According to an article published in IT Business, Canadian consumers, outraged by what they consider to be an over-priced Rogers Wireless iPhone plan, are protesting the phone’s release today. Perturbed that the Canadian plan costs more than it does in the U.S. and U.K., 60,000 Canadians signed an online petition at the website RuinediPhone, maintained by Oilchange.com, a Toronto marketing company. The petition, which has gained the support of an MP and much media attention, will be delivered in hardcopy form today, upon the phone’s release there.

The delivery of signatures will be accompanied by a podcasted interview with David McGuinty, a liberal MP, discussing his support of the protest. Rogers Wireless has been asked by those involved with the movement to comment, but a Rogers spokesperson suggested, “We generally don’t respond to petitions or polls.”

The sentiment is interesting, of course, as Rogers is suggesting that they generally “don’t respond to the will of customers.” What they likely mean is that they generally don’t respond to petitions or polls until sentiment is manifested in sales.

The movement’s petition is better organized than many other internet petitions, as it is being offered in hard copy form with enough media attention to propel said delivery. The involvement of a member of the MP doesn’t hurt, either, as it brings with it further press attention. [Note to petition organizers: Get to know your representatives.] It has been suggested that Rogers has already accommodated consumer complaints by adding to the package an inexpensive data upgrade. In direct contrast to their sentiment regarding petitions, Liz Hamilton, the same company spokesperson, said, “This is in direct response [to] what we heard from our customers.” David McGuinty, the liberal MP in support of the protest, has suggested that the promotion is temporary and merely a PR move.

The RuinediPhone appears to be on its way to sustaining the movement. Delivering more than just a petition, their multi-dimensional, press garnering approach is drawing a lot of negative attention to Rogers Wireless. Perhaps, persuaded by the number of signatures, the detail of press and now government attention, signatories and other customers will be convinced to hang back on their eagerness to pick up the phone and see if Rogers budges.

We will soon see if lackluster sales, which the company presumably does respond to, will be influenced, in part, by the RuinediPhone action.

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-Filed in Ideas, News