Phone Card Testing: Connexion International & VOX America

I am currently travelling in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec, sampling the raclette and the calling cards. After stopping into the local BoniChoix I bought two $5 calling cards from the local variety store. I always test each calling card prior to adding it to our inventory, so I decided to purchase a Connexion International calling card and VOX America calling card. The calling card read: “Services provided by Bell Canada”, Bell Canada is a quality company, so I gave the cards a try. The connections for both cards were average when calling from Mt. Tremblant to Toronto using their 1-800 access number. For the duration of the $5 card I experienced 3, 15 second periods where my voice was not heard by the party I was calling. When the 800 number was dialled, the prompt was as follows: “to top up your card, press *. I pressed * and was prompted to dial a 1-900 number to have the card topped up, and the fee tacked onto my home phone bill. From a consumer perspective, this is a handy way to top up, but there are better no fee calling cards on the market for calling from Mt. Tremblant, QC to Toronto, ON.

The ability for the consumer skip the retailer and top up the Connexion International or VOX America calling card direct from the manufacturer is troublesome when looking at it from a supply-chain perspective. From a consumer’s perspective, the situation is also troublesome, there is very little recourse should something go wrong with the calling card. If the card ceases to function, the consumer has just relinquished his or her ability to obtain a refund from the local store, as they have opted to have the calling card total re-filled direct from manufacturer.

Although both Connexion International and VOX America calling cards are owned by a reputable company we decided not to add the cards to inventory. Their per-minute rates were higher than most of the cards we carry and it would be difficult to resolve customer complaints if the cards were refilled directly with Bell Canada.

Until next time,

Tavis McKenzie
GM, Phonecarddepot.com
http://www.phonecarddepot.com/blog