Here's a comment that was recently left on my post titled Save on Comcast Cable, DirecTV and a HDTV: Two More Examples of Saving Money by Asking for a Discount:
I have DirectTV and was not nearly successful in negotiating a discount. What did I do wrong? I got $5 for three months. UGH!!! I was expecting more. Anyone got some ideas??
Any suggestions for him?
I was one of the original commenters on that blog....so this might be repetitive, but:
1) was he still under contract? That might be a reason he didn't get as much as I did.
2) was he ready to walk away? The key to any good negotiation.
3) Did he mention competitors specific names and prices? I mentioned Dish Network by name - the only other national satellite company.
4) Perhaps DirecTV has tightened their policies due to the economy (or reading Free Money Finance!)
Posted by: Kevin M | January 14, 2009 at 03:55 PM
Sounds like a good deal to me
Posted by: Andrew | January 14, 2009 at 04:07 PM
So call them back and cancel your service, then you will have a much larger discount. I finally got tired of paying 60 bucks a month for nothing more than re-runs and sales pitches and went back to my old antenna with a new digital converter box which gives me 30+ channels for free and I haven't missed DTV one bit.
Posted by: Ron | January 14, 2009 at 05:24 PM
So call them back and cancel your service, then you will have a much larger discount. I finally got tired of paying 60 bucks a month for nothing more than re-runs and sales pitches and went back to my old antenna with a new digital converter box which gives me 30+ channels for free and I haven't missed DTV one bit.
Posted by: Ron | January 14, 2009 at 05:24 PM
What are you paying for DirectTV and what does the competition charge? I wouldn't expect them to significantly undercut their competition and satellite is usually the cheaper option to begin with.
$5 off a $100 bill isn't too good but $5 off a $45 bill is nice.
If DirectTV is already cheaper then they have little incentive to offer you much of any discount. Looking at DirectTV.com and Dishnetwork.com their basic plans start in the $20-30 / month range. Compared to Comast or FIOS basic plan thats easily $10-20 cheaper than what I can get from cable or phone company. So I really wouldn't expect DirecTV or DISH to give me much of any discount.
If you're looking at additional features like HBO or a DVR box, it seems to me that prices on those are pretty similar. Everyone seems to charge $15 for HBO give or take a buck or $10-13 for a DVR.
Also with Comcast they often bundle services so they have double incentive and margin. I'd expect to get bigger deals on bundled services. Right now they offer good deals on their phone /TV / internet bundles mostly I think cause they want to capture your business on the phone side moving forward.
Jim
Posted by: Jim | January 14, 2009 at 06:07 PM
Comcast doesnt have true voice, only digital. Not the same. Also, Qwest bundles as well....
Posted by: Shelah | January 14, 2009 at 06:39 PM
@Jim
The point isn't that the services are the same price at both providers. It is that they want _your_ business and therefore will offer you discounts to stay with them so that they can make some profit instead of zero.
Posted by: Mike | January 14, 2009 at 07:01 PM
I called Direct Tv back in December 2008 after being a subscriber for 8 years and asked to upgrade the dvr that I had upstairs to a HD model like the one I had downstairs and to add another receiver upstairs in another bedroom. I was told that it would cost me over $300.00. I told them that if I were a new customer that I could get the 4 room deal they are offering and would not have to cover any cost but the monthly dvr fee. I was told that only new customer receive that deal. I asked if customer loyalty had meant nothing and was told that I could get free hd for 6 months($9.99) and that was all they could take off. I got off the phone with them and called Dish Network and asked what they could do for me. They gave me everything I was asking for from Direct TV and the monthly price was lower by $30.00. I also got HBO and Starz free for 3 months and Cinamax for 1 cent for a year. So I called Direct TV back and canceled my service. I had Dish put in on that Saturday and the only problem I have had is remembering that the channels are different numbers. Also Direct TV keeps calling me saying they will give me everything I asked for and free upgrade package for 6 months free. I told them if they would have done that in the first place I would not have canceled but the old saying of burn me once shame on you burn me twice shame on me comes to mind. Thank you for allowing me to get this off my chest.
Posted by: Wendy Conaway | January 14, 2009 at 07:11 PM
@Mike,
Yes the fact that they want to retain your business will give them some incentive to offer a deal. But how good of a discount you're likely to get will depend on the competition. At some point the company decides that they are unwilling to lower their price any lower via discount to retain a customer.
Say Comcast costs $60 and DirectTV costs $40. If I call Comcast and ask for a discount and tell them satellite is $20 cheaper then I expect Comcast will probably give me $10-20 off. Right? But if I call DirectTV and ask for a discount then what leverage do I have? Am I going to threaten to leave them and pay Comcast $20 more? You can bet that they all know what their competition charges. Discounts are a way to remain competitive. But discounts only go so far for each company. Each company has to decide how low they want to go as far as offering discounts to retain business and be competitive. If my compeition was already more pricey than me than I wouldn't be offering large discounts to retain business.
Keep in mind where I live that for TV serivce, Comcast is most expensive and satellite is cheaper.
Jim
Posted by: Jim | January 14, 2009 at 07:31 PM
I've looked at this as well and here's the best deal (for me):
Basic basic cable (local channels only - actually cheaper to get basic cable with the internet discount)
Comcast internet (lowest level of service - 1.5Mbps)
Dish Network TurboHD Silver (basically get all the watchable channels on cable)
Total package cost - $86 with tax
Annually, I call Comcast's cancellation department and they will extend a counter-offer ($96 a month for a year for 6Mbps internet & HD DVR package). $10 a month is worth it for the few extra channels, no satellite on my house, no contracts, extra wires, etc.
Like I learned in negotiations, you don't get it unless you ask!
Posted by: Dave | January 14, 2009 at 11:01 PM
If it's available in your area, I just signed up for AT&T's U-Verse internet and TV services and they not only gave me $200 cash back, but they also paid the fees I'm incurring to get out of my Dish Network contract, AND I am under NO contract with U-Verse. Might be worth checking out - I'm guessing they'd love to steal a DirectTV customer away :)
Not to toot my own horn, but I just posted an article on my own blog about how to NOT pay for television at all (legally).
Posted by: Phil Parr | January 15, 2009 at 12:05 AM
I have been arguing with comcast about the pixels breaking up on my plasma tv, and it sounds like the audio is more like an echo in the room. They changed lines, added boosters,splitters,changed boxes and no results.I also called their preferred customer support.Now all they do is come out and say that they cant find the problem.
I may switch yo direct tv or dish but I worry about loosing the signal in heavy rains.
Posted by: Thomas Vajda | January 15, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Wendy -
I'm surprised they wouldn't give you a break on the HD DVR. I did the exact thing you did only in Dec 2007, and they gave me the HD DVR for $150 and gave me $20 in credits on the monthly bill for 12 months after threatening to defect to Dish Network. So I basically came out ahead by $90 and got my HD DVR. I did have to agree to 24 months of programming - but I think you have to do that now with the HD DVR anyway.
Posted by: Kevin M | January 15, 2009 at 11:43 AM
My work (ag-based) is very seasonal, and I spend a great deal of time in the late winter through late spring at work. Because of this, last year in January, I called and told DirecTV that I wanted to suspend my service for 5 months. They of course countered with an offer of a lower package, and so on, but I told them the channels I want to watch are in the higher package, and if I miss them I want my DVR service. This time they gave me the price of the low package, with free DVR service and a free upgrade to the package I wanted. I was floored enough that I continued service with them. Earlier this week, I called to do the same thing, and there was no countering on their part at all. I even tried to make it sound as if I was unhappy with the service and would rather watch my OTA channels. But the quietly put my account on hold for five months with not a peep. Kinda weird, but I'm saving more now than I was at this time last year.
In lieu of this, I have subscribed to Netflix, and absolutely love it. Three DVDs at a time, with as many as you can watch, plus unlimited online streaming. I get to choose what I want to watch, when I want to watch it, don't have to put up with commercials, and can still get my news and local info on the OTA channels. Though my wife loves to watch T(un-)LC, I think we'll have a talk before we reactivate DirecTV.
Posted by: Adrian | January 15, 2009 at 01:34 PM
I heard that if you speak to a higher manager and inform them that you know they are losing customers they will be more flexible with deals.
Posted by: Craig | January 15, 2009 at 03:11 PM
my problem is all the pop-ups,reruns,commercials,ect.i too went back to free tv,saving 100 a month. now i even go to the library to take out and watch free dvds.they have sopranos season 1-6 at the des plaines library and alot of recent movies;all free to watch.if alot of people cancel maybe prices will come down!
Posted by: john | January 15, 2009 at 05:17 PM
I moved from comcast to direct tv early last fall and absolutely love it. Want to know what else? I pay more and I'm absolutely happy with that. I got a great signing deal, and my overall cost is totally worth what comcast couldn't offer. My biggest problem is that I have to keep them for internet as I can't get DSL or FIOS where I am. I tried clearwire and the service was okay, but I'm a heavy internet user so it wouldn't work.
If you are someone who just watches the major networks, definitely drop everything and just watch Hulu.com or from the parent sites. Need more, rent from netflix and get streaming movies and tv shows.
For those that live by their television and want the works, just be polite, come with competitor prices, and don't be afraid to walk away.
Posted by: thomas | January 16, 2009 at 01:29 AM
I have been aloyal DirectTV customer for 10 years. I always get the NFL package as well. New customers do get a better deal and there are no rewards for loyalty. I talked to them about an upgrade and was transfered from person to person constantly. New customers do not pay for local channels but loyal ones do. I will be canceling my subscription and removing the dish. I will be going with AT&T. Goodbye DTV
Posted by: Wayne | January 30, 2009 at 08:54 PM