MTN ripping off tourists?

morkhans

morkhans

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I happened to be at CTIA this evening and noticed an ad outside the MTN shop. Rent a E220 for R19/pd and only R2.50/mb. Why should tourists pay 50c more than the rest of SA? Surely they can also pay R2/mb or better yet you could be offering them a reasonably sized data bundle?
 
One answer:

£ ¥ € & $ :D

Having travelled abroad and experienced the cost of wireless data services in places like Dubai and *gulp* Nigeria, R2.50 isn't too bad. A tourist isn't exactly going to come here and download all the episodes of Star Trek now is he?
 
For tourists that's very cheap. When we travel overseas what do we pay? Cost a packet in all the places I've been too
 
aadil said:
For tourists that's very cheap. When we travel overseas what do we pay? Cost a packet in all the places I've been too
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Yes, but are you forced to pay more than the locals? I just don't like the double standards.
 
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do what i do. travel with your modem and buy a prepaid sim in foreign country. problem solved. possibly could be a way for the guy renting the modems to make an extra buck. ~shrugs~ you ask him...?
 
morkhans said:
I happened to be at CTIA this evening and noticed an ad outside the MTN shop. Rent a E220 for R19/pd and only R2.50/mb. Why should tourists pay 50c more than the rest of SA? Surely they can also pay R2/mb or better yet you could be offering them a reasonably sized data bundle?
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Vodacom charges the same. See www.rentafone.net

Aren't the guys doing the rentals entitled to some markup seeing they are providing a service? We can obviously debate how high that markup "should" be.
 
morkhans said:
Yes, but are you forced to pay more than the locals? I just don't like the double standards.
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Are they really being "forced" though?

What's preventing tourists from just picking up a R0.99 prepaid simcard at Pick 'n Pay?

People who don't "do their homework" properly always wind up paying more for stuff.. ;)

If I traveled elsewhere I wouldn't just walk into the first cellphone rental store I see and assume that they're going to offer me the best price around.. ;)
 
ajax said:
Vodacom charges the same. See www.rentafone.net

Aren't the guys doing the rentals entitled to some markup seeing they are providing a service? We can obviously debate how high that markup "should" be.
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The service imo is the rented modem. I honestly can't see how they can justify charging more.
 
I'm impressed tourist can even get a datacard/modem to rent.
Try that in London.
In most US cities, getting a payasyougo SIM for voice is a long process.

Keep up the good work though, if SA services improve, we can always use you guys as an example and hope to shame others into improving their treatment of customers (both local and visitors)
 
ajax said:
Vodacom charges the same. See www.rentafone.net

Aren't the guys doing the rentals entitled to some markup seeing they are providing a service? We can obviously debate how high that markup "should" be.
Click to expand...

So I mailed rentafone to find out why their data costs more. Their first response was that they need to recover the cost of the hardware they rent out. So I replied to say that surely that is covered by the R20-R35per day rental. So the next excuse was: "We also incur cost on the data as per the standard vodacom tariffs, and as any business place a margin on the items we sell". I find it difficult to believe they have to pay R2/m from Vodacom. Besides a 25% mark-up is rather steep?

If you had to rent a E220 from Rentafone for 30 days it would cost you 35x30 = R1050. So all they have to do to cover the cost of the device is rent it for 60 days. Sounds like a great deal to me! There are also other gems like R499 for a 500MB bundle (should cost R189) and R699 for 1GB (should cost R289).

Milk the tourists; that's what they are there for... :rolleyes:

Edit: It gets even better: When I proposed using a pre-paid SIM they replied to say that the devices are locked to their SIMs, so you can't use anything else. My advice to tourists: don't rent. Bring your own device and buy a pre-paid SIM.
 
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While we're on the subject, whatever happened to that lunatic idea to force all visitors to SA to register before being allowed to roam? Or did it go the way of that other SA bureaucratic brainwave, having all cellphone users, prepaid and contract, register their details -- remember the forms which started to be issued, what, a year or so ago?

With our luck both ideas will suddenly resurface just before the 2010 events and SA can descend into telecom chaos in the full glare of world publicity. Who, me, cynical? Never....
 
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