In marketing terms, I am pretty brand loyal about a lot of things. In the case of my home land-line phone, the incumbent Telus was where I was happy to dedicate my patronage for about nine years. In that time there were cheaper alternatives, (such as internet phone services, or dropping the land line altogether for a cell phone). I figured “hey, Telus is the phone expert, they do this well, and I have no problems with them, so why bother making any changes,” case closed.
Then just over a year ago, I started to think “hey, I do not get a lot of value for money on this phone service”. Shaw Cable had been offering their cheaper digital phone service for a while, and I sent an inquiry to Telus asking for a more competitive rate. Instead I got back rhetoric that the competition was not the same product, that Telus offers a higher quality of product and service, and other promotional buzz-words. So, whatever, no deal on the phone, I’ll just leave it alone anyways.
This Christmas Break I had a chance to clean the office a little and catch up on some filing, the contents of which included a recent Shaw Digital Phone ad and 18 months of Telus phone bills. Wow, for what I used and what I paid, I could have saved at least $200 this past year! I kinda need that money more than ever now. So later this week Telus will be getting the punt as I start to cheer for Team Shaw, and we’ll see if they really can deliver the value-for-dollar that they claim.
Don’t worry Telus, unlike many Albertans who seem to despise you with every fiber of their being, I don’t hate you. I just want to pay less money. And you still have my unwavering support when it comes to my cell phone. Which is in the middle of a three year contract. And is not an iPhone…