@barndoor wrote:
@Sarcee wrote:
@barndoor wrote:
@Sarcee wrote:Nope. When I joined Rogers, I simply paid for a voucher. I spent the entire value of that voucher only on air time.
Could you use that airtime on Bell or Telus ? Then I would suggest there was an aspect of that voucher that entitled you to access the Rogers system .
No access fee.
If their is no access fee included in the price per minute or text that you use .... there should be no time limit on their use ...so don't add any money to your account until you have used up those airtime minutes and see what happens .. I bet when your system access expires your airtime minutes won't be worth much . They go hand in hand .
I agree ...that it is complicated .... I expect that is why they are doing away with this type of plan and going to a flat rate monthly .... where the fee is basically system access for a given number of minutes or texts and you pay airtime for anything over and above that amount .
Anyway the terminology really doesn't change anything as far as the math of which renewal strategy gets you the best bang for your buck .... if you don't see how using $100 of the balance does that for you ....good luck with whatever you decide to do .
Giving Rogers $100.00 for nothing (except calendar time) is not the best bang for my buck. It's throwing away money. The classic sunk cost fallacy, throwing good money after bad.
@Sarcee wrote:1. It doesn't cost Rogers $100.00 for me to access their network.
2. The network only costs Rogers money to operate, not to access. There is no need to charge an access fee in the first place. It's a bogus charge. It's all operational costs.
1. We never said that it did.
2. You're probably right. The billions that Rogers spent to create the cellphone network and internet connections for billing, and CSR offices, and maintenance infrastructure is pretty small. The billions they spend to maintain/service it every year is also pretty small. 😉
The people we can thank for our $100 per year or so pre-paid plans are probably the people who spend hundred(s) of $ per month for post-paid subsidizing the overall cost.
@Sarcee wrote:My point was there was no access fee, despite your insistence that there was somehow an access fee portion un-itemized lurking within the value of the voucher itself, without a shred of evidence. Why do you assume that? And how do you know?
In post 191 I explained why there is a portion of the $100 you pay that doesn't go towards airtime. A portion goes towards infrastructure, CSRs, billing (online or via phone), maintenance, debt payments, etc - all the things that make a corporation work. If you believe that all of your $100 goes strictly towards airtime, that's fine with me and the other people on this forum who know otherwise.
@Sarcee wrote:
Sorry, there's just no way any part of the air time fee is going towards paying for any kind of mythical 'access' cost.
If there is no "access" aspect then you should be able to take your " airtime " anywhere . If you buy a pair of pants at Walmart can you wear them in any store or only Walmart ?
Isn't this "access" discussion pretty well moot anyway ... since as of late you seem to be spending over$100 a year on airtime isn't the flat rate $10/month plan the cheapest option you have? With it, you are going to have to use up more "airtime " or else when the access period runs out you will have wasted all that "airtime" ...because if you don't use it you loose it . You'll need to carry a balance anyway with that plan so you can "access" any long distance calls using extra "airtime" .
@Sarcee wrote:1. That's why 'access fees' are a made up bogus extra cost, like when airlines make up charges for baggage fees, window seats, food, etc. It doesn't cost Rogers anything to 'access' their system, since
2. the only way to access it is through air time anyway.
1. Airlines are an interesting analogy. It does actually cost airlines more for each extra pound on the plane. Charging for baggage gets passengers thinking about that.
Window seats don't cost extra, but some seats that utilize extra space (and therefore allow for fewer paying passengers on a plane) do cost more.
Food does cost the airline in terms of cost for the food and in terms of extra weight, that may not be well-utilized when people don't eat it or it gets wasted.
While it is true that airfares used to include all that, people seem to want lower costs for flying, even when it means some of the drop in price is recouped through charges for baggage, extra legroom, food, etc.
2. That's not true. You can access Rogers by calling a CSR and in some rare instances, Rogers now charges for that call. You can also access Rogers to look at your billing, either via MyRogers or via your phone. If Rogers wanted to, they could charge say $40 for System Access, $50 for a certain number of airtime minutes, $1.50 for a CSR call, a 9-1-1 fee, etc instead of say the flat $100. Some people might even prefer that. Just because you purchase a voucher for $100 doesn't mean that this reflects only airtime charges. In actual fact, the cost to Rogers for "Airtime" (a call you make on your phone) is quite a minor cost when compared to all the other items I mentioned previously. You might think you're paying for "airtime" and it may even be advertized that way, but much of your $100 is being "spent" in many other ways.
@57 wrote:
@Sarcee wrote:1. That's why 'access fees' are a made up bogus extra cost, like when airlines make up charges for baggage fees, window seats, food, etc. It doesn't cost Rogers anything to 'access' their system, since
2. the only way to access it is through air time anyway.
1. Airlines are an interesting analogy. It does actually cost airlines more for each extra pound on the plane. Charging for baggage gets passengers thinking about that.
Window seats don't cost extra, but some seats that utilize extra space (and therefore allow for fewer paying passengers on a plane) do cost more.
Food does cost the airline in terms of cost for the food and in terms of extra weight, that may not be well-utilized when people don't eat it or it gets wasted.
While it is true that airfares used to include all that, people seem to want lower costs for flying, even when it means some of the drop in price is recouped through charges for baggage, extra legroom, food, etc.
2. That's not true. You can access Rogers by calling a CSR and in some rare instances, Rogers now charges for that call. You can also access Rogers to look at your billing, either via MyRogers or via your phone. If Rogers wanted to, they could charge say $40 for System Access, $50 for a certain number of airtime minutes, $1.50 for a CSR call, a 9-1-1 fee, etc instead of say the flat $100. Some people might even prefer that. Just because you purchase a voucher for $100 doesn't mean that this reflects only airtime charges. In actual fact, the cost to Rogers for "Airtime" (a call you make on your phone) is quite a minor cost when compared to all the other items I mentioned previously. You might think you're paying for "airtime" and it may even be advertized that way, but much of your $100 is being "spent" in many other ways.
1. Yes, airlines are a very appropriate analogy. The airlines already know how much cost to allow for luggage weight. The cost of it is already built into the airline ticket. If luggage is underweight on a given flight, that's more profit for them.
That's right, window seats don't cost the airline more, but some airlines are charging more for them. And in the last 40 years or so, airline seats have become closer together, and in some cases smaller. More passengers, more profit. Then they can charge more for roomier seats.
The average airline ticket price has gone down since 1980. But since 2010 they've started to climb back up again. But the average overall cost of airline tickets isn't germaine to my point about extra bogus fees, since when it comes to telco's, Canada has one of the highest prices in the world.
2. Yes, that's what I said. The fee people pay for air time goes into covering operating costs. It's true Rogers doesn't charge you extra for accessing your account info, (neither do banks) but they do charge for accessing voicemail. There is no extra cost for 'access', since 'access' is simply part of the overall operating cost. 'Access' is just a bogus magic word used to make you believe there is something extra or special about it. Do you really believe Rogers doesn't already account for things like talking to CSR's? Did they think, "Oops, we forgot about accessing the system, we'll have to tuck that cost separately into the air time rate". Not a chance. Besides, like I said, any extra 'system access' cost (if it exists) wouldn't be built into the air time rates, it would be part of the sim card price, since the sim card is the main way most people access the system.
Regardless of how you figure 'system access' is somehow an extra cost different from operating costs, there is no way anyone in their right mind should consider $100.00 per year a 'system access fee'. That's ridiculous. Now, if you've got that kind of money to throw away, how about sending some my way?
@Sarcee wrote:
1. Regardless of how you figure 'system access' is somehow an extra cost different from operating costs, there is no way anyone in their right mind should consider $100.00 per year a 'system access fee'. That's ridiculous.
2. Now, if you've got that kind of money to throw away, how about sending some my way?
1. The reason we mentioned an access fee earlier in this thread, was that people like me, as well as many others, justify spending $100 to have an emergency phone for a year, even when we didn't use it much. You obviously disagree with this concept and that's fine with us.
2. I don't consider the money "thrown away", especially when that money comes from a pool that I've already paid (like insurance). In my case, by drawing from that pool, I've averaged about $75/year over 10 years, which I consider pretty frugal, so you won't be seeing any of that money.
Edit: If you're wondering how I got down to $75/year, here's a rough table of my cellphone usage I'm on Auto-Top-Up at $10/month, but suspend the top ups for a year whenever my balance is high enough. This "costs" $100 from my balance:
Year Paid Used Balance
2009 $120 $30 $90
2010 $120 $30 $180
2011 $120 $30 $270
2012 $120 $30 $360
2013 0 $30 $230 ($100 for “suspension”)
2014 0 $30 $100 ($100 for “suspension”)
2015 $120 $30 $190
2016 0 $30 $60 ($100 for “Suspension”)
2017 $120 $30 $150
2018 0 $30 $20 ($100 for “Suspension”
Yes , I remember now .....I guess I just couldn't believe that was the best they would do for you considering you are moving to a more expensive plan and you are staying with them . .
So because somebody was so stingy and accrued a big balance they will give them a great deal but they penalize someone that spends a little more and doesn't have a big balance to complain to the CCTC about ...
That is why I don't like all the wheeling and dealing that goes on . It just shows that the only loyalty that Rogers has is to money. Otherwise they would set their plan parameters and stick to them in a standardised format . I have no problem with quantity discounts ... but just because you take the same plan and use it differently shouldn't entitle one person to be treated differently IMO . That said it is ROgers's business and if that is the way they want to treat customers that is their right to do .
On that note I'd use up as much of that balance as possible and then switch providers if they can't treat you the same as they have treated some others here .
Good Luck .
@barndoor wrote:Yes , I remember now .....I guess I just couldn't believe that was the best they would do for you considering you are moving to a more expensive plan and you are staying with them . .
So because somebody was so stingy and accrued a big balance they will give them a great deal but they penalize someone that spends a little more and doesn't have a big balance to complain to the CCTC about ...
That is why I don't like all the wheeling and dealing that goes on . It just shows that the only loyalty that Rogers has is to money. Otherwise they would set their plan parameters and stick to them in a standardised format . I have no problem with quantity discounts ... but just because you take the same plan and use it differently shouldn't entitle one person to be treated differently IMO . That said it is ROgers's business and if that is the way they want to treat customers that is their right to do .
On that note I'd use up as much of that balance as possible and then switch providers if they can't treat you the same as they have treated some others here .
Good Luck .
Thanks! I'll keep trying until I hit the right CSR
@Sarcee wrote:1. ...57 is paying $72.00 per year for $30.00 worth of air time (odd that it's exactly $30. per month).
2. He's losing $42.00 per year of air time.
1. As I mentioned, the table is simply a rough illustration (obviously, simplified). With my $10/mo plan, I can add more $ whenever I want, so if I ran into a situation like yours where I needed more airtime, it would be easy for me to use MyRogers to add as much as I want. In addition, there is an option in my plan to automatically add more $ if my balance reaches a certain point. I could also switch plans if I believed my situation changed long term requiring more minutes. There is no need for me to add more money before I need it.
2. Also as previously mentioned, I consider my cell phone insurance and I'm not "losing" anything. Would you prefer I continued to pay $100-$120 per year and lose more? Would you prefer if I made useless calls to use up my time, thereby spending less per minute but more per year? I prefer to spend $70-$75/year for insurance and some use of my cell phone when needed. I realize exactly how much I'm paying "per minute", but I prefer to look at my overall yearly and decade costs. If you have an option that would cost me less long term, while keeping my cell phone, I'm all ears. 😉
-
70955 views
-
88 Likes
-
-
