What Do You Want Now, Telus?
I have been a Telus Mobility customer since April 2002. I originally signed a 1-year contract which ended, amazingly, in April this year. When that happened, Telus phoned me with a few offers, such as some free minutes or a phone upgrade if I wanted to sign a new contact.
Less than a year later, Telus is at it again. This time by mail. By signing a 1-year contract, I can get an additional 50 minutes for the next 12 months free, or voicemail (which is already included), call forwarding (again, included) and caller ID (something I pay $3/month for) free for the next 12 months. The same options exist, but for 24 months, or $100 off the purchase of a new phone should I decide to sign a 2-year contract. Same goes for a 3-year contract, except I would get $150 off the purchase of a new phone.
50 extra minutes a month isn’t that bad of a deal. Except, I never use the time I have (which is only 50 itself), because I never use my phone during the day. I currently have free lunchtimes (12-1pm), evenings (7pm-7am) and weekends. I could choose to save $36 a year and get caller ID for free. But frankly, I’d rather be contract-free and pay it. $3 a month doesn’t really do much for me.
Part of the deal is that they want (or at least suggesting) I switch to a different monthly rate plan package. After analysing my usage, they are recommending I switch to the Talk 40 Plus plan. This would cost me $15 more per month. While I would gain a whole lot of minutes, I certainly wouldn’t ever use all 350 daytime minutes in a month. And I lose an hour of evenings as their new “evening and weekend clock” doesn’t start until 8pm. This is supposed to be better?
I find the whole thing confusing. Am I allowed to keep my current package? It was discontinued more than a year ago. The most comparable package now is the Free Time 30 package, which is $5 more and loses an hour of evening/weekend usage. Great.
Oh, did I mention that the new packages do billing by the minute rather than by the second? I don’t even know which I get right now. But the fine print indicates this.
Now let’s say I wanted to take advantage of signing a 2-year contract and get a new PCS phone. Telus is offering me a “$100 phone discount, based on retail price of a new phoone.” After looking at the phones on their web site, I’m wondering, which price does this give me a discount on? The was price? Most of the phones are in the $200-300 range. But now they’re listed with significant discounts. But why would I trust Telus Mobility to ever give me a good deal?
Did I mention that the package they sent came from their customer loyalty division? If this is how they treat a customer that is still with them just after his contract ends, how do they treat customers that have been lingering (loitering, if you will) forever without a contract? Do they send two big bouncers to your house with a vice and a pen to sign a new contract, offering you a free calling feature with a value of $2/month?
I’m not really impressed. But I haven’t come to expect much of wireless providers. My experience with Rogers was no better.
