I don’t know about you all, but I stand by my work. If a customer has a legitimate complaint, I make it right. So I just don’t get companies like Novatel Wireless that put out junk knowing that it’s junk. The proof of that is in their warranty. You don’t write a warranty like that if you know you’ve got a good product that you can stand by.

Bell Mobility even told me that Novatel knows the Mifi 2 is a disaster but instead of fixing the problem, they are just replacing units.

Moreover, there have been problems with the Mifi since its first iteration, with complaints about dropped signals and the device freezing. Novatel keeps playing with the physical appearance of the device but has shown no interest in fixing its operating issues.

If I had just gotten a lemon, fine. Replace the device and move on. But ALL the devices come with a Trojan horse. So I might have a replacement unit, but I have to live in fear of this happening again. What do I do when my warranty runs out next May with another year on my contract? Needless to say, the next time the device freezes, I am not going to waste time and will demand an immediate replacement.

As a point of contrast, I’ve been in talks with Cascade Designs, manufacturers of the MSR MiniWorks EX Microfilter, since I got back from the wagon train.

My water filter crapped out on me on the Thursday and still isn’t working despite running through all the troubleshooting steps. They have never heard of one doing what mine is doing (not maintaining suction). Am I screwed? No. They’re sending me a new umbrella valve and if that doesn’t solve the problem, they’ll have me ship the unit back to them at their cost so they can repair or replace it. That’s a company that deserves my money.

I’m stuck with Novatel because I need the generous Bell Mobility bandwidth plans and I’m once again struck with the realisation that it’s the Canadian government I am actually angry with for giving me zero choice in communications matters. But I can’t file a Better Business Bureau claim with them, so I’m off to tell Novatel they are bad, bad, bad people and that I am angry with them. Politely and rationally, of course.