Ask and you shall receive, right?
Anyone who has never experimented with this mantra is missing out. It never ceases to amaze me how often I receive things at a discount simply because I asked for it. (Making deals with customers at my job has taught me that pretty much the price on anything is negotiable).
Well … this one has got to be up there as a shinning example of why you need to try this.
For a while now I noticed that my Comcast bill was too much. Whatever special promotion I had called and negotiated had expired a few months ago, and the bill sky-rocketed up to $195 per month for my cable and Internet. It was time to call them up and see if there was anything I could. And heaven forbid I take any lesser service!
However, I was going to war without a weapon. I needed some leverage if I was going to get what I wanted.
And that’s when I was going through the mail and got a solicitation from Direct TV for one of their packages. 205 channels for $35 per month with free installation and DVR. Even if you bundle this with Internet for another $60, that was still half what I was paying now. This was the bullet I needed.
I called up Comcast, made my way through the phone maze, and finally spoke to a real human being. I politely explained that I was happy with their service, but I got this great offer from Direct TV that was really making me re-consider. I then told them that although I didn’t expect them to price match, I did want to give them the opportunity to do better than $195. The service rep put me on hold …
… And then he came back with an offer: $99 per month for 12 months for the same thing.
I was both shocked and amused that Move Number 1 was to cut my price in half! But needless to say – I was pleased and took the counter-offer.
And just like that, I’ll now save almost $100 per month for the next 12 months – all for just asking. When we talk about figuring out ways to maximize your money in terms of “the least amount of effort” for “the maximum return”, this is one of those great things!
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Such an easy phone call to make. It’s amazing what you can get with a little leverage. I once got offered a job from another company, I told my boss about the offer, and a few hours got a raise to stay. Retention is a great thing.
Funancials recently posted..The Presidential Inauguration: A Prime Example of Why Politicians are Dumb
Now that’s a great example of leverage! Ironically, I could see that same scenario working negatively for me – they’d just tell me to go take it!
That’s awesome MMD! We had something similar to that happen last year and DirecTV gave us what we wanted right away. Thanks for the mention!
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..Shout Out Saturday #2
It would really complete this whole story if you used some offer from Comcast to leverage your good deal with DirecTV (basically the reverse of my situation). You’re welcome John!
Cable companies are notorious for doing that. Always worth the effort!
Budget & the Beach recently posted..Link Love/Week in Review 1/25/13
It was the most worthwhile phone call I made all week!
Wow you really were overpaying. I call my cable company a lot to get discounts but I fear I might be getting on their black list.
Lance at Money Life and More recently posted..Personal Finance Round Up, Mentions and Carnivals #40
I was kind of wondering the same thing about a blacklist. You KNOW they are taking notes on your account when you call them up for stuff like this. It would be hilarious to see what’s in there and relive all the times I’ve called them up for this same thing.
That’s awesome! And thanks for the mention.
Michelle recently posted..Oh Saturday
Quick and easy way to save money. Cable companies know their services are overpriced and will almost always drop their rates without much fight.
KK @ Student Debt Survivor recently posted..My Dog Has More Coats Than I Do
Precisely! You don’t exactly have much price integrity when you can automatically drop your price by half.
Awesome! I do that every year with my broadband provider and every year they renew a 50% discount. A calendar reminder is all it takes.
Pauline recently posted..13 money resolutions for 2013: #13 enjoy!
That’s pretty awesome! I was on that kind of roll for a while, but then they kind of de-railed me for a while. Glad I got my game back!
That’s amazing! Comcast is so evil, but it’s so funny how ready they are to negotiate when you finally get through to the right person. I had to call twice when I was redoing my contract. The first CSR was absolutely horrible. But I tried again. And got what I wanted.
femmefrugality recently posted..Wish My Black Thumb Luck
I think I’ve had that same rep before too!
Sometimes it takes a few tries, but with that kind of reward, its worth the payoff!
I agree with Femme Frugality: the right rep is key to success here. So if you can’t get a great deal like MMD did, hang up and try again. Our last cable call (we’ve cancelled now and pay nothing for TV) we were lucky enough to get a rep who wanted nothing more than to keep our biz, regarless of the cost, and we got a stellar deal at $35/month. Thanks for the great post!
Laurie recently posted..How to Have a Frugal Superbowl Party
Thanks Laurie and welcome to the site. $35 per month!? Outstanding work! If you had told me you got free HBO with that, I would have asked for your eBook on how you did this!
Good for you! I tried getting a discount with AT&T U-verse after our first year was up and they didn’t budge at all. So we dropped the TV and phone (went with Magic Jack Plus for phone) and only kept the Internet. Then we did without TV for a while and eventually picked up DirecTV, which we love.
Rich@Money Wise Pastor recently posted..How to Avoid New Credit Card Checkout Fees and Surcharges
DirectTV does seem to have some pretty low, low rates. I’m surprised AT&T didn’t try harder to keep your business. It seems kind of silly they just let you go. I’ve thought more than once about Magic Jack. How has that worked out for you?
Nice job MMD! I make it a yearly ritual to call time warner and tell them to make me a better offer. It usually works out pretty good for me.
Grayson @ Debt Roundup recently posted..Three Methods of Engagement Ring Financing
Amen to that! You’d be foolish not to at LEAST try. If you fail once, you can always call back and try again. I think the competition leverage really helped in this instance.
Love stories like that. Our contract is up this summer and you can bet I’ll be calling.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..Eyes on the Dollar 20/20 Roundup #23-Raised By Wolves
Good luck when you do!
Last year, when I contemplated changing phone carrier from AT&T to Verizon, a single call to ATT helped me get few months free(I am paying $240 per month for four iPhones with unlimited data). That one call last about 30 mins with holds yielding almost $500 in savings LOL
Shilpan recently posted..How to Build Kick-Ass Credit Score
Great play Shilpan! Being assertive has its benefits, and our wallets will thank us!
[...] How I Made $1,200 With one Phone Call on My Money Design [...]
Thanks so much for the link! And good on you for having the guts to ask. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know…
eemusings recently posted..Link love (powered by nail-biting and long walks)
You’re welcome.
That’s my philosophy too. I was already paying whatever it costs, so what’s the worst that could happen if I had asked for less?
That’s a great story, but don’t forget you would have still saved the same amount of money if you chose the other offer. All they did was not rip you off. The price is still the same as with the other company.
Good point. That was going to be Move #2 if Comcast didn’t give me what I wanted. That’s the great think about leveraging the competition – options!