Like many of you, we were paying what we considered too much per month for our cable. Our monthly fee was $79.99 + taxes for Dish Network’s Top 200 plan. We have been with Dish Network for at least 5 years and while we do not watch a bunch of television, we do have a pretty vast array of programs we enjoy. Plus we love the DVR feature because 99% of the time we do not watch a show when it airs. We typically DVR the show and watch it late at night or during our lunch breaks. It’s just how we roll.
Anyway, the $79.99 + tax a month was killing us to pay – just because it seemed like a “want” and not a “need”. We’re always trying to be smarter with our finances and scrimp in one area to enjoy life in another area (adventures!). We have been mulling over the idea of cancelling our cable subscription and using only streaming services when we watch tv. We are already Amazon Prime members so we enjoy the thousands of free movies and TV shows that we can watch for free. We also have a Netflix subscription that we pay for at $7.99 a month. Netflix has Mad Men, Call the Midwife and other series that we enjoy.
We know people who have pulled the plug on cable and who use an antenna to get local channels combined with their Amazon Prime streaming, Netflix streaming and another service like Hulu Plus.
We have asked a bunch of questions and from what we gathered this is a great solution except for live sports. Ahem, we like our live sports. The NFL and MLB are big in our house and seeing our beloved Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions play is a guilty pleasure. From what we assume from our various in depth conversations with folks is that live sporting events are not possible to view if they are not on local channels (seldom if ever are they in our area). That one point was what was holding us back from pulling the plug on cable.
However, we talked about it during breakfast yesterday and decided we would give it a shot. After all the worst case scenario would be that it wouldn’t work for us and we’d sign back up for a paid cable subscription. Direct TV keeps mailing us enticing offers for a $29.99 rate for one year, which is a heck of a difference from $79.99 we are currently paying. If push came to shove we could always sign up with a new cable provider.
As it turned out our cable bill was due to be paid and as we were online paying it we clicked the customer service link. Up popped a phone number so we called it just to ask about reducing the monthly fee; if this was a possibility maybe it would change our plans.
When Sally in customer service answered we explained we wanted to look into lowering our cable bill. She was kind and transferred our call to another department. When they answered we explained we wanted to explore lowering our bill and that Direct TV had been in contact with us about a $29.99 monthly rate. The person on the other end of the phone reacted with a bit of sarcastic laughter when we mentioned Direct TV, the kind that made Kelli a bit on edge and resistant to the other person’s forced laughter. It did not sit well with Kelli and as the customer service rep went on to say “oh yes, those Direct TV offers…” Kelli interjected and explained she did not find the conversation funny because she was simply trying to lower her monthly bill. That was all that was needed to be said for the tone of the conversation to change.
Suddenly the customer service person was more caring and compassionate. She looked up our account and agreed we had been customers for quite some time. She began to ask questions that seemed to be leading towards adjusting our current plan and removing channels to decrease the price. Maybe this is a valid option for some people, but it wasn’t what we were interested in doing. Kelli explained that and after a short period on hold the customer service rep offered a $15 a month reduction in the plan for a 6 month time period. It was a start, but not enough to satisfy the quest to save money. Kelli asked if there was a better offer, once again kindly reiterating that we were valued customers. After another short wait on hold we were offered $30 off a month for a 6 month period. Now that was more like it; this would bring our bill to $49.99 a month.
The thought of having a year’s worth of discounts was appealing so Kelli asked if the offer was the best that they were willing to do to retain us as a customer. We asked for the $30 monthly reduction for a year and we were placed on hold once again. At $30 a month for a year we’d be saving $360, which would be satisfactory. During the hold time of more than 5 minutes the customer service rep checked in a few times and explained she was talking to her customer retention supervisor. We were happy to keep holding; we put the phone on speaker and continued to work at our desk.
You are not going to believe what she came back with after the hold!
She said she was authorized to offer us a $55 a month reduction in our rate that would be locked in for 1 year. No contract to sign, no adjustments to our plan. Plus we would get 3 months of free movie channels (like Showtime, etc) and a gift voucher for 3 pay per view movies! After the year the rate would go back to the $79.99 fee. She asked if this was acceptable and without seeming to shocked we said yes. She went ahead with the adjustment and within minutes we had the gift voucher in our email. We kindly thanked her for her help, her patience and her excellent customer service. We jotted down her operator number in case we need to call back if the billing isn’t adjusted properly (this is always a good idea so you can answer that “who did you speak to” question that pops up when you have to call a company back about a previous conversation).
$55 A MONTH!
This far exceeded our expectations; we will now be paying $24.99 + tax a month for the next year. This saves us $660, not to mention the freebies that are included. Once the year is over we’ll revisit the cable bill but for now we are smiling from ear to ear.
All because we picked up the phone and called. You can do this too – what do you have to loose? (Except money.)
Happy saving!
