One of my key employees' phone broke recently - email reception was spotty - nobody could fix. After a little while running through the Telus help lines she was told: "Too bad, you'll have to wait 2 weeks - got nothing else for you."
Waiting 2 weeks for a new cell phone during our busiest time of year is not an option, so her and I chatted and I told her to call them back and be a little more forceful. We were paying them about $100 / month for her phone and service - "What can you do for us?"
They finally offered to:
- Let us use our $300 in "reward/loyalty money" to buy out the contract (it's up in April 2011). Oh goodee.
- Then we are allowed to put another $300 down to get a new 3 year contract on a new phone.
Oh joy - and that was the final offer.
So rather than do that - I spent the same amount of money and moved the phone to Rogers. They now get our $100 / month for that phone ($1200 / year), my staff member got a perfectly great 16GB iPhone and I got an upgrade to a 32GB iPhone 3GS.
Between all of our accounts I used to spend upwards of $600 / month with Telus for a few cell phones. It's no wonder we're down to our last phone with them.
And as soon as that one's up - goodbye!
Number portability means that you can't control us anymore - don't be short-sighted - now Rogers gets at least 2 years at $100 / month from a new customer. All over a $300 phone.
PS: I have no illusions that Rogers is much better - but isn't acquiring new customers harder than holding onto old ones?