Why Would You Pay More?

Every six months or so I prepare to negotiate what I am paying for my satellite TV and internet/phone service. When the previous “promotion” ends, the monthly rate will change, usually after 6 months.  When that happens I would call up and politely complain that my price increased and ask, politely, to return me to the promotional rate. The professional agents would ask a few questions and reply that the specific promotion has ended and I am now going back to the regular rate schedule which is about 22% more. I would thank them for their time and asked to be transferred to the customer loyalty department which they will do, sometimes reluctantly. If they seem reluctant, I asked for their supervisor if the customer loyalty department is not available. They ask me to please hold while they transfer to the customer loyalty group. Here’s where they test me by putting me into a waiting queue for a 2 to 10-minute wait.  I assume that they are hoping I hang up because if I do, they’ve essentially won and I have accepted the new higher monthly rate. I make time for this and resolve to wait.  If they dropped my call, I call back and tell them I was dropped and put me back into the queue without going through the story again.  After about 10 minutes the customer loyalty person greets me and begins looking at my records.  I’m polite & professional and ask them to keep my old rate. They look into their packages and try to offer more channels, and the current promo is something I don’t need or want. I stay the course and tell them how little I record and watch TV and that their service is only worth what I am currently paying ($43.00) per month and don’t need more channels.  I’m also prepared with a recent promo from their competitor that has more channels for about the same rate. I mention that I like their service and their team, but I don’t appreciate rate changes if my viewing habits don’t change.  After a few more questions and attempts to upgrade me, they just happen to find have a promo that lasts for another 6 months for the same price.  I ask them if they can extend it for a year.  At one time they did, now it’s 6 months and I would have to contact them after 6 months and review the pricing again. I agree and thank them for their help and time.  I just accomplished saving $84 in about 15 minutes. If I didn’t do this negotiation game, the rate escalation cycle would begin and my satellite TV charges would slowly increase. Without paying too much attention, the price would hit a threshold that would get my attention to do something to reel these folks back in on their prices. So this year, I saved $168 on my Satellite service by not accepting their price increase. I do the same thing with internet provider on another day when my patience level is at full capacity. That saving is even more substantial, just under $200 for the year. So for 2017, I’ve saved $368 just by pushing back on a rate increase and asking very nicely how they can help me lower my monthly bill.
I’m sure some of you are laughing, $368, big &$*@ deal. “Laugh it up fuzz ball! , as Han Solo once said. 
I looked into my home and auto policies that I have with the same agent/companies after 24 years. Earlier I mentioned the cycle of rate escalation and not being regular about checking rates?  Well, shame on me for not being more rigorous with the home and car policies. I discovered that slight rate increases fell under my radar. They were not noticeable at first, but then there were a few premiums that jumped a bit.  This year it was the house policy.  No claims, great credit but an increase nonetheless.  It was time to do so some comparison shopping.
The next day I called a local agent that my brother uses, who represents a handful of insurance underwriters.  We did apples to apples comparisons on the policies for the cars and the house. It took her a couple of days to offer written quotes. I learned rather quickly that I have been paying more than I should to the tune of over $1,100 for the year. It just can’t be. My current agent for 24 years would make sure our interests are aligned, right?  They would never overcharge me, right?  I called my incumbent agent and asked them to please sharpen their pencil because I have been doing some price shopping and they need to help me understand this $1,100 gap. That took them off guard and asked me to make sure it was identical terms, they were. I asked her to look into it and please get back to me. The next day, I get a well-crafted email outlining our loyalty and how stable their company is and I should be careful with these low prices because they will go up after one year, blah, blah, blah.  What did they counter with?  A lousy 5% off the oldest car, which is 9 years old. Also, in four months they will lower it another $400.  Oh, gee thanks, you just narrowed the gap to $750, and I have to wait?  Ok, let me put you on ice and get another quote.  Typically I get three quotes and throw out the high and low bidders and go with the middle one if all three can meet my needs.
The next day, I call up that cute little Australian lizard at GEICO. I spoke with a very nice helpful GEICO agent and went through the same apples to apples comparison. Holy crap, they were even lower on cars, but close on the house like the other two.  While GEICO was the lowest and most efficient over the phone, the agent was constantly trying to close me by asking how I would like to pay today. She tried to close me four separate times.  Too many trial closes before all of my needs were met. That was a bit of a turn-off and red flag for me. I politely said that I will not be making a decision today and would like to talk about homeowners insurance. She then sent me the email with the auto quote and transferred me to another nice young man who handled the home insurance side of quoting. He did not ask for the order until he asked me if there was anything I would like to add to the home policy.  Their home insurance rates were slightly lower than what I am currently paying.
We’re probably going with the agent that was a referral, as she gave me a great quote without the pressure and is local.  If I need to, I can visit them like my current agent, who will be no more in a couple of weeks.
Let’s review. I spent a little over an hour squeezing my current vendors who supply me services to run my household infrastructure and saved a total of $1,495 this year. Does this sound like I’m running my home finances like a business?  This $1,495 is cash that I intend to save some, spend some and invest some.
Up next is a review of my mobile phone plan.  It’s been about a year so it’s time to make a polite inquiry to see how they can help me lower my monthly charges.

What about you?  I’m sure you wouldn’t mind saving some money by making a very polite inquiry.
It’s amazing how helpful people can be to keep your business and save you some money, AND you have to ask,  take action.

Author: Francis

Started out in science and somehow ended up in sales & marketing. Grew into a results oriented sales professional with extensive experience selling and positioning scientific solutions in the pharma/biotech, life sciences and medical diagnostics markets. In 1998 I created an excel sheet to track spending and cash flow to learn personal finance on my own. They don't teach this in school and by the time one figures it out, most of let all these resources slip through our fingers. It's time to pay it forward to this next gen so that they can shave 15-20 years off for working for "the man" with insights, a library of tools, and motivation from me and plenty of other FI bloggers that I follow.