Negotiating with ISPs

[Kaz]

 

This applies to several major providers in the U.S, it's simply the game they train their customer service agents to play.  It may also apply to other locations.  I thought some people might appreciate the knowledge.

 

It's no secret, most ISPs offer a great introduction price, then after 6 months to 1 year, they raise the price.  What you may not know, is you can call and talk to billing, and they will offer you another "great price for a limited time!".  Ok, you probably know you can renegotiate, but did you know, billing is actually the wrong person to talk to?  The correct choice is to talk to cancellation.  Most companies have a separate department for billing and cancellations.  The job of billing is to sell you on the value of your service, "sure, I can get you a lower price, but you need to sign a contract, or reduce your speed, drop your data, or lower TV channels."   Overall, it'll probably be the same service for $10 higher than you initially started at, but lower than their increased price. 

 

If your upset about the options and decide to cancel, a billing agent will say, "I'm sorry to hear that.  Let me get you to someone who can do that for you."  Now you're talking to a different agent, their retention department.  That agent will offer you different deals in an attempt to save you, they may even get you back on the same price you were paying before.  Some agents are better than others, and having a service complaint along with the general price complaint, is usually enough to get them to try and save you as a customer.  "I can get that bill down, let me get you over to tech support to fix your problem".  Suddenly that $10 increase, isn't the same as it was before.  Saving you as a customer is more important than milking an extra $10.  If the retention agent doesn't try to save you as a customer, they are bad at their job.  Simply schedule the disconnect out a day or two, then cancel it and repeat the process until you find a competent agent willing to give you a decent discount.

 

I really hate all the games that ISP's play.  If there's ever a fair one with straightforward billing, I'd gladly switch to them in a heartbeat. 

[ENTERPRISE]

It is a pain. I have cancelled many a service, whether it be ISP related or otherwise and usually if there customer retention team is good enough, they will persuade me to stay with them. Any money for them in better than no money, so it is in their interest to keep you onboard, even if at a heavy discount.

 

I have had some good deals in the past with customer retention, especially on mobile contracts, they are pretty good at slashing prices when you get down to it.

[Cerberus]

i see what you're saying, in my experience its with cable internet and tv companies that are the worst. no complaints from google fiber though

 

[Kaz]

8 hours ago, Cerberus said:

no complaints from google fiber though

 

I'm jealous!

[Diffident]

I recently cancelled the TV portion of my service, I was surprised they didn't offer to lower the cost.  She just asked me why I was cancelling and that was it.  She was nice enough to cancel my internet also and then reactivate it at the new customer price that's locked in for 4 years.

[Snakecharmed]

Comcast still employs the irritating first-year introductory pricing game, but you can change your plan at any time online without having to pick up the phone. Just do it on month 11 or whenever you see a good deal because they actually do periodically rotate the discounts.

[acoustic]

One thing I loved about Verizon FIOS was the flat-rate with no fees or introduction pricing packages. I paid $65/mo for Gigabit up/down and it was phenomenal. When I bought a house in a different neighborhood, no more FIOS.. had to go to Xfinity/Comcast and it’s been garbage. My “cheap” (slower than FIOS but more expensive, yay) internet price will be gone in Jan2024. I hate dealing with these predatory practices, especially since they line the city/township councilmen pockets so that Google/Verizon and other competitors can’t build in the municipality. It’s BS!

Edited February 23, 2023 by acoustic