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hightech
join:2011-01-03

hightech

Member

Longer Warranties and Subsidies on New Hardware

I am hoping Marc or others can comment to this.

I was checking out the ISP CIK Telecom Inc. and came across an interesting policy they have regarding Hardware and Upgrades:

Hardware Lifetime Warranty and Upgrade Policy:

As of January 1st, 2011, all new customers must purchase CIK hardware when signing up for any CIK service. All customers receive a lifetime warranty for all their purchases and any defective hardware will be replaced free of charge. Broken hardware due to physical damage is not included in the warranty.

As technology improves, higher quality hardware is required to take advantage of enhanced internet services and features. For loyal CIK customers, active for two years or more, two excellent choices are available for upgrading their current hardware. They can choose to prepay for their service for one year and receive a new hardware unit free or purchase a new hardware unit at 50% off the list price. A shipping and handling fee will be charged.

»www.ciktel.com/ecm/eng/R ··· ware.asp

The question is, why can't Teksavvy offer something like this? Teksavy has been around over 5 years longer then CIK (»www.ciktel.com/ecm/eng/a ··· t_us.asp) and has a much better reputation at protecting/championing for customers.

One of the things that people seem to hate about TSI is the fact that they have to get new hardware at full prices. The only concession they offer is a used modem at 30% off. If TSI can offer longer warranties and concessions to customers with tenure that would be really appreciated. Remember, these are the customers you want to retain and making them upgrade to new modems at full prices to take advantage of added speed tiers seems counter productive. Especially now that Rogers pricing is the same and in some cases lower then TSI and they include a modem for free and replace it anytime they deem it to be malfunctioning.

I have resisted going back to the Red Devil but others here do not share my loyalty. I would be curious to know what TSI attrition/churn rates are with respect to customers who have left due to Rogers Incentives.

MFido
Montreal
join:2012-10-19

MFido

Member

This is VERY tricky proposition.

MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC
·TELUS
Actiontec T3200M
Arcadyan WE410443-TS
Sipura SPA-2102

1 recommendation

MacGyver to hightech

to hightech
I paid Bell $700+ for about 8 years (2001 to 2009) to rent a modem at $8 a month. Sure, Bell would replace it at no cost if needed, but I probably paid for the thing several times over. And it never failed. I returned it back to Bell in perfect working order. I can tell you a similar story with my hot water tank, which I also returned to the rental company.

It doesn't matter how it's structured, if you want the ISP to own the hardware, deal with tax implications including depreciation, and protect the customer against obsolescence, then the customer is going to pay for that as part of their subscription fee every single month. As a customer, I would rather NOT pay for that because it's something I may never benefit from. The company is called Teksavvy for a reason. If you like to overpay rental fees for a modem and wireless router, then go to the competition and pay more.
Aens
join:2012-11-09

Aens

Member

I was looking at this exact problem recently and it was pivotal in my decision to switch away from teksavvy. Regardless of who's fault and what kind of market manipulation was involved, the fact that an upload speed increase necessitated a new modem purchase (150/20 on rcable), which hasn't even been announced yet, convinced me that protesting against the big 3 with my wallet through teksavvy wasn't really doing anything.

When the prices are practically the same if not the same if you factor in upfront modem purchase + expected life span, I couldn't justify it and switched away. With teksavvy charging the same as the incumbent rates and providing less capable customer service(debatable) and a DIY policy with technical support/warranty, I just don't see the value proposition. Its not like this is Big 3 vs Wind where one costs half as much as the other.

Teddy Boom
k kudos Received
Premium Member
join:2007-01-29
Toronto, ON

Teddy Boom

Premium Member

said by Aens:

convinced me that protesting against the big 3 with my wallet through teksavvy wasn't really doing anything.

When the prices are practically the same if not the same if you factor in upfront modem purchase + expected life span, I couldn't justify it and switched away.

You are contradicting yourself, I think.. Rogers has responded to TekSavvy pricing in two ways. They have lowered prices to end customers, and they have increased price demands at the CRTC. Rogers has done this because customers switched away in large numbers over the last couple of years. Your own experience is proof that "protesting" did something.

Not that it did what we need--what we need is functional separation--but it did SOMETHING:
»Essential Service and/or Functional Separation
Teddy Boom

Teddy Boom to hightech

Premium Member

to hightech
said by hightech:

Hardware Lifetime Warranty and Upgrade Policy:

As of January 1st, 2011, all new customers must purchase CIK hardware when signing up for any CIK service. All customers receive a lifetime warranty for all their purchases and any defective hardware will be replaced free of charge. Broken hardware due to physical damage is not included in the warranty.

As technology improves, higher quality hardware is required to take advantage of enhanced internet services and features. For loyal CIK customers, active for two years or more, two excellent choices are available for upgrading their current hardware. They can choose to prepay for their service for one year and receive a new hardware unit free or purchase a new hardware unit at 50% off the list price. A shipping and handling fee will be charged.

Except for the bolded, it is a nice customer friendly policy that probably doesn't cost a huge amount. The bolded is a real cash grab, and is extremely restrictive for customers who appreciate the flexibility of BYOM.

MFido
Montreal
join:2012-10-19

MFido to Aens

Member

to Aens
to Aens: If everyone thinks / behaves like you ... in 1-2 years all 3rd party customers will move to the Big 3 ...and in no time the prices are up again!
hightech
join:2011-01-03

hightech to MacGyver

Member

to MacGyver
MacGyver

I don't think you read the info that I posted properly. You have to BUY a modem (like Teksavvy). After which they provide LIFETIME warranty on it (unlike Teksavvy 1 year).

If the modem is obsolete, you can BUY a NEW modem at 1/2 PRICE.

your comment about rentals is valid, but this is NOT a rental. It is a customer friendly warranty for purchased hardware and is treated as if it was a rental but without the added costs.

As for the cost issue, CIK Tel pricing is LOWER then Teksavvy so how do you account for the pricing?

Rogers Cable Pricing:

Teksavvy: 30/5 plan with unlimited $74.95

CIKTEL: 30/5 plan with unlimited $44.95

Teksavvy: 60/10 unlimited $94.95

CIKTEL: 60/10 unlimited $54.95

What am I missing here?
hightech

hightech to Teddy Boom

Member

to Teddy Boom
You can buy a new modem, and sell your existing modem on kijiji/craigslist. You still come out ahead.

MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC
·TELUS
Actiontec T3200M
Arcadyan WE410443-TS
Sipura SPA-2102

MacGyver to hightech

to hightech
Sorry I didn't understand, but my Cantonese is a bit rusty and I couldn't find an English version of CIKTEL's page.
said by hightech:

Teksavvy: 30/5 plan with unlimited $74.95

CIKTEL: 30/5 plan with unlimited $44.95

Teksavvy: 60/10 unlimited $94.95

CIKTEL: 60/10 unlimited $54.95

What am I missing here?

Looking that the reviews on this site for CIKTEL it looks like you get what you pay for. »User reviews - CIKTEL Telecom

oceros37
join:2013-07-20
St Thomas, ON

oceros37 to hightech

Member

to hightech
said by hightech:

so how do you account for the pricing?

CIKtel is losing bigtime on any users actually using that unlimited feature.. or they do not have the capacity to actually be hurt by that. That translates into slow speeds for users and it seems like the theme of the reviews that are on DSLR