Never hurts to ask.. Cable company..

[C.Ann]

Just before I made the move back up here to the lake I was hearing all the "chatter" about cable costs going up.. So when I called to have the cable and internet turned back on here (I pay a $9.00 seasonal fee the months that I'm back at DD's), I "thought" I was prepared.. Nope!

Last year I was paying $83 a month for the standard cable/internet package.. This year? They quoted me $109.50 a month.. That just doesn't work for me, so I had two choices - drop down to the "basic" cable (20 channels - that doesn't even include the Weather Channel) - or - try to get them to "work" with me..

I flat out told them that I could not afford the $109 a month on my monthly income and asked if perhaps they were running some sort of special I could get.. The girl did a little clicking away on her keyboard and said, "No - we currently don't have anything.." So - I let out a big sigh and told her I might have to cancel it completely if she couldn't find something - anything.. She asked me if I could "hold for a minute" - and of course I said yes..

A minute or two later she came back on the line and said she could give me a "customer loyalty rate" - of $82 a month! Heck - that's a dollar cheaper than last year, so I jumped on it..

Ironically, I really didn't think they would do anything for me because they pretty much have folks over a barrel - especially up here in the boon docks - but I learned a good lesson.. It never hurts to ask - sometimes the answer just might be yes....

Let's see - who can I call next?

 

[MIGrandma]

I agree with you, it never hurts to ask.

And I think the way the customer asks and the tone they use with the customer service representative goes a long way too. I have always found good luck with them when I am polite. I just never understand those who yell at the reps and expect to get anywhere.

 

[happygirl]

You got a really good deal CAnn it never does hurt to ask

 

[bicker]

JSo when I called to have the cable and internet turned back on ...

This is key. The service providers react positively toward gaining new customers, or, as in your case, service upgrades. It used to be that you could get a discount, pretty-much all the time (some folks I know got the same discount for four years in a row), just for asking. Now, that gravy train is ending. They'll sometimes do it just once, but otherwise, they are insisting on significant service upgrades to qualify customers for significant discounts. In your case, going from a $9 bill to $82 is going to show up on their reports as a big win from their standpoint.

The next question is how long do you have to be at the lower level of service for that "upgrade" to qualify for a significant discount. I think, as things were before, it'll be a few years before they realize that a lot of customers are playing this yo-yo game, and disqualify customers for discounts for (perhaps) 18 months, though there are rumors that some of the service providers are already considering such provisions (internally, of course -- they obviously don't share any of this kind of info publicly).

Of course, the next step is for customers to go back and forth between suppliers, when there is a choice. However, that's a bit of a drag, since competing suppliers tend to have different types of systems, that may result in some consumer consternation. Time will tell.