Don't miss my radio author interview

Don't miss my radio author interview airing live on 8-10-20 from 12 to 1 pm on www.wqbq1410.com 

Tell all your friends. 

https://geni.us/michaelkelsoauthor

How I cut my satellite TV bill by 575% !!

The Talk

Most of us reach that point in life. The time when you have to sit down and have ‘The Talk’.

The Talk is shockingly common these days. It involves looking at the day to day finances and seeing what's necessary and what isn’t. It also involves questions like these.

Question 1) How often do you really watch TV.

I know my TV consumption has greatly reduced over the years. And the kids mostly watch Netflix.

Question 2) Could you go without TV for extended periods of time.

Between the internet and Netflix, my answer was yes. My only sticking point was The Walking Dead.

At the time, I was addicted to The Walking Dead and didn’t want to lose the channel that showed it. As I looked over the numbers I realized that I was the only one who needed the more expensive channel package, just for one show.

Time to go.

Reason and numbers prevailed. I made a hard decision. I called Dish network.

After listening to five minutes of music and commercials, I was connected to an operator who was very polite and asked how he could help me. I told him that I wanted to cancel my subscription.

His stunned silence was followed by a short, “Umm … okay, I’m sorry to hear that.”

And we were underway.

The problem

He asked me if there was a problem with the service and I told him no, I had been happy with my service for years.  Then I explained my financial situation and he asked if a reduction would be better.

I asked him for the numbers to go down to the lowest subscription. After he gave me the numbers, I realized I would only be saving ten bucks a month. That wasn’t good enough and I told him so.

He apologized yet again and asked what plan he could offer to keep me as a customer. I told him I needed to get rid of satellite TV altogether.

The Hook

He put me on hold for a minute then came back and offered me the reduced price but with free HBO for a month.

I politely told him no and he said he understood.

He put me on hold again and offered me a better package but at the same reduced price that was only saving me ten bucks.

I politely told him no.

This continued for the better part of a half-hour.

It was like a tennis match, he would serve an offer at me and I would volley it back in his court.

Finally, he had gotten the information he needed to send me the boxes to return my satellite receivers in. I thanked him and was about to hang up when he asked me to be patient with him for just another minute.

The real deal

I said that was fine and waited patiently. When he came back on the line, he told me that he had talked to his supervisor and was authorized to make me one last offer.

I patiently listened.

He offered me a base package including all my local channels for less than $12 a month.

I hesitated.

The details

I asked how long this plan would last. He told me he could do it for one year.

I looked over my budget and realized that his offer would save me $57 a month and leave us with basic TV plus local channels for a year.

It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I didn’t.

He was true to his word, and for a year I had satellite service with basic channels (which was enough since the kids watch Netflix more than TV) for $12.

The win

It was the most profitable half-hour I've ever spent on the phone.

Instead of $828 for a year of TV, I spent $144.

Patience and politeness had paid off.

Your turn

Are you paying too much for your cable/satellite/phone/cell bill? Give this method a try. Just don’t forget a few tips.

Final words of advice

First and foremost: Be polite. I’m not sure if I would’ve received this offer if I had bellowed and demanded.

Second: Make sure you clear off enough time in your schedule so that you can negotiate without feeling rushed.

Third: Stay firm. Don’t bite on the first offer or even the fourth or fifth.

Fourth: Know what you’re willing to accept and don’t settle for anything less.

Puzzled

Haunted

One on One a novel

Hyndman Train Derailment

2014 solar eclipse