Sunday Ticket cancellation adventure

[driz]

Just got off the phone with D*, and it went a lil somethin like this: said "cancel" repeatedly until I got somebody. I just finished year 1 of my initial 2-year contract, got in last year with the free ST offer, etc. said I wanted to cancel ST due to cost, and also inquired as to why my bill went way up from last month (I KNOW why, I had some promos/credits expire.) csr offered me ST max for $99. Declined that flat out. Csr put me on hold, came back and offered me ST w/ redzone for free, with no additional contract, since I'm under contract anyway. Took it (obviously), and then it got even better. I also got $15 off for 12 for autopay (was already signed up for autopay, seriously), got my $8/month dvr fee waived (not sure if it's for 12 or forever) in addition to the 6 off for primary tv, free hd extras for 3, and the credit for mos 13-24 I was already getting. I'd say I did alright.

 

[OSD771]

That's a way good deal.

 

[whitewolf8214]

Congrats on your great deal

 

[driz]

It's all who you talk to, I guess. CSR roulette works, and sOmetimes you get lucky on the first try.

 

[bruin95]

I don't even bother with stuff like this, anymore, because I never get anything. If I call to cancel something, it always goes something like this: Me: I would like to cancel such and such because I can't afford it. CSR: OK, I just canceled it. Have a nice day. I wind up having to go on the website to reorder what I just canceled to get it back. I guess I'm just not very lucky at this sort of thing, so I don't even bother anymore.

 

[driz]

I used to work for primestar in their call center here, and some of the old tricks still work. A lot of it too is your tone when you talk to them. This might sound stupid, but act younger than you are. By and large, you're talking to 20-something kids, and it helps if you can relate in some way. Even if they think you sound cheesy, getting them to laugh or loosen up will take you miles with them. Remember, their job is very difficult. Nobody ever calls them to say how awesome their service is, how cheap their bill is, etc. They get nothing but negativity for 8 hours straight.

 

[navychop]

OK, I gotta ask: What lucky star were you born under? Live an exceptionally clean life?

Congrats!

 

[driz]

OK, I gotta ask: What lucky star were you born under? Live an exceptionally clean life?

Congrats!

Neither... (cracks a beer and lights up a smoke)

 

[directv newb]

Being some what new I am confused about something, I don't understand why they would give you sunday ticket/redzone for free. I don't understand what they get out of the deal, you are already under contract, you are not going any where, I would think the sunday ticket is one of their big sources of income. Now, I guess you or someone would say, "they want to keep me happy, that is why they did it", that makes NO sense to me at all. I definately know there are times when you need to make a customer happy and you want them to stay, but I don't see this as one of those situations. I guess some might say "you just got dumb lucky", and I guess I could go with that, But other than dumb luck, I don't get it.

 

[driz]

Being some what new I am confused about something, I don't understand why they would give you sunday ticket/redzone for free. I don't understand what they get out of the deal, you are already under contract, you are not going any where, I would think the sunday ticket is one of their big sources of income. Now, I guess you or someone would say, "they want to keep me happy, that is why they did it", that makes NO sense to me at all. I definately know there are times when you need to make a customer happy and you want them to stay, but I don't see this as one of those situations. I guess some might say "you just got dumb lucky", and I guess I could go with that, But other than dumb luck, I don't get it.

Not really. I think the etf for canceling with 12 months left is only $240 (someone correct me if I'm wrong). By "giving" me something that "costs" $199, they KNOW I will stay for at least the remainder of my contract. Even at the 37.99 I'm paying, it's twice the money they would have gotten if I had canceled service. That's a no-brainer for them. And, guys like us on this forum who are shrewd and get the deals are definitely the 1% compared to Joe Subscriber.

 

[fightfan]

I just made my 2nd call. I just finished my 2 year contract so I am a free agent. D* said that for a 1 year contract they will give me ST for free, they wont do red zone, to go and ST for free, $20 discount for 12 months and all movie channels for $23 for 3 months. SO basically for 1 year contract I will get free ST, all movie channels for 3 months for $3 (after deducting my $20 credit) then a $20 credit for 8 months. And if I want another HD DVR I have to agree to a two year contract and will also get everything I mentioned with the 1 year contract. I hate contracts but I don't expect them to give everything away free.

Is any part of this a good deal, in you opinion?

 

[navychop]

... I would think the sunday ticket is one of their big sources of income.....

Actually, I think it is generally accepted that they lose money on Sunday Ticket sales. But as a loss leader, it brings in a lot of subs to DirecTV and they can make their money elsewhere.

Every notice you might be able to get a hamburger for a dollar, but the sodas seem to always cost more than that?

 

[Claude Greiner]

I don't even bother with stuff like this, anymore, because I never get anything. If I call to cancel something, it always goes something like this: Me: I would like to cancel such and such because I can't afford it. CSR: OK, I just canceled it. Have a nice day. I wind up having to go on the website to reorder what I just canceled to get it back. I guess I'm just not very lucky at this sort of thing, so I don't even bother anymore.

Depends on how you talk to them. If they don't take you seriously, they will just blow you off.

If you can genuinely yell and scream at them, you can get a better offer. If your calm, they don't do anything

The key is that you need to cancel service completely and use a post dated cancellation so they don't call your bluff. For example, call on Monday and say you want to cancel on Friday because you have DISH Network coming out.

I once argued with a CSR for 45 minutes, until I pulled that trick and finally got them to lower my bill.

 

[Joseph Giorgianni]

The main reason I just signed up for D* was for ST. I had all my ducks in a row in a spreadsheet and when I went to sign up the CSR said there is a $28.35 delivery & handling fee. I said I would not sign up and that it was a deal breaker. After much arguing she put on her supervisor. I argued with her for a while and she would not budge. I finally gave up.

Turned out the installer wanted to put the dish on the front of the house and I said no. Got a call from the difficult installations department and signed up again. They didn't say anything a delivery & handling fee.

 

[stonecold]

I have to skate carefully around this one but there are a few tricks.

1. Offers are based on a system of valuing the customer.
1a. Basically expect more offers with CC autopay and Premiere/Choice Ultimate then you would the Family package and paying manually. Service tiers and ontime payments are must for maximizing value.

2. Live in a Highly competitive area. Areas that have Fios or Uverse + Cable tend to be flagged for additional discounts being available to keep them in place.

3. Are you a Long Term Customer? Customers who are at 3 years are more likely to get a better deal then 1 year in.

4. Old Primestar customers should contact me they are probably over paying for receiver fees. Note this is for customer who had Primestar and then when the company was sold were given a directv system.

5. MDU accounts tend to have less available to them as it more up to the mdu provider.