After living in pre-paid cards with Telcel for years, in December I decided to get on a plan with an iPhone. I checked around and ended up going with Movistar (mostly because they did not ask me to buy the equipment first). Took about 10 days to get everything up (needed FM2, comprobantes, references and a Mexican credit card). Making calls was fine, no problem. Receiving texts, no problem. I could not send text messages though and that took months to resolve. (After checking my equipment, changing my chip, blah blah blah someone finally realized they had some sort of block on my account). The reason I wanted/needed the iphone was for work (and play of course). I needed to go to events in Cancun and the Riviera Maya and share photos live. This is where the problems really started. I had no service in the Riv Maya. In some places, just phone (no internet) and in others, nothing at all. When I started having problems with the 3G in town I went in to the office near Walmart and complained. With a few other people. They told me they were working on the towers, la la la. The problem persisted, I told them I would go to Profeco. I asked about canceling the contract and was told I would have to pay for the remainder (18 months left at 630 pesos a month!) And then (duh, why I didn't do it sooner I don't know), I tweeted yesterday about the lack of service with the @ for movistar and the #movistarapesta. I had an answer almost immediately on Twitter and then the phone rang. Corporate office was very sorry, they had seen my tweet and my complaint was a priority. Three phone calls yesterday with a very nice man who was doing what he could to figure things out. He finally called to tell me that unfortunately, no, they do not have the coverage that I was promised and that in Cancun they only have 2G service. He asked me to try it for a day and evaluate and if I was ok with it they would "bonificar" and give me a discounted monthly rate. I am not happy with the 2G and I know that i can't get the coverage in RM so asked if I could cancel without penalty. Apparently a tweet changes thing as I can now cancel, we'll be discussing details tomorrow (we'll see if the "no penalty" thing sticks). I'll be running to Telcel fast, if you are looking for the best coverage, they're it. I will say I have no complaints about the treatment by Movistar's people, they just don't have the infrastructure to provide what I need. Sooo, just in case anyone was looking at phone plans with data service.
I was as surprised as you Steve. ;-) Got over my Twitter addiction quick, though it's a necessary thing in marketing these days. And this is an example of a company using it and understanding it.
Thanks for sharing, CC. Great news! Social media is now more powerful than a threat of Profeco. First world, here we come!
Jim, it is a powerful tool. Going in to complain in the office or making a call is not a public event, but a tweet is seen by thousands. At least they understand the power of the medium. (And I did mention "profeco" in my tweet as well).
Another problem of NOT being with Telcel, is that nearly everyone you call, or who call you, have to pay a bit higher to make "out of network" calls. Nothing like a de facto monopoly. I don't love Telcel but I like them. I can be on the internet while on a bus to Merida, emailing, Facebooking, other stuff on the www. My pretty basic service, something like 300 minutes, plus 320 text messages and the Smart Phone/Android data plan, runs about $800 per month. Toss in long distance, an international call or two, going over my allowed minutes and by bill seems always to be $1,000-$1,050. But I have no complaints with the service, nor the customer service.
Thanks for the heads up, CC! I need to get a smartphone soon (ugh) and I was planning on a Movistar plan because of my burning hatred for Telcel... but I might have to change my mind haha
A friend of mine has a Blackberry with Iusacell service. She was telling me yesterday that she has a great internet signal everywhere she goes and she has less extra charges than with Telcel. Anyone else have experience with Iusacell?
The ex has iusacel and no complaints (I believe it's a 4G service). But in looking at coverage, again, they don't have the same reach as Telcel. :S
