Customer loyalty usually doesn’t pay off. In fact, Consumerist found that in the US, loyal Pay TV customers generally pay $US10-$20 ($13-$27) more a month. It’s worth picking up the phone and asking your Pay TV company for a better deal.
Photo by Kai Chan Vong.
Consumerist has been studying a number of bills from real customers of seven different US Pay TV providers. They have shared some interesting findings overall, but here’s what they found in terms of customer loyalty:
One recurring theme we noticed: new customers are getting better packages, for less money, than existing customers. When pricing out comparable bundles for the bill guides, we generally saw that new customers were being offered the same or better service for $10-$20 less than our current customer. We even found one ten-year Charter customer, whose bill we did not publish, paying roughly $75 per month more than a brand-new customer, getting similar service, in their neighbourhood would.
It’s interesting to see the actual amount customers pay for their loyalty, and though Consumerist only looked at Pay TV bills in the US, chances are, the same rule applies for any service provider that offers new customer incentives.
Although not everyone has a choice of provider, it’s worth calling yours and asking for a lower rate. Check prices online and see if they’re giving new customers a better deal, then ask for the same deal. If you haven’t called your provider to haggle in a while, Consumerist’s findings serve as a good reminder to pick up the phone.
The 3 Big Things We’ve Learned About Your Cable Bill [Consumerist]
Comments
One response to “Loyal Customers Pay More For Pay TV, So Call And Haggle A Better Price”
part of it is the discontinuation of service between providers and the frequent mistakes and lapse of service because someone didn’t do what they were supposed to do in a timely manner.
So people only change providers when they have to eg when moving.
I mean any service, like broadband, gas, electricity or phone service.