In Defence of WIND: Every Rebuttal Ever
Last night, while searching for signs of outrage that Telus has decided, in the spirit of competition, to raise plan pricing and fees by 9-30% and up the price of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 by $200 (only to drop it again and misleadingly call it a “promotion“), I stumbled across Young And Thrifty, a blog hailing from the best city in Canada (as in, Vancouver), and the author’s post about WIND Mobile not being “what it’s cracked up to be.”
While skimming her words, I was going to post a quick response, until I noticed that the friendly Mary from Rogers made some pretty misleading comments regarding WIND in trying to promote Rogers. I respect and appreciate her enthusiasm in defending her carrier, but I felt it was only necessary for me to defend mine. Unreasonable attacks should never be ignored if they’re not made in a trollish manner, and Mary is certainly no troll.
Thus, refining the comment I posted on YAT, I present a lengthy post on rebutting just about every single criticism hurled at WIND in comparison to the Big Three of Rogers, Bell, and Telus, the direct competition of WIND (not discount carriers such as Fido, Virgin, and Koodo). It doesn’t mean that WIND is the perfect carrier (adopting such an attitude = doing it wrong), but rather both sides of the story should be presented to best inform readers. If you can think of a new criticism without resorting to trolling, or if I’ve missed a rebuttal/should improve one, shoot me a comment below.
CATEGORIES:
HANDSETS:
Competitive pricing: It is unfair to compare WIND’s no-contract price of the BlackBerryBold 9700, for example, to Rogers’ subsidized three-year contract price. Rogers = $599, WIND = $450. Sure, you may even get the Bold for free from Rogers, but you end up paying much more over the 24-36 months of its lifetime due to plan commitments, thus making it quite a pricey device. With WIND, you can upgrade/change your phone anytime you want, period.
It is a well-known practise of the Big Three to artificially inflate the no-contract price in order to give you a “deal” on the contract price (like this), whereas WIND offers their phones at cost and barely makes any money on devices.
Simple payment: Pay the entire cost upfront, and it’s yours to keep (and unlockable after three months). Or, WIND will soon introduce a Koodo-like tab system so you don’t have to drop $450 all at once for a Bold. Still no-contract, though!
Increasing availability: According to reports, over 177 million AWS phones will be in use by 2013. Handsets are limited now since AWS is relatively new (only 12 million phones in use now), but manufacturers are keen on grabbing as much market share as possible — just look at the N900, Nexus One, HD2, and an upcoming AWS iPhone. AWS is the future, which is why Rogers, Bell, and Telus all have their own 1700mHz frequencies ready to be deployed — when that happens (and it will or else they lose it to a new auction) the argument that buying a WIND phone “limits” you to usage solely on WIND’s network won’t have a leg to stand on anymore.
PLANS:
Best value: If you try to grasp the feedback surrounding WIND’s plans, you’ll notice that it’s overwhelmingly WIND vs. discount carriers such as Fido, instead of Rogers. WIND wins, simply put — they can best even the “cheapest” of carriers. Don’t forget that Rogers continues to charge an SAF under a misleading different name, and that all the voice add-ons can make a $25 plan turn into $60 a month (as mine did). With WIND, you pay $45 maximum for everything voice.
Unlimited is the trend: Some try to make the case that unlimited plans won’t be used by “95% of customers”, as Mary did (where’s her source?), but there’s a reason why carriers in Europe, Asia, and even the US offer them. AT&T and Verizon are currently in a price war for the cheapest unlimited plans!
Targeted data plans: WIND’s marketing strategy is aimed at high-end, data-heavy users, especially since new handsets are produced to specifically suck up loads of data (even the iPhone uses plenty). That said, they ARE planning to introduce a mid-level data plan for lighter users. Even if a WIND subscriber doesn’t have a data plan, their usage rate is $4/MB versus $25+/MB with the Big Three, a sixfold difference!
Absolute freedom: With WIND, you have absolute freedom to pair a handset with a phone; let’s see any of the Big Three allow you to have a prepaid $15 voice plan and no data with the Bold 9700, or any smartphone. Oh, and without charging you ridiculous activation fees, SAF/911 fees, ECFs, et cetera…
No contracts: WIND refuses to employ contracts, meaning that subscribers can jump ship any time (or the flip side: they can adjust their voice and data plans at will), thus WIND needs to work hard to maintain customer loyalty. When Rogers locks you down to a three-year plan, they can (and do) change the terms as they wish due to unmentioned clauses in the contract because you cannot escape.
COVERAGE:
Ah, yes, coverage. As a loyal WIND subscriber and fan, I will be the first to admit that WIND has experienced problems with coverage, and that their coverage areas are currently limited. However, it is completely unreasonable for critics to exploit that as some unyielding fact.
First of all, within the first two weeks, WIND coverage for me went from no signal half the time and 80% of calls dropped to 99% signal uptime and 3% of calls dropped — certainly comparable, if not better, than what I had with Rogers. Today, a month after launch, I get a random signal cut out maybe once a week, if even, and a dropped call when said signal cut out occurs. I bounce around the GTA from Mississauga to Downtown to Oshawa — pretty much the entire GTA coverage map.
Have patience!: What can one honestly expect from a brand-new company on a brand-new network? Right now, the Big Three is falsely implying that WIND’s unlimited usage isn’t unlimited, when in actuality the voice and data are unlimited if you are within the coverage area, which itself is expanding as fast as possible. Edmonton and Ottawa will be included in “Home Zone” next month, and Vancouver a few months later, and coverage will be coast to coast (sans Quebec, where I hope they have a roaming agreement with Videotron) within a few years.
It would certainly be interesting to see how long reps from Rogers, Bell, or Telus admit it took their companies to achieve true coast to coast network coverage.
Unreasonable comparisons: Complaining about the lack of coverage area while WIND is just starting out and Rogers/Bell/Telus have had a two-decade head start is akin to 20-year-old me complaining that my baby cousin cannot write a lengthy dissertation about the merits Keynesian economics in a capitalist society, let alone form basic words; therefore, she must be doomed to failure forever, right?
Cheap roaming: With regards to roaming, the Big Three equivalent would be long distance, especially relevant since they have shrunk their local calling area (WIND’s local calling/data area is EVERYWHERE they have coverage!). Calling Toronto to Pickering, just a 20-minute drive, will cost you your minute (normally $0.15-0.25/min) PLUS $0.35/min long distance, so you’re guaranteed to be paying more than WIND’s roaming rate.
And what if I was in sunny California? I’m still paying $0.25/min total with WIND versus probably $1+/min with Rogers. No matter how it’s spun, WIND’s roaming is still cheaper than the Big Three’s long distance.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
What service?!: Amusingly, pro-Big Three critics of WIND consistently fail to mention their company’s customer care record, possibly because it is severely lacking in the “care” section. The main reason I eagerly switched from Rogers to WIND was due to the fact that I had repeatedly horrible experiences dealing with customer service reps, even in situations where Rogers was at fault.
WIND, in contrast: WIND has promoted and continues to adhere to the philosophy of meaningful “conversations” and “listening” to fans, critics, customers, and employees. Within four weeks, I have received four calls from WIND employees asking if I’m still happy with the service, and what feedback I could provide to assist them in continually improving. I’m thrilled. Though not without their faults (see: port blocking issue), WIND still impresses by responding quickly (see: unblocking ports within 24 hours!).
As well, I always manage to have real chats with WIND employees as friend and not foe; when was the last time you shared a hearty laugh with a Bell rep?
Equal, fair treatment: You don’t need to fight tooth and nail with WIND to better understand/receive their services. WIND offers the same simple, value-packed plans to everyone, prepaid or postpaid. We consumers should stop accepting the fact that one must threaten the retentions department in order to get a cheaper plan, and start to commend carriers such as WIND for walking down the two-way street of respect.
It’s about the attitude: It’s inevitable that as WIND expands, it will weaken personal connections; but look at the other carriers, are they any better? At the very least, WIND adheres to the attitude of constant improvement and self-betterment, rather than merely trying to sell you a phone and a plan.
THE FLIP SIDE…
In all fairness, I must also present reasons as to why WIND may not be suitable for every single Canadian consumer on the market — and really, they’re not. They just happen to offer plans with great value if you ARE the type of user who enjoys freedom from counting usage and concerns about overage fees, the freedom to use any compatible handset on any plan, and the freedom to end a customer service conversation with a smile on your face.
Your usage is minimal: Stick with a real discount carrier who can offer you $100 of minutes for a whole year, you’ll save the most money.
Your patience is minimal: It creates a headache for everyone when one of the parties involved cannot handle potential speedbumps and creates further trouble. However, personally speaking, my bad experiences with WIND are still better than my past bad experiences with Rogers.
Retentions plans: If you currently have an amazing retentions plan that suits your needs better than WIND could, great! WIND’s entry into the Canadian wireless market was to foster better competition, and you would be an example of success.
Corporate plans: You might be a business owner, and you’re worried about WIND’s overall reliability. Fair enough. Your current carrier might offer a very attractive plan besting even WIND’s $90 unlimited everything Canada/US, and WIND doesn’t have their own corporate/BES plan available yet.
Contracts aren’t scary for some: Not everyone receives horrible network and customer service from the Big Three. If they’re treating some customers properly, we should applaud them and encourage them to apply the same positive attitude to all their customers.
You work for the Big Three: If that’s the case, I beg you to drop the arrogance and focus on improving your own offerings rather than simply mocking WIND’s. It’s your livelihood, after all, and by the time you realize you should have changed it may be too late. WIND becoming the Big One would be three times worse than the Big Three we have now!
In the end, whether one signs with WIND or not, it is imperative to have patience and give them the same opportunity afforded to Rogers, Bell, and Telus to expand and stabilize before writing them off as nothing but a brief gust of hope. But don’t hold your breath, either; always thoroughly research your options before fully deciding upon the best course of action. It’s my opinion, if you can’t tell, that WIND undoubtedly represents the best choice in wireless today. 
[Last updated: 18-01-2010]
Filed under: WINDmobile | 11 Comments
Paypal Welcome!
-
Nice write up.
I’m always irritated at how little research people actually do before trotting out half-facts and incorrect information. Canadians are so used to subsidized phones that they think $450 CAD is expensive for a no-term phone. I’ve bought countless import phones not available in Canada.
WIND isn’t going to be everything to everyone. I’m on Rogers and until WIND expands their network, I won’t be switching. I’ve got a great retention plan including 6GB of data.
People simply don’t understand the engineering behind setting up a network and think it’s just “flipping a switch.”
Hey ACD… nice article. Just wondering, the International Telecommunication Union (stemming from the oldest agency in the UN family) predicted 4.6 billion mobile subscriptions world wide by the end of 2009, any thoughts on how close to that target they got?
Wind planning a tab system is only a RUMOUR, according to Tony’s interview here: http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/01/04/interview-with-tony-lacavera-how-is-wind-mobile-doing/
Having said that, I hope they never implement a tab system exactly like Koodo’s, as it is still a subsidy. Phone subsidies are paid for by higher monthly rates and fees, and are a sign of an unhealthy wireless market.
Of course Tony’s going to call it a rumour! As the CEO, everything he says regarding future plans are not definite until they become definite.
If you check out The Mobile Ninjas’ post, they confirmed a tab system to be in the database — and Riley’s never been wrong yet about WIND. So it’s coming soon.
About the merits of a tab system, I think it’s a fantastic idea if WIND charges zero interest and zero fees. It’s nothing like a contract because you eventually pay off that $450, in monthly increments rather than all at once. You can still cancel your service with WIND anytime you’d like — just cough up any debt remaining on your phones. That is definitely NOT an ECF of any sort.
The main problem with the Koodo tab is that you cannot use a positive tab to reduce your monthly charges. Or customers who bring their own phones do NOT get a discount on monthly charges. This is unfair.
If paying for the phone in full is that big an issue, then what is fairer and more transparent than Koodo’s tab is T-Mobile’s “Equipment Installment Plan”. It says, “you have the option to pay for your phone in 20 interest-free installments. You make the first payment when you purchase your phone, then we charge the remaining payments to your monthly bill.”
I see what you mean.
In that case, I agree that T-Mo’s plan is better.
Basically, if WIND were to implement a tab system, I think it would fit best with their service mantra to keep it as simple as possible: literally dividing up $450+tax into __ interest-free instalments. Forget about discounts on plans or charges, since WIND doesn’t do that anyway (everyone gets the same value-packed plan).
IMO, a tab exists ONLY to pay off the phone, and any other charges are completely separate.
People should stop fixating on the $450 Blackberry. The price to join the Wind club is $130 minimum. Once you put it that way, paying full price for a phone doesn’t seem that bad.
The tab system is a good idea- hopefully Wind will implement it. You’re right. Being contract-free probably kicks ass. I haven’t had the taste of freedom yet. I hope to soon, after I’m done my contract, and as you say, when Wind Mobile comes out to the wild wild West (okay, not so wild here in BC) in June.
About Customer Service ACD – If you are stuck in a Big 3 contract… it is so hard to reason with them. It is difficult to get them to agree. However, as soon as you switch, especially to WIND, they send out their best CSR to convince you to stay… and the deal they put on the table is oh so sweet… But let this be a warning to all, it is their bait. As soon as they have you back on the hook they can change anything they may have agreed to. I mean, you almost have to be a lawyer to read through their contracts. But it is in their contract that they are not bound by anything a CSR says and that they only have to give you 30 days notice and change whatever it is you thought they agreed to. NEVER SIGN A CONTRACT WITH THEM NO MATTER HOW SWEET THE DEAL APPEARS!
My personal favorite might be Justin Bieber, he’s so attractive!
I guess WIND will soon launch tab system.