By David Ponce
Those of you who followed the Canadian iPhone 3G saga know that our country’s largest GSM provider (Rogers) can be… how shall I say… interesting to deal with? Well it seems there’s some confusion/concern once again over another anticipated smartphone, the Nokia E71. Over the past few days photos have been popping up showing the Nokia E71 available at Rogers stores across the country for the incredibly low price of just $49.99 with a 3-year contract and data plan.
But a friend of mine who went to a Rogers store this morning with hopes of picking up the E71 was told, after they had asked him for all of his contact info, that the price tags in store were actually misprinted and should have read $149.99. A pretty hefty $100 difference. And he was signing up for a data/voice plan that was considerably more than the $45 minimum as indicated under the price tag. What’s even more confusing is that the Rogers website lists the phone as being available for as low as $99.99, with what turns out to be with a limited time $50 mail-in rebate.
So what’s the deal Rogers? Why have stores across the country had this misprinted price tag for several days now? According to Canadian law you should be honoring the $49.99 price if you don’t see fit to update your in-store displays.
“Sale above advertised price – The Competition Act prohibits the sale or rent of a product at a price higher than its advertised price. The provision does not apply if the advertised price was a mistake and the error was immediately corrected. “
Have any of our Canadian readers had the same thing happen when they tried to pick up a Nokia E71 from Rogers?
Rogers? are you kidding me. Man they are the WORST provider of anything in this COUNTRY. Man rogers will fuck you for all the cash you got. they fucking suck more balls than the porn industry. I've had NOTHING BUT BAD EXPERIENCES with rogers over the last 12 years. Unfortunately for me.
For starters, you do not understand “Canadian Law” as it pertains to this situation. A price tag is NOT an advertisement. You are obviously one of many ignorant consumers who are under that particular impression.
Check it out, educate yourself:
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/epic/site/cb…
Secondly the correct price is $149.99 with a minimum $45 combined voice/data plan. Minimum. You understand that? Minimum. You want to use a data device to its potential, expect to pay substantially more than $45, regardless of which cellular provider you choose. There is a $50 mail-in rebate offered for the device. Of course, you have the option to run with the minimum and no one can force you to choose a plan that is above that minimum amount. Your friend would have knowingly and willingly signed the contract. For the record though, Rogers is currently offering some very attractive voice/data plans starting at $45. Not blow-your-mind-spectacular plans… but they are far better than any voice/data plan that has been offered in the last 5 years.
Lastly, the E71 is garbage. Perhaps that's more opinion than hard fact… but having used one prior to its official release, I can safely say I would not consider wasting my money on this device.
It sure is YOUR opinion because the E71 actually got overwhelmingly positive reviews from pretty much every sites. Perhaps this business-oriented full-featured phone is too much for you.
Hey cool! You guys managed to get a Rogers shill all worked up! mission accomplished.
The bottom line here is that Rogers is clearly pulling a bait and switch. There's no reason the price tags should read $49.99 for almost a week now. That's pure BS. And I believe the article says his friend had signed up for a data plan that was far more expensive than their minimum requirement. So again, go talk to your manager the next time you go into your retail Rogers job and just have them change the displays. THanks.
And no, the E71 isn't garbage. I assume you must be a BB fan. Good luck with your Storm. (snicker… iPhone killer… snicker)
QFT J.
@intosh/canyonero
Good reviews mean jack with a miserable to navigate OS, and insanely small buttons only a little girl could efficiently use. (Note: Im not knocking symbian as an OS, Im simply saying on –this device– it is a pain in the ass to navigate) I manage a telecom store, and you obviously have no idea just how important easy navigation and good sized keys are to consumers. There are a small minority that dont care, be lucky to count yourself in the “Ive got tiny little hands” club.
While Im at it, how about that small screen? Smaller than the last in Nokia's E-Series. Lower resolution than the blackberry bold. I wager anyone looking for a real “business-oriented full-featured phone” would enjoy not having to squint at the screen. Congratulations on showing signs of rabid nokia fanboyism.
Before you go and accuse me of being in bed with Rogers, I sell products for all three major Canadian cellphone companies. I have positive and negative things to say about all of them. Unfortunately with the lack of real competition in this market, they may as well all be the same company. They all suck, they all charge more than they should. they all have shitty customer service. Rogers' only saving grace is their network, which by far is superior to Bell/Telus' shared travesty.
The incorrect tags are the fault of a poor manager. The correct price is $149 (there is a rebate available). The $149 price is listed in the vast majority of stores I have visited.
There is no “bait-and-switch” no “false-advertising”. Just piss poor management who cant be bothered to merchandise properly. Get your heads out of your f&*#$ng asses.
What we're saying is that the store should honor its incorrect tag. If you go to a supermarket, say, and you buy a frozen pizza because the tag says $6.99, but it scans at $9.99, many stores will give it to you for the lower price because it's their mistake.
It's irresponsible to leave a mistaken label, and not correct it immediately.
It is irresponsible, and it most certainly would be nice if they honored the incorrect tag but from a business standpoint Im sure you could agree that just isnt feasible. But yes, they should correct the mistake, and should have done so far sooner.
Well, not only is it irresponsible, but if they leave that tag there for a long period of time, even after knowing it's mistaken, it becomes a deceptive business practice. I wonder how many clients they signed up because they excitedly thought they were getting this phone for $49, went through the entire application process, only to be told that “no, it's really $149, that's a mistake…” I wonder how many clients, at that point, having gone through the hassle of starting the application, thought “Oh well… what's an extra $100? I don't want to look cheap, so what the heck.”
I sincerely hope no one purchased the unit on the basis of not wanting to look cheap. I imagine it would be more along the lines of “I want this unit so bad… assholes have the wrong price, but I simply must have it.”
In any case, do you know if the stores in question are corporately owned or dealer/franchise stores? It would be interesting to know. Rogers Plus stores and Rogers Video are corporate owned. Most “rogers wireless” stores are franchises.
Either way, if you believe they are doing this purposely I would file a formal complaint. Believe it or not, if you register a complaint against a store (through customer service) it will actually get filtered down to their regional/district managers. If you play your cards right, you may very well be able to get some kind of bill credit for the difference. Who knows! 🙂
What means jack is your opinion because lots of people and reviewers had no problem with the navigation, nor the buttons, nor the screen. Not everyone has fat greasy and clumsy fingers like you. If you had to squint then perhaps you should go get your eyes checked.
Funny to find retards like you everywhere on the net ready to call people fanboys just because they are favorable to something you hate. In fact, you sound more like a pathetic hater than us being a fanboy. I mean, if you were not a hater why the heck would you come to this article about the e71 and bother to comment?!
Stumbleupon brings all kinds of people to places they dont belong.
It also leads them to discover completely infantile jackasses such as yourself. His points are pretty valid, but you disagree and then resort to outright insults. Class act, buddy.
You take that much offense to the suggestion you might be a fanboy? Id wager that to take that much insult from his comments you'd really have to be a fanboy. Perhaps you're just a little e-thug who feels that chest thumping somehow makes you a credible badass? Either way, your colorful display of “maturity” completely invalidates any opinion you might have about this product.
Right… … because my opinion couldn't possibly be based on my job, my experience, and the feedback of customers I see every day. Nope, not possible at all.
I think my job description perfectly clarifies what I would be doing here. But that little fact must have escaped you, while you were busy trying to insult me.
Now if you'll excuse me, Im going back to my bucket of chicken, putting on my bifocals and browsing http://www.seniors.ca for another 15 minutes before bedtime. rofl.
Sorry you took so much offense to being called a rabid fanboy. Buck up son.
Sure, moron. So his points are “pretty valid” but bringing out the fact that lots of reviews were positive about the e71 is not? The fact that the great majority of owners are highly satisfied are not valid? So his posts wasn't insulting? Learn to read, dickhead.
You seem to take “much offense” to my post too. I'd wager that to take that much insult from my comment, you'd really have to be another retard waiting to go out of your hole and call people fanboys too.
And yeah, I'm sure pissed by retards calling me fanboy… oooh, “fanboy” soooo insulting. LOL.
Wow. Manager of a boutique. You must be very proud of yourself. Tell me, how many customers you see every day? How many owners feedback for the e71? You think they are representative of the market the e71 is targeting?! You think that sample of feedback is valid for a generalisation, scientifically sound for as survey? LOL. Go back to school.
LOL. Funny. So I was the one who took offense? Then, I guess you took offense because I mentionned the e71 was an appreciated product.
Sure, moron. So his points are “pretty valid” but bringing out the fact that lots of reviews were positive about the e71 is not? The fact that the great majority of owners are highly satisfied are not valid? So his posts wasn't insulting? Learn to read, dickhead.
You seem to take “much offense” to my post too. I'd wager that to take that much insult from my comment, you'd really have to be another retard waiting to go out of your hole and call people fanboys too.
And yeah, I'm sure pissed by retards calling me fanboy… oooh, “fanboy” soooo insulting. LOL.
Wow. Manager of a boutique. You must be very proud of yourself. Tell me, how many customers you see every day? How many owners feedback for the e71? You think they are representative of the market the e71 is targeting?! You think that sample of feedback is valid for a generalisation, scientifically sound for as survey? LOL. Go back to school.
LOL. Funny. So I was the one who took offense? Then, I guess you took offense because I mentionned the e71 was an appreciated product.
Sure, moron. So his points are “pretty valid” but bringing out the fact that lots of reviews were positive about the e71 is not? The fact that the great majority of owners are highly satisfied are not valid? So his posts wasn't insulting? Learn to read, dickhead.
You seem to take “much offense” to my post too. I'd wager that to take that much insult from my comment, you'd really have to be another retard waiting to go out of your hole and call people fanboys too.
And yeah, I'm sure pissed by retards calling me fanboy… oooh, “fanboy” soooo insulting. LOL.
Wow. Manager of a boutique. You must be very proud of yourself. Tell me, how many customers you see every day? How many owners feedback for the e71? You think they are representative of the market the e71 is targeting?! You think that sample of feedback is valid for a generalisation, scientifically sound for as survey? LOL. Go back to school.
LOL. Funny. So I was the one who took offense? Then, I guess you took offense because I mentionned the e71 was an appreciated product.