Even if they assure you that there’s nothing anyone can do, ask to speak to their supervisor. It’s likely that the person answering the phone won’t have the authority to make any big changes to your bill. They’re much more likely to go the extra mile for a nice, friendly customer than they are for a snarling, angry one. A better strategy is to be friendly and calm and ask your service representative to help you in fixing your issue. The problem with this is that the customer service representative on the other end is also a person - a person who will not react well to being barked at.

(I certainly had some choice words for our cable company when I saw the change in my bill.) In addition, it’s very easy to feel outraged about whatever it is you’re planning to negotiate. Many newbie negotiators think that they need to be inflexible and insistent in order to get their way. Put down your dukesĪ common mistake in negotiation is to start off too aggressively.

What can you do for me?” To get a handle on new customer promotions for companies such as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse, try here and here. I’d prefer to stay with you, but I really need my cable bill to fit within my budget. Not only will you have an idea of what to pay for your services, but you’ll also have an excellent bargaining chip: “Company X only charges $99 per month for this bundle. For instance, there was no way I could reduce my $150 bill to a $75 one, no matter how much I may have wanted it that way.Ī good way to know what’s reasonable is to research the rates for competing companies, and to know the promo amounts they are running for new customers. When asking for an improvement on your bill, you need to have an idea what a reasonable discount is. Here’s what you need to know to ensure that negotiating with your cable provider goes the way you want it to: However, I discovered that it’s possible for just about anyone to negotiate a lower cable bill - even me. Add to that the fact that our provider is the only game in town, and it often seems like a productive negotiation is out of my reach. While all the customer service representatives are friendly, I still find it nerve-wracking to deal with what seems to be a pretty slippery industry. To be honest, I hate getting in touch with our cable company. I knew I would have to call our cable provider. It only took a little digging for me to realize that our introductory bundle price had expired.Įven though we should’ve expected the price hike, we still couldn’t afford it. After over a year of paying about $120 per month for cable, internet, and our home phone, I discovered that our cable bill was suddenly $30 more expensive. Several months ago, my cable/internet bill went up suddenly.

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