Clippers of Nfl Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Ok, just completed the call during lunch. I tell ya, I both love and hate doing this at the same time. Here's the recap: -- I say "cancel" at the first prompt. Connected to rep I think is in retention. I tell her I'm tired of looking at my huge bill and now I see ST is about to hit next month. Lots of good deals out there for TWC; love having ST but losing it wouldn't be the end of the world. She tells me, "well you're a very loyal customer so I'm sure there are some discounts available." -- First offer: $5 off each of the 6 ST Max payments ($30 total); I say, "that seems pretty insignificant to me." -- Second offer: Another $5 off ST Max, plus a $5 discount off the sports package for 6 months (now we're up to $90 total in discounts); I say, "I appreciate it but you're not really making it worth my while." -- Third offer: "I see your package is eligible for a few other discounts; I can give you another $20 off for 6 months (now we're talking; up to $210 in discounts). I'm not budging, though; I tell her, "if you could find another $90 in discounts I think I'd be satisfied." -- Rep replies, "well, that's all I am authorized to do, but let me apply those discounts and I'll get you over to retention where I'm sure they can help." -- I'm transferred to a retention rep; she reviews the discounts applied and tells me, "I can give you another $10 discount for 12 months, and a one-time $25 credit." I confirmed all of the discounts and told her "thank you very much." My phone call netted me $355 in discounts/credits -- basically, ST Max for free and a $25 kicker. Ain't this fun? Very nice. Did you get it free last year too? If you did, you got game! Ps. I dont dread making the call, but it is annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 That's what I meant when I said I love it and hate it. It was difficult to force myself to dial, but then instincts took over...lol. I am totally with you on this. I dreaded making the call but once I am on the phone the adreline starts kicking in. I got my wife & my son laughing their asses off in the background so it was kind of tough to keep a straight face but in the end it is all worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clippers of Nfl Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I am totally with you on this. I dreaded making the call but once I am on the phone the adreline starts kicking in. I got my wife & my son laughing their asses off in the background so it was kind of tough to keep a straight face but in the end it is all worth it. Last night my dumb dog was barking and he was distracting me. Note to self: Put bill away during the annual call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Last night my dumb dog was barking and he was distracting me. Note to self: Put bill away during the annual call. Yes next year when I call I will make sure everybody is out of the house. You may want to try one more thing. This worked for me one year. They gave me the discounts like you but it was not free. I called back about a week later, go to cancellation & when they pickup say "you know I appreciate the discounts & I am grateful but 2 of my friends just got Direct TV & they got the ticket for free. I just don't think this is fair as a loyal customer, can't you do something else for me? It worked for me the one year, they gave me some more discounts. I don't know, it is worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clippers of Nfl Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Yes next year when I call I will make sure everybody is out of the house. You may want to try one more thing. This worked for me one year. They gave me the discounts like you but it was not free. I called back about a week later, go to cancellation & when they pickup say "you know I appreciate the discounts & I am grateful but 2 of my friends just got Direct TV & they got the ticket for free. I just don't think this is fair as a loyal customer, can't you do something else for me? It worked for me the one year, they gave me some more discounts. I don't know, it is worth a shot. And you're absolutely right. On my account they will have this guy "aint too proud to beg". Lol. But you're right. I used that strategy in like 2009 I think. I know what I'm going to do. I'll let them take out one of the mini payments. Then I'll call. Thanks man!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Interesting take. I play fantasy football but don't view the RZ channel in that way at all. I love the (essentially) non-stop action when teams are in scoring position. Of course, I'm paying attention to who scores, but the host doesn't focus on the fantasy stuff. Apparently DirecTV and the NFL don't look at it that way either, since they created a special "Fantasy Zone" channel that will be part of the Max ST package this year in addition to the RZ channel. I also think that the Red Zone channel dumbs down football too, and is for the fans who can't watch football because the teams aren't scoring on every play. I'd rather watch a game in real time on television. I can watch the highlights later. This. I know RZ is particularly nice for FF and while I do play FF I don't obsess about it, so my reason for watching RZ is that when the Bills aren't on I don't usually care about any specific game (unless it has some bearing on the Bills) and am just looking for the best action. RZ does a fantastic job of showing the games with the most going on at any given time. It does my thinking for me. Kind of like when they used to do this with March Madness and would jump around to the best games. Now they show them all and you need to switch back and forth yourself. I rest my case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) I also think that the Red Zone channel dumbs down football too, and is for the fans who can't watch football because the teams aren't scoring on every play. I'd rather watch a game in real time on television. I can watch the highlights later. I rest my case. Mark, I think most of us don't watch RZ instead of a game; we watch it in conjunction with watching the Bills or another game. At least that's what I do. I mean, if the Bills aren't playing and you're watching the Jags/Browns you wouldn't rather see the action happening elsewhere? Particularly during commercials? Edited July 12, 2014 by eball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Mark, I think most of us don't watch RZ instead of a game; we watch it in conjunction with watching the Bills or another game. At least that's what I do. I mean, if the Bills aren't playing and you're watching the Jags/Browns you wouldn't rather see the action happening elsewhere? Particularly during commercials? I do have the benefit of watching the Bills at a sports bar, so when the Bills game goes to commercial I will then check one of the other games that's on another screen. However, if I was at home and forced to watch the only game that is on local tv, then I will watch that game only and not watch red zone channel. And when the commercials come on, i'll just mute the tv and do some TBD stuff until the game comes back on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 I do have the benefit of watching the Bills at a sports bar, so when the Bills game goes to commercial I will then check one of the other games that's on another screen. However, if I was at home and forced to watch the only game that is on local tv, then I will watch that game only and not watch red zone channel. And when the commercials come on, i'll just mute the tv and do some TBD stuff until the game comes back on. That's some old-fashioned thinking right there, my friend. I love the NFL and if the technology is available that I can see more of the exciting plays around the league as they happen, rather than watching the game the local network has chosen for me to watch, I'm all for it. But to each his own. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 If I can't get more than $48 bucks off I will miss the channel with 8 games on it the most. I'm outside the blackout so I get most Bills games anyway on local TV but like the option to watch the game I want when they are not on instead of getting Giants and Jets games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) BAM!!! Free again. Act depressed about the economy when speaking with the agent. Tell them you don't have the energy to haggle this year and you just need to cancel. Explain to them that there is no need for Sunday Ticket any more because so many games are televised. Because you no longer need Sunday Ticket you no longer need DIrectv. I told them no thanks to every discount they offered and said I was going to shop around. Without even asking they threw in Sunday Ticket somehow lowered my bill $60. I settled for this and didn't cancel my service. You must be able to convince them you will cancel and don't let them know you want Sunday Ticket. Okay made my second call today. As soon as I got the prompts I said "cancel service." They asked me if I am cancelling because I am moving I said no. They sent me right to retention. I said how much is if I have to cancel my service. She said you are under contract until April 2016 so it would be $420. She said "is something wrong?" I said "yeah, I called yesterday & the guy I talked to only gave me a $5 charge off each month for Sunday Ticket, that is an insult." She said I agree. I then said I will get back to you, I am going to see if I could get someone to credit some of the $420 if I switch to them I know TW has offered me a $350 credit in the past." I said I will call back in a few days." She said hold on, I think I could play around with the system for you give me a minute. " I was put on hold for about 10 minutes. She comes bacjk & says "okay this is what I can do, I could give you the Sunday Ticket max for $160, it will hit your bill but I will also give you a $160 credit this month so your bill will be the same. I will also since you have been so patient give you an additional $10 off per month for the next 12 months. I said perfect. I never got nasty or raised my voice. If she called my bluff I was just going to hang up on her. That my friends is how you negotiate your free sunday ticket. I ahve been a customer since 2005. I hope that nobody from DirecTV is watching this website and reading these stories. Edited July 13, 2014 by Mark Vader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 I hope that nobody from DirecTV is watching this website and reading these stories. But they are true Mark as I'm sure I'll do better than $48 bucks off once I go to retention. I'll end up with more off and free HBO or something by the time I strike again. I've never seen anything like it, imagine calling the power company and trying to talk the them down?... they'd have your lights off while still on the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryCletus Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 As I have posted before... As long as you maintain a cool head and don't threaten to seriously cancel- you should prevail.... The quickest I ever got it was about 5 minutes, but generally it's 45-60 minutes of discussion... The 5 minute phone call was classic- young sounding guy answered the phone in cancelation dept- account is in my wife's name- asked my relationship to her and I said "I'm hittin' that ****" after he got done laughing he asked what he could do- I said "heard you were the man to talk to that will hook me up with the ticket for free" then BAM, done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 As I have posted before... As long as you maintain a cool head and don't threaten to seriously cancel- you should prevail.... The quickest I ever got it was about 5 minutes, but generally it's 45-60 minutes of discussion... The 5 minute phone call was classic- young sounding guy answered the phone in cancelation dept- account is in my wife's name- asked my relationship to her and I said "I'm hittin' that ****" after he got done laughing he asked what he could do- I said "heard you were the man to talk to that will hook me up with the ticket for free" then BAM, done! HAHAHA... that's a classic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksilver Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I haven't made the call yet, I will soon. My contract ends in late august, so I try to time it then. I agree for 1 year if I get ST for free. It's worked the last 2 years. I wonder if this will happen if the AT&T deal goes through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 That's some old-fashioned thinking right there, my friend. I love the NFL and if the technology is available that I can see more of the exciting plays around the league as they happen, rather than watching the game the local network has chosen for me to watch, I'm all for it. But to each his own. Cheers! Fair enough. Didn't mean to come off sounding strong about this. We all enjoy football in our own way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I also think that the Red Zone channel dumbs down football too, and is for the fans who can't watch football because the teams aren't scoring on every play. I'd rather watch a game in real time on television. I can watch the highlights later. I rest my case. Hey now! Some of us need this. LOL - I have three small children and just happy to have command of the remote on Sundays and not watching Disney Jr. I enjoy the convenience as I am multi-tasking with everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryCletus Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hey now! Some of us need this. LOL - I have three small children and just happy to have command of the remote on Sundays and not watching Disney Jr. I enjoy the convenience as I am multi-tasking with everything else. I have two small children, and come here to escape reality... You sir, just crossed the line- I now have the Disney Jr song stuck in my head, thanks for that! Hahaha Snap back to reality! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I have two small children, and come here to escape reality... You sir, just crossed the line- I now have the Disney Jr song stuck in my head, thanks for that! Hahaha Snap back to reality! ... where the magic begins! you're welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsxfirefighter Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 ... where the magic begins! you're welcome! Damn...i thought my Genie was the only one broken and stuck on channel 289!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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