Cable Challenge, 15 minutes = $600/Year in Savings

Having cable is a luxury that my family and I enjoy.  While we don't take advantage of it often enough, it is nice to have television options.  A bonus is that I can't give up my Phillies games on Comcast Sports Network.  Some things are just non-negotiable.  We are destined to have cable in some sense as long as we are financially capable so I've accepted that.  

High-speed Internet is actually more of a necessity for my family than cable television.  My husband and I are both in the Information Technology industry and both have periods of being on call for our companies where we have to respond to critical issues at all hours.  Plus, my step-daughter is a Penn State student and has to do tests and turn in assignments online.  It's impractical to expect her to do all of her school work while on campus.

I called up Comcast to discuss my bill and had a few goals in mind:

• Reduce my monthly bill.
• Maintain most or all of my services in the process (cable, two DVRs, high speed internet with speed upgrade, HBO, Cinemax, Digital Preferred package with HD).
• Agree to no contract.
• NOT sign up for Comcast Triple Play because I do not want our phone service through them. 
• Learn the cost of any new package offered after the promotion is over.

I researched the current deals on Comcast's and Verizon's websites and learned that there is a significant difference between what we're paying and the equivalent new-subscriber packages.  Of course, we have our add-ons like the high-speed internet with speed upgrade, two premium channels and two DVRs, so that best price won't quite be our price, but I have to set a starting goal.  Remember that they'll never give you a better deal than the one you request so always aim high.

I called up Comcast, excuse me, Xfinity (same company, new name) and chose their option to change or cancel service.   My goal was to get to their customer retention department.  After my brief four-minute wait, I received a customer service representative who was very willing to help me.  I explained my situation, that my bill is very high and I'm seeing all of these new subscriber rates for both Comcast and FIOS services.  I'm also being bombarded with offers from FIOS weekly to switch.  What can we do to make this better?

I'll put it out there that I'm not a strong negotiator but my rule of thumb is to never take the first offer and be willing to walk away and try again later if it doesn't sound appealing.  

The first offer:  $15 credit on this month's bill.  Really?  Is that the best you can do after 11 years of on-time payments, Comcast?   This is where I mentioned specific prices of the packages on the websites.  "Oh, those are internet-only deals so we can't do those, but I'll see what I can do for you."  

Insert a few minutes of small talk and lots of key-clicking and the woman offers me a package with practically every premium channel for $50 less a month than what I'm paying.  That sounds promising.  For how long?  1 year, no contract. What does the rate go to after the promotion is over?  $10 less per month than what we're paying now.  

Hm.  $600 a year savings for more services?  I'll take it!  Then, in a year when this promotion is over, I'll call up and either drop all of the premium channels or negotiate a new rate.  

Overall, a very painless experience and 15 minutes of time is saving me $600 over the next year, which is approximately a 20 percent reduction in our bill.  I'd say that's a win.  Could I have gotten more?  Possibly, but since I didn't really want to switch to Verizon, I wasn't quite ready to walk away from Comcast just yet.

Anyone out there have better luck with or without switching carriers?