It makes perfect sense. All cellular service providers have a department dedicated to retention and loyalty purposes. Plus, reps at the store have barely any authority in your price plan compared to those on the phone.

All the phones that are available to the CSR on the phone are the same at stores. Just go to the store or check out Fido's website to see what phones are available. It's quite straightforward. If it's too much work to phone in, then switch to another company and continue to pay full price...

So with all that said, do a bit of research and phone in, you've got nothing to lose...

If it's easy to do, then everyone would be doing it. They make it hard on purpose because they're not making as much, possibly even losing money, with their retention plans. They're special plans meant to retain customers, hence the big discounts. They give you huge savings, but there's no free lunch, you gotta put a bit of work into it.

When i first got my retention plan(i happened to phone in at a mall so there was a fido store there) after clearing the good for my new plan the guy said i am also valid to get a free new phone and i just had to go to a fido store.. so i literally walked down stairs gave the store rep my phone and the guy from retention talked the store rep through and i got a new hpone fixed my plan in one go.. lol

last time i called in, the guy asked me if i got a computer near... so i just hop onto the website and the guy talk me through which phone i can choice it from..
it was about 1 hr conversation and probably 40 mins were about selecting a phone.. he was pretty helpful answering all my Q about the phone and did not rush me or anything

is this still the correct number to call?

The number that I've found on the net is 1-888-481-FIDO (3436).

source: http://www.fido.ca/web/page/portal/Fido/GCT_ContactUs

WTF! 1hr conversation?!?!?!?

dude... did you guys talk about porn and chicks or just purely on phones?

Or you can just call 611 on your phone.

When I talked to retentions last month, I was on the phone with the girl for 30-45mins. They spend time going over things on their computer and what not. It takes quite a bit of time.

Today, September 14, I called in and asked for a retention plan. This is what the lady offered:

choice 1 $25 before taxes
200 daytime minutes
unlimited weekends and weeknights (7pm-8am)
unlimited local Fido to Fido
call display (caller ID??)
2500 texts
no SAF and no 911

choice 2 $25 before taxes
200 daytime minutes
unlimited weekends and weeknights (7pm-8am)
1000 local Fido to Fido
call display (caller ID??)
voice mail
2500 texts
no SAF and no 911


WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?

It's not as good as the one listed above my post, but this is what their retention plan is like at the moment.
Should I take, wait, or bargain?

^
go with choice #1.

Do you guys think its worth getting the data plan on top of the voiceplan? I go to school at langara and there's wifi all around the school now, however is it worth the extra $30 a month?

How hard is it to call rententions and say..

"Hi, I've noticed that my contract has recently expired. i've talked to a few of your competitors and this is what they've offered (say some bs) to have me switch over to their services. What can you offer me to stay as a customer?"

something along those lines..

if u cant even spend a few minutes and muster a few words, u dun deserve to be on the rentention plan.

^
who are you directing that to?

I think it's really up to you.. do you usually use more than 1000 minutes? Do you deal with a lot of serious bznz where you need voicemail? Personally, I'd take the 1st plan and maybe upgrade to unlimited network calling, I did that and got it credited for three years I think... don't remember now. :(

the thing is, i don't need any of the two.. LOL

so i still don't know which one to choose..

i'll phone in and ask if there are any more options..

I've got a question.

Say I got my SAF waived for signing a 3-year data plan with Fido. If I cancel my data plan before the agreement ends (and pay $200), would I lose the benefit of having my SAF waived?

^^ u shouldnt cuz the saf should be part of the voiceplan itself but if u cancel data it shouldnt affect it

^If I get a iPhone 3GS through retentions, can I opt to pick it up in store rather than let them mail it to me?

Yes you can.

One more question, if I'm under a contract with Fido, do I have to pay the ECF if I transfer to Rogers?


edit:

If my caller id is waived right now, would I still have it if I renew the my contract before it ends?

I've been with Fido for the past 5 years with the CityFido plan (unlimited calling, anytime) and pay about 80-90 bucks a month with voicemail and 250 text messages. My question is, am I getting ripped off? I've been happy with this plan, but I wanna upgrade my phone and have never received a hardware upgrade through Fido. I would like a data plan as well.

I don't think I talk more than 1000 minutes a month, so do you guys think I should ask for a retention plan and a hardware upgrade?

If my brother has an ambassadors plan with some kind of company discount as well, would he be able to open a new retention plan for me, while keeping his ambassadors plan?

80-90$$ is wayy too much...

give them a call, and make sure they send you to the retention-plan phone line. See what kinds of deals they have to offer you. You don't have to take it right away, neither do you have to actually cancel your current phone plan.

^ Dude, I'm on CityFido right now
$40 no SAF
+$20 for 2500 txt, caller id, enhanced voicemail

So guys I need an opinion

Fido's offering me :

$52.50 first yr, $62.50 thereafter

400 min anytime
Unlim evn and wkend starting at 5PM
Unlim Fido to Fido/Rogers calling
500mb data
voicemail
callerID
2500 txt

... I was thinking about picking up the 3GS for cheap ($50 after i use fidobucks} and selling it, then switching to a berry.
what do you guys think ?

After spending an hour on the phone with Fido, this is what I got:

- 200 daytime minutes
- unlimited fido/rogers
- evenings/weekends after 5
- no saf
- no 911 fee
- voicemail
- call display
- 2500 txt msgs

$27.50 a month...not too shabby I think.