Thursday, December 19, 2013

CityWest expands on Telus partnership with Open Letter to customers

As we outlined on the blog last Friday, CityWest is getting out of the cellular phone service, announcing partnership plans with Telus last week.

Towards a bit more information on that theme, the Prince Rupert based company has provided some background on the decision, by way of an Open Letter, through an advertisement placed in this weeks edition of the Northern View.

In the letter, CityWest CEO Don Holkestad outlines some of the key points regarding the decision, which he described as one that was very difficult for the company to make.

Among the points of note on the changing nature of CityWest's cellular service for the city:

The decision to exit the cellular service came after looking at ways that the company could have rejuvenated its cell business and improve service; however it recently became clear to the company that they would not be able to offer the latest in smart phone technology without a significant financial investment.

It was with improving service to their customers in mind, that CityWest decided to partner with Telus, with Holkestad outlining some of the aspects of the Telus partnership that they believe CityWest customers will find to their liking.

The Telus option for phones is now available in temporary space in CityWest's "flagship" store in downtown Prince Rupert, the Telus presence in the CityWest building is expected to be a temporary thing over the next few months, so as to provide customers with a convenient option when they switch.

As for the CityWest network, it's expected to remain in service over the next few months, however the day will soon come when the CityWest network is shut down, a date that has yet to be determined. However the CEO is encouraging customers to take advantage of the Telus options as soon as possible, so as not to be inconvenienced by the change in the future.

By exiting the cellular business, CityWest will now be able to focus their energies on developing some new products, the details of which they plan on announcing in 2014.

The letter wraps up with a bit of history over the achievements of CityWest since the 1990's and the pride that all employees take in advancing technology to its customers.

The final paragraph offering up the view of Don Holkestad that deciding to exit the cell business as being one of the most difficult business decisions that he has had to make, but one that he is confident of being the right decision for CityWests customers, for their employees and for their shareholder.

Interestingly enough, the Open Letter is not available on the CityWest website at the moment, so should you wish to view the document, you will have to look to page A27 of the Northern View of Wednesday night,

For those that perhaps have already banished the paper version to the recycling bin, you can use the papers' e edition (see here page A27) to view the digital version of it.

While you're browsing through it, the Telus notice of their new store opening in the CityWest offices can be found on page A12

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