My latest success is with our Comcast bill. When we first moved into our apartment back in July of last year, we decided that we wanted (needed:P) to get internet. We asked a few of our friends about who they used for internet and found out that Comcast was the #1 answer. Actually, we didn't know of anyone in our complex who was using a different company. So Comcast it was.
Joel-Michael went in to set up our account and he came back with the modem and all the necessary items along with the current promotional deal of $50.72/month, including taxes. We figured it wasn't that bad. After all, people had told us that we couldn't get AT & T out here so this was our option. So we've had this internet for the past year. Overall, we don't have too many complaints. It's only gone out a few times and usually by reseting the modem we can get it to work again. Plus, when we first got it, both of us were working so $50/month wasn't too bad for something we needed.
About a month or two ago, we got a promotional offer in the mail from AT & T for internet. This deal was for $30/month for our internet. Unfortunately, it wasn't unlimited internet but when we looked up how much we use each month, it was fairly close to what they offered (plus, if we went over the limit, the extra amount it would cost would have made our bill the same as the one at Comcast). But we didn't think we could get AT & T at our apartment, so Mickey called and confirmed that we actually would be able to. That's where the story gets good.
I realized I left out a small (crucial) detail. Sometime around when we received this promotional offer, Joel-Michael got a call from Comcast letting us know that our promotional time was up and our bill would be going up to the standard $80/month starting in August.
While we may have felt rich last year and $50 wasn't a big deal, $80 was definitely not going to fit into our budget now - especially since Joel-Michael is the only one working now. Besides, after seeing the AT & T deal, I was determined that we could use it to convince Comcast to give us a better deal.
This brings me to tonight. I finally found some time to call Comcast to see if they could give us a better deal than what we had had in the first place. Once I got to speak with a representative, I explained to him that our promotional period had just ended and our bill went up. I said that we could not afford to pay $80/month and I wanted to see what they could offer me.
He puts me on hold while he looks up the current promotions and then comes back on:
man - "Well, we're not offering the promotion you had before, but I can offer you one for $44/month plus the $10 modem charge." AKA $54/month - AKA not good enough. lol.
me - "Well, to be honest, we got an offer from AT & T in the mail for $30/month for our internet and I was hoping for something a little closer to that. We would prefer to stay with Comcast but we will switch if you can't offer us something similiar."
man - "Let me see......How about if I wave the $10 charge so you'll only be paying $44/month?"
me - "Is that the best you can do?"
man - "yes, for now it is."
me - "Okay well is there someone else there that I can speak with who might be able to give me a better deal?"
man - "yes, let me check."
long-ish wait....
man - "Okay I can offer you $39.99/month. How does that sound? I can have you talk with _____ (I can't remember who he mentioned) but they will just tell you that they can do $39.95/month but that it will be a slower internet and not unlimited."
pause
me - "Okay, so you can offer me $39.99/month for what I currently have now?"
man - "yes."
me - "Okay I'll take it. Thank you!"
Moral of the story? -- It never hurts to ask.
I mean, really, it doesn't. The "worst" thing that could have happened is that we inconveniently would have had to switch to AT & T in order to save money. Regardless, we were not going to be paying the $80/month to any company. And the way I see it, even though we only saved about $10/month ($10. 73 to be exact ;)), this adds up to over $120/year. It pays for our Netflix which is about $10/month. It's a win-win situation!
I have managed to get lots of things through bargaining.....I got some clothes from Macy's discounted due to pointing out a stain on an item my friend was planning to buy; I have gotten a $0.75 raise at work by talking with my boss; I paid less money for items I purchased while in Europe; and the list goes on. I first started practicing my bargaining skills after listening to Dave Ramsey. On one of his CD's he talks a lot about bargaining and it has some great tips :) Check out this link here for more info.
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| Dave Ramsey |
My only thoughts now? -- What's the next thing I can negotiate a lower price for! :)
