Their first adjustment in policy came around July 25th. This proved to be not much different from the situation I described in the original letter. Instead of cancelling my account for $400 and renewing for 3yrs, they said that I could wait until I had completed one full year of my contract (this is February for me), then I could cancel my contract for $110 and renew for 3yrs. I did not really feel like waiting that long. Plus, this would make me ineligible for the $30/6GB data plan promotion which ends on August 31st. I had decided at that point to give up and hope that the new competitors would eventually get on the iPhone program. I would then gladly pay $400 to extract myself from Fido to switch to somebody else.
Then I heard a rumor about two weeks ago that they changed their policy once again. Indeed it took one failed phone call to Customer Service and one successful trip to a Fido store to get the deal done. What they ended up doing was pricing the iPhone at $345 for those who had completed at least 3 months of their contract (I assumed that people within 3 months of their contract were out of luck). I was able to add on the data promotion too. This was basically what I wanted in the first place - just give me the price to upgrade my phone.
For the sake of completeness, the original letter remains written below.
An Open Letter to Fido,
I joined Fido with the intention of having the iPhone available to me when it was released in Canada.
Now I have learned that I cannot get it unless I:
Adding a second line is wasteful since I only need one line. And cancelling my account at a cost of $400 only to sign up again for another 3yr contract is ludicrous.
I am not within the renewal period of 14 months before the end of my contract (which is one of the eligibility requirements for the iPhone upgrade for current customers). I started my plan in January of 2008, and it expires in 2011. But let me reiterate, I started my plan with Fido (with whom I was on a pay-as-you-go plan previously) with the intention of being able to get the iPhone when it arrived since Fido/Rogers is the only compatible cell network in Canada for the device. The restrictions on eligibility as you now have written them are so unreasonable that I could not have predicted that I would have made myself ineligible to get an iPhone simply by signing on to your service. On the contrary, if you would have asked me at the time I would have thought that your current customers might be given preferential treatment for such a coveted product.
On your website it reads: "If you don't qualify for the above, don't worry, we're currently working on ways to make the 3G iPhone available to you. Visit a Fido store or call us at 1-888-481-3436 in a few weeks. We should have more information."
I take issue with 'in a few weeks' since your promotional data plan (which was only offered because of the vocal public displeasure at your initial data plans) of $30 for 6GB of data expires on August 31st. What happens if you do not come up with a plan to accommodate customers like me until after that date expires? Will there be something equivalent on offer then? Will the offer be extended only to those who could not participate in the program because of the predicament I have described so far?
On top of all that, when I call support for answers all I hear is the same line repeated robotically, "The iPhone is in high demand, so new customers are given preference." As much as I want to yell and rant about this situation, I refrain from doing so on the phone since the person on the other end of the line is simply an unfortunate casualty in this scenario.
I think it is shameful how you treat your existing - and one must assume, loyal - customers. You are showing favouritism to new customers without any regard whatsoever for those who have paid your bills. At the very minimum, I would have expected Fido to have a first-come, first-serve policy for everybody regardless of whether they are new or old. But instead, you gave least priority to your current customers. Not only is this unreasonable and unfair, but also bad for business. Take my public tirade as one example of how a potential advocate for your service has turned into the exact opposite.
As one who has worked in the service industry, the classic response to a dissatisfied customer is, "What I can do to make you happy?" What would satisfy me is to be put on a waiting list for the iPhone along with all of the others who are currently on it. Then when one is available I would like to be able to choose from a voice and data package without having to cancel my account or sign up for a second line. It does not feel like this is an unreasonable request. If you need to get a hold of me to discuss, then look up Jerome Valdez in your customer records. You can phone my cell.
If a diagram can help to clarify my position, it looks like this...
