Had to call 4 times last year, I never called back the same day. Before that it was 2 calls at most. I never BEG and never threaten to leave or to drop Sunday Ticket.
Possible NFL RedZone offering on Directv w/o Sunday Ticket
- Thread starter jcrandall
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Whats the difference between calling it to see if you can get it free and begging ?
IF you call in to get a better price than what they are offering ....
Whats the difference between calling it to see if you can get it free and begging ?
IF you call in to get a better price than what they are offering ....
I did not have to "beg". I simply called to cancel, explained the reason for it, and they started with offering deals. I listened as they offered, not as I asked. I said no, but thank you for the help until they got to the offer that I posted. At that price it was well worth it to me.
Some may have "begged", but in my experience it is not necessary. Just tell them what you want in a nice manner. I generally make it a rule when I call them (or any company) to make sure I call the person I am talking to by name, to ask how their day was before we start tallking about what I am calling for ect. It is amazing what a little courtesy will do. Generally, if you are as friendly with them as you would be to a person that you know, they will do more to help you out.
Not saying you do not do that already.
I LOVE Red Zone. Screw Sunday Ticket. $6 a month from Sept. - Dec. and I can watch all my fantasy players racking up the points.....
Prime example why they should offer ST with the HD free, or at a minimal price while offering a separate package for those wanting the Fantasy stuff.
Whats the difference between calling it to see if you can get it free and begging ?
IF you call in to get a better price than what they are offering ....
So in your opinion, any sort of negotiating of a business deal or arrangement is 'begging'? Whenever someone is willing to give you a discount or reduced fee on a product or service, you tell them "No thanks, I want to pay full price rather than accept this so as to avoid the perception of begging!"?
As a customer I think its unreasonable to charge the sort of money they do for ST+SF, and getting the games in SD after paying $300-400 is ridiculous. I call them up and tell them so, explain my reasoning, they agree with me and charge me a more reasonable amount for the service.
I'm not getting the beg. I dont call and simper and whine and say "oh please, please give me this for free or I'll cry!"
So in your opinion, any sort of negotiating of a business deal or arrangement is 'begging'? Whenever someone is willing to give you a discount or reduced fee on a product or service, you tell them "No thanks, I want to pay full price rather than accept this so as to avoid the perception of begging!"?
As a customer I think its unreasonable to charge the sort of money they do for ST+SF, and getting the games in SD after paying $300-400 is ridiculous. I call them up and tell them so, explain my reasoning, they agree with me and charge me a more reasonable amount for the service.
I'm not getting the beg. I dont call and simper and whine and say "oh please, please give me this for free or I'll cry!"
I don't agree with all of it, I see your point, but if your sole purpose of the call is to see if you can get SF for FREE.
Nothing wrong with asking, but many say they will call and CANCEL if not given what they want. That I disagree with.
Some day those that threaten to cancel will be on the outside looking in when the CSR pulls the plug on them when they say Cancel.
Then how fast will they be calling back to re establish service when the TV goes snowy ?
I also don't agree with the HIGH price they charge .... when I started with ST it was $ 79 and that seemed like a lot.
Of course that was about 20 years ago.
As i said....thats still from last year.
Click on the NEW! Superfan Upgrade. Read the page.
It still says: New for 2009! Get every game in HD.
& notice on the right it has ST payment options:
44.99 for 7 payments.
or
314.93 for 1 payment.
No mention of a payment for superfan.
On the right side of the page you have :
Supercharge
NFL SUNDAY TICKET™
Add SuperFan® to NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ and get;
Does the ADD Superfan, mean it's free to you.
If that was the case, they would not have a ADD part in the statement.
Ok - 1 more time since evidently it isnt sinking in....that add is from last year yet....it still even says:
NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ Mobile
New for 2009! When you're on the go, watch games live from your mobile phone.
2009....as in last year....2009.
I would not pay 6 bucks just for that, but I know many would. For them, I hope they get it.
For me, I hope to get the deal, or comparable to what I got last year. If not, I wont get it. Simple as that. I will tell them that. If they give it, great, if not, I will still be a D* customer and happy.
I think you captured the distillation of the problem. But I think the blame is misdirected.
Directv artificially inflated the price on the product to a level above where the average fan will eagerly pay. They set up a system where they take customer calls and on demand will reduce the price. They set up a system where they'll throw benefits to a customer who suggests they'll cancel. The customer merely takes advantage of these directv-created constructions to get a better price.
They could always offer customers a sliding scale or selectable discount based on how much they spend and how long they've been a customer, or even how well they pay their bills and how infrequently they complain. They used to have a system like this that rated each customer on the basis of 'hearts'. IIRC, a great customer had five hearts show up next to their name on the customer service screen while a bad one had none. A CS rep would give lots of offers to a 5 heart customer and nothing to a low heart customer. I think they did away with that system.
However, how about just giving each customer a 10-20% discount on any one service for a year or an account credit after their first year, a bigger or multiple discounts for a customer of 4-5 years, etc? Build all of this in so it doesnt have to be invoked and decided on a case by case basis?
I suppose its because the majority of customers just sheep along and pay their bills. But I'd propose that you'd have to be a pretty big fool to pay $400 for something when you could get it for $180 (like I did last year) by making a phone call and asking for it.
It'd be a great business idea but there are two problems with it.
One is that most companies are run by marketing or sales guys who'll spend a few billion a year on advertising and giving things away to get new customers, but whine about every dime they spend on customer service and giving promos to the people already on the hook.
The other is that most customers just pay their bill every month and probably cant even tell you how much they paid last month on their directv bill. Its people who are willing to call them up and ask for a discount that gets it. And if there are enough of those they'll probably curtail the discounts. I'm sure that directv has cut way back on the deals and discounts for existing customers.
Its all really too bad because I'd sure as hell have a lot more loyalty if they gave me some decent spiffs. Sure beats getting free Gamelounge when you dont even use it.
One is that most companies are run by marketing or sales guys who'll spend a few billion a year on advertising and giving things away to get new customers, but whine about every dime they spend on customer service and giving promos to the people already on the hook.
The other is that most customers just pay their bill every month and probably cant even tell you how much they paid last month on their directv bill. Its people who are willing to call them up and ask for a discount that gets it. And if there are enough of those they'll probably curtail the discounts. I'm sure that directv has cut way back on the deals and discounts for existing customers.
Its all really too bad because I'd sure as hell have a lot more loyalty if they gave me some decent spiffs. Sure beats getting free Gamelounge when you dont even use it.
I remember Sunday Ticket in 1994 of $99 on cband T3. I don't remember $79.
A seperate HD only package is not smart considering other sports don't do it. I complained and got mine free last year. I plan on doing more complaining this year. $350 + in 7 or whatever payments is too much. It's basically the same amount of games as in 1994.
In 5 years, there will be a 12 month option. You will be paying all year long for the Sunday Ticket.
I vote for a separate internet package.
I vote for a seperate Red Zone channel package
A seperate HD only package is not smart considering other sports don't do it. I complained and got mine free last year. I plan on doing more complaining this year. $350 + in 7 or whatever payments is too much. It's basically the same amount of games as in 1994.
In 5 years, there will be a 12 month option. You will be paying all year long for the Sunday Ticket.
I vote for a separate internet package.
I vote for a seperate Red Zone channel package
I wonder if they do an internet/pc package if they'll find a way to limit playing it through the pc to a big screen. I have three pc's hooked up to HD tv's. If they offered that for some cheap price and didnt or couldnt limit that, I'd do it that way in a heartbeat.
A poster at dbstalk posted that they called about ST & the csr said that SF was included in the ST package now for the renewal rate of $315.
They also got the usual $20 credit for 6 months.
Assuming he is telling the truth & i dont know why they would lie about it, it sure sounds like as long as u dont somehow totally screw it up ST can be had for essentially $195.
i would take that deal in a second.
im still not going to call yet....i wanna wait for more postings as its still only may....supposedly ST renewals starts getting billed 5/24/10.
They also got the usual $20 credit for 6 months.
Assuming he is telling the truth & i dont know why they would lie about it, it sure sounds like as long as u dont somehow totally screw it up ST can be had for essentially $195.
i would take that deal in a second.
im still not going to call yet....i wanna wait for more postings as its still only may....supposedly ST renewals starts getting billed 5/24/10.
So essentially they are paying for your SF if they are giving you $ 20. p/m for 6 months
Humph. Nothing here. Called and told them I wanted to cancel it, and they just pulled it, no questions asked. Curious since my 24 month commitment is also over.
Guess I'll wait and see what the offerings actually are without getting stuck with an autorenewal next week.
Guess I'll wait and see what the offerings actually are without getting stuck with an autorenewal next week.
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