@softech wrote:
I think the text to add extra data is a GREAT idea and worth to continue (maybe with minor tweaks, see the end of post). It is an convenient feature for majority of PM subscribers to buy extra data (saw so many posts about people unable to login My Account or forgot 4 digits PIN for various reasons and then complain about not able to buy extra addon)
Yes, it is hard for parents to control the kid's data usage. But PM has subscribers for different situations. There are also who needs their data to live (like Uber drivers) and need to be "connected" at all time. There is really no way to take care of all the "special cases". Afterall, PM subscribers and users are mostly adults, the parent-kids situation is certainly very low % amoung PM's user base
Parents should keep a closer eye over the kids accounts themselves, like texting STOP to stop those promo text, like regularly checking their My Account for usage and purchase (we saw one of two parents come and complains after the kids have done that multiple times, obviously parents should take some of the blame)
But of course, there is always still room for improvements to any GREAT system. May PM can look into adding the option on My Account to opt out any text promos.
PM is truly GREAT 😀👍😺
One of the big selling points, besides easy accessibility to reasonable pricing for low data users - a standpoint which Public Mobile has definitely abandoned in 2023 (and no, that $25/5GB offer was NOT sent to every account with a $15 plan!), was the "no overage, ever" / full cost control part, which made it so appealing to parents (or similar groups). It was the big distinction from post-paid carriers and some competitors. With these texts plus the monster data plan offerings, as well as that whole "we need to have your credit card info" mindset (ie no voucher-only-activations anymore, subscription is on by default and the card will be auto-charged if you don't go into your account and manage to find where to turn it off), that line to "the others" is awfully blurry to non-existant these days.
Not giving parents (or anyone, really) the option to have no credit card on file (without either pleading with the CSR or use the prepaid CC trick, both of which one has to come to the community to learn about) and at the same time sending tempting texts for overpriced data add-ons with essentially zero security threshold... This is not cool.
You are blaming the parents for discovering a (for the customer) bad business decision. Yes, financial literacy is important. But what was wrong with the previous approach where the user logs into my account, of uses 611 with PIN to buy an add-on. If a kid did reach the end of data before the end of the plan cycle, that was a wonderful opportunity to teach financial literacy (with the options of going without data for the rest ot the cycle, or the kid needing to pay for the add-on from their allowance, or at least the parent knowing of the charge before it happened...)
You could blame those "who needs their data to live (like Uber drivers) and need to be "connected" at all time" for mismanagement of their data as well, if that text peddling overpriced data seems like their only data life line, no? They would be better off with a plan that a) offers them enough data to begin with and/or b) have the reduced data after reaching the limit. PM has been offering some fantastic deals on those plans recently, including for existing customers. If they run out of data in the middle of the plan cycle it's still cheaper to change plan immediately than paying for add-ons (one of my friends was offered a 3GB add-on for $40 at a time when the 20GB plan was $39 and accessible to everyone - all it took was logging into their account and switching plans immediately.)
Yes, Public Mobile is still a good option for certain usage groups. As a long time customer I still think that Public Mobile suits me very well. However I will not refer people anymore. The reality is that the majority of 2023 business decisions have made PM a not so great option anymore for a big group of people who this service was perfect for until recently.
