I have two words to say to you: negotiation works. On our most recent statement, our cable bill went up, from $139.41 to $169.28 with taxes and fees and all that jazz for our TV and internet. That’s more than a 20% increase on a bill I already thought was too high.
We were both ready to cut back to basic cable and shop around for a cheaper internet service provider, but we wanted to explore the path of least resistance first. (The TV and internet bill is basically our whole entertainment budget since we are homebodies.) I read this great post from The Saved Quarter about negotiating your bills. I am a formidable negotiator in the marketplaces of developing countries, but I had never thought to negotiate with my service providers.
This was right up my alley. Unfortunately, the cable bill is in Chuk’s name so I would not be able to do the haggling. Now, my husband has many wonderful qualities, among them is that he is extremely laid-back; this is great 99% of the time but the other 1% of the time, like when I want him to get us lower rates on our bills, it’s not so great.
I emailed him the link to the Penny Saver’s post and, with much doubt in his abilities, left him to do the dirty work. To my surprise and delight, he was successful! He negotiated the rate down to $130 per month which is locked in for 12 months and they added Showtime, Cinemax, TMC and faster internet connection to our package. We’re getting more for less and all it cost us was one 10 minute phone call. I’m so proud of him. He’ll be ready for the souks any day now.
We were both ready to cut back to basic cable and shop around for a cheaper internet service provider, but we wanted to explore the path of least resistance first. (The TV and internet bill is basically our whole entertainment budget since we are homebodies.) I read this great post from The Saved Quarter about negotiating your bills. I am a formidable negotiator in the marketplaces of developing countries, but I had never thought to negotiate with my service providers.
This was right up my alley. Unfortunately, the cable bill is in Chuk’s name so I would not be able to do the haggling. Now, my husband has many wonderful qualities, among them is that he is extremely laid-back; this is great 99% of the time but the other 1% of the time, like when I want him to get us lower rates on our bills, it’s not so great.
I emailed him the link to the Penny Saver’s post and, with much doubt in his abilities, left him to do the dirty work. To my surprise and delight, he was successful! He negotiated the rate down to $130 per month which is locked in for 12 months and they added Showtime, Cinemax, TMC and faster internet connection to our package. We’re getting more for less and all it cost us was one 10 minute phone call. I’m so proud of him. He’ll be ready for the souks any day now.
awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteNicely done! I love feeling like I've gotten ahead!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I've never been able to negotiate very well... I'm going to check out that other post and see if it can help me learn how.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I'm glad you found my post helpful. :)
ReplyDeleteOur bill is in my husband's name, too, but I was able to do the negotiating by having him tell them I was allowed to make changes on the account before I got on the line. If you think you could do better, you could try doing that.
Even still, more stuff for less money is worth cheering about!
Nice work. Way to go! My husband also has tried and succeeded a few times. It is so impressive.
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed!!
ReplyDelete