way of the dinosaur. Its unfortunate that gaining new customers is a  better metric than retaining ones you already have. With this recent change of loyalty program from PM, they no longer offer anything different or better in the value of plan I need. If Pm doesnt care about my bottom line, then I cannot care about theres which is the reason I will be leaving PM just prior to May 1 for a plan that is exactly the same as the one I currently use. The good news is PM will offer me a better plan in a year or two to entice me to come back which will probably work because my new provider wont match that. Thus begins the new customer program cycle for me until a provider genuinely cares to reward loyalty over new customer metrics. Thanks PM for giving me reason to not have to do that for the past 5 years.

Peace out PM until you get me with a great new customer offer in a few years and I get to be your new customer metric bragging stat to all the other companies out there.  

[Korth_]

@Luddite 

I'm not particularly disappointed. After looking around for all of 10 minutes I found three excellent plans from other providers which would fit my needs at comparable or better prices than Public Mobile (Telus) will give me.

Really, I'm just waiting around a while. I'll get my final Rewards and burn through all my freebies and maybe even consume any stupid Points™ Public Mobile (Telus) gives me. I expect some competing operators to be savvy and run promos around the same time that I (and many other disenfranchised Public Mobile subscribers) will be interested in something better. I'll be checking every day and actually looking forward to seeing deals which will get me away from Telus forever.

[Luddite]

@Korth_  I'm of the same mind. PM was originally a disruptor in Canada for entry, and mid, level plan pricing and perks. The last few years has seen it evolve into a follower of the competition and a test bed for Telus systems. Product offerings and service metrics are all driven by Telus management to the exclusion of the views  expressed by its customer base. 
A sad outcome for those of us fully engaged in PM's original conceptualization. 🙏

[Korth_]

@hairbag1 

"Better" is always subjective. Every network operator has some advantage over the others in specific areas or specific measures. Maybe the "best" one is the only one with a few bars of signal coverage in your area or the most consistently clear voice calling or the quickest SMS deliveries or the biggest fastest data buckets or whatever.

Public Mobile's advantage was low cost. But now they've taken that advantage away. They're a "no frills" provider without "no frills" savings. Why deal with their lousy "support" model, their lack of physical stores/kiosks, their lofty half-unreachable customer agents, and their stupidbot if you don't get anything (like $ Rewards $) in return? All of Public Mobile's competitors offer basic amenities you won't get here at what is now the same cost as here ... even if you ignore the deceptive/unethical practices here, if you're not saving any money then why would you want to stay?

What are the "top 3" competitors ... well it turns out there's only the Big Three, the subsidiaries they own, the leftovers of Freedom, and some little niche providers to choose from. The list of options in Canada is awfully small. So small that it only takes about 10-20 minutes to go through every single one of their websites and compare every single one of their plans side by side.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operators_in_Canada

[hairbag1]

@Luddite 

what are the top 3 better carriers than PM then ? I ask because there are people frequently asking me about PM. I haven't yet found a cell provider that is better than...even with the reduction of benefits, PM is still decent value. IMO  (I maintain one of the poverty plans ($15) and its perfect for what I need...far better than my past experiences with the dog brand or the Freedom plans that are scams. )

[Luddite]

@hairbag1 "Until some other network has better enticements...PM is still the better option of them all (so far).  🤓"

Nope. Best value is totally dependent on one's needs. Folks happy with old $10 and current $15 plans can easily find equivalent or better carriers than the Telus family. The exodus won't necessarily be immediate because that group will use up all current funds before switching. 
From my perspective @Korth_'s analysis is spot on. 😫

[hairbag1]

@qwerty123456789, @clare061

the old Reward program was what set PM apart from the herd of 3rd tier networks. Now that Rewards benefits have been reduced, many are looking around again. Some will leave, but I see many still interested in new PM accounts. I've looked around some and find that PM is still decent value for what it is. What really bugs me more is when they try to sell points as something so much better than rewards...that is just not true and they must be embarrassed to trot it out to us. Until some other network has better enticements...PM is still the better option of them all (so far).  🤓

[Korth_]

There is no "loyalty" from them to us.

An eventual end to the old Rewards was expected the moment the new Points were introduced. It was just a matter of time.

But quietly, sneakily removing the Loyalty bonus Points in the middle of the night just before announcing the very next morning that Rewards will be discontinued ... that was a scum move. A middle finger, salt in the wound, twist of the dagger, an insult.

It tells me that Public Mobile (Telus) is shamelessly screwing us now. We don't matter. So it will shamelessly screw us again in the future.

So I'll be going. No need to stick around and wait for another insult. "Loyalty" might mean nothing at any of the Canadian cellular operators ... maybe I won't get any kind of reward anywhere else I go ... but that doesn't mean I have to stick around after being insulted and screwed.

They got too greedy and blundered into a bad place with this mistake. It's angered too many subscribers, it's transformed previously loyal brand ambassadors into toxic brand assassins.

[clare061]

yeah off to FM I go after trying to resolve some promotional stuff today 😞 

[Handy1]

@qwerty123456789  Yep that’s my hope to , that we start to see such better plans in the future . That we just totally forget about the old rewards . But that depends on what company willing to offer it and count me in