Hell hath no fury like a loyalty reward points collector scorned, as whoever runs the PC Optimum Twitter account surely knows right now.
Card-carrying Shoppers Optimum and PC Plus members were recently tasked with combining all of their precious points from both Loblaws-owned savings networks into one.
The merging process for the new network, called PC Optimum, went live today, and it seems as though many of the roughly 19 million combined members were eager to get started.
so @pc_optimum , you say my old Optimum number doesn't exist, there's no chat support, your phone line goes dead when i choose PC Optimum option, and your app has been trying to onboard me every time i open it up. how's your day going?
— Randy Langlois (@ran_lan) February 1, 2018
I mean, some people carry thousands of dollars worth of points on these cards. They're a pretty big deal, and card-holders are intent on seeing their points carry over safely from one system to the next.
Unfortunately for members of both systems (not to mention the people running PC Optimum's website), things got pretty hairy online just hours after the merge program went live.
@pc_optimum Trying to link my PC Plus account, but the "Forgot Password" link doesn't work online, doesn't exist in-app. Online chat is unavailable. Calling support phone and get "We're presently closed, please call back between (hours we are currently between)". Now this... pic.twitter.com/TCaJvbCFXV
— Patrick McMaster (@patrickmcmaster) February 1, 2018
The program's website has been experiencing problems and outages all day.
@pc_optimum conversion to link cards to new app has been a nightmare . Not able to merge points, constant errors, and now this...please find a fix soon. :( pic.twitter.com/OgzabT14ps
— Cristina Gil (@cmed6) February 1, 2018
The app that customers were encouraged to download has been of little help, either.
Stuck in a loop with @pc_optimum. Open my PC Plus app, tells me to download PC Optimum app, go to App Store, tells me to open, which takes me back to previous screen in PC Plus app pic.twitter.com/cQVjzlqZiq
— William Norman (@WilliamNorman) February 1, 2018
Many are reporting that their hard earned points aren't showing up under the new system – which is probably every Optimum point collector's worst fear.
@pc_optimum Sunday I had $170 points. Today my card doesn’t exist. Charge me more for bread and now take my points. What’s next? 🤣 #breadgate #PCOPTIMUM pic.twitter.com/lntMGXlwMs
— Aaron (@aaron86_CDN) February 1, 2018
The old Shoppers Drug Mart system was designed to encourage point hoarding, as the value of points went up based on how many you'd collected.
Hitting a reward level of $170 would mean that you had spent $9,500 at Shoppers. It can take years to hit that level, and only if you avoid "cashing out" early.
I've been collecting PC points for 5+ years, haven't used any yet, & they all seem to have disappeared after linking my card to #PCOPTIMUM this morning. Error messages trying to link Optimum so no clue what'll happen there. Yikes.
— Sally J Bee (@sallyjaybee) February 1, 2018
"We broke the Internet because of your love of loyalty programs!" PC Optimum wrote in a tweet that annoyed many early Thursday."We are currently above our expected volumes and are working to have our app back online shortly."
Customers are still able to swap their cards in store, according to Loblaw spokesperson Catherine Thomas, which might be a good option if you want to get your points secured like, yesterday.
As of 4 p.m., the PC Optimum program's website was still displaying watermelons of error.
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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