Can I Save Big Without Cutting Ties?

There are certainly cases where sticking with some form of cable or satellite TV is the best option. I have cable TV myself, in fact, just at an exceptional price (more on this in the “Sample Setups” chapter of this book).

If you can’t imagine waiting to watch your favorite shows like Dexter, Homeland, Mad Men or others not available online or with an over-the-air antenna, you aren’t completely out of luck when it comes to saving substantially on your monthly bill. But it will take some effort on your part as well as a skill many of us don’t have – winning over the customer service rep on the other end of the phone!

There are people who are successful at coming out with similar deals to those offered to new subscribers. Often, it’s a matter of whether you get a rep that is new or one with experience that knows what kind of special deal can be offered to keep a customer.

If you decide to go this route and don’t have luck with the first person you talk to, feel free to end the call and try back later. You may very well get someone who you can strike a deal with.

If the rep isn’t swayed by a request to lower your bill, then the next tactic is to tell them you are going to cancel and move to another provider. It’s best to do your homework first and be able to quote specifics of the deal you are going to get if you switch. You might also ask to be transferred to the Customer Retention department early in the conversation. They will be able to offer the best possible deal in order to keep you as a customer.

Former Dish Network subscribers have reported being offered excellent deals on a base package of local channels and several others. It’s essentially a “hidden package” that isn’t advertised. Typically, it’s offered to customers who have cancelled service as part of the slew of “we want you back!” phone calls. But it also is available to the general public if they ask for it specifically. More info on this 40 channel package for $14.99 per month can be found here:

Dish ‘Welcome Pack’

DirecTV also offers deals when you call to cancel. When I did I was offered a variety of options, including a $20 per month base package for 12 months with HD and local channels (similar to the Dish Welcome Pack mentioned above). To quote the rep directly, “we can get your DirecTV bill quite significantly without having to sign any new contract or agreement.”

He even offered free NFL Sunday Ticket for the 2013 season and a package that included AT&T U-verse internet along with a higher tier DirecTV channel package, a few premium movie channels and HD service, for $99 per month. Definitely tempting but I had already committed to the package I now have with Comcast, which more than meets my needs on the TV side and has internet speeds nearly triple what I could get with AT&T U-verse.

The rep closed the call by saying “if you ever want to come back to DirecTV we’d always welcome you back with a great reconnection offer for you.” So if you are looking to cut ties with your current provider, realize that you can always go back and still get a great offer down the road.

The point to take from all of this? Prices are negotiable. If you know that going in, you can get a great deal if you do opt to stick with your provider.

 

 

 Tip: Some simple advice to anyone looking for better deals from their cable or satellite TV – check online first! I was able to find a significantly better deal with Comcast, as an internet only customer, by logging into my account and checking out the offers for existing customers. This same deal was unavailable at the local Comcast office.