The email came on a Saturday morning, tucked between a school picture reminder and a coupon for oil changes: "Your promotional pricing is ending." Our internet had been $55 a month for a year. Starting with the next statement, it would be $89. Same speed, same box blinking in the hallway, same kids streaming cartoons on it. Just thirty-four more dollars a month for the privilege of still being customers.
Thirty-four dollars is not nothing in our house. On one paycheck, that's a week of lunch stuff, or most of Owen's fall soccer fee. So I sat down at the kitchen table with a notepad, a cup of coffee that went cold, and made the call I'd been dreading.
What I Did Before I Picked Up the Phone
I've learned the hard way that calling without homework just gets you a nice person saying "I'm sorry, that's the standard rate." So I spent about twenty minutes getting ready:
- I pulled up our last bill and wrote down the plan name, the speed, the equipment rental fee ($15 a month, ouch), and our account number.
- I checked what new customers were being offered at our address on the provider's own website. It was $50 a month for the same speed. That number went at the top of my notepad in big letters.
- I looked up the other option at our address. We only have two real choices in our neighborhood, but the second company had a plan around $60 with no contract. I didn't want to switch, but I was willing to, and that matters.
- I checked what speed we actually use. We had a plan faster than a family of five really needs for streaming, homework, and Mike watching football highlights. I was open to dropping down a tier.
The Script, More or Less Word for Word
I don't do well winging it, so I wrote this out. Feel free to borrow it.
"Hi, I got a notice that our promotional rate is ending and our bill is going from $55 to $89. We've been customers for four years and always paid on time. I'm seeing that new customers at my address can get the same speed for $50. I'd like to stay, but $89 isn't going to work for our budget. What can you do to keep our rate close to what we've been paying?"
Then I stopped talking. That was the hardest part. The silence felt like forever, but I let the rep fill it.
The first offer was $75. I said, politely, "I appreciate that, but it's still quite a bit more than we've been paying. Is there a retention or loyalty department that might have other options?" I got transferred, waited on hold for about eight minutes listening to the same guitar loop, and then talked to a second person.
When the second rep asked why I was thinking about leaving, I told the truth: "The other provider in our area has a plan around $60 with no contract. I'd rather not go through switching, but I will if I need to."
What We Ended Up With
After some back and forth, here's where we landed:
| Before promo ended | New price quoted | After the call | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet plan | $55 | $89 | $50 |
| Router rental | $15 | $15 | $0 (returned it) |
| Monthly total | $70 | $104 | $50 |
A few things made the difference. We dropped one speed tier, which honestly nobody in the house has noticed. The rep locked in $50 for twelve months. And I asked about the equipment fee, which I'd been paying without thinking for four years. It turned out we could use our own router. My brother-in-law had a spare one in a box in his garage, so that $15 a month just disappeared. If you're buying one, do the math first; for us, even a $70 router would have paid for itself in under five months.
Total time: twenty-two minutes on the phone, plus the twenty minutes of prep. Savings compared to the new price: $54 a month, or $648 over the year. Not bad for a Saturday morning.
What didn't work
I'll be honest, my first attempt a few years ago went nowhere. I called in a grumpy mood, led with "this is ridiculous," and the rep got defensive. Being kind and specific works so much better than being mad. The person on the phone didn't set the prices. I also tried the online chat first this time, and it just kept offering me a streaming add-on. The phone was worth it.
A Few Notes If You Try This
- Call on a weekday morning if you can. My sister says she waits less then.
- Write down the rep's name, the new price, and the end date of the deal. Ask them to send a confirmation email before you hang up.
- Only say you'll switch if you actually would. They sometimes say "okay, we'll process that," and then you have to follow through.
- Check the next bill. Ours was right, but I've had one before where the credit didn't show up and I had to call again.
I put a reminder on the calendar for next August, about a month before this rate ends. I fully expect to make this same call again, cold coffee and all, and I'll keep the notepad in the drawer for it.
