How not to win friends and influence customers

[notthatimpressedbymj]

So I decided, despite advice to the contrary, to try Magicjack.
Here's how it went:
Upon deciding to buy MJ online in December, I purchased a $100 Visa Gift card to facilitate the transaction. After Confirming and registering the GC( to ensure the shipping info matches the GC info) I jump on line and begin my order. I get to the pay up part (GC's are billed upfront) and the cart won't accept my card. I get on the chat support, which was resonably quick to respond, and we dance about trying to solve the problem. Eventually I decide the must be a time lapse for card validation betwix Canada and the US and so day one goes by with no phone ordered. I try again for the next 2 days with the same results. After several hours of tix generation and emails and form filling the umpteenth "top 10 %er" finally breaks down and suggests I can buy it at my local Walmart. So today thats what I did. Not for $69.99 but for $79.99. So at home I extricate the device from its formidable packaging and plug it in to my pc. Up pops the software I figure here we go just like the ad said. Errr, wrong. Filling out the activation leads me to the terms of service, section B where some gibberish is leading me to believe I can only call the US or other MJ users for free, so I jump on chat support for clairification of the TOS and after 45 mins of waiting for a response, I discover that yes I can call anyone in the US and Canada for free. I also discover that unless I cough up another $10, anyone in Canada that calls me will pay long distance to do so. So out comes the GC again only to find that GC's don't work to pay for porting or ordering canadian numbers in the cart. Back on to chat support I go, where I wait 57minutes for someone to answer. After 20 mins of rediculous solution attempts, I am no closer to having a working phone but I am out $80 and tons of time. Then I discover that even if I do pay $10 and live in the largest city in my provice, My callers cannot avoid long distance to call me because they don't yet have my area code (there are 3 in Alberta.) So I end the session and call My local walmart to confirm it is returnable with my ex boss. He tells me to come in tommorow morning and he'll add it to the pile of returned ones. He says come at 7am, the District manager will be in and might be interested in my experience as it will help him explain the large pile of RMA product this MJ generates for his store. Then he was reading the back of the package for one of the other returns and ran across this:
"No Contracts. No Cancellation Fees. No Credit Card or billing info required". He says, "yeah you know what, its best you make it for 7am, Doug will want to hear your experience after reading this for when the product comes up for review at head office."
So although I may not have a Magicjack like I wanted, After this experience there maybe something infinantly more satisfying coming my way - the knowledge that these guys might not have shelf space in Walmart Canada in a few months and perhaps save someone else the frustration that is Magicjack in Canada.

[nailgunner]

You will be a hero to quite a few people if you can be a pain in the collective MJ behind. It's something like this that hopefully some day will make someone at that company look more closely at the little details before they send out their products and/or release new ones. Technically you don't need a CC, but without one it's obviously a virtual useless product for most Canadians.

As a side question, don't you guys still have the dual language requirements on products sold there, or does it only apply to sales in Quebec? I can't imagine they changed the packaging from what they are using in the states.

And to defend them just a little on the lack of Canadian area codes. Per other VOIP forums I have visited, Canadian phone numbers are a frequent sore point. From what I've read, which obviously could be false, some agency or company "up there" has a pretty good stranglehold on releasing them and they aren't always easy for companies to obtain.

Hopefully you keep us posted on WalMarts reaction.

[cell14]

This is unfortunately the way Magic jack has been doing business. They refuse to change. On the other hand, the VOIP world has changed very much over the recent years. There is no need any more to endorse MJ's business practices with your money and patronage.

[scotty200]

Magicjack need to fix lots of stuff and they better get cracking or they will be going out of business soon. I was lucky to get a number in my area in Canada .My be u can port in a number in your area at some point in the near Future

have a good one all