KOKIDKOKID Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) Here's what I just got: (I'm already a premier monthly customer, and have several months left on a prior $10/month HD access discount as well as a $10/month premeir discount) In addition to the remaining amounts on my prior discounts above, I was offered: A cumulative $228 over the next 6 months for my Premier (via a variety of discounts on Sports package, HBO Starz, etc) ($228) a promise of another 12 months of $10 discount to HD when the current 12 month discount expires) (a future $120) $20 off on my Sunday Ticket for 6 months ($120) $50 lump sum immediate credit. ($50) Should I pitch for better or leave well enough alone? Would love more off the S Ticket itself. And the guy didn't beleive that anyone else got a pair of $20 monthly discounts off ST even though I told him that several people have been getting it. Dcat - it is up to you...but I did just call back and got the ST for free. I had previously (less than a week ago) called in and gotten it reduce to a total of $84 (6 payments of $13.99 each) but after reading how several folks got it for free....I decided to press my luck. I called and asked for "customer retention" at the first automated prompt and then said "cancel" at the second prompt. Got to a rep named Debbie. Very little haggling...I laid out my cards...told her that I had seen several messages on a thread about folks getting ST for free and I want it for free too...told her I know folks are getting it and of course new customers are getting it for free too and I know she can do it for me.....she may need to ask her manager but since I am reading online that others have gotten it free it must be an option they can offer me as well. I also told her I didn't think it should have even been necessary for me to have to call back in to get it for free...it should have been offered to me for free when I called in last week. She put me on hold for about 5 minutes and came back and told me she could give it to me for free. She made a point to tell me that just because I saw online that folks are getting it for free doesn't mean all will "qualify" to get it for free. Took her about 20 more minutes to get it all squared away but she did it....I will be billed the full price of $323.94 on my next statement and also have three $100.00 credits and one $23.94 credit added to my account - all on the same statement - so it is a net zero to my account. Good luck to all and thank you to all who have posted about their deals...it provides us all with tons of leverage and DTV knows it. KO'd Edited August 14, 2011 by KOKIDKOKID Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youre Going Down Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Just got off the phone with Direct TV and got the Sunday ticket for free with no hassle. I just said I wanted to cancel and go with Dish Network version. The retention agent said they could do that also but I added "how about the Sunday Ticket for free?" He said he could do that now because with existing customers they are matching what they do for new customers. I usually get it half price each year but I will take free all day long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byron2112 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 (edited) Ok, so my experience... I said cancel twice, got a guy named Eric, and just told him I couldn't afford all this. I didn't mention any internet deals I had heard about or anything. My strategy was to just continue to say no to the offers until I was happy... and they kept coming ... Eric prefaced each new offer with a caveat about how this was beyond what was authorized.... anyhow I pulled the trigger when I couldn't contain myself any longer. Maybe not the very best deal, but I'm pretty happy with it. I got "Choice Package" at a $15 discount for 24 months($60.99 to $45.99)... no contract, and I got Sunday Ticket for a one time charge of 109.99. He also gave me a choice of Starzz, Showtime, or HBO for 3 months free. So, theoretically, if I stay for 24 months I guess I saved $573.95... not including whatever 3 months of movie channels cost. Edited August 15, 2011 by byron2112 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCRob23 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 I called this morning and said I felt it was slap in the face that new customers were being given the NFL Sunday Ticket free and long standing loyal customers like myself have to pay full price. I said I'm only with Directv because of the Sunday Ticket and due to new customer promotion and the price I will not be ordering it this year and therefor I no longer need Directv service. I was transferred to the "retention" department and said the same thing to someone and was offered the Sunday Ticket for half price $159. He said he could give me for the lump some or 4 payments of $39.99. I was actually prepaid to leave, I could have got a better deal on a bundle package for Verizon Fios. The offer got me to stay, so I guess we both won. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenzal rhomb Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 I just asked for the discount I got last year - she gave me 20 bucks off a month for six months. I was good with that and off the phone in thre minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HutOne Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I just got off the phone with a rep from DirecTV and got the Sunday Ticket for free. I told them that I seen a commercial with Deion Sanders and it says you can get the Sunday Ticket at no charge . He told me that it is for new customers . I told him that it doesn't state that it the commercial . He put me on hold for a little while and came back and said because of the confusion they were giving it to me for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentastic Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 This year was tougher than in previous years. In years past, I'd say something like this: "Everyone I know is getting the ticket for $X.XX per month - I want that deal". This year it took 3 separate phone calls but I finally got the NFL Sunday ticket for $160 (4 payments of $39.95). The deal is out there to be had, huddlers. You gotta be persistent. P.S. I tried getting it for free as some on here have been able to do - couldn't make it happen though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 (edited) Just got off the phone with them. I told them that I was unhappy with the fact that they are offering Sunday Ticket to new customers for free & that I was already considering switching my service to Uverse since they are already my phone provider, which was actually true.She came back with the same offer as Brentastic's and asked if I was interested in that. When I told her that I was still not interested in it for that price she immediately came back with the free offer with no hesitation and asked if that would help keep me as a loyal customer. "Why yes, I suppose it would." This was my first call & it took a total of 10 minutes. Edited August 18, 2011 by rajncajn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorAvatar Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 SUCCESS! Final result: Sunday Ticket for effectively ZERO plus Showtime for 2 months. It actually took quite a few back and forth rounds to get to that. I was on the phone a total of 20-25 minutes. I mostly focused on being a good customer and that both NEW and EXISTING customers were getting ST for free. Offer #1: 39.99 for 4 months = $159.96 Offer #2: 39.99 for 4 months plus a $75 credit = $84.96 Offer #3: 39.99 for 4 months plus a $75 credit PLUS 3 months of free Starz and Showtime = $84.96 Offer #4: 39.99 for 4 months plus a $100 credit = $59.96 Offer #5: 39.99 for 4 months plus a $100 credit plus $5 monthly credit for the next 12 months = $0 The agent I spoke with called the first offer 50% off. Offer #2 was fairly easy to get, but he put up a lot of resistance going to offer 4 and then told me there was no way he could lower it any more. He was trying to convince me that $59 minus 3 months of Starz and Showtime is really like me paying only $8. I then focused on the $59 out of pocket cost and told him I KNEW existing customers were offered $0 out of pocket. At this point I asked if it was possible to issue a $5 monthly credit for a year since that would almost exactly offset the $59.96. He put me on hold and came back and gave me exactly that. I asked if 3 months of Showtime was still included in that offer and for whatever reason he said the best he could do was 2 months. Thanks to all the previous posters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlanta Cracker Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I think the theme I see is that if you focus on the fact that you are pretty seriously considering leaving DirecTV, stuff is too expensive, ST is too expensive which is why you signed up way back when, then you do better than saying you heard someone else got a certain deal. If they think you are staying but haggling they will be harder to budge. If you start talking about what the process is to turn everything off then that's a different approach that gets you free ticket quicker. I mean, worst case scenario they do shut off your TV and then you call back next week and get the Ticket free anyway as a "new" customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 called yesterday. they gave me $20 more credit/month for 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboysDiehard Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 First, thanks all of you who post your updates to this thread. I learned a lot, and probably would not have called DTV had this information not been available to me. Now..my story :-) I called their cancellation number (you can find it in their FAQ), and selected the option to cancel my sports package. Within a couple of minutes, I was transferred to Greg. I told him that I just saw the statement that included my first Sunday Ticket charge, and had a bit of sticker shock, so I was looking to drop a couple of my optional packages (sports & hbo) in order to save a few bucks. He advised me that he could make adjustments to my bill since i am a long term customer (10+ years), and took $20 off the monthly sunday ticket price, and also $20 off my programming price for the next six months. This will save me $240 over the next six months. I'm quite happy with this. So, if you haven't called yet, and have been with them a while, it seems they're quite willing to work with you. The process was easy and painless, and I did not have to resort to threatening to leave DTV (and wouldn't, I think DTV is great). I fully intended to cancel those two packages, if they couldn't work with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriots Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I am glad people are getting deals on this as I feel its too expensive. But is this really a good business practice for DTV. They should offer it at a better price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yilduz Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I am glad people are getting deals on this as I feel its too expensive. But is this really a good business practice for DTV. They should offer it at a better price. Directv makes does make good money on stuff like this, but to be honest, they SPEND a ridiculous amount of money just to be able to offer stuff like that in the first place. Of course if they knew their profits would be higher if the price was lower (or higher), they'd do it. They're a business, their objective is to make money. Period. The price is where it is because that's where they can make the most money on it based on the number of subscribers they can get. They are an amazing company, though. I work for them, so I see every day how awesome they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKIDKOKID Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I am glad people are getting deals on this as I feel its too expensive. But is this really a good business practice for DTV. They should offer it at a better price. Well from a business perspective it is a good business practice...for every 1 of us that calls in to haggle probably 20 others do not. I do kind of agree though...they ought to offer it at a better price but by not doing so they are no doubt maximizing their profits. KO'd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
did_what_i_do Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 First off, I'd like to thank everyone on this thread for posting. If I didn't come across this, i probably wouldn't have called. Basically, through the customer retention office, they gave me discounts to the point that I'm paying about $8 bucks a month over my current bill for the sunday package. I'm kicking myself for not calling last year. Thanks again guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNtitans Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Does anyone know when we will be able to enter our fantasy players into the Sunday Ticket tracker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerc21 Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) God bless this thread. I ended up getting ST for free this year as well. I took a similar approach to some of you here. I stated to the rep that I was excited to see the new NFLST promotion on TV as a long time DTV customer. I went on to mention that neither the Deion Sanders fairy, nor the commercial stated specifically that their new "FREE" promotion was for new subscribers. I continued that after reviewing the offer on their website, I noticed that current subscribers don't get jack squat of a promotion. Furthermore, I told her I wanted to cancel some of my premium channels after further review of my overall spend with them. They instantly offered the $39/mo. ST plan, and I shared with them that ideally, I didn't want my bill to be more than it currently was. My agent was super friendly (I was as well... I did think about being the irate a-hole but decided against it ) and was pretty creative with what she came up with. She said that when I started with DTV in Dec. of 2007, I only received 2 weeks worth of Sunday ticket for free, and that was her justification to get approval for missing out 4 years ago on an entire free season. Haha... Whatever works right? So at the end of the day, my bill is the same, didn't cancel my premium stuff and I got ST for free this year. It may be worth noting that I didn't have ST last year, but did the previous years. I'll try to catch this early next year before the lovely auto-renewal. Edited September 6, 2011 by jimerc21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CopeDog Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Thanks to everyone here encouraging persistence. I called earlier today, first guy offered 10$ off. I took it. I called back and said I still felt it was overpriced, they offered an additional $20 off. I took it. I called back and said a buddy was getting it for free and he wasn't a new customer. She said the computer was not allowing her to offer any further discounts. I said fine, cancel it then. She then said she could do $10 off my bill that didn't apply to Sunday Ticket, but that is just a technicality, still the same in my eyes. I decided to push my luck and complained about the 'hassle' and also brought up how 2 friends haven't been able to get the referral credits for me. So she gave me another HD receiver and Starz for free for 2 years. So $40 off per month making it $13.99 per month for the Sunday Ticket. Not bad, I appreciate the advice in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yilduz Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) God bless this thread. I ended up getting ST for free this year as well. I took a similar approach to some of you here. I stated to the rep that I was excited to see the new NFLST promotion on TV as a long time DTV customer. I went on to mention that neither the Deion Sanders fairy, nor the commercial stated specifically that their new "FREE" promotion was for new subscribers. I continued that after reviewing the offer on their website, I noticed that current subscribers don't get jack squat of a promotion. Furthermore, I told her I wanted to cancel some of my premium channels after further review of my overall spend with them. They instantly offered the $39/mo. ST plan, and I shared with them that ideally, I didn't want my bill to be more than it currently was. My agent was super friendly (I was as well... I did think about being the irate a-hole but decided against it ) and was pretty creative with what she came up with. She said that when I started with DTV in Dec. of 2007, I only received 2 weeks worth of Sunday ticket for free, and that was her justification to get approval for missing out 4 years ago on an entire free season. Haha... Whatever works right? So at the end of the day, my bill is the same, didn't cancel my premium stuff and I got ST for free this year. It may be worth noting that I didn't have ST last year, but did the previous years. I'll try to catch this early next year before the lovely auto-renewal. Good. I've done call center work before, and trust me - if you're the irate a-hole , the representative is less likely to help you out. If you're being an a-hole for the sake of being an a-hole, or if you're being one because you think that's the way to get what you want, the only way that rep will give you what you want is if it's in black and white in their policy; and if that's the case, you'll get it either way. If it's a judgement call on their part (which a lot of companies do. They train their reps and trust their judgement), you WILL NOT get what you want if you're an a-hole. Just saying... edit: Chia Pet? Really? Edited September 6, 2011 by yilduz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerc21 Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Good. I've done call center work before, and trust me - if you're the irate a-hole , the representative is less likely to help you out. If you're being an a-hole for the sake of being an a-hole, or if you're being one because you think that's the way to get what you want, the only way that rep will give you what you want is if it's in black and white in their policy; and if that's the case, you'll get it either way. If it's a judgement call on their part (which a lot of companies do. They train their reps and trust their judgement), you WILL NOT get what you want if you're an a-hole. Just saying... edit: Chia Pet? Really? I was half joking, hence the smiley. I wasn't really considering being a jerk, maybe just more firm and/or adamant in my approach. I'm a pretty low-key guy but I do agree that being extra nice goes a long way and would always recommend others do the same. Especially if you're asking for something right? I wouldn't ever be a prick to a customer service rep unless they started copping an attitude with me. But either way, DTV reps are pretty nice compared to the Comcast reps I used to deal with when I had cable. The only thing wrong with my rep today was that she was a Raiders fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Called today too.....free Sunday ticket,stars free for three months and $5 off bill for next two years. Glad I read this and called this yr, should have done so last yr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorttynaz Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Interesting that there's a post on this. I've been away from this forum for a while - but I did do just this 2 weeks ago. I had EVERY intention to divorce my 2nd wife (DirecTV) this year. We've been together for 6+ years now and the only reason we've lasted that long is cause she gives me love three times on Sunday, once on Monday, once on Thursday later in the year, and occasionally Saturday (in January). She wanted too much of my money though. She was kind of a golddigger.. I didn't tell her yet - but I had decided we're through and we're getting a divorce. I called the local cable company and set up a service call for them to come and install their service a few days out. They offer the Red Zone channel, and while it's not at all comparable to DirecTV's, it's only $40/year! I was like, even though you're a lot uglier than my former 2nd wife, you're a lot cheaper. Here's the thing.. When I notified my 2nd wife that I was leaving her, she started crying and told me how much she loved me. She wanted to be with me forever and she promised that she would stop spending so much of my money. They cut $20/month off my "Choice" package for the next two years. They are giving me $10/month credit for the next 18 months to offset the price of two cable boxes. They gave me free Showtime and Starz for the next 6 months, free HBO for 3 months. And my price for the NFL Ticket this year? Instead of 6 payments of $53.99, it's $24.99. So they took $29/month off that pricetag. In the long run what did I do? Told my real wife, "Sorry hun, you're still my wife 5 and a half days a week". - One more thing - not saying it didn't happen - but whoever said that DirecTV gave them the NFL Ticket for free is full of it. I told them I didn't care about the other stuff, they can save some money and not give me all the other stuff - just give me the NFL Ticket for free. They're NOT allowed to - some legal thing. Ultimately it comes out to more with the $20/month off on my normal bill for the next two years.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBroncos Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Putting my call in, in about 20 minutes when the kids and wife are gone. All the cable providers are losing customers on a mass exodus basis with the economy in shambles and people able to basically watch their shows online or through HULU and Netflix through their PS3's (about 50% of my friends use this method now) so I'm fairly confident they'll offer the discount no matter what... I'll post my results later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorttynaz Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) Putting my call in, in about 20 minutes when the kids and wife are gone. All the cable providers are losing customers on a mass exodus basis with the economy in shambles and people able to basically watch their shows online or through HULU and Netflix through their PS3's (about 50% of my friends use this method now) so I'm fairly confident they'll offer the discount no matter what... I'll post my results later. Worst case is you'll get it for $27.99/month for 6 months. That's the highest I've seen posted after someone calls and says they're leaving.. Edited September 7, 2011 by Shorttynaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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