It's WIND Mobile Roulette!!!

Wednesday night, 9ish, it's now what I call WIND Mobile roulette.

Basically - how many times do you have a to dial a phone number before you actually get through. Tonight I got lucky, I only had to call three times before the line went out, as in, my call when through vs. "Call Failed". The other night is was five times before I could access my voice mail.

No, I don't live in the basement. I have to go to the front of the house, or back, but usually outside to have a phone call. Kinda sucks when it's a business phone call and it's -20 out. Even worse with the....WIND chill factor. Ha ha, couldn't resist.

Anyway, I'm decide to make this blog more of a WIND journal for how bad reception is. Please don't get my wrong - I laud what the company is doing from a) challenging the major incumbents who really do screw the consumer, and b) from having really simple plans. But alas, at the end of the day - if you can make or receive calls - it's not a good deal.

Another WIND Day

When I read the Globe and Mail this morning and saw WIND is trying to offer a quad play - meaning - phone, internet, tv and cell phone, I couldn't help but wonder if their TV service is as unreliable as their cell service, exactly what that would look like......

6:00 pm to 6:15 pm. made 9 calls to a 1800 number, not one went through. Oddly, when I call on skype out (a great service for 2.99Euros a month) i get through. What happened along the way where I can call people over the internet and actually talk with better reception than cell phone. Actually - I stand corrected - I got through on the Internet I couldn't even call out with WIND.

If you're reading this dear WIND management, whatever you have to do, to improve your service, DO IT. Get it done right in Toronto before you try expanding other places, otherwise you'll have a nation full of customers wondering WTF. And with the likes of Chatr on your heels, people have low cost options....

I'm just sayin.....

February 15, 2012 - Another crappy day with WIND Mobile and my Blackberry 9300

It's that time of day again. 3:00pm EST. The low point for WIND, and/or Blackberry.
That stupid little icon in the upper right of my phone scrolling crazily, making me think data is preventing me from making a call, or it's just an icon that makes us wonder, WTF is that thing for.....

I made 5 consecutive calls, all failed, 3 numbers, tried one number once, another number twice, another number once and then my voice mail. Every call failed.
Yeh! And I should complain for $40 a month? Back in the USA, I'm sure I'd have no problem making a call in a major city and not need to pay twice what I'm paying just for reliable service. But alas, in Canada, you're hosed. A fair and reasonable price, with horrible reception, or you get screwed by the majors for twice the cost for more reliable service. Why does a telephone and service have to cost so much. Crazy that a freakin iPhone costs more than a freakin flat screen TV. or home theatre system. Why is call my neighbour less expensive than calling Vancouver. Like email and technology age, does is matter where I'm located? Or is this just a bullshit thing that telco's 'make up' as way to charge you more.

Anyway - I'm near ready for the next low fee provider, Chatr Wireless.

I look forward to the day when WIND's service doesn't blow as badly as it does.

As for RIM, we'll see if they're around. Or maybe they'll realize it's not cool to make people figure out their design and that the design goal, should be simplicity of use, to the point where a manual would not be required. At least easier than what they did with the 9300.

Wind - Still Blowing & Rim has joined the Party

I think this blog should really be a survey of the best of the worst, but cheaper than the overall best.....

I have a Blackberry 9300 now, I went through 5 HTC Maples in less than a year, what piece of @#$% of a phone, how could HTC so screw up?

Now, with a Blackberry, and I just bought a Playbook, I understand why their stock is in the tank, and Apple is the world's largest corporation and it's stock is pushing $500. Not only do they make 1 phone, a great phone, it's game changer. As was the iPod, as was the iPad, when they get it right, the really knock it out of the park.

So I don't know who to be more pissed at RIM with it's poor design and zero attention to usability, or Wind Mobile, with it's consumer friendly pricing but horrific service reminiscent of the late 80's.....

I like the data service on my call, except for, uh, let's see, oh yea, when you get email or you see RIM's funny little data icon spinning, you lose your call over 50% of the time. Or, you just cut out. This phone and company are ok for personal use because they're so cheap, but for business, not so.

My RIM does not work with wifi - or if it does, it's not obvious how it can work without the overall data being on, in which case, if you're roaming, which is when you might wanna use wifi, it doesn't work. My RIM 9300 hangs. I drove back from the US and must have sat on it funny hitting certain keys, and alas, my phone stopped scrolling.

I got a Blackberry Playbook, and you'd think RIM would have automatically included plug ins for their own phones, but alas, no. That was a process too.
And it hangs, and crashes. Given it's weight I might have thought they configure the device to be used with your thumbs more. There's no skyp app. No netflix app. With Gmail I just the one account set up, don't know how to add more.

But I digress. I'm kvetching today because I'm tired of having so many dropped calls - this is an anathema for WIND, their service really sucks, unless of course, it's RIM and they hadn't figured out how to deliver an email or text message without dropping a call. Either way, dealing with my RIM is a daily piss off.

They should learn from Apple, it's about usability stupid.

On to round 5 now. Wind Mobiles, HTC is the absolute worst phone and service I've ever had. In 10 months we've had: HTC Maple #1, broken track ball within first 5 months. I happen to notice that there are a lot of postings on CraigsList offering to repair the trackball for an HTC. If this has become a cottage industry, it's pretty good sign, the phone is a piece of crap. HTC Maple #2, after 4 months a lovely Microsoft OS meltdown rendered the phone inoperable, for all intents and purposes. trip # 3 to downtown toronto to fix. HTC Maple #3 waited 20 minutes in the store to get my phone replaced. The replacement wouldn't read the SIM card. Started over. HTC Maple #4 - got home, the power cord/sync cord isn't recognized. Result - my work phone is dead. One more hour + our of the office to go down town to get phone #5. You'd think they (Wind) would say, yeah, ok, we fucked up on this, we'll give you a credit for a new phone. But no, they want their balance paid and are offering that up as a 'solution' and the dickhead CSR offering it as the "only" solution. Actually the solution is to get another phone and go to a carrier that works. Wind has great plans, and simple bills, I do laud them for that. But the service (more dropped calls in 10 months that the previous 10 years with 3 other carriers!) sucks, and the phones are cheap. That can only take you so far.......

Wind Mobile - Blows

Oy! I'm really at a loss here. I know, I know, that old adage, you get what you pay for keeps coming back up. I have to state up front that I will give Wind Mobile a shout out for simplification of their service. I like that there is one fee - for a whole bevy of service, and when you get your bill, it's JUST THAT FEE plus the HST of course (up here in Canada). No other bullshit fees like all the other carriers. Even when you roam they only charge you a modest amount - Modest = less than what the other telco jerks charge if you go over you're monthly minute allotment. Canadians are royally screwed by their telcos. And the one company that doesn't suck, Wind, blows. I mean their service. This pains me, really. I like their plan, my plan. It's so cheap. BUT - it's only cheap when I can make a call, or receive one.

I've lost count of the times I've been 'on hold' with some customer support department (notice how it doesn't matter what the industry is, every time you call they're experiencing a larger than normal call volume. If each company's service sucks that bad they should fire the product development team or the CTO), and just as I get through to a CSR wind drops the call, but i digress. With Wind Mobile I get text messages - a day later. I get voicemail messages and a text messages, usually at the same time. I'm lucky when I get a call.

I've been in my house, on the front porch or in the back yard and have dialed out 5 times in a row before getting a signal or a number to go through. I've had my phone on the desk and had hours later a voicemail message show up. The phone didn't ring. I have more conversations that get cut off after 15 minutes than not. So, great plans, great consumer facing billing and messaging, but, uh, oh yeah, the underlying service - is crap!

This means, a) i'm going to have to find another provider because I can't afford to not get or make calls for work and b) i'm going to get screwed by the other telcos. Canadians pay an inordinately high amount for mobile services, and broadband for that matter.

I know all the big guys have their discount brands like fido, chattr, virgin, koodoo, but their model should really be "we screw you less", since they also take on fees, and nickel and dime you till your fucking phone bill is well north of $80 a month. Why, I ask, as a visitor here, do Canadians just take this????

So - if anyone has a suggestion for a Canadian mobile company that screws you less, let me know - morleybrown@gmail.com I'll check them out. Until then, I'm singing the telco blues up here in the great white north!!

Wind Mobile & the HTC Maple

Wind Mobile & the HTC Maple
So, I'm ending up back in Canada and having divorced myself from FIDO went in search for another provider up here, fully prepared to be paying twice the price for half the service you get in the USA. Alas, no - but with some caveats.


Wind Mobile, a new startup Canadian wireless provider, seems to have a better perspective on customer service than most of Canadian telco's I've dealt with.
Over the holidays they had a special promotion, $40 unlimited calls to the USA and Canada, (no long distance), and unlimited data, fair use policy in effect. What a deal!!! What can I say, a company up here finally gets it!

Great deal, and I like their take on customer service, as in, what's good for the customer. You get to unlock your phone after 3 months. I mean, really, why not. Why is this even an issue. There's a Canadian MP that's lobbying, has a petition to let customers unlock their phones, it's here if you care to sign it. But why is this like, oh really? I paid $600 for my f'n FIDO phone and those MF's wouldn't give me the unlock codes. AND I PAID FOR THE PHONE!!!! It's not that I was leaving them, I just wanted to use the phone when I went back to the US or to Europe on business. Why is 'f@#$ the customer' the MO up here?

So, I like Wind. They get it.
That said - I have had problems with the network, so, as the adage goes, you get what you pay for. I've had several dropped calls at my apt or walking around. And when I get reception, it's sketchy at best. I can only hope it's because they have had so many new customers and that it's only a matter of time before they address their network issues. There have been times when I actually have to use SKYPE, to make a phone call because I can't get through on WIND. Better look in to that WIND otherwise you'll start to lose clients, not because you don't have good, fair plans, not because you don't have a customer friendly service, but the underlying service, you know, providing phone service - isn't there. Pay attention.

As far as the HTC Maple, I guess you could say the same thing. It's 1/4 the price of an iPhone and 1/4 quarter as useful and cool. Its first mistake (or mine), was going with Microsoft for an OS. What a piece of crap. Does these guys know what year it is? So, it's cheap, and it's basic. You do get your email. Forget about surfing the Web, apps, or anything remotely cool, useful or intuitive, i.e., anything that Apple has done in the last few years.

The phone hangs, to the point where I have to take out the battery. It crashes. It flashes. What's with the flashing. Why do I need to see flashing green and red light all the freakin time. Do you need to tell me that way that I'm getting email? Or surfing the net? What? WHAT? WHY Tell me. I find it a crazy annoying 'feature'. I read the news, try, in bed, and there's this stupid flashing light in my face. This sort of bad design drives me mental. I know there are bigger problems in the world, but man, on a day to day, that such shitty products make it to market is always a head scratcher.

For those looking for a basic, no nonesense cheap phone. This is it. The battery life isn't great. The ear piece they give is crap. Although it has bluetooth I haven't been able to sync with one other device yet, including my bluetooth headset. For the $$ don't get it, really, go with an Android phone, or anything other than this POS. It's difficult to get the cover off to change the SIM card, it's difficult to remove the flap to charge it. The HTC must have been designed by first year engineers. Way behind, and no clue about user interface.

Oy gevalt!