oldguy1 said:
I don't understand how you can say the money does not come out of their pocket? If I don't have to pay them for my service, that is money out of their pocket.
Also, why knock something D* gave out unexpectedly? I was not due an additional rebate amount so I look at this a a gift. No strings attached.
Yes I am happy.
Like mpar1 said, the money they 'lose', as you say, is not yet in their bottom line (you could move to another provider, die, cancel your account, etc, your future payments to them are not guaranteed in their eyes), the rebates however, ARE from their bottom line, it _costs_ them nothing to flip a switch and turn on programming, or discount a service, because that money they _might_ (the keyword is _might_) make from you, has NOT reached their bottom line, while the rebate refunds do...economics 101 man.
A hypothetical example:
If you ran an icecreme shop, and someone wants to buy an icecreme for a dollar, you have rebate slips they can fill out and get 50% off (you'd pay 50 cents back to them, so the icecreme shop loses 50 cents from the register to give to the customer physically, and keep in mind, that icecreme only costs the icecreme shop .10 cents at cost anyhow), but, somehow the rebate slip the customer hands you, the icecreme shop, is invalid or whatever (because you made sure the rebate process was incredibly long and full of hurdles to overcome to get the rebate), so you deny the rebate, the customer gets upset, so, to placate them, you offer to add a scoop to the icecreme they just bought for 1.00, that scoop (equating to the free/discount programming) is like a .02 cent loss instead of the .50 cent loss the rebate would have done, nothing is taken from the register (the bottom line, the only thing companies care about), the customer bites, remains happy, and you only lose .02 cents, the customer walks out, while under your breath you say about that customer, 'heh heh, sucker'.
And D* did not give anything to you unexpectedly, that was the whole point in my post, it is expected, it is exactly what they hope you do, forget the rebate, and bite on the discounted programming.
My post is there to make sure people _know_ why they get these rebate problems (bait and switch), I think most would WANT to know this kind of information and me(or anyone) not posting it would be helping the practice of D* shafting people for the rebate they are entitled to.
Q: If the rebates are not scams, and D* is so seemingly giving, then why not give INSTANT rebates?
A: Because they know most people are either too lazy, or too busy, or too _impatient_, or too ignorant to fulfill the rebate requirements. (i.e. they depend on our inadequacies and our tendancy to 'mess up'.)
Also do you really _know_ for sure the CSR was being honest with you? Or that the CSR even have ANY clue what you are REALLY entitled to? Do you know for sure what the CSR told you was 100% true? CSRs are not known to be the most informed individuals, also they WORK for D*, they are more likely going to try and scam (perhaps not on purpose, but via the scripts D* gives them) you than help you.
P.S, Don't get all upset, it's only T.V.
