Directv

[fuhrdog]

I called to cancel and was given no incentive to stick with it...no offers for a cut rate, no, movie channels, nada. All I got was a rep thanking me for being such a loyal customer...dumbass.

I'd call back and say after thinking about it a little bit, the Sunday Ticket was the main reason I chose Direct TV...now that I cancelled that I received a much better offer from Dish Network to sign up. You will be transferred to retention which will score you some free movie channels and probably $10 or more off your bill for a few months.

[onejayhawk]

I have pulled this a couple times to get a 20% discount on my cable tv / internet with Rogers. At some point I will cancel cable and go to unlimited internet access as friends have done. Rogers must know if they lose me, they probably won't get me back.

Recently I did it with Bell and got cal answer / display thrown in for free on a 3 yr smart phone contract. The last time I was told I was being referred to their "retention department". They might as well have said "Please hold for Monty Hall".

What hardware is necessary, and how well does it work?

J

[Jefe]

I just signed up with DirectTV for the first time. I've been on Time Warner Cable for 15+ years. Getting it installed this weekend. Excited about the free NFL ticket. (who dat!) Fingers crossed that I'm at least as happy with the overall service as I was with cable.

[johnnya24]

I think that the lockout really hit DirectTV hard. I had NO idea what I was paying for the Ticket, since I've had it so long...I was amazed to see it was 320 bucks. I called to cancel and was given no incentive to stick with it...no offers for a cut rate, no, movie channels, nada. All I got was a rep thanking me for being such a loyal customer...dumbass.

I tried this when I cancelled a mobile phone contract a few years back ... I expected them to offer me something a bit better to keep me ... instead the (presumably minimum-wage earning) customer service agent just thanked me and cancelled my agreement. Loyal customer of 3/4 years allowed to walk away to another company.

3 months later I get a call from T-Mobile offering me the world to come back ... but having signed a good contract elsewhere, it was too little too late.

I suppose it also depends who you talk to, how incentivised they are, and whether or not they can be bothered to deal with you.

[dslaw]

I just signed up with DirectTV for the first time. I've been on Time Warner Cable for 15+ years. Getting it installed this weekend. Excited about the free NFL ticket. (who dat!) Fingers crossed that I'm at least as happy with the overall service as I was with cable.

Just make sure to call up and cancel it next year if you don't want it. Part of giving it free this year is the automatic renewal feature. And if one payment shows up next August (or whenever billing starts) you can't cancel then, you still have to pay the full amount.