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September 04, 2004
Phone Deals
I recently exercised my consumer mojo with the phone company. Not only did I reduce my monthly phone charges by 50%, I also reduced my monthly DSL bill by close to 50%.
This was mostly because I had the good fortune of speaking to the right service representative. I initially called up just to reduce my monthly phone charges (removed several unnecessary phone features like 3-way conference stuff), but as the service rep was going over my bill, he was all like "Oh HONEY! You are paying way too much for your DSL!!" (Yes he was quite a campy fellow). I've been paying $49.95 a month for DSL for a few years now. He said that the company was offering $26.95 a month for DSL, and that I was paying way too much compared to everyone else. I mentioned that I thought the low fee was only for new customers, but he said that I should speak to someone at the DSL department and try to negotiate a re-rating anyway. He was really quite adamant about it: "It's your RIGHT! You should be proactive! Every time they reduce the fee for new customers, you should call up and try to get it too! We value our older customers as much as the new ones!" etc. I don't think I've ever spoken to such an enthusiastic service rep.
So, having got my phone charges reduced, and also getting rid of my address listing in the phone book for privacy/security reasons (also his idea!), I was transferred over to the DSL department. Over there, I explained my situation, and that I think I was paying too much for DSL compared to the new fee. He was completely understanding, and got me re-rated. I couldn't get the $26.95 a month, but I did manage to get a $29.95 a month deal, which is fine by me. I was really quite amazed by how easy the whole process was.
You know, SBC may have a lot of faults, but that day, I certainly got my way. I managed to reduce my entire phone bill by close to 50%. I guess the squeaky wheel really does get the grease.
Posted by Nicole at September 4, 2004 10:15 PM
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Comments
Wow, that's fantastic. Good to know those kinds of things work. I'll definitely be doing that once I'm all moved out and paying lots of bills. =)
Posted by: Nicole at September 7, 2004 12:59 PM