towards the end of your contract, walk in there and say you want to renew. When they show you your options say that its not good enough and be ready to turn around and walk
^ It's outdated. Period. You're stuck with the same crappy phone for 3 years, even if it breaks you can't change it.
Well, that's not technically true. Just like with GSM, if your phone breaks, you can always buy a new one and switch your phone number over. They start at $50. You're not gonna get much for $50, obviously. But that's much cheaper than with either Rogers/Fido, or buying an overseas phone.
Telus and Bell are more for old folks or people who don't really care about their phones (ie features, what it looks like, etc.), and there is a large market for that. Of course, all of those hipster asian people who need the newest phones every month aren't the target.
Well, that's not technically true. Just like with GSM, if your phone breaks, you can always buy a new one and switch your phone number over. They start at $50. You're not gonna get much for $50, obviously. But that's much cheaper than with either Rogers/Fido, or buying an overseas phone.
Telus and Bell are more for old folks or people who don't really care about their phones (ie features, what it looks like, etc.), and there is a large market for that. Of course, all of those hipster asian people who need the newest phones every month aren't the target.
i dono man phone prices should be the same, there isn’t a lot of markup on phones because they make their money off the contracts. as for overseas phones... omg u can get them soooooooooooooooooo cheap way back in the day i picked up the latest nokia in Europe (cant even remember model) for 80$ when it was selling for 300+ here without contract... as for more recently few years back i picked up an HK brand phone for ~120$ that has more features then anything on the market here in the 500+ range...
lol overseas phones are not cheap dude, well if ur buying the latest ones. The technology in Japan/Europe is like 1-2 years ahead compared to Canada and the US. Thats y u got ur phones cheap they were probly outdated in HK, while they were prolly still more advanced than most phones here.
I have a question that may or may not be dumb (I don't know much about phones). If I buy a phone off e-bay or something (Telus doesn't have much of a selection in-store), can I activate it with my current phone number, and with Telus again????
I have a question that may or may not be dumb (I don't know much about phones). If I buy a phone off e-bay or something (Telus doesn't have much of a selection in-store), can I activate it with my current phone number, and with Telus again????
most phones on ebay are GSM phones which means they use a SIM card (read more on wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscriber_Identity_Module) a sim can hold up to ~100 phone numbers and ur own info. which means every time u change phones or move to a different country all u have to do is pull the simcard out and insert it into the new phone and everything works flawlessly! :)
but companies like TELUS, virgin mobile, etc. use a more primitive technology (jk) where to put it simply, the phone does not have a removable sim and everything is stored within the phone. so if u require anysort of transfer or number change of phones you need to go through them this could be a problem because they can choose not to help or support certain phone models not sold by them (dont ask why they might do this but they sure as hell can if they so chose, and all it takes is 1 lazy employee who will say "sorry cant be done")
so to save urself a headache i would strongly recommend u switch to rogers/fido and to GSM phones as u remove dependency on ur provider when it comes to changing phones (keep in mind a sim card costs ~20$)
to answer ur question make sure the phone u buy on ebay is NOT a GSM phone if u wanna use it with TELUS AND make sure it’s a TRIBAND phone (at least, or quadband) TRIBAND= world phone which means it can be used in most countries in the world, this is important because most dual band HK phones DO NOT WORK IN NORTH AMERICA since they use different frequency to transmit/receive data … if I’m not mistaken we use 850MHz and 1900MHz (the providers here) rogers also uses the 900MHz range *I think*
basically they have the front line csr's dealing with regular customer issues
then if u are threatening/asking to quit, they will transfer u to the retentions department (i think rogers calls it customer relations? perhaps)
and basically the retentions department can offer rebates, monthly credits, custom plans, etc.. wayyy better stuf than u can ever imagine from regular csr's or service booths
i'll see if i can dig up the direct # for rogers or fido's department, but u can prob call customer service and ask to get transferred right away
i dono man phone prices should be the same, there isn’t a lot of markup on phones because they make their money off the contracts. as for overseas phones... omg u can get them soooooooooooooooooo cheap way back in the day i picked up the latest nokia in Europe (cant even remember model) for 80$ when it was selling for 300+ here without contract... as for more recently few years back i picked up an HK brand phone for ~120$ that has more features then anything on the market here in the 500+ range...
I have never, NEVER, seen an overseas phone cheaper than $300. Please give me proof.
basically they have the front line csr's dealing with regular customer issues
then if u are threatening/asking to quit, they will transfer u to the retentions department (i think rogers calls it customer relations? perhaps)
and basically the retentions department can offer rebates, monthly credits, custom plans, etc.. wayyy better stuf than u can ever imagine from regular csr's or service booths
i'll see if i can dig up the direct # for rogers or fido's department, but u can prob call customer service and ask to get transferred right away
OHHHHHHHHHH WHAT!? Hahahaha...I get it. Yes please :)
I have never, NEVER, seen an overseas phone cheaper than $300. Please give me proof.
My sister's phone (k810i) was only $100CDN in HK... we got it a long time before it because commercialized by Rogers/Fido etc. My old phone (N73) was only $300CDN in HK when it first came out. Then a year later when I sold it here I got my $300 back HAHAHA.
u can actually just do the standard 611 and speak to customer service, then just lie and tell them u were on hold with a customer retentions agent and ask to be transferred back or somethin lol
^ HAhaha that's right. They'll do anything to keep customers because there are so many other companies. Their commodity is people, so they wanna keep as many of them as they can. Plus, it's easier to keep an existing customer than to get a new one.
My sister's phone (k810i) was only $100CDN in HK... we got it a long time before it because commercialized by Rogers/Fido etc. My old phone (N73) was only $300CDN in HK when it first came out. Then a year later when I sold it here I got my $300 back HAHAHA.
Well, if you have some sort of connection, or source for phones in asia, then I guess it's easier. But I'm talking about Joe Blow from the street who doesn't know anything about phones. Being on a GSM provider vs a CDMA provider doesn't really benefit him either way. Like I said, if you're not an asian hipster who needs new phones every month, Telus isn't all that bad. And I'm not only saying that as a Telus employee, cause I use Rogers myself, despite having access to that $0/mth plan and unlimited free data. I enjoy having the choice of getting unlocked overseas phones. But to claim that Telus sucks, hands down, and GSM rules the shit is a very narrow argument. It says nothing about call quality, plan prices, data prices, etc.
How Do I Reach Customer Relations? There are two ways you can reach Customer Relations. The first method is to directly phone Fido Customer Relations (1-888-259-3436) and select the cancel my account option from the menu. The second way is to dial Fido Customer Service (1-888-481-3436 or *611), then request to cancel your account when a Customer Service Representative picks up.
also take a look at this as well, a lot to read but u can comb the back pages to see the types of deals ppl were able to swing
I have never, NEVER, seen an overseas phone cheaper than $300. Please give me proof.
i didnt mean buy w/e is latest model in HK now i meant buy somehting that maybe old THERE but way ahead here.. u get the best of both worlds ;) moreover i also didnt mean to stick with the big names in cells, the HK brands work just fine in northamerica if their tri/quad band :P as to give u an specific example well i cant since ive never been to hk but i have a friend who goes about 1-2times every 3-4 months and he comes back with a new cell everytime that he sells here for profit also in my case i picked up a comwise phone a few years back http://www.comwise.com.hk/ touchscreen, vids, music, etc.. etc.. for 120 off ebay, worked perfectly only reason i upgraded to iphone was for wifi as wap was slow :p but the phone when i got it was great compared to other things on the market here
vonnie;28219 said:
My sister's phone (k810i) was only $100CDN in HK... we got it a long time before it because commercialized by Rogers/Fido etc. My old phone (N73) was only $300CDN in HK when it first came out. Then a year later when I sold it here I got my $300 back HAHAHA.
i didnt mean buy w/e is latest model in HK now i meant buy somehting that maybe old THERE but way ahead here.. u get the best of both worlds ;) moreover i also didnt mean to stick with the big names in cells, the HK brands work just fine in northamerica if their tri/quad band :P as to give u an specific example well i cant since ive never been to hk but i have a friend who goes about 1-2times every 3-4 months and he comes back with a new cell everytime that he sells here for profit also in my case i picked up a comwise phone a few years back http://www.comwise.com.hk/ touchscreen, vids, music, etc.. etc.. for 120 off ebay, worked perfectly only reason i upgraded to iphone was for wifi as wap was slow :p but the phone when i got it was great compared to other things on the market here
Again, I was merely stating that not everybody has the know-how or connections to get these sorts of deals. For the majority of the users, they just want a phone that works, and only have access to whatever they see in the store.
i got the nokia e70 for 400$. pretty expensive but i love the keyboard thnx for the info imelting, im gunna be calling tomm lol, im wondering tho, wut kind of stuff is negotiable with them, like extra daytime mins, or free txt messaging, wut wud they be willing to give up?
i got the nokia e70 for 400$. pretty expensive but i love the keyboard thnx for the info imelting, im gunna be calling tomm lol, im wondering tho, wut kind of stuff is negotiable with them, like extra daytime mins, or free txt messaging, wut wud they be willing to give up?
u can negotiate a lot... actually they can make up w/e plan they want on the spot source: went with my friend to telus for him to upgrade his plan his friend worked there so he calls in to the head telus office or w/e and tells him hes got a customer who had offer X from rogers (X= plan my friend made up that he wants) the telus rep asks the higher up people if they can match or beat the offer to keep him as a telus customer, they "OK" the plan and enter it into system as a custom plan.. done deal.. yes he had the hookup as his friend helped him out but this shows they can make up any plan they want on the spot they just need to approve it by someone higher up so feel free to ask for all sorts of things ;)
sweeet... but... do they make u agree to a contract? rite now i have the 30 dollar plan with fido, and the bill comes to aroud 46-48$ a month I have: 100 daytime unlimited incoming/evenings and weekends caller id lol, wut a rip off, no txt or voice mail, and for 50 a month so is it possible to ask for a 20 dollar plan with all the above plus voice mail and like 50-100 text? A little bit too much to ask but i dunno, wut do u think?
ya its reasonable and if they dont wanna give it then slowly work up... keep in mind they also give out EPP (employee purchase plans) which go for under 20$ for a lot more ;) so if the person ur talking to is nice ull land a nice deal, if not hang up call again and hope u get a different operator :P
It all depends on your tenure, as well as how much you spend on a monthly basis with them. Rogers/Fido use a tier system, where they put you into a category according to your monthly spending habits. In the top-tier, you're considered "High-Value". Typically those that spend $300-$400 per month, and have been Rogers/Fido customers for while. Those customers get pretty much what they want. Same goes for Telus. We have a seperate team of customer service representatives, known as the "high value team" specifically for them. Also, they get priority in the cue when they call into the customer service line, so they don't wait as long.
Anyhow, as I was saying, if you haven't been with the company for that long, and you don't spend that much (spending 30-60 a month usually means you're in the lowest spending tier), it's going to be harder to bargain, because they still need to make back the subsidy, plus all the other money they invested into you when you first started as a customer. They're not going to give you a retention plan that slows that down. Of course, if you have the tenure, they're usually more than willing to do something, as long as you don't talk to them like a fucking douchebag.
Comments
Telus and Bell are more for old folks or people who don't really care about their phones (ie features, what it looks like, etc.), and there is a large market for that. Of course, all of those hipster asian people who need the newest phones every month aren't the target.
as for overseas phones... omg u can get them soooooooooooooooooo cheap
way back in the day i picked up the latest nokia in Europe (cant even remember model) for 80$ when it was selling for 300+ here without contract...
as for more recently few years back i picked up an HK brand phone for ~120$ that has more features then anything on the market here in the 500+ range...
The technology in Japan/Europe is like 1-2 years ahead compared to Canada and the US. Thats y u got ur phones cheap they were probly outdated in HK, while they were prolly still more advanced than most phones here.
If I buy a phone off e-bay or something (Telus doesn't have much of a selection in-store), can I activate it with my current phone number, and with Telus again????
a sim can hold up to ~100 phone numbers and ur own info. which means every time u change phones or move to a different country all u have to do is pull the simcard out and insert it into the new phone and everything works flawlessly! :)
but companies like TELUS, virgin mobile, etc. use a more primitive technology (jk) where to put it simply, the phone does not have a removable sim and everything is stored within the phone. so if u require anysort of transfer or number change of phones you need to go through them
this could be a problem because they can choose not to help or support certain phone models not sold by them (dont ask why they might do this but they sure as hell can if they so chose, and all it takes is 1 lazy employee who will say "sorry cant be done")
so to save urself a headache i would strongly recommend u switch to rogers/fido and to GSM phones as u remove dependency on ur provider when it comes to changing phones (keep in mind a sim card costs ~20$)
to answer ur question make sure the phone u buy on ebay is NOT a GSM phone if u wanna use it with TELUS
AND make sure it’s a TRIBAND phone (at least, or quadband)
TRIBAND= world phone which means it can be used in most countries in the world, this is important because most dual band HK phones DO NOT WORK IN NORTH AMERICA since they use different frequency to transmit/receive data … if I’m not mistaken we use 850MHz and 1900MHz (the providers here) rogers also uses the 900MHz range *I think*
EDIT: oh and telus uses CDMA (http://www.telusmobility.com/about/press_room/cdma_technology.shtml) if u dono what that is a want an easy to read source :P if u want a better understanding take CMPT 371 :D
then if u are threatening/asking to quit, they will transfer u to the retentions department (i think rogers calls it customer relations? perhaps)
and basically the retentions department can offer rebates, monthly credits, custom plans, etc.. wayyy better stuf than u can ever imagine from regular csr's or service booths
i'll see if i can dig up the direct # for rogers or fido's department, but u can prob call customer service and ask to get transferred right away
My old phone (N73) was only $300CDN in HK when it first came out. Then a year later when I sold it here I got my $300 back HAHAHA.
and than wut? i get free stuff?
There are two ways you can reach Customer Relations. The first method is to directly phone Fido Customer Relations (1-888-259-3436) and select the cancel my account option from the menu. The second way is to dial Fido Customer Service (1-888-481-3436 or *611), then request to cancel your account when a Customer Service Representative picks up.
also take a look at this as well, a lot to read but u can comb the back pages to see the types of deals ppl were able to swing
i meant buy somehting that maybe old THERE but way ahead here.. u get the best of both worlds ;)
moreover i also didnt mean to stick with the big names in cells, the HK brands work just fine in northamerica if their tri/quad band :P
as to give u an specific example well i cant since ive never been to hk but i have a friend who goes about 1-2times every 3-4 months and he comes back with a new cell everytime that he sells here for profit
also in my case i picked up a comwise phone a few years back
http://www.comwise.com.hk/
touchscreen, vids, music, etc.. etc.. for 120 off ebay, worked perfectly only reason i upgraded to iphone was for wifi as wap was slow :p but the phone when i got it was great compared to other things on the market here
exactly
thnx for the info imelting, im gunna be calling tomm lol, im wondering tho, wut kind of stuff is negotiable with them, like extra daytime mins, or free txt messaging, wut wud they be willing to give up?
actually they can make up w/e plan they want on the spot
source: went with my friend to telus for him to upgrade his plan
his friend worked there so he calls in to the head telus office or w/e and tells him hes got a customer who had offer X from rogers (X= plan my friend made up that he wants) the telus rep asks the higher up people if they can match or beat the offer to keep him as a telus customer, they "OK" the plan and enter it into system as a custom plan.. done deal..
yes he had the hookup as his friend helped him out but this shows they can make up any plan they want on the spot they just need to approve it by someone higher up
so feel free to ask for all sorts of things ;)
rite now i have the 30 dollar plan with fido, and the bill comes to aroud 46-48$ a month
I have:
100 daytime
unlimited incoming/evenings and weekends
caller id
lol, wut a rip off, no txt or voice mail, and for 50 a month
so is it possible to ask for a 20 dollar plan with all the above plus voice mail and like 50-100 text? A little bit too much to ask but i dunno, wut do u think?
Anyhow, as I was saying, if you haven't been with the company for that long, and you don't spend that much (spending 30-60 a month usually means you're in the lowest spending tier), it's going to be harder to bargain, because they still need to make back the subsidy, plus all the other money they invested into you when you first started as a customer. They're not going to give you a retention plan that slows that down. Of course, if you have the tenure, they're usually more than willing to do something, as long as you don't talk to them like a fucking douchebag.