| reply to ImBatman
Re: It can't hurt to ask... said by ImBatman:If one knows how to play the game, they will win just about everytime. If you get nowhere, give up for that time, and call back again. Or, better yet, actually cancel. Hmm, I don't know that its this simple, I have heard about how these decisions are made and it's not just a shot in the dark. Some of these people have a list of what to look out for, sometimes your marked in the computer as a repeat service dropper.
It doesn't mean they will tell you that but they may, instead, call you on it but not offering you much of a deal at all and if you were to say, well its worked in the past; in this economy, their ailing too so I doubt it will work that great in the future.
What if you were getting suddenly overcharged by your new carrier & your competitor said, sorry, can't do it; now your stuck, now your losing for all you gained. I also fear this approach may lead to a blacklisting process where you may get turned away when you really need the deal. It may even get shared with your competitors, the listing may get managed by an independent company all carriers will watch. For those here who may be saying, quiet, your telling them how to watch out for people just looking for a good break, trust me, these approaches are already well known; all it takes is all the competitors tired of being played against each other.
My point here, yes it may work now but abusing it could yield dire consequences for all, lets hope it doesn't, lets hope i'm wrong. Meantime, i'm not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth, i'll take the break I get with 1 provider and be greatful for it. |
| It's a game of chicken then. Who blinks first. Who needs who more?
For me, they need me far more than i need them. Sure some things matter more than others. But, one thing I know, it costs them a lot of money to get and keep one customer; unlike, say a store or bank where people come in, they come out. That's why they charge us the huge money to break contracts. So, if they lose money each time someone leaves, they would rather deal than lose.
Now, there is such a thing as companies firing people, too. Sprint was taking lots of heat for firing their clients a few years ago. Sadly, a lot of it was their own fault. But, a lot was their employees jerking the company around. What happened as I recall is employees were selling employee discount codes over the internet. The company was ok with this, as it built up their network. The problem came when these people were calling customer service too often, which ended up costing the company far more than the $10 a month they were getting. The issue for many was the billing. Sprint was billing incorrectly, and the clients had to call on a regular basis to get things straightened out.
At this point, Im so fed up with Time Waner/Road Runner and their capping speeds (thats the only explanation I have as to why I have suddenly dropped from 20mb down and 2mb up to under 6mb down, consstently, after TW had a change of heart on capping bandwidth). Im at the point where I'd rather get 6mb consistently and reliably from verizon than "up to" 20mb inconsistently and unreliably from TW. Esp. if that is going to be cheaper at Verizon.
They may not like being pitted against each other, but, thats the price of doing business. Let's face reality, offer a great service, and people will pay for it. Offer a crappy service, and people will pay for it-- but, not with money. With regret. That's how I feel with Vonage. At one point I felt I would return if ever things changed to where the service would actually work. After they lied to me, in so many ways, there is no way in Hell i would EVER return to them. (And yes, that is reality; not a statement made on a whim, out of anger. I will do without rather than use them. It's diffcult, but, not impossible).
Along those same lines, one thing to also keep in mind is the service. Is it really worth the savings? There is the chance they may not be willing to play ball. So, if by chance they aren't, are you sure you really want to switch? I may try the competitive angle against them, but, for as much as I loathe the Road Runner service, I do like the phone service. So, there is a chance I might threaten to return to Vonage; but, there is no way in hell i am going to switch, to save even $50 a month. And when I move, I will make sure AT&T is not the only available option for wireless or landline service.
said by techygeek:said by ImBatman:If one knows how to play the game, they will win just about everytime. If you get nowhere, give up for that time, and call back again. Or, better yet, actually cancel. Hmm, I don't know that its this simple, I have heard about how these decisions are made and it's not just a shot in the dark. Some of these people have a list of what to look out for, sometimes your marked in the computer as a repeat service dropper. It doesn't mean they will tell you that but they may, instead, call you on it but not offering you much of a deal at all and if you were to say, well its worked in the past; in this economy, their ailing too so I doubt it will work that great in the future. What if you were getting suddenly overcharged by your new carrier & your competitor said, sorry, can't do it; now your stuck, now your losing for all you gained. I also fear this approach may lead to a blacklisting process where you may get turned away when you really need the deal. It may even get shared with your competitors, the listing may get managed by an independent company all carriers will watch. For those here who may be saying, quiet, your telling them how to watch out for people just looking for a good break, trust me, these approaches are already well known; all it takes is all the competitors tired of being played against each other. My point here, yes it may work now but abusing it could yield dire consequences for all, lets hope it doesn't, lets hope i'm wrong. Meantime, i'm not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth, i'll take the break I get with 1 provider and be greatful for it. |
