So I called my internet.cable/phone company in July to terminate my cable services, because:
a.) I can’t justify paying $35 per month when Netflix is $8. And
b.) I never watch it anyway.
Usually, I listen to Baroque or Big Band/Swing on the TV and that’s the most I have to do with it. The rep (back in July) that I spoke with, Iris, promised that she would “take care of me”. I’m not keen on special promos and ratings etc.- I simply don’t care much and so when she rebundled me, she swore that my rates would be lower and I’d be saving money in the long run. I still wanted to cancel my cable however ,so she snagged me by offering me a $300 Visa gift card that could be used anywhere. It’s not Monopoly money; it’s a real Visa. Ok. Sign me up! So she did.
But what she didn’t do is inform me that if I defaulted on my payment or was late even once, the deal would cancel itself out. Thanks Iris. So I waited. Weeks drew on and no Visa. I had called in to get a 6 day extension on my TWC account, which they gave me- which canceled out my Visa gift card. Guh.
Fast forward another month. Another round of phone calls to TWC (Time Warner Cable) and two reps and one supervisor later, I was told that my Visa would definitely be on its way. Still, they failed to tell me why it had been cancelled to begin with- they only made promises that the situation had been rectified. K.
Another month goes by- no Visa. Another round of phone calls and two reps later, another hollow promise of the elusive Visa gift card that had apparently been sucked into a big space of nothingness. Another month. Another round of phone calls- and still- no plausible explanation as to where the gift card was or why it continued going MIA! Maddening!
Last week, I spoke with a rep, Latasha, who was utterly useless and tacky to boot. I’m a former top rep and customer service is “my thing”. I know all about the top offers and sales tricks- I know every trick in the book- I speak the language. So, it’s really hard to get something over on me on the phone.. Still, I was left clueless and more frustrated with each phone call. I told Latasha how useless she was as a rep and manager because by now, it’s December and I’ve still got cable and have still been paying an additional $35 per month from trusting Iris.
I insisted that not only did I not get the $300 gift card, I now had spent an additional $200+ on cable that I didn’t want and had tried to cancel repeatedly. Latasha offered my a $45 credit to my account and offered to rebundle me for $120 per month- no dice. $45? That’s a joke! I told Latasha that I wouldn’t settle for anything less than $150- $200. Period.
We haggled tirelessly like two Marrakesh street vendors in the market place; she wouldn’t budge and neither would I. I asked to speak to her supervisor and asked for her supervisor’s name. I could actually hear Latasha laughing with her coworkers. Party foul. Totally unacceptable. The call didn’t end well.
I called right back, now in tears, and spoke with a different supervisor, Eric. Eric was awesome. By now, I was on a first name basis with most of TWC’s reps and Eric was super friendly who clued me in on what to do. Thanks Eric- you rock! Eric was able to put $45 back into my account- right off- and told me to wait a few days, and then call back and speak with customer solutions. They’re the ones who want to really keep you as a customer and are willing to wheel and deal (with $) in order to do just that. Sounded good to me!
So I did. I just got off the phone with TWC. Brian was the customer solutions rep I spoke with and he was just the best. Brian rebundled me so that my phone, internet and cable would be reduced to $93 per month- before taxes ($102 afterwards) and he would also increase our internet speed to “Extreme” at no additional charge- “it’s on the house”. But that’s not all! I told Brian that I would be willing to keep my cable if I could recoup some of my money that I’d lost over the past 6 months. (That was my bargaining chip and it worked.) Eric spoke with his supervisor and when he returned, he offered me a $150 credit back to my account. Ba tah bing! Triumph!
So then, in the past week alone, I’ve been able to recoup $200 back to my account and as it stands right now, I not only don’t have a bill at the moment, I have a $70 credit for next months bill, making my phone/internet/cable bill next month $30. That’s doable. 🙂 For whoever may be reading this, if you’re with TWC and you’ve payed your bill for 3 months consecutively without being late, you’re entitled to a $300 Visa gift card. It’s yours, and it’s your right as a customer to have that. So go on and getcha some!
The moral to this story is: never give up. Always fight for what’s yours!
And Latasha, you still suck.
m o n o c h r o m e j u n k i e † 