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Telewest strike back, 10mb cable internet!
- Thread starter edesignuk
- Start date
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I think the reason why it is getting inexpensive for my country is mainly because of the fierce competition here and the fact that the country I'm living in is just a dot on the map.mpw said:
See, consumers are always the winner when there's competition.
angelneo said:
I agree it's down to competition. Our local TelCo has a monopoly and as as result the infrastucture is crap, probably the worst in Europe. The only glimmer of hope is that Cable & Wireless were awarded a license to operate but 18months down the line still don't show any interest in rolling out any service.
As for being a dot on the map your country's about five or six times the size of ours.
The lost art of merchant haggling...
Well, truth is, most companies are not going to go out of their way to improve their prices for existing customers once the 'introductory period' price scheme has worn off and they have you in the grip of not wanting to give up their amazingly better than dialup services. BUT THE SQUEEKY WHEEL ALMOST ALWAYS GETS THE OIL! I'm amazed sometimes how few people understand how to properly "work" corporate customer service personel.
Lowering your ISP bill is simple as lowering your credit-card APR. It's simply an adaptation of my favorite credit-card game "Customer Service Tea-party Your Way to a Lower APR".. Basically, the premise of the game is simple. All you have to do is complain prices (like APR) are too high with the company you are talking to, then mention the competition (with the definite implied threat to switch providers).. then once you've got that service agent sweating the prospect of getting a negative lost-customer mark for the day on their marketing tally sheet, just kick back, relax, and watch the magic show begin. It's sometims amazing to see what magic rabits they pull out of their hat that you didn't know about before..
And I quote:
(simulated conversation with Adelphia cable)..
Customer says to Adelphia rep,"Verizon DSL customers are getting their service for almost half what I pay every month! These monthly bills are just too high for me. Can't you guys do any better than the icky ol' phone company?"
The agent offers something mediocre. Better than what you have currently, but you just know there is yet another package. If they're holding out, then simply turn up the heat on them....
Customer says to Adelphia rep,"Yeah, that's OK, but I'm sure you guys have a better pricing tier. How about the customer-retention package?"
That last one's a bit disarming because it's almost funny, but the point is made clearly, and the agent then knows this is their last chance not to lose your patronage and will give you their best priced plan at this point more than likely.
It really does pay to haggle and put them on the hot seat.. They almost always instantly cave when you mention the competition.. If they don't end up giving you the new customer rate (or better), then actually terminate the service, then reorder it under the new price the following day.. easy, simple..
whooleytoo said:
Well, truth is, most companies are not going to go out of their way to improve their prices for existing customers once the 'introductory period' price scheme has worn off and they have you in the grip of not wanting to give up their amazingly better than dialup services. BUT THE SQUEEKY WHEEL ALMOST ALWAYS GETS THE OIL! I'm amazed sometimes how few people understand how to properly "work" corporate customer service personel.
Lowering your ISP bill is simple as lowering your credit-card APR. It's simply an adaptation of my favorite credit-card game "Customer Service Tea-party Your Way to a Lower APR".. Basically, the premise of the game is simple. All you have to do is complain prices (like APR) are too high with the company you are talking to, then mention the competition (with the definite implied threat to switch providers).. then once you've got that service agent sweating the prospect of getting a negative lost-customer mark for the day on their marketing tally sheet, just kick back, relax, and watch the magic show begin. It's sometims amazing to see what magic rabits they pull out of their hat that you didn't know about before..
And I quote:
(simulated conversation with Adelphia cable)..
Customer says to Adelphia rep,"Verizon DSL customers are getting their service for almost half what I pay every month! These monthly bills are just too high for me. Can't you guys do any better than the icky ol' phone company?"
The agent offers something mediocre. Better than what you have currently, but you just know there is yet another package. If they're holding out, then simply turn up the heat on them....
Customer says to Adelphia rep,"Yeah, that's OK, but I'm sure you guys have a better pricing tier. How about the customer-retention package?"
That last one's a bit disarming because it's almost funny, but the point is made clearly, and the agent then knows this is their last chance not to lose your patronage and will give you their best priced plan at this point more than likely.
It really does pay to haggle and put them on the hot seat.. They almost always instantly cave when you mention the competition.. If they don't end up giving you the new customer rate (or better), then actually terminate the service, then reorder it under the new price the following day.. easy, simple..