Cable, Satellite TV offers

There is a big competition between Satellite TV companies and cable companies. The major players in the industry are Dish Network, Direct TV, Charter communication, Time Warner, AT&T, etc.

Cable was the only choice to get TV service few years ago, but now satellite companies have brought competition to the marketplace. (AT and T and Verizon, traditional phone companies are also getting into competition with their Fiber Optic network.)

How to find a great deal? First, do some work at your end. Decide on what you need and what is nice to have. Your list of choices are: Local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.), Basic channels (CNBC, TNT, AMC, CNN, etc.), HD Channels, Premium channels, country specific international channels (ZEE TV, Start TV, Sony TV etc.), and Movie Channels. Once you know what is absolutely must for you and what is nice to have, go to the second step.

Second, get a feeling about their prices. These companies send out lot of mailers, inserts in local mail as well as display lot of ads online. You can also go on their website and see what are their current offerings. Pay Attention to monthly fees as well as set up fees. Monthly Fees range from $15 for the just local channels to $120 and more for premium packages. Set up fees include costs for hardware-- control boxes and/or satellite dishes, DVRs, Remotes etc.

Once you know what you want and which provider is the best for you, pick up the phone and call them directly. Tell them that you are shopping around for the best deal. Ask the Customer Service Rep of the Cable or satellite company to give you details of the best deal they have. If she mentions the one that meets your objective in term of package, start negotiating on price. Tell her few lies if needed. Tell her your friend got the same deal for $10 or $X less then the price the rep is offering. The rep first will say no. Ask her to check her system to see the best deal for this package. Tell he you are ready to give her your order once you have the right price. This motivates Customer Service Reps (CSR) to walk and extra mile to satisfy you. CSRs have their quotas. The more calls they convert into orders, they get better commissions. That helps them get better raises too. Never lose site of one thing: a CSR is not obliging you with a good price/ a good deal; actually, you are obliging her by giving your order. A CSR is not in the driver's seat when you are negotiating, you are. Make every attempt for CSR to search her system for the best deal. If you are not getting better prices, ask what extra she can give you if you sign up with her today. Free HD channels? Free HBO, Showtime for a year? Free DVR?

If this does not help much, say bye to that CSR and call back after 6 hours. These are big companies and they have hundreds of CSRs. Next time you call, you will most probably have a different CSR. Try this 3 different time or until you get what you want at an attractive price.

Some tricks:

Ask CSR when her or his shift ends. Next time, call 10 minutes before the shift ends. Everybody is in a hurry to go home! So they are more likely to make the call short and close the deal. (This may act against you if the dialogue is not going right way because CSR is in a hurry to go home!).
As soon as you get a CSR, ask her/him to transfer you to Mark (Or John also works LOL). She would ask you two things: Which Mark and Why him? Tell her that your friend got a great deal from Mark last week so you want to talk to him to get that same great deal. This puts you right in the driver's seat from beginning. The CSR on the line knows you: you are looking for the best deal and if she does not grab your business, some Mark or John will! (Imagine what you would do in such a situation if you were a CSR on the other end? Search the system for the best deal and offer it to you!)

If you have any tricks to get best TV deals from Satellite TV or Cable TV companies? please let us know.

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