It’s not exactly the best kept secret: if you want to get a better cell phone plan, you’ll need to talk to your carrier’s retention department. This rule has always held true for Rogers customers too. But what might be surprising is how steep the discounts can be on a Rogers retention plan vs regular plans. Read on and we’ll tell you all about how to get your hands on the best one.
What Is A Rogers Retention Plan?
In this post, we’ll be using the terms “retention plan” and “loyalty plan” interchangeably. Either term refers to a plan that Rogers will offer you, an existing customer, in hopes of keeping you as a subscriber on their network.
Rogers does not want you to sign with any of their competitors, especially with more “disruptive” brands like Freedom Mobile. So to avoid losing you as a customer, they’re usually prepared to adjust your plan to better match what else is out there.
How does this all work?
Well, you’ll follow some variation of these basic steps:
1. Call into the Rogers’ customer support line and let them know you’re looking to cancel your service. They’ll either transfer you to the customer relations department or you might have to ask to be transferred yourself— it all depends on the rep on the other end of the line.
2. Once you’re on the line with the retentions agent, calmly but sternly (no yelling) explain what you’d ideally want to see your plan be like. We recommend picking one easy-to-explain pain point about your current plan, i.e. it’s way too expensive, you always go over your allotted data, etc.
3. Ask the rep what they can do to help you. At this stage, you’ll also want to bring up competitive offers from other carriers. You’ll be using these as leverage in your negotiations. The stronger the other offers out there, the more the retention rep can adjust your current plan to make it more competitive.
Some General Tips
- Do your homework. It’s important to be knowledgeable about what other options are out there and what you want from Rogers beforehand. Brushing up on your rights as a wireless consumer in Canada is always a good move too.
- Be realistic. Your goal should be getting the best Rogers cell phone plan that is available to you. Don’t expect them to exactly match what a brand like Freedom Mobile can offer you in regard to data or minutes Keep in mind that any loyalty plan from Rogers is probably better than what you’re currently paying.
- Be patient and be willing to call again. The best plans are usually the product of a few of these phone calls where the reps will add credits, waive fees, etc. until you’re left with a truly epic plan.
- Read through tried and true negotiation tactics from others who have successfully gone through this with Rogers. We recommend this awe-inspiring thread from Red Flag Deals.
What Does A Rogers Retention Plan Actually Look Like?
In response to similar deals from discount carriers like Freedom Mobile, Rogers was recently offering a massively discounted BYOD plan. Here is what that plan looked like.
The Plan: Rogers Bring Your Own Phone For $50 Per Month (Expired early July, 2017)
- Unlimited Canada Wide Calling
- Unlimited SMS/MMS, i.e. texts, video, or photo messages sent while you’re in Canada
- 4GB Data ($5/100MB Overages)
- Mini Voicemail, which holds up to 3 messages at a time
- Caller ID
- 2500 Forwarding Minutes
- Conference Calling
- Call Waiting
- Roam Like Home, which gives you access to the minutes, texts, and data on your regular Rogers plan while you’re travelling in the US for $5 per day
To be eligible to take advantage of this offer, you have to bring your own phone or have paid off your tab balance in full. While sometimes available to newer customers, this was mostly designed to be a plan to keep existing customers who were in danger of leaving. We’re sad to say that this Rogers retention plan isn’t available anymore, but there are definitely more good options out there.
