So we are in the process of switching from Cable to Fiber, from Spectrum to AT&T.
If you remember, Gary feels we need two fireboxes and two Rokus and it looks like we’ll have two internet providers as well, because we are not “cutting the cord” as people describe leaving cable, instead we are weaning ourselves off the cable teat.
Step One of the Weaning: Get the landline number switched. I know everyone else has dropped the landline in favor of their cell phones, but I like the fact that I will have a working phone if there’s a month-long electrical outage, as there was during the Great Florissant Hail Storm of 2001. I’d need to find the backup non-electric phone in the basement, in the dark, but then after a few days when all the other phone batteries died I’d be the neighborhood savior. Me and the big battery phone charger in my electric car.
To get the landline switched I had to cancel the landline part of the cable bundle, and you know the cable company doesn’t let go easily. Took me half an hour. Here was my strategy:
- Tell the man I wanted to transfer only the phone.
- The man sees what’s coming and offers me deals on tv and internet.
- I counter that with my belief that A Service should cost a Price, as it did back in the day.
- Man offers me more deals. Eventually he got down to 65% off. (Man also uses the word “utilize” incorrectly every other sentence.)
- I made the argument that established customers shouldn’t be penalized for their loyalty with the monthly frog-boil of escalating pricing, especially when combined with unreliable internet. (I also make a feeble effort to open his eyes to the nuances of “utilize” vs a vis “use” but Man talked over me.)
- Man thinks money will win against my principles and arguments, so I did something I have always wanted to do. I said, “Can I bribe you? My bill is due day after tomorrow, so if I promise to keep the tv and internet with you into the next billing cycle, will you switch my landline over to AT&T?”
And then he spoke to his manager and they switched the landline, dropped those charges, and we kept the cable and internet. For this week. Gary wants to be sure we’ll have something to fall back on if there’s a problem.
So, watch this space.
3 responses to “The Weaning: Step One”
Ha ha, victory! It drives me crazy that you can’t do that kind of thing simply and easily. We still have a landline and I also like the security of it, but we also have two kids in university this year so we’re exploring whether to let it go.
It’s really something how fast they start offering you deals when you are obviously On Your Way Out… and how otherwise if you call there “aren’t any cheaper options” than you’re getting. In the last two months, we’ve swapped internet (now paying half the price – it turns out that if we had adequately appeared to be on the way out, we could have gotten a half-price deal for our previous internet, but we got the new one set up first and just… no. We’re not swapping back.) and one cell phone (they threw an extra $6/month charge on the line and lied about it, so we swapped to a different provider and 1/4 of the cost) – and it is *amazing* how different the “we can get you a better deal!” energy is when you are just flat-out asking them to cancel the service, we’re done, thanks.
Allison – they seem to really discourage landlines. I didn’t realize a landline makes it easy for the 911 operator to identify your house.
KC – it’s hard enough to accept the “time and materials” method of business. (You pay for the drainage people to try to fix your problem, even if they don’t fix it.) Now there’s this squishy incentive pricing nonsense. Add car price negations to that. Puts me right off buying anything.