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~15 years ago I sold cellphones for Rogers in Canada and there was the exact same system in place. Long time customers get no deals and deal with effectively ri

~15 years ago I sold cellphones for Rogers in Canada and there was the exact same system in place. Long time customers get no deals and deal with effectively rising prices for stale outdated monthly plans, while new customers get discounts and deals out the wazoo. Made a lot of long term customers really angry at me, the sales rep. Thanks Rogers.

ams6110 9y ago
You can go in and demand the "new customer" deals. I've done it several times with Comcast. It's a pain, but they will do it. Best to do it in person not on the phone. It's not possible online AFAIK.
- AngeloAnolin 9y ago
  The opposite thing happens to me though - with regards to communicating with the telecom company. I usually do it over the phone, ensuring that I get escalated to their Customer Care manager, who in essence, have more power to give you better deals. I find most of the staff at kiosks for Telecom companies are only focused on selling, and does not have any power to provide you a deal that you cannot resist.
  - c22 9y ago
    A lot of the "kiosk people" have more power than you'd expect. Sometimes it's just a matter of finding the one who has bothered to explore the system, or goading them into it.
    - maxxxxx 9y ago
      I looked a little over the shoulder of one of the guys in the AT&T store. They can override pretty much all prices. For example this guy gave me a $39 plan for $19 because they had messed up a previous order. He just typed in different price numbers for each item on the bill. I assume they have a certain amount of discounts they can give away each month.
- maxxxxx 9y ago
  This constant struggle against not being abused is a real pain. Very unpleasant. Although it probably works for people who are aggressive by nature and live to fight.
  - mschuster91 9y ago
    > Although it probably works for people who are aggressive by nature and live to fight. As these people are in the minority, the companies can afford giving them the goodies - the "suckers" foot the bill regardless.
  - Larrikin 9y ago
    I haven't used them since I only have one bill I realistically have negotiation power on, but BillShark seems like a pretty good deal if they actually are skilled negotiators.
- arkades 9y ago
  Recently had an issue with Verizon where they flat out refused to give us the new customer discount, regardless of how hard we pushed. Ended up leaving Verizon. Someone will give us the discount, I don’t care if it’s their competitor.
- inferiorhuman 9y ago
  > You can go in and demand the "new customer" deals. I've done it several times with Comcast. It's a pain, but they will do it. Best to do it in person not on the phone. It's not possible online AFAIK. Sadly, everyone's favorite darling Sonic.net doesn't do this. They will gladly charge long-time customers more than the advertised rate though.
- s73v3r_ 9y ago
  I just tried this, although I guess I did so on the phone. Cox wouldn't budge.
- nitwit005 9y ago
  My parents have the 12 month "deal" expiration from Comcast on their calendar. Every time it expires, they call and say they want to cancel, causing another "deal" to happen. They fully expect it.
  - sokoloff 9y ago
    I used to do that as well. Now, I generally lock in the discount rate for 2 years on the call, cutting my work in half.
stevewillows 9y ago
Its funny that people say this. For me, I've almost always been with Telus. Their Retention department has been great to me over the years. Until recent, I never paid for than $50 for my plan (previously 6gb, lots of minutes, etc), but recently went to that 10gb plan that they were all hustling. I do the same process for internet (both Shaw and Telus). Each company has their own process for getting better rates, but it rarely takes more than fifteen or so minutes a few times per year to get them. I was with Rogers back in 2003 and had their retention give me a killer rate after a few months. For mobile, I always dig through the loyalty threads on Howard Forums first so I know what to expect. [1] https://www.howardforums.com/forum.php https://www.howardforums.com/forum.php

ams6110 9y ago

You can go in and demand the "new customer" deals. I've done it several times with Comcast. It's a pain, but they will do it. Best to do it in person not on the phone. It's not possible online AFAIK.

AngeloAnolin 9y ago
The opposite thing happens to me though - with regards to communicating with the telecom company. I usually do it over the phone, ensuring that I get escalated to their Customer Care manager, who in essence, have more power to give you better deals. I find most of the staff at kiosks for Telecom companies are only focused on selling, and does not have any power to provide you a deal that you cannot resist.
- c22 9y ago
  A lot of the "kiosk people" have more power than you'd expect. Sometimes it's just a matter of finding the one who has bothered to explore the system, or goading them into it.
  - maxxxxx 9y ago
    I looked a little over the shoulder of one of the guys in the AT&T store. They can override pretty much all prices. For example this guy gave me a $39 plan for $19 because they had messed up a previous order. He just typed in different price numbers for each item on the bill. I assume they have a certain amount of discounts they can give away each month.
maxxxxx 9y ago
This constant struggle against not being abused is a real pain. Very unpleasant. Although it probably works for people who are aggressive by nature and live to fight.
- mschuster91 9y ago
  > Although it probably works for people who are aggressive by nature and live to fight. As these people are in the minority, the companies can afford giving them the goodies - the "suckers" foot the bill regardless.
- Larrikin 9y ago
  I haven't used them since I only have one bill I realistically have negotiation power on, but BillShark seems like a pretty good deal if they actually are skilled negotiators.
arkades 9y ago
Recently had an issue with Verizon where they flat out refused to give us the new customer discount, regardless of how hard we pushed. Ended up leaving Verizon. Someone will give us the discount, I don’t care if it’s their competitor.
inferiorhuman 9y ago
> You can go in and demand the "new customer" deals. I've done it several times with Comcast. It's a pain, but they will do it. Best to do it in person not on the phone. It's not possible online AFAIK. Sadly, everyone's favorite darling Sonic.net doesn't do this. They will gladly charge long-time customers more than the advertised rate though.
s73v3r_ 9y ago
I just tried this, although I guess I did so on the phone. Cox wouldn't budge.
nitwit005 9y ago
My parents have the 12 month "deal" expiration from Comcast on their calendar. Every time it expires, they call and say they want to cancel, causing another "deal" to happen. They fully expect it.
- sokoloff 9y ago
  I used to do that as well. Now, I generally lock in the discount rate for 2 years on the call, cutting my work in half.

stevewillows 9y ago

Its funny that people say this. For me, I've almost always been with Telus. Their Retention department has been great to me over the years. Until recent, I never paid for than $50 for my plan (previously 6gb, lots of minutes, etc), but recently went to that 10gb plan that they were all hustling. I do the same process for internet (both Shaw and Telus). Each company has their own process for getting better rates, but it rarely takes more than fifteen or so minutes a few times per year to get them. I was with Rogers back in 2003 and had their retention give me a killer rate after a few months. For mobile, I always dig through the loyalty threads on Howard Forums first so I know what to expect. [1] https://www.howardforums.com/forum.php https://www.howardforums.com/forum.php