Today's post is an example of why you should shop your cellphone business.
For a while now my personal cellphone has been with Rogers, and I was ok with it because I am a fan of how reliable their network is.
Yesterday I noticed my data use was high, this is the second month in a row where I was looking at possible overage charges, something I think is a bit of a cash grab by carriers that will eventually be phased out due to competition.
I called them to discuss my plan and they offered me 2 choices:
1) Add an extra 250mb of data (a negligible increase) to my plan but reduce me from unlimited local calling to a limited amount - the bill would remain the same.
2) Increase my data, doubling it for an extra $10/month.
Neither option was appealing. I had already checked a couple of other carriers and knew better deals were out there. When I mentioned this the rep suggested I contact Fido to see what they could do for me.
For those who don't know, Fido is owned by Rogers.
Fido offered to quadruple my current data plan and switch me from unlimited local calling to unlimited nation-wide calling for exactly the same price I was currently paying. I even get 6 months of Spotify (A $60 value) by switching to Fido! All other aspects of my plan remain the same.
The Fido rep even told me to mention I was going to Fido and ask for the unlocking of my phone to be free, because they routinely do this for transfers to Fido. (Rogers normally charges $50 to unlock a phone)
Of course I signed up, my new SIM card is currently on the courier's delivery truck and will be arrive today.
The only cost I incurred was $10 for the new SIM card. I will continue to still be on Rogers infrastructure because that's what Fido uses.
I'm pretty sure this process cost Rogers more than $10 in administrative costs when you consider the staff time involved at both Rogers and Fido, plus the processing procedures. Even more impressively they have made it easier for me to leave them completely down the road by unlocking my phone.
So why would Rogers do this instead of just offering me what Fido would offer me? They couldn't offer an explanation, but it's definitely less profitable for them.
Ridiculous? Of course. But it's something you might want to consider the next time you look at your cellphone bill. Carriers routinely bank on customer complacency to maintain profits.
EDIT: I completed my transfer to Fido this afternoon. Time elapsed between inserting the Fido SIM card in my phone until the number was ported = 9 minutes. The interruption to my regular usage was negligible at best.
A couple of calls can save you money and offer you a better deal. Isn't it worth checking out?
Happy surfing!
-The Home Geek
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