Following my experience with an "exploding offer" by Verizon pitching their FIOS and bundled services, I not only called Verizon customer service to see if I could beat them at their own game (and a week later, I got this offer in the mail!), but I then called Comcast and figured that with Comcast hemorrhaging customers the way they are, they are probably now in a position to drop prices for existing customers in order to retain them. Acquisition costs are high and incremental variable costs of servicing an individual customer like me are extremely low.



Phone Call Step-by-Step



1) So, I called Comcast and got the typical entry level "barrier" rep initially, after an extended wait of course. I explained that I was considering switching to Verizon and wanted to know what Comcast was willing to do in order to retain me. I was surprised to see how combative and informed the front-line guy was. He started challenging me by saying things like, "You know in the long run, you're going to end up paying more with FIOS. They charge you for each box, they up your price after the first year trial period, etc..." It was borderline unprofessional to bash a competitor like that, but what he was saying was pretty much factually correct.



2) I badgered him a bit more and said I'd heard better things about the HD picture, the customer service, etc. He countered on the customer service with, "Well, Comcast delivers 24/7 coverage whereas they only go until 7PM. I bet you didn't even know that". I didn't. But I was quick on my feet and replied, "That's nice to offer 24/7 coverage when someone actually picks up the phone. I sat on hold for over 15 minutes and after my first attempt, your system simply hung up on me. At least with Verizon, I talked to a person in a reasonable period of time". He seemed exasperated and simply said, "Well, what do you want? What are you looking for from us?" I said that I wanted to see if Comcast was committed to retaining me as a customer and whether they would drop their price in order to entice me to stay.

3) He relented (seemingly) and said to hang on for his supervisor. After 10 minutes on hold, the system hung up on me. This experience is not foreign to me with Comcast, and sometimes I wonder why I don't switch to Verizon just on principal, but in reality, it's rare that I actually need them for anything and the hassles of switching and marginal benefits didn't outweigh the lower price I garnered...

4) Upon redialing, I demanded that I speak with a supervisor immediately and told them a customer service rep had already agreed to drop my price (sort of...) and asked if they possessed the authority to enact this change for me. They did. This next person was much more personable and seemed genuinely interested in retaining me.

5) She wasn't able to just "drop my price", but rather, worked around a few ways to get the total cost down to match what Verizon was offering. A few bucks off internet, a few bucks off the premium services, etc. and it added up to about $21 per month off.

While $21/month may not seem like a windfall, viewing it as $250 per year over ten years or so starts to look quite attractive, especially since I tend to invest excess cash and the market sure is looking ripe for a higher price 10 years out than lower given the recent precipitous declines.

Now that they've agreed to this reduction and I have another viable option (stinks losing your monopoly doesn't it!), I can clearly threaten to switch if they seek to raise my price back again. Heck, even if I move within the Northeast again, I could probably demand the same rate in my new home just for signing up again.

Tips

• Be polite. While the hangups and occasional rude reps can be frustrating, there's no value to be added by being rude. While being rude may get you at least transitioned to the supervisor, treating the supervisor with dignity and explaining a rationale case tends to go a long way. I've found this with both consumer topics and in dealing with the ridiculous health insurance maze.
• Demand to speak to someone with authority. As I postulated earlier, the front line customer service reps tend to be blockers and in my opinion are most valued for getting customers to give up. If the system doesn't hang up on you, they'll make you want to give up. If you don't feel like playing this game out as long as I did, just demand to speak to a supervisor right away. Make something up. It will save you time.
• Be persistent. I stayed with the plan and was rewarded with a decent annual return for my efforts. Less than 30 minutes on the phone for $250/year.
• Step outside your comfort zone. This isn't comfortable for Americans; we generally just take what's presented to us from the corporate machine. Conversations like this start to co easier with experience, as I just highlighted on my recent purchase in a store with a face to face request for a discount.

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