I go through this every single year with DirecTV. Same song and dance. They go up on their prices for Sunday NFL Ticket. I threaten to cancel. They give me all kinds of discounts.
This year was a tad different - initially. I found out DirecTV was changing the Sunday NFL Ticket package to remove SuperFan and make it one package. Really what they did was remove the online viewing part of SuperFan, renamed it “To Go” and put everything else (Red Zone Channel, Game Mix, Shortcuts and HD) into the base package. What's all that mean? A renewal price of $300. Most people would feel like this is ridiculous to pay but the way I look at this is as follows: $300 divided by 17 NFL weeks equals a little more than $17 a week to be able to watch every single NFL game from the comfort of my home, on my computer and/or on my BlackBerry (which will be extra cool when I cop this new BlackBerry Torch when it comes out next week).
Now for a fantasy football geek and football addict like myself, $17 a week is pretty damn good if you ask me. That being said, mama didn't raise a fool. I used to be embarrassed when we'd go places and my mom would complain about poor service to get a discount at a restaurant or electronics store. The apple didn't fall far from the tree though. Take too long to bring my food out at a restaurant if you want to. "May I see your manager please (after the food is delivered of course)?" I did the same thing with DirecTV...again...this year.
A couple months ago I signed up for DirecTV's Whole Home DVR Service. This was the final piece to what I needed to keep me from going to UVerse. Well I've been having some problems with my service and I used that as an opportunity to haggle DirecTV some. The key to this is when you call, ask to directly speak with Customer Retention. Skip all the other stuff.
I explained how I've been a loyal customer for years, paid the premium to have the Whole Home DVR Service and that service isn't working properly and how I needed to be compensated in some fashion or - and this is the key - I'll cancel my subscription and go to UVerse since they already have my phone and internet business.
At that exact moment it was like the gates of heaven opened up, choirs started singing, birds started chirping, the stars got a little brighter...you get the point. The rep immediately started typing away and said she would give me $20 off per month for 6 months (the duration of football season). Let's do the math: 6 months times $20 per month equals $120 off. $300 initial price minus $120 equals $180 for the Sunday NFL Ticket. $180 divided by 17 weeks of the NFL season equals about $10.50 per week. Pretty good huh? Most people would stop there right?
Not Cheryl Myers' son.
I continued to explain how I had friends who were just now signing up for DirecTV that were being rewarded with package deals as new customers and yet each year my bill continued to increase as a loyal customer. Again I hear her typing away and next thing I know she comes back saying I'll get an extra $10 off my overall bill (equates to negating the $10 per month HD service fee) for the next 24 months and after that, if I call again, they'll give it to me for another 24 months. Well for the NFL season, that now takes me down to $120 for Sunday NFL Ticket. $120 divided by 17 weeks in the NFL season equals me watching EVERY SINGLE NFL GAME for a whopping $7 a week.
So if any of you are looking for me during this NFL season on a Sunday I'll be in my Man Cave...well...pretty much all day. I'll go to the 7am service at my church and from noon until about 10pm at night I'll be in the Cave with my remote in one hand, a drink in the other, laptop to follow my fantasy teams progress at my side and some food nearby.
Oh...and I forgot to mention...someone is coming out on Friday afternoon to fix my problems with my Whole Home DVR service. A service call usually runs $44.99. "But mam...do you realize how flawed it is that I have to pay to have one of your employees come out to fix something that I'm not responsible for its technical flaws?" More typing. Response: "As a valued customer Mr. Myers, we'd be happy to provide with this service free of charge." Worst part about all this? I'll probably call back in a few days and see if I can get them to knock another $5 or $10 off a month somehow. Why settle right? Worst they can say is no.
Yep. Cheryl will be proud when I tell her about this one.
-M.G.M.
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