Reader Wonder_Kat is amazed at how TWC went out of its way to stop her from canceling cable service by letting her get it for only $15/month.

Wonder_Kat writes:

I, like yourself, am in disbelief of how amazing TWC has been to me as I’ve attempted to cancel part of my service only to ultimately be offered an excellent deal to retain my loyalty.

My husband & I arrived in the Fort Drum, NY area last fall due to my husband’s Army career. I was initially dismayed to learn that the local cable & internet monopoly was TWC, mainly from reading about the company on Consumerist. However, the 9 months we’ve had service has been uneventful in the best way possible: no surprise charges or fees or interruption of service. My husband deployed to Afghanistan this past March & I had recently decided to cancel my TV service (digital cable w/DVR) but keep my internet. I called customer service to inquire about the protocol.

The rep was very courteous & did all she could to get me to stay. I explained that I wasn’t watching enough TV to justify the expense; it was mostly for my husband & since he was deployed the TV spent more time off than on. She thanked me for my husband’s service & told me what to do to cancel. I took my equipment down to the local office as instructed. Again, the customer service rep could not have been nicer & also did all she could to retain me. I re-explained my reasons for canceling cable & politely informed her that she was very nice but there was nothing she could do to convince me to continue paying for cable. I was shrinking my bill from $116 to $55 or so with canceling.

I just received a phone call from TWC retention with an offer I couldn’t refuse: I could keep my cable with additional channels, keep the DVR service & upgrade my internet for about only $15 more than what I was going to pay for internet alone. The local office had flagged my account as a “special circumstance”.

I want to be very clear here because I know how the Consumerist hive works: I never once asked for special treatment because of my husband’s current deployment. I never once insinuated directly or indirectly that I couldn’t afford the cable portion of my service for any reason. I firmly believe that I was flagged for this amazing discount because I was pleasant with each TWC employee I encountered. I thanked them for their efforts to retain me, & wished them all good days. I’ve spent a few years too many in customer service myself, & one nice person a day can go a long way when the 100 other customers aren’t a joy. My rate is locked in for two years & I should receive my new equipment in a day or two.

The universe has turned upside down for a moment. And I have to say, it’s these “little things” that companies do without prompting or asking that make this whole military lifestyle a bit more bearable.

Sometimes you’re just a decent person to deal with and you get a nice karma rainstorm on top of your head!

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