Keep the Bastards Honest

By Matt Wood in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 28, 2007 8:53PM

Chicagoist recently opened our monthly Comcast bill to get a $156 surprise. That works out to $1,872 a year for cable TV and internet access. Now in all fairness, we do have a few fancy extras: HD, DVR, and HBO. But even with the alphabet soup, we were alarmed by the ever increasing heights of our Comcast bill. As it turns out, we had gotten used to the promotional pricing we received when we started our service. Our 9 months are up, and now the real bills roll in.

Not one to take a $156 punch without fighting back, we went over to RCN.com and configured the exact same service. It came out to $92 plus undisclosed taxes and fees.

With this print out in hand, we dialed 1-800-COMCAST and began the inevitable 20-minute wait. We calmly explained to the rep that cable TV and internet access are commodities when you consider the iffy service of both RCN and Comcast. The rep strangely agreed and said she would put us back on promotional pricing for 12 months. After all our reinstated discounts, our new bill will be $92 plus about $10 in taxes and fees. The call took 5 minutes after waiting on hold. The rep was polite and refreshingly unscripted.

Chicagoist's advice for haggling with your cable/internet provider:

• Know what the competitors charge. Print out competing packages to have at the ready. Also make sure to compare apples to apples. For example, basic cable is significantly cheaper than digital cable.
• Be friendly. If you bitch about your "outrageous" bill, you are not going make any friends. These are real people on the other end of line, and they will treat you well if you do the same for them.
• Be honest. If you tell RCN that Comcast is giving out internet access, cable, VOIP, and bikini waxes for $20/month, RCN will hang up on your scheming ass.
• Tell them every problem you've ever had with your service. Remember that one time 3 months ago when your router couldn't pull an IP address for 30 minutes? Tell the rep. Has your cable box been unresponsive? Let them know. Be honest, but build your case.
• Threaten to switch providers, but only if you really mean it. If another provider can save you money, ask the rep why you shouldn't switch.

What do we plan to do with our newfound savings? No one knows for sure. If you're at the Subterranean tonight to see The Thermals, there might be a celebratory can of Old Style going around.

Thanks Joe!

Image from Amazon.