Dave in Avon Lake now Posted July 29, 2016 Posted July 29, 2016 Just to let everyone know, I broke down and renewed Sunday ticket (no Max) and downgraded my TV package. I didn't haggle just asked for the 9 discount retention offered me the week before. I may miss a few games but always record them because even if they lose I watch the highlights and skip the rest. Also, as mentioned before the basic package includes mobile so I can watch if I'm out of town. Thanks for the support and let's hope this is the year. Go Bills!
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted July 29, 2016 Posted July 29, 2016 Well reading the last page or two of posts, guess you guys got all the good deals as when I called up there was nothing left in the cookie jar to give out. They offered me $7 a month off ST, that was the best deal I got. Well actually the best they offered me was full price to ST and a free upgrade to Max so guess that would have ben a tad better. I also complained about my monthly bill going up $15 last month and $23 since the 1st of the year and I needed to reduce my cost, their remedy there was to reduce my package so I'll save $7 a month. I'll add that I'm off contract and when my bill went up this past month by $15 that was due to my last discount expiring. So at this point, have no discounts at all. I told her a $7 discount isn't even worth the time I'm spending on the phone. She also told me that discounts for ST aren't available until August which is BS, but whatever. Ironically an hour later I got an email from Time Warner with an offer for TV (currently have home phone and internet through them) So called up, package included 200 channels, plus Epix and Starz, plus upgrade to 300 MB internet speed (currently was at 50) by the time I added equipment six tuner DVR and 2nd HD receiver, total was $160 a month which saves me around $40 a month, plus other things currently not getting like the movie packages and 300 Mb speed, the one thing I'm losing is no ST but wasn't worth paying that much for it anyway. That was what I told the DTV person, if I don't get ST because it's too high, there's no need for me to stick with DTV at all. So I signed up for an install date on August 20th, that will still give me time to call DTV again and see if they will come up with anything better. If not will dump them and will due without ST. I do wonder if the tightness of discounts this year is a function of their merger with ATT. I do recall from days having DSL, they were much tighter with giving discounts. Kind of surprises me when you hear and read of so many people "cutting the cord" or in my case, smashing the dish!
26CornerBlitz Posted July 29, 2016 Posted July 29, 2016 (edited) Well reading the last page or two of posts, guess you guys got all the good deals as when I called up there was nothing left in the cookie jar to give out. They offered me $7 a month off ST, that was the best deal I got. Well actually the best they offered me was full price to ST and a free upgrade to Max so guess that would have ben a tad better. I also complained about my monthly bill going up $15 last month and $23 since the 1st of the year and I needed to reduce my cost, their remedy there was to reduce my package so I'll save $7 a month. I'll add that I'm off contract and when my bill went up this past month by $15 that was due to my last discount expiring. So at this point, have no discounts at all. I told her a $7 discount isn't even worth the time I'm spending on the phone. She also told me that discounts for ST aren't available until August which is BS, but whatever. Ironically an hour later I got an email from Time Warner with an offer for TV (currently have home phone and internet through them) So called up, package included 200 channels, plus Epix and Starz, plus upgrade to 300 MB internet speed (currently was at 50) by the time I added equipment six tuner DVR and 2nd HD receiver, total was $160 a month which saves me around $40 a month, plus other things currently not getting like the movie packages and 300 Mb speed, the one thing I'm losing is no ST but wasn't worth paying that much for it anyway. That was what I told the DTV person, if I don't get ST because it's too high, there's no need for me to stick with DTV at all. So I signed up for an install date on August 20th, that will still give me time to call DTV again and see if they will come up with anything better. If not will dump them and will due without ST. I do wonder if the tightness of discounts this year is a function of their merger with ATT. I do recall from days having DSL, they were much tighter with giving discounts. Kind of surprises me when you hear and read of so many people "cutting the cord" or in my case, smashing the dish! Actually, that is also what I was told. I just decided that the other discounts more than offset the price of Sunday Ticket max and any additional offerings weren't worth me calling back in August to haggle over. Edited July 29, 2016 by 26CornerBlitz
Nervous Guy Posted July 29, 2016 Posted July 29, 2016 Actually, that is also what I was told. I just decided that the other discounts that more than offset the price of Sunday Ticket max weren't worth me call back in August to haggle over. Exactly....and I was also told that discounts are better for ST in August.
msw2112 Posted July 29, 2016 Posted July 29, 2016 (edited) It took multiple calls this year. One yielded 50% off the regular package, but nothing off of the Max upgrade. I declined, holding out for a better offer. I was told that better offers may be available "at the end July or closer to the start of the season." A second call yielded $5 off per month on my main TV package for a year, but no Sunday Ticket discount. I should note that their system went down mid-call, so I didn't even go into the Sunday Ticket pitch. A third call made earlier this week got me to what I felt was an acceptable result. I paid full price for Sunday Ticket Max, $360, but then received customer service credits totaling $180. Effectively, I got Sunday Ticket Max for half price, plus an additional $60 discount from another call. Perhaps not my best work, and not as good as some others on this board have done, but better than most this year, it seems. I should also note that I already get $20 off per month in other credits, so they may not have as much flexibility with my account as they do with others. None of my calls this year were contentious and the whole process was a little less stressful than in the past. Given that it went fairly smoothly, I decided to take what I felt was a pretty fair offer and accept it. Good luck to everyone else! As a side note, I live out West and got lower bowl seats for the Bills-Rams game in LA in October. I hope to participate in some of the pre-game activities over the weekend. The last road game I caught was the December game in Denver in 2014 and it was a fantastic time. Edited July 29, 2016 by msw2112
Ned Flanders Posted August 6, 2016 Posted August 6, 2016 Just made "the call." Mixed results. They shaved $50/month off the bill with free Showtime. But the best they could do for ST was $36 off ($6/month for 6 months). Was told "better deals for ST come out in late August." I cancelled ST, because I'll be at the opener in Baltimore (and DTV gives everyone ST for free the first week) and the second game is the Thursday night national broadcast. I'll either call back in late August or after Week 2 for ST. Spent a lot of time on hold, all together about a 20 minute call.
Mike in Horseheads Posted August 6, 2016 Posted August 6, 2016 I have a Verizon phone coming off contract this month. Has anyone tried to leverage changing to ATT as leverage? I've usually done OK in the past but if this is a new opportunity I'd like to take advantage. ...The funny thing is here if you try to bundle products they have you bundle with Verizon because there is no ATT service for internet and landline phone. The internet sucks because its DSL so I still have to pay TWC for that.... sigh
John from Riverside Posted August 6, 2016 Posted August 6, 2016 I called customer retention today....been with DTV since nearly its startup when they were going door to door selling their dishes. They shaved some dollars off my bill and told me to call back in Sept for Sunday ticket deal.
PromoTheRobot Posted August 6, 2016 Posted August 6, 2016 If you do it right you don't have to haggle. They actually give you "credits" on your account for being a good customer. All you need to do, really, is ask to use them. There is absolutely no need to threaten cancellation, be nasty, or make up stories. I think the mistake people sometimes make when calling DTV is that they try too hard. I got a call today from DTV offering a full set of Genie receivers for my house if I sign a 2-year extention. I countered with that plus ST thrown in. The woman said she couldn't do that. And I said pass it on to a supervisor because they can.
Ned Flanders Posted August 7, 2016 Posted August 7, 2016 They shaved some dollars off my bill and told me to call back in Sept for Sunday ticket deal. The retention reps all seem to be on the same page here. Seems odd though that they are telling people to "call back" in late August or early September for ST "deals." I have a feeling though they'll be calling me before September to renew ST.
BuffaloFan68 Posted August 7, 2016 Posted August 7, 2016 I called DirecTv (8/6) and told them to cancel my acct because the only reason I have their service is for the NFL package which is just WAY too expensive (straight up truth since I also have Xfinity at the house). I ended up paying a one time $256. for the NFL ticket but now I get a $9.00 discount each month for 6 months AND a $40. discount for 12 months! So basically I'm saving $278. over a year and getting the NFL ticket for free. I also lowered my base package so my monthly bill has gone from about $179/month to about $49/month with the NFL ticket. - Good luck & Go Bills!
Geo in Pa Posted August 7, 2016 Posted August 7, 2016 Got the ticket for free this year, plus 30 bucks off my bill a month, saved 700 bucks
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 just got my bill today so time to make the serious call and see if any of them are budging. I used to love DTV retention folks now I think they are all AT&T people
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 hey guys-- I am going to call today. wish me luck.
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 I think I'll make the plunge. I have an X Box hooked up with an HDMI cable and NFL Network streams fine on it. I'm seeing a price tag of $50 a month. Well, I'd spend that in two trips to the bar, easy. Plus my girlfriend wants to watch Eagles games without paying for local cable, and they only overlap for 4-5 games. I think it's worth it.
BillnutinHouston Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 hey guys-- I am going to call today. wish me luck. Good luck Nick. Sent you a PM.
rsxfirefighter Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 hey guys-- I am going to call today. wish me luck. Good Luck JR... I have been following this thread this season, doesnt appear to be that many people succeeding..or just not discussing it this year. I am holding out calling until next week....
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 Nothing to update you guys on, as when I was calling i got another call on a different line and had to hang up. I am tempted to try after work hours, but am worried I will get the B team at DirectTV. May be better off trying again Monday morning.
26CornerBlitz Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 Nothing to update you guys on, as when I was calling i got another call on a different line and had to hang up. I am tempted to try after work hours, but am worried I will get the B team at DirectTV. May be better off trying again Monday morning. It does not matter when you call as long as you reach the customer retention department.
major Posted August 12, 2016 Posted August 12, 2016 Ever since AT&T took over Direct TV, I've seen major changes. I called to get Sunday ticket for free and they fought me at every turn. I intended to cancel Direct TV all together but they ended up giving Direct TV free for the year. I spent over two hours on the phone with them and it wasn't pleasant. It would have been cheaper for them to have given me the ticket than to give me free service for a year. I went through 5 people in retention. I think they expect you to give up. I told them, "I can do this all day" and that "I'm not hanging up until you give me what I want"
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