Retention and Plan Advice: What do you think of... / How do I get...

[intlbizman]

3 words: "what is videotron"?

unless you know the network coverage is there and is sufficient for you, it's pretty hard to compare different providers like that.

[DMics]

Nope, not significant at all.

The whole process is about how you present your case and speak to the rep. Many people say I'm a personable guy and have great speaking skills. I took the advice someone mentioned a page or so back and didn't name any plan, I just listed the KEY elements and I was presented with the plan I got.

[kelvinc]

Currently I'm at what I think is called the Student 55+:
200 Daytime Minutes
Evenings/Weekends 6PM-7AM
Nationwide 10
Unlimited Text
Flex data
VM/CC/CW
$55/mo
(They threw in CID for free)

I didn't mention any plan names or anything, but this is all they'll do:
200 Daytime Minutes
Evenings/Weekends 6PM-7AM
Unlimited Text
6GB Data
VM/CC/CID/CW
$60/mo
They'll throw in 100 LD minutes for $5 extra.

I really don't see this as an improvement. My LD requirement are satisfied with the Nationwide 10, but I do fluctuate around the 1GB mark on current usage. I'd prefer more data, but I feel stuck paying an extra $10 guaranteed to get it.

My bargaining power may be limited by me being already on month-to-month for a couple of months now so they don't see me as likely to jump ship?
But I really don't know how to move ahead here. I keep reading here not to mention other plans or threaten to jump to an entrant because they don't compete directly with them, but it seems they wouldn't offer anything better.

[tasha_c]

So I called in to see if I can get my early upgrade fee either eliminated or reduced (I have 26 months left) & the rep offered me $5 off my current plan with a couple upgrades:

$65 + tax:
500 daily minutes (from 250)
Unlimited evenings & weekends, with evenings starting at 5pm instead of 6pm & ending at 7am
VM 25
Unlimited text, picture and video messaging
Conference Calling, Caller ID
1GB North American data (I go to the States 1x/every 2 weeks so this is essential for me)

Anyways, she didn't really address my initial inquiry about getting my early upgrade fee waived or reduced, so I'm not too sure what my chances are after she's already provided me with $5 off my plan.

Thoughts anyone?

[DMics]

kelvinc:

- How long have you been with Telus?
- Did you speak with retention or regular customer/product services?
- Are you currently on a contract?

I just followed the posts on here and took in the suggestions. When I was ready I wrote down the plan I wanted and called in. I told the first rep I want to start the process of cancelling my phone line and pay off the remaining months on my contract. The rep asked why and I mentioned what originally was offered to me a while back was trash. I have friends with better plans on Telus, AND Rogers offered a better plan for what I wanted to spend.

That turned into a transfer to retentions, got a nice rep. Explained the same stuff (still adamant about cancelling my phone) and he said don't worry he has something he can offer. I listed the key things Rogers offered and other friends have on Telus have (5-6GB, 500 daytime minutes, and $50-$55 a month) and it was matched.

I don't know if it's a matter of how you speak to the rep, how your case is being positioned, or if you simply haven't been with the company for a long time. But this is the second time I've been successful at re-negotiating a new phone plan with the company. This is the first time I did so without buying a new phone at the same time, as I said before I got my iPhone recently through a friend.

[jigsatics]

My bargaining power may be limited by me being already on month-to-month for a couple of months now so they don't see me as likely to jump ship?

I would think that you are in the best position to negotiate because they will want to tie you into a contract. Negotiating a plan is a combination of preparation and luck. There are reps that are helpful but not experienced enough to know about the codes used for supposedly "expired" plans.

[kelvinc]

With them for three years. Actually been longer but transferred from parents' name much later than I expected.
I called retentions directly.
And I've been MTM for about three months.

Okay I guess I WILL have to cite basically other people on better plans then.
Though not sure if anything Rogers offers officially can beat that Telus plan.

[DMics]

With them for three years. Actually been longer but transferred from parents' name much later than I expected.
I called retentions directly.
And I've been MTM for about three months.

Okay I guess I WILL have to cite basically other people on better plans then.
Though not sure if anything Rogers offers officially can beat that Telus plan.

- I was in the same situation, I've been with them forever but originally under another name. So I mentioned that to them.
- I didn't call retention directly, called the regular customer service to talk about my account THEN I got transferred once I explained what I wanted to do. In those situations the original rep may explain to retentions someone wants to leave and may suggest to do your best to keep them.
- I don't know if Rogers offers what I mentioned, that was a risk and it worked. I did mention I began calling companies and Rogers already offered something better first. So I had no need to call Koodoo or Fido. But I also noted friends with Telus were getting more for their buck and were shocked with what I currently have.

And like jigsatics said, you may need to sign a contract with them if you're month by month. In my case I was already on a contract but didn't care to pay the cancellation fee. In their eyes I've been with them for a long period that because of this move I'll stay loyal with Telus.

[Vincentb]

3 words: "what is videotron"?

unless you know the network coverage is there and is sufficient for you, it's pretty hard to compare different providers like that.

Videotron is like Shaw or Rogers in Quebec, mainly a cable provider that started offering cellphone services a few years back. Their coverage is now a lot better than it was, at least according to their map (
http://www.videotron.com/residential...tab/cat2360088). And they say their network is 4G. As for my needs, I would be ok 99% of the time.

[Positive Climb]

Who cares. They use the same spectrum as WIND, and we all know how well the AWS spectrum goes through walls. And good luck with good national coverage. I'd rather not be piggy backing off another providers network, or have no coverage at all.

[DMics]

The 5GBs on the student plan is fixed right?

[DennyCrane]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry Bold 9900: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9900; en) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.391 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

The 5GBs on the student plan is fixed right?

It's not a tiered plan if that's what you mean.

[o2qc418]

After 12 years, I thinking about switching from Telus to Videotron for that plan:

Unlimited local calls between Videotron phone customers
Unlimited local calls Evenings, from 6 p.m.
Unlimited local calls Weekends, from 6 p.m. Friday until 7 a.m. Monday
150 daytime minutes
500 MB mobile data
Unlimited outgoing and incoming text, photo and video messages
Call Display
Voicemail
Call Waiting
Conference Calling
$39.95

I should get a time limited 5$/month rebate, plus another 5$/month rebate as a student.

Almost the same plan, but without the SMS, cost me 62$/month with Telus. It would be at least 50$ with Rogers or Bell.

I think there's no way Telus can match even the 40$, let alone the 35$ or the 30$. What do you think? I'd sign for 3 years.

Je vais te la faire en bon quebecois
Oublie videotron ! A moins que tu sorte jamais de ta zone ... Et que tu t en serve le plus souvent pour appeler des videotron ...

Sinon oublie pas une chose ... Un trip en gaspesie ou sur la cote nord ... Oublie sa sa rentre pas ...
Ailleurs au canada ... Mettons tu es en gaspesie et pogne une tour du nouveau brunswick ? Sa va te couter tres chere de roaming ...
Regarde tes besoins ... Si tu reste dans ta zone et qui repond a tes besoins ce plan avec les rabais sont imbatables ...

Si tu sort juste une fois du quebec ........ Sa va couter chere ...

... In english ... videotron is good if you call many people on videotron network landline and mobile ... But if you travel a little ... In ontario by exemple ... You pay roaming to rogers ... Because the network is the quebec only ... many people who travel in canada think is like the big 3 ... Data is include everywhere ... Data and voice is only include in Quebec only

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[Vincentb]

Je vais te la faire en bon quebecois
Oublie videotron ! A moins que tu sorte jamais de ta zone ... Et que tu t en serve le plus souvent pour appeler des videotron ...

Sinon oublie pas une chose ... Un trip en gaspesie ou sur la cote nord ... Oublie sa sa rentre pas ...
Ailleurs au canada ... Mettons tu es en gaspesie et pogne une tour du nouveau brunswick ? Sa va te couter tres chere de roaming ...
Regarde tes besoins ... Si tu reste dans ta zone et qui repond a tes besoins ce plan avec les rabais sont imbatables ...

Si tu sort juste une fois du quebec ........ Sa va couter chere ...

... In english ... videotron is good if you call many people on videotron network landline and mobile ... But if you travel a little ... In ontario by exemple ... You pay roaming to rogers ... Because the network is the quebec only ... many people who travel in canada think is like the big 3 ... Data is include everywhere ... Data and voice is only include in Quebec only

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

Moi aussi alors... Comme ça fait quand même un bon bout que j'ai un cell, je commence à connaître mes habitudes. En gros, je n'utilise à peu près jamais mon cell en dehors de la zone couverte par Videotron, si je me fie à la carte sur leur site (presque toujours dans le jaune, des fois dans le gris). Je ne vais pas en Gaspésie, je ne vais pas dans l'Ouest, je ne vais pas au States (bin oui, je suis plate comme ça!). Actuellement, je me promène surtout en Estrie, en Mauricie, entre Sherbrooke, Montréal, Trois-Rivières et Québec...! Je sais, ça _pourrait_ arriver que je sorte de cette zone, mais ce jour-là, à 20-30 d'économie mensuelle vs avec Telus/Rogers/Bell, j'imagine que je pourrai absorber les coûts...

*********

Since I'm almost always in the area covered by Videotron because I live in the city and I don't travel that much, I think I won't be bothered by roaming coverage and/or fees. And if, one day, I have extras fees to pays, I'll take into account the fact the I would pay 20$-30$ less _each month_ being with Videotron instead of one of the Big 3...

[B407]

Who cares. They use the same spectrum as WIND, and we all know how well the AWS spectrum goes through walls. And good luck with good national coverage. I'd rather not be piggy backing off another providers network, or have no coverage at all.

I have no idea how good Videotron's network is but the issues that WIND and Mobilicity have are not solely related to AWS. It's all about network management, WIND and Mobilicity don't have the money to optimize their network to the same degree that the big 3 have. Companies like T-Mobile USA that who have accesses to large amounts of capital have invested a lot into optimizing their networks and have successfully deployed a very reliable HSPA network using the AWS spectrum. When I visit the US, I find that T-Mobile often has better reception than AT&T. Also Europe and Asia have been operating HSPA networks on the 2100 mhz band for years without issue.