The cost of Television in Canada is outrageous thanks to limited competition in the majority of Provinces markets. That, coupled with the fact that TV service provider’s customer service is completely intolerable, make them impossible to deal with. This guide will show you how to go on the offensive against these monopolies to bring your bill down.
- First, figure out what it is you really want. New hardware, low monthly bills, or a one time large bill reduction.
- Next give your television provider a call. The person who first picks up the phone will not be able to give you what you want and neither will their manager. No matter how upset you are with the TV company, yelling at these people is just a waste of breath. Simply, and politely let the customer service representative know what you want (Eg. My bill is too high, My PVR is broken and I want a new one but dont want to pay anything for it, Promotion X is available to new customers and I want it)
- The customer service representative will tell you, more or less, that this is impossible. At this point tell them that you would like to cancel your services / speak to the retentions department. Don’t worry if your in a long term contract, most larger tv companies require 30 days notice for you to cancel an account so it therefore takes 30 days from the day that you call in to cancel for any cancellation order to go through. This is ussually incredibly annoying for the consumer as it is rarely communicated upon purchase, but we can use it to our advantage in this case. If your conversation with retentions ends in you canceling the account you can call back in anytime before the 30 days are up and cancel the cancellation order.
- The Customer Service rep will put you on hold and explain the situation to the retentions representative before passing you over to them. If you are in a long term contract the first thing the retentions rep will do is to try to scare you away from canceling by citing early termination penalties. Don’t budge, remember the 30 notice rule, and tell them that you still would like to cancel your account.
- The retentions rep will give you an opening offer. If the offer fits your goal in mind then by all means take it but, depending on how long you’ve been with the company, how much your monthly rate is, and payment history, there is probably a better offer available. It’s advisable to deny this opening offer.
- Continue negotiating with the retentions rep until you either get what you want, or end up putting in your 30 days notice to cancel the account.
- If your account is put on the 30 days notice just call back in and cancel it with the customer service rep and try cancelling again tomorrow!
From experience some things are pretty easy to get the first time you ask for them, they are:
- 30% off for 6 months of programming
- 50% off a new reciever
- Free installation of a rented reciever plus 12 months free rental charges
- 3 months free programming
Try it out and let us know how it goes by posting a comment!