Love my annual call to my cable, phone, internet company

[justamy]

i have a HUGE account with rogers. a 5 cell family plan ( 4 blackberries and an iphone), home phone, internet, cable and 2 rocketsticks. all of my services are pretty discounted.

as far as my phones go, i don't even pay for my actual package anymore, it is so discounted all i pay per line is the data/calling feature package and the 911 fee. not even the system access fee.

home phone gets $10 credit.

internet gets 20% and free modem rental.

cable gets 20% and first of each different kind of equipment free. for example, i have 4 recievers...pvr, hd box and 2 regular boxes. i only have to pay for 1 box ($4 or so?) per month. that is a HUGE savings.

rocket sticks i get a $5 credit on each plus the applicable 15% bundle discount i get on everything else.


*my cable/internet discount was MUCH better up until a couple weeks ago when my contract expired. apprently what i had doesn't exist anymore so i am still trying to get something closer to it.

[yl33k]

I pay 145 with cogeco. I was recently paying 175 +. But we get the best internet and then tv with movie channels and hd and then basic phone. I called and the lower my internet price like 20$ then took 10$ off my hd box fee but i really wanted movie channels so i ordered them.

[joricher21]

its funny that i seen this thread, i just called a few days ago to complain about my bill saying bell is offering...(im with eastlink) and i already had a free pvr for 15 months and bell is offering free pvr for 3 yrs with contract and they wouldnt give me the pvr for an additional anything. so i did get a discount of 10% for one year and my pvr deal is up next month so i will be calling again telling them to pick it up and hopefully they will offer me a deal of some sort for the pvr or it is going back and i will probably switch back to bell at that time. i hate bell but i hate wasting money more!! even with the 10% discount my bill would be 27$ less with bell for pretty much the same thing.

[itsjill]

Wow what a busy thread! Glad to start some chatter on this.
I belive that alot of what they will offer you is based on how long you have been there, and what the other companies in the area are.
If you are in an area that there isn't alot of competitors, I would simply call and ask for retention, but have THEIR bill, and the competitors rates handy.
i for one, love Rogers, i have never had an issue.
If you find that some of the companies that you call, may get you to someone who isn't as fluent in English as you like, the trick on that is to press 2 for French, although you don't speak French, 9 out of 10 times you get some one who speaks English and French for some of the companies that outsource their call centers over seas

If you like this Thread, please give it a Thumbs up!!! THANKS!!!

[mastersaver]

I am a seasoned wheeling and dealer with rogers. Rogers has a department called rention/cerstomer relations you can access them directly from the phone menu by choosing cancel a service. They have the power to give you deals that the regular sales agents could never offer.
The key is knowing what you see as a good deal and not try to match another customers rates. An patience, patience patience.
You may have at call a dozen times before you get a good rep with a good offer, but the saving for a 3 yr contract are definitely worth it. If you dont like the way things are going then make up an excuse to get off the phone and call again. The best approach is to "play dumb" and say by phone bill is too expensive is there anything you can do to help me lower it. Or come in with a competitors price and ask if there is any way to get a similar price. Always be polite and try to make small talk, these CSR's deal with grumpy/angry people all day and will be more inclined to try to help you if you are nice. With rogers you can ask the agent to make a note in your file with the offer and you can call back to accept. (dont make a pressured decision)
Obviously the number of services you have with the company and the length of your dealings with them will come into play and use that to your advantage. A tip for someone looking for a new cell phone, if you take over someones contract that has < 6 months left you will be eligible for a hardware upgrade (new phone) and better plans because "your" plan has been active for 2.5 years. (new customer plan are awful)
I've been working on my cell phone plans for 2 years and i have great rates (400 wd/unlmtd 6pm ev and wkend/100 LD mins/1gb data/network calling/cid/vm 2500 txts all comes to 40.34 tax an fees incl and i got a $100 off my phone) That is over the course of 2-3 plan changes and a 3yr renewal.
There is an amazing thread on a competing saving website that really helps you understand how and what to expect. Unfortunately SC wont let us talk about other money saving website so PM and i can send you the link (20k+posts).

[Ami1984]

I called Bell in June and asked what they could do as I was trying to cut my fees.. I have satelite with them, 2 cellphones that are used only to call each other, home phone and internet. I was patched through to the "loyalty Dept" had an amazing customer service rep. We went through all of my services and without losing any service I got my bill cut by 100$ a month. Recently my sister was here for a few weeks and she asked me to call for her. She doesn't have the same services but I managed to get $45 off her bill.

I don't think you need to threaten to cancel.. Just ask for the loyalty dept, tell them you are trying to cut costs and ask if they can help you with that.

I was amazed that I was able to save $1200 a year just by making a call and spending about 20 minutes with a very friendly helpful person.

Thank you for replying to this post DH and I are with bell as well and I know we can be getting it cheaper for sure, Dh has been with Bell for close to 10 years and not once got any discounts, Looks like my DH is going to be making calls when he wakes up from his nap

[saveoneverything2011]

Not happy. Got my guy to call Shaw. Waited 2 full hours for call back and was told basically Shaw is the best and we got NO deals or offers made whatsoever. They guy agreed their prices are a bit higher but at least when we need to call them, we reach Canadians who speak understandable english, whereas with Telus, we would reach someone in the Philippines and "good luck with that". : (

[saveoneverything2011]

Yea! Did my annual call to my company tonight...recieved my same discount of 30 Percent and a new HD PVR and free HD services!!!!

love it!!!

Can I ask what city your located in and what company your with. I just called Shaw and got NOTHING offered whatsoever.

[itsjill]

I am in SW ontario....with Rogers

[anisa]

Not happy. Got my guy to call Shaw. Waited 2 full hours for call back and was told basically Shaw is the best and we got NO deals or offers made whatsoever. They guy agreed their prices are a bit higher but at least when we need to call them, we reach Canadians who speak understandable english, whereas with Telus, we would reach someone in the Philippines and "good luck with that". : (

haha

my brother is a manager at a call center for telus.

and no he's not in the phillipines, he's in new west ;p

[schwarzie]

Not happy. Got my guy to call Shaw. Waited 2 full hours for call back and was told basically Shaw is the best and we got NO deals or offers made whatsoever. They guy agreed their prices are a bit higher but at least when we need to call them, we reach Canadians who speak understandable english, whereas with Telus, we would reach someone in the Philippines and "good luck with that". : (

Are you kidding me????? The guy actually said that??? I would switch companies just because of that comment. How racist!

I am with Telus and have been for about 5 years. I used to be with Shaw and found that the price just kept randomly going up, up, up. Telus had just come out in Calgary and they were calling and offering a good deal at the time, was around $50 and that included basic cable and I got 11 channel packs which give me all of the channels (except for the dirty ones... LOL) and the movie 4 pack. I also get the time shift channels so when things are on in NB or ON, I get them here at 6 instead of 8 or 9. I was happy with the service, but will say that I signed on when Telus was very new in Calgary and there were a few signal problems etc at first. However, CS was excellent and would help me via phone or if necessary, I would have a tech person here within a day or so and they gave me a two hour window and were always on time.

When I bought an HDTV, I upgraded my cable to include HD channels. That cost was $15/month and I get alot of HD channels, which include sports etc (unfortunately... dbf loves to watch the sports). Everytime a channel comes out in HD it just shows up in my guide!

THEY CALLED ME when they were introducing the PVR and wanted to upgrade my system. It was free and I loved it.

Then, they CALLED ME AGAIN and told me they were upgrading my PVR. It turns out that I had the Optik TV for six months before it came out. I was a guinea pig (which in this case I don't mind being called a pig). I wondered why my neighbour who is also on Telus didn't get the upgrade yet, but didn't think too much about it. I didn't know it at the time, I only realized when my brother was talking about the PVR anywhere that just came out with Telus and I told him I have had it for six months already.

With Telus, I have PVR anywhere. I can record from any box in my house (I only have two), I get HD on both TV's, not just one, and if you have more TV's they will give you up to 4 digital boxes I think. All will have HD. I can pause a show in the living room and start watching it again in my bedroom. In short, I LOVE IT. I also have the Optik tv app on my smart phone so I can see the TV guide on my phone and manage all of my recordings from my phone!

Everytime they have an upgrade, I get it free. Maybe I don't own my PVR, but I get a new one free everytime a new and better version comes out.

Sorry for the novel! All told, my bill each month goes like this:

Approx $120/month for landline with call display, call waiting, and voicemail, long distance at $.04/minute, high speed wireless internet, 2 digital boxes, both HD, one PVR but you can PVR from both boxes, 11 theme packs, 1 movie pack, and the HD pack.

A friend is paying over $120 for cable and internet at Shaw (no phone) and she had to buy her own PVR. She is switching.

Finally, they have visual call waiting. So, I can see who is calling on my TV before the phone even rings. You may think you wouldn't use or like this, but when I am having my odd afternoon nap, and the TV is usually on, I can open my eyes and see if it is worth getting off the couch to pick up the phone or not!

[schwarzie]

haha

my brother is a manager at a call center for telus.

and no he's not in the phillipines, he's in new west ;p

that was the reason I started talking in the first place... lost my train of thought apparently Almost every CS person I have dealt with has been in Montreal, Edmonton, or Calgary.

[Royalblue72]

I have internet with bell and tv with rogers I was thinking about calling both companies!

[l1o1l1l1y1]

I usually pay about $70 - 80 for telephone and high speed internet from shaw including long distance. They recently added cable plus one or two packages and free pvr and upgraded my wireless internet modem and high speed for six months and are only charging me $30 for all that. Normally though we just use netflix for our tv shows and movies $7.99 a month and Motion empire ( a website for almost anything you want to watch for free) . When this promos over we're cutting the cable. We can watch almost anything on netflix or for free on other websites on the internet.

[katie333]

I just finished my annual re-up with Rogers as well. Always go to the retention department.

We have a pretty big package (HD PVR Recorder, 2nd Digital Box, the highest high speed internet and every single cable/movie/HD channel they offer (except the really premium ones like Japan TV), along with our home phone), that 'retails' about $260 a month. I pay $170 which I know is a lot but we are choosing to get these premium services.

One note this time around though ... they made major mistakes when they put the changes on the bill. Charged me for a maintenance fee ($50) and a conversion fee ($12). I had to call back to get both reversed. So, just pay attention to the bill to make sure it's the amount you agreed upon with the rep and no erroneous charges.