I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite. — G. K. Chesterton, English author and mystery novelist
Wish I’d read that before asking my dear son to recommend a course of action on something we’d both been riding the Struggle Bus over.
It went down like this:
Both Domer’s car and mine came with a trial subscription to Sirius XM Radio, which we each renewed multiple times.
Sirius offers LOTS of channels, and it’s kind of nice not having to fret over losing a signal when you’re tooling around enjoying a station.
But they’re notorious about poor service.
Anyway, Domer called them to cancel a few weeks ago and ended up sweet-talking some poor girl into reducing his rates while keeping his service.
Amazing! Why didn’t I think of that?
When I pressed him for details, he said, “You have to be really firm with them. You have to know you can go through with cancelling, and you have to convince them you mean it. They’ll make a few offers, which you need to turn down. Eventually, they’ll transfer you to somebody who can get you a better deal.”
Okay, I thought, I can do that.
So, feeling brave one evening, I tried. Really. But the guy on the other end wasn’t in a negotiating mood, nor did he seem amenable to sweet-talking!
(Perhaps Sirius heard about Domer’s stunt and warned their customer service reps??)
As Domer foretold, the guy offered me a very slight reduction, which I turned down.
I turned down his next miniscule offer, too.
And, when he put me on hold for a few minutes, I started to smell Victory.
I was wrong.
He came back and assured me my service had indeed been cancelled!
Say WHAT??
They did it? They really cancelled me?
Yes, it would seem they did, for my once-favorite Sirius stations are no longer available.
And riding in my car isn’t half as much fun. At least I have CDs and an MP3.
But woe to the car salesman who sings Sirius’s praises when I buy my next car!
Nor is Domer off the hook. When I told him, he practically sparkled as he said, “Hey, think about how much money you’re saving!”
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
Okay, first, I LOVED the quote you shared at the top of this post. Faaaabulous!
And second, ” When I told him, he practically sparkled as he said, “Hey, think about how much money you’re saving!””
HAHAHAHAHAHA! Tell Domer I said, Great answer!!!
In all seriousness though, sometimes I’ve had what Domer did (being firm), work. But then other times it backfired. I think it all depends on the customer service representative and the mood they’re in at the time of the call. In fact, ironic you posted about this because I’m getting ready to call and confront my phone and Internet service provider and threaten to go to another provider if they don’t stop raising my fees, and on top of that, giving lousy service. For the past few weeks, I’ve been knocked off the Internet while I’m online and my phone service has also been interrupted, in which I can’t make or receive calls. Grrrrr!#*!
Anyway, wish me luck!
Have a super Sunday, my friend!
X
Oh, Ron, I DO wish you luck — funny that Domer’s having the same problems. He told me how much his Internet/TV service has gone up, and it’s pretty ridiculous. He’s tried (unsuccessfully, thus far) to get them to back down, too. All they want is to bundle a land-line in — something he doesn’t want! I hope you have more success.
You know, we only *think* we’re saving money. Somebody else always comes around with their hand out, nullifying any gain we make, ha!
Happy rest-of-the-weekend, dear!
I’m surprised they actually cancelled you, Debbie! My hubby has employed the same tactics as Domer for YEARS! Every single time his service is up for renewal, he ignores the renewal offers that come by mail for a period of time beforehand. Then when the phone calls start, he acts very nonchalant about declining their offers until they give him a deal he can’t pass up.
The thing that kills me about him continuing to pay for this service is that he really only listens to ONE station, and he doesn’t do any sort of extensive traveling. So in my mind, he really doesn’t have a need to pay for music in his vehicle. This is the same reason I let my trial period lapse after I bought my car. No matter how little, I can’t justify paying for music channels. Of course, as you said, there are so many options with today’s technology – CDs, MP3s, etc. I often utilize Pandora via my phone and buetooth capability.
Don’t worry, though. If you really think you’ll miss your XM service, I’m sure they will be making future attempts to bring you back as a customer. Maybe that’s when you’ll get the deal you can’t pass up!
Maybe this is a “guy thing,” Terri. Domer didn’t have any trouble at all. Me? That guy wasn’t budging. You’re right, of course. Neither of us has an especially long commute, so paying for music channels doesn’t make a lot of sense. I don’t know why they can’t just add XXX dollars to the price of the vehicle when it’s sold and give you that service forever! (Something tells me they wouldn’t like my business model, ha!)
Ok. First, I find this very funny and I’m sorry. Our sons are horrid in the best possible way. My secret – always ask for the “disconnect department” right away. The primary purpose of this department is to “save business.” Of-course, this might not work for you either and I’ve never had Sirius. My second secret…get even…with the dear boy. 😀
I knew you’d understand, Kb!! These kids of ours are just such charmers! From what Domer indicated, I thought the guy would at least try to transfer me to “customer retention” or some such. Nope, just cancelled me all by himself. Shoot!
I’m sorry, I laughed…only because it sounds like how it would happen to me! The quote my mom used to say to me comes to mind, “you play with fire, you get burned”. But yes, you will save money. Think of all those blog posts you’ll write in your head as you drive, ha!
Well, there is that, Suzi! Glad you’ve been there, too. I can see why I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere if I’d gotten a female customer service rep — but this guy really was all business, too. Oh, well, it made for a blog post, as you say!
This is funny, but seriously, do you think it was because you are a woman that Sirius didn’t give you a deal? For all of our advances, I still think women aren’t taken seriously. My 25-year-old niece was recently buying a used car and her dad went along to give her moral support. Marie was enraged with the car dealer cause he never addressed her, finally she said, “Dude, I am the ONE buying the car.”
Yeah for Marie!! Stand your ground, dear! I abhor when car salesmen act like that (and since women are 50% of the population, how can they expect to earn commissions if they don’t address us?!)
I don’t know, Pat, but I imagine this guy somehow knew not to “deal” with me. Perhaps he’d already been called for it; perhaps he just wanted to laugh with his fellow employees afterward. Oh, well….
*laughing* No! I’ve heard they sometimes will reduce the rate. I think they did learn from what Domer did! I mean, it’s possible, I think.
You should have yelled at the fellow for canceling before you said he could. I mean, wasn’t he a bit rude?
Professor, I can see you’re in Domer’s camp, another charmer! You guys can talk your way out of any situation — I guess that’s a good thing, but it’s too bad you can’t share your charm with the rest of us! I must be losing my touch, yikes!
Now, actually, I did call to cancel, so I guess he assumed I’d be okay with it. And he probably figured that, since he’d already offered me two “lower” rates, the third time I was out! But still….
*laughs* But Domer must have gotten it from somewhere. And since Ladies tend to be charmers more… (I’m supposing that, of course. I could be wrong. Maybe men are.) I think I would have scared them into it!
But still indeed! He was just being spicy!!!
Absolutely! I mean, who can resist a Southern accent, right?! Especially when it’s sincere?!
Exactly!
Some people just have a way with getting deals. I am not one of them! (I have an uncle who is.) Maybe you should have had Domer call for you instead 🙂
Don’t think I didn’t suggest just that, Janna, ha! However, he backed away…FAST! I guess he figured the “luck of the Irish” wouldn’t hold twice. Sigh.
I just went through this with Verizon, and my phone service. I was going to drop my USB modem anyway, since there’s no Verizon coverage in most of the south and west Texas places I go to. So, I called the nice people, and when the young women asked how she could help me, I said she could help me by finding me a cheaper plan,so I didn’t have to switch to one of her competitors.
Well. When it was all over, I went from $87/mo for 450 minutes and pay-per-text to $30/mo for 900 minutes and unlimited texting. So it is possible. I do think sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw. And, I’ve heard via the grapevine that customer reps sometimes have quotas, e.g., they can only give special rates to so many people per month, or whatever. If your Sirius dude had the ability to make fifty deals, and you were number fifty-one, too bad for you!
I honestly don’t think it’s a male/female thing. I think it’s a “we’re rational human beings and they’re corporate shills” sort of thing. 🙂
GOOD for you, Linda — congrats on your success! Maybe I should’ve had you call for me?!
I didn’t know that about the quotas, but it makes me feel lots better. I’d rather “lose” to a system I have no control over than to imagine me losing my touch, ha!
And, since then, they’ve called me nearly every night with “deals”!
I hate to giggle at your misfortune. Your son cracks me up and he knew just how to get what he wanted. Seems he should have called for you….claiming you had lost your voice and needed their service for voice therapy…maybe. I enjoy having Sirius radio, but it isn’t all its cracked up to be, Debbie. Call tomorrow and tell them you’re willing to come back at their best rate. Tell them that they cannot live without you as a costumer.
Audrey, you’re not going to believe this, but Sirius has been calling me almost every other day since, trying to get me back! The “deals” they were offering were still quite high, however, until their last call, when they offered me something like 65% off the regular rates — that was a deal I couldn’t pass up (not with a road trip in my future, haha!) I double-checked with my son first, and he assured me I should jump on it, so now I have my music back, woo-hoo!
Yay! Thanks for telling me that…you made my day. I’m so happy for you!
Thanks for sharing my success, Audrey. Having Sirius, of course, isn’t the “be-all and end-all” of one’s existence, but golly, we get so attached to our “stuff”!!
Debbie, Two years in a row now I’ve tried to quit. I mean, I really wanted to quit. It was the plan. Well, the first time I called, I took the first offer, not knowing they might reduce it further. That year, I got the same service for half price. This year, I tried again to cancel. They offered me the same deal of half price, but I really wanted to quit! So I said no. Then they offered 1/4 the price. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Sheesh. Guess there’s always next year!
Monica, it sounds like you’re almost as charming as the Domer! At the rate you’re going, perhaps they’ll pay you to keep the service, ha! You’ve inspired me — as Domer says, only idiots pay without negotiating!
Debbie, and just like that, the student becomes the master! If it’s any consolation, know that your son is the product of your wise teachings and savvy advice. Needless to say, it does kind of put one in a funk when we’re not as lucky as our offspring, doesn’t it? 🙂 If I were you, I’d tell Domer you’re going to riding along with him just to listen to your Sirius selections! 🙂
Ah, Bella, I’ve missed you and your wit!! If Domer were closer, yes, I’d definitely ride with him and listen to my music. Sadly, he’s waaay up north, far too far for me to do that — and he’d probably say he doesn’t want to listen to what I want to listen to anyway, ha!
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