Ten Ways To Take $100 Off Your Cable Bill
Adam from Free Press sent us his tips for lowering his cable bill. Using these strategies, Adam reduced his monthly bill from $190 to $90, and added three movie networks, a sports package, and two additional boxes.
1. Go to the Source. When going through the prompts, never call anywhere but the discontinue/reduce services department. Typically this will take you to the customer care department, the people who have the ability to actual do something besides offer you a triple play bundle you probably don't want. Until changes are made to the current system of retention marketing, this path is your best bet.
2. Make Your Case. After giving them your account number, frame the discussion by mentioning how long you've been with them and the amount you've been paying. I mention all the interest I'm receiving from competitors and that I'm sick of seeing my rates go up. Remember you're calling to provide them with an opportunity to continue getting money from you each month.
3. Focus on Price. Don't call and say you want free HBO. Instead call to ask what can be done to lower your bill. The first thing they will probably do is throw in free HBO. Remind them that you had called to lower your bill, but that you appreciate the concession. If you used to pay significantly less bring it up and mention a particular figure.
4. Get Specific. Make sure to have your bill in front of you and mention specific services. The rep is taught to mention any deal you're already receiving. Your job is to mention all the services you're paying full price for. Don't be afraid to go line by line. You'll be amazed that all of sudden a deal that simply didn't exist two minutes ago has magically appeared.
5. Express Your Displeasure. It probably doesn't help to kick and scream, but be stern. Ultimately, it is up to the rep whether you receive discounts so be upset with the service, not them. I've also found they are in better moods in the morning, so call early.
6. You Are Human. Don't be afraid to remind them of this. Try to get the rep to relate to your problem. Discussing some personal experience that provides another perspective on the frame you've built will help. Mention that your roommates or spouse doesn't know all the specifics; they just think that you're paying too much.
7. Lock Em In. If you get a deal make sure you know the duration and see about making it longer. It is best to keep track of this because if you let your deals expire, your bill skyrockets. Nonetheless, some of my most effective calls have come after a big increase. You gain much more traction with a bill increase or service outage than just a random, "fed-up," call.
8. Find a Friend. This could be the most important tip. When you find a responsive rep, stay with them. You'll know when you get a good rep because when they put you on hold the next thing you hear is the list of deductions to your bill. They recognize that the script and tactics they are given don't always work and sometimes the extra mile is needed. Get their name and extension and ask for them next time your bill increases. It saves you time and energy and you won't need to lay all the groundwork again. They know why you're calling.
9. Persistence Is Key. I still come away empty-handed sometimes, but mostly it is because I've been connected to a poor rep. Call back later and hopefully you'll get someone who recognizes the type of customer their dealing with.
10. It's Worth the Effort. I have saved my roommates and I more than $2,000 since I moved in two years ago. Not because I have any particular talent but simply because I force the issue.
(Photo: Todd Kravos)
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Comments:
"Get their name and extension and ask for them next time your bill increases. It saves you time and energy and you won't need to lay all the groundwork again. They know why you're calling."
I really hate when people expect me to remember them. I talk to 500 people a day, I'm not going to remember you and your tale of woe.
With Boxee, Hulu, and torrents, I'm honestly starting to question if cable TV is even worth it anymore.
All of these are good ideas. May I also add that taking copius notes of who you talked to and what that person offered you (and what you accepted) will also sort things out when you get your next bill and (surprise!) nothing has changed.
HRM, my entire cable bill is $65 for internet, phone and cable.
It would be hard to take $100 off that :).
@calquist: Not expect you to remember them, just to deal with that person in the future because they obviously know what they are doing. You'd be surprised at the amount of inept service reps out there...or probably not since you work with them. :)
I'm with Jakuub; I ditched my cable TV. Also ditched the land line phone. I've had Netflix, and I bought an Apple TV, so I could use Boxee.tv on my television. My cable bill for January was $13; for December the cable bill was $160.
@calquist: Exactly. When I worked for cable I took well over 100 calls a night and thankfully I didn't have an extension. Once in a great while I would see I talked to someone in the past about a problem but I never mentioned it unless they did.
Instead of begging them to charge me less, I skipped cable/satellite altogether like a lot of other folks here. Netflix + Tivo + Antenna + A Little Bittorrent = HD Goodness and tiny bills. I wrote it all up on my blog:
@Jakuub:
@jeffred:
@Joel Risberg:
But how do you get internet service? Cable is pretty much the only option in my area, and it's $60 to get internet from them by itself.
$190 for cable!?!? After seeing the picture you can get with an HD antenna, we've been considering turning ours off. I really don't need to be watching the Dog Whisperer anyway.
I ditched cable TV, internet, phone, and cellphone. I now use prepaid for 1 yr with promo, and get the free library wifi internet nearby. Price per month for the same things I used to get ~$5-7/month
Or if you're stuck in a monopoly market with Comcast -- no dice. I only have 'cable' since its a requirement for high speed internet (or price goes up more than the basic cable price). They know I have no other high speed Internet option (DSL and FIOS are not available) so BOHICA every month.
@Jakuub: But, I need my Investigation Discovery! :) And my football. *sigh* 6 1/2 more months until footbal starts again.
@Jonathan Woodard: I know what you mean, internet alone would be $45 a month for 3Mb/s but with basic cable it's 15 cheaper. I could drop basic cable but that'd only save me 9 bucks a month...
I just don't see any point in spending this kind of money, even $90, for cable. I can get plenty of free content online and pay a pittance for access to the growing Netflix watch instantly without having to pay for several dozen channels I'll never watch. Cable prices are grossly inflated, as proven by the fact that you can get $100 cut from a nearly $200 (!!) bill. Come on, if this guy watched an hour of TV a day, at $190 per month plus fees at let's say $20, this guy was paying an average of $7 per hour of ad-supported television. That's absurd. He's paying less now, but still more than $1000 a year. Is TV really this important, especially with the advent of free/dirt-cheap online content?
@Jonathan Woodard: That stinks... I won't recommend that you go back to dial-up (I wouldn't force that onto my worst enemy) but check into DSL and Fiber-optics.
Many "no-name" rural providers are buying up the grids/cables AT&T and the other larger providers are trying to get rid of to increase profit.
Then, with a little expansion from that "no-name" provider, more people have service.
There are also often "waiting list" to have fiber-optics delivered to your area... and they go with the most serviceable, in-demand area first.. never hurts to be on the list.
@Jakuub: I'm gonna follow the lifehacker method and buy an Apple TV and install Boxee.
Will cost a little up front but after cancelling cable, should pay for itself in a couple months.
Theft is always less expensive than purchasing services legitimately...
That said, you can find a ton of legally free entertainment online at some of the major TV network sites.
The only thing keeping me from completely cutting off the cable is sports. Unfortunately, for us sports fans, there really isn't a way to watch them all live without cable. That said, I pay $52/month for non-digital cable (the 40 or 50+ channels kind, not the barebones deal) and internet, which I don't think is a bad deal at all.
How did you swing that? Any helpful hints?
#1 Way to cut your cable bill (if you can't receive over-the-air signals): Search your cable system's official rate charts for the super-reduced tier of service. This may be called "Minimum" cable, "Basic", etc. It includes ONLY broadcast, and whatever the cable company can transmit to you for free. (i.e. Public Access, NASA Channel, etc.)
This level of service receives ZERO advertising, and you will ONLY find it on the mind-numbingly boring official rate chart.
I have this, and my cable bill is only $12/mo. "Standard" cable (MTV, Discovery, Food, VH1, Weather, A&E, Discovery, etc.) is $50/mo.
In an interesting twist, they forgot to cut off the "Standard" signal, so I get those stations anyway.
As an added bonus, this super-minimum level of service doesn't require a cable box either.
SirWired
I spent a lot of time working for a cable company and I can tell you that while a lot of these are good thoughts most won't work from a practical standpoint.
For instance, his most important tip about contacting a rep consistently would have never happened where I worked. We did not have individual extensions and there was no way to contact directly from outside the company.
Asking for a retention agent, however, is a very good idea. When you are calling to change your account you will intially talk to one group: Inbound Sales. These reps get paid commision on taking new orders. They get sidelined into handling account changes and this causes disinterest at best, and stonewalling at worst. However retention gets paid for the opposite; keeping customers. So you will end up with a higher quality of caring.
Here is a tip when trying to get retention: call during business hours. While a lot of centers are open 24 hours in most circumstances retention is a smaller, higher paid and specialized sub-group. Therefore they tend to work the same hours as normal people.
One last tip is to keep your complaints about higher prices to yourself on the phone. You and I both know these reps have nothing to do with setting price. And the people who do have never sat in call center in their life. In fact those yearly increases never even end up in any shape or form into the pockets of phone reps. Email those in management and use the Consumerist lists for your provider.
@far83: just pick the basest level of everything. expanded basic cable, slow ass internet, and a telephone.
@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: you're right, having nothing other than saturday morning cartoons is awesome. oh wait...
seriously though, i rarely watch local channels, since their programming sucks a majority of the time.
Woohoo! I love reading about all of the folks who've ditched cable! It's one of the best things I've ever done for my budget. An added bonus is no longer having to deal with the cable company's customer service. I can get all of the network stations and PBS with the air antenna that is still on my house from some prior owner, probably in the 1960s.
@calquist: I wouldn't think that the way to reward someone for reducing your rate is to demand you be able to call on them again for the same service. They might as well tell you to go screw yourself; you won't be requesting them for anything again.
@Tightlines: but how are you going to pick out the nosehairs on your favorite sports player without HD?
@Jonathan Woodard: Call and complain. Ask why you're being penalized for being a loyal customer, and people who just signed up are paying less than you. Tell them you'll just cancel and sign up in your roommate's name to get the introductory rate again, so they might as well just give it to you now. Local Timewarner was trying to charge me $50/mo for cable internet, after that conversation, it's $35/mo for the next 12 months. Also, try www.whitefence.com.
If you get a rep you like keep their extension for the future. And send in an email to the management/company complimenting them. A lot of them get measured on those things and if you keep them happy and employed they are more willing to work with you.
Also, friendly customers do much better then bullys and jerks. Reps are far more likely to give things away to nice folks
Yet somehow, they try to turn this into a game of, "Well, let's see what services you're willing to give up." I probably should have been more insistent on a price break, saying what I wanted. Not getting that, I just cancelled cable tv period.
Another tip... seem sincere. Do your best acting. Say that you really cant afford cable anymore and that its just too much etc. etc.. (but be prepared to cancel if they call your bluff).
That's just one way to go. There are others (like mentioned above the cheaper offers by competitors).
@stre: I have a similar package, but when all the fee BS is added and my bill's on paper, I pay $73 a month. That's a high premium for sports, when in my market I can pay less than half the pre-fee price for a competitors DSL. It's only a matter of time before sports make it online, anyway. At least we can hope, right?
well in this economy I'd think cable would be one of the first luxuries to go. I think I saw something about time warner not making a profit because of so many subscribers cancelling (to bad it wasnt comcast).
I have been without cable for about 4 years now (I had satellite & was paying $60 a month for the whole package except sports but since I moved I cant get satellite).
I just saw on local tv an offer for basic cable for a year for about $12 a month & I admit I am tempted. But I just despise comcast too much to give them my money.
@Chongo: Boxee is pretty cool, but maybe not ready for prime time yet. I've been playing with it on Linux. It's great when it works, but it hangs pretty frequently.
I thought about doing this, but I can't live without my DTV....even though the price is going up $3. :'( My Internet keeps freezing up and until I chase down the problem, watching shows online is a pain in the butt.
I'm thinking something is on my 'puter that shouldn't be there but I'm not sure where to look.
@Gokuhouse: This is the scam both of our providers run. They jack the price of the core service everyone wants or needs and then make the add ons cheaper so people will keep them because they only cost a few dollars more.
I am just hoping more content goes online or some of the media companies figure out that they can make more money selling subscriptions direct to consumers to stream it online.
As longtime CS Phone Rep, this attachment to an individual person only goes so far. I know that I am lucid and helpful on the phone and I have had more than a few people "latch on" and refuse to talk to anyone but me. It's disruptive to the workflow and it prevents other customers from being assisted. Plus not all of my reps are scheduled for phone duty all the time. We do give out our extensions when the situation merits a follow up, but I would sniff this guy out as a "squeaky wheel" that will be periodically trying to get the same special service time and again, and I would most likely avoid giving out my direct line.
@David: yes, but you also get eternal salvation, and 5% off at Salvation Army stores
Just turnoff the TV. It has nothing but bad news, negative stories, murder and mayhem and a bunch of dopes that shout at each other and have no idea what they are talking about.
@calquist: The last time I did this, the rep actually provided her extension without me asking for it, and asked me to call her at the end of each promotion period to reup for the next one. Saved me $100/mo, so, why not.
@stre: That or the promotion will end in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....
FIOS was offering $70/mo for the triple play in my area a couple months ago, but it was not their top tier service.
@Tightlines: Well, there's ESPN 360 if your ISP supports it: [espn.go.com]
Plus you can buy On-Ice/Full Court/Whatever packages and these days they offer the games streaming online as well as the TV feed.
@Chongo:
There is no need to waste money on Apple TV if you run MS Windows. I'm currently using the Alpha version for Windows and it works very nicely with few glitches.
Investment = absolutely FREE.
I actually just called Time Warner to ditch my TV service. The last rate hike and the fact that I need to start studying for my medical boards pushed me over the edge. I mostly watch network tv anyway, but sadly my slightly older tv doesn't have a tuner in it. Luckily the new Tivo HD's have an ATSC (digital) tuner, so for $13 a month instead of $74 a month (the tv portion of the bill) I still get DVR, and all the shows I want. Plus the new Tivo's can stream netflix (already have the $10 a month account). Overall saving $60 a month now, which means the Tivo will be paid for in just about 4 months (equivalent)
@sirwired: They didn't forget, according to folks in the biz, this is the way it goes, they don't really have the ability to easily turn off those channels.
@forgottenpassword: I was tempted a couple years ago to sign up for a limited time cable offer. But when I went to the cable offices to sign up, the customers were lined up from the customer counter all the way back to the front door. So, I turned around and walked out, remembering that bad customer service was the other reason I ditched cable.
I also think cable programming is too repetitive and very low quality. I don't think cable subscribers realize how little they are getting for their money. Congratulations on ditching them completely.
11. Stop paying for cable TV if you don't need it. I ditched Cable ($60/mo), and got an unlimited 1 at a time Netflix account ($10/mo), and I'm watching more of what I want to watch than I did previously, minus live sports, but hey, that's what friends are for.