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Best way to reduce bill?

27K views 143 replies 48 participants last post by  EW800 
#1 ·
I've now reached a point I'm no longer willing to look the other way with how much TV is costing me. I've been with D 3 years, I was with them prior for 8 years then one year when I moved I had no line of sight thus I had comcrap for 1 year. I've had NFLST every year.

I've never missed a payment in my life. I can't tell if I'm on a contract. Should I simply call them up and tell them the price is just too dam high?

Thanks for any help!

For the record, I'm reasonable, I think what I'm currently getting is only worth $85/month.

CHOICE XTRA CLASSIC - Charge $71.99
Advanced Receiver-DVR - Charge $10.00
Advanced Receiver-HD - Charge $10.00
Additional TV - Charge $6.00
DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service - Charge $3.00
Primary TV Free - PrimaryTVFree ($6.00)
Primary TV - Charge $6.00
Total = $113/month
 
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#77 ·
damondlt said:
Not at ONLY the customers expense!
They don't do so only from customers. They sell in-guide ad space for one...and you love those. ;)

Why are so against a company maximizing profits? Does your employer not do so? If you owned a company, then wouldn't you do the same?
 
#78 ·
sigma1914 said:
They don't do so only from customers. They sell in-guide ad space for one...and you love those. ;)

Why are so against a company maximizing profits? Does your employer not do so? If you owned a company, then wouldn't you do the same?
I own a company, and I haven't gotten a raise in about 6 years. I unlike the BIG WIGS have to conform myself to the economy or else me and my Crew don't work.

If you ran a business you would have know that.
I bet MR White didn't feel a thing during the economy crash.
Directv maximizing profit scale proves that!

I maximize Proffits by lowering my rate in order to gain more work.
 
#79 ·
damondlt said:
I own a company, and I haven't gotten a raise in about 6 years. I unlike the BIG WIGS have to conform myself to the economy or else me and my Crew don't work.

If you ran a business you would have know that.
I bet MR White didn't feel a thing during the economy crash.
Directv maximizing profit scale proves that!

I maximize Proffits by lowering my rate in order to gain more work.
Ahhh... it's ok for you to maximize profits, but big companies are bad for it. Gotcha. ;)
 
#80 ·
James Long said:
DirecTV Annual Report: 2012

DirecTV's stated goal ... charge more money per subscriber than anyone else in the industry and be disciplined in the management of credits.

2012 ARPU: $96.98
And my stated goal is to spend as little as legally possible for both the needs and wants of me and my family's lives. The tension between these opposing, while both legitimate, goals, is the challenge.
 
#81 ·
damondlt;3200378 said:
If you ran a business you would have know that.
I bet MR White didn't feel a thing during the economy crash.
Directv maximizing profit scale proves that!
Of course Mr. White didn't feel a thing regarding what the economy is doing because despite the economy going down DirecTV has strengthened over the last few years while cable companies have been bleeding customers. With that said when competitors are doing bad and your company is growing that means your doing something right and he should be rewarded for it. With DirecTV having the highest ARPU in the industry with that increasing yearly along with customer base increasing it proves customers will pay more for a quality product they can't get elsewhere. What's so hard about that to understand? You really think the best service out there should be the cheapest as well?
 
#82 ·
sigma1914 said:
Ahhh... it's ok for you to maximize profits, but big companies are bad for it. Gotcha. ;)
I would guess that D* has done the math and believe that they can maximize profits through base cost increases and additional fees, offsetting any subscriber loss. In other scenarios profit can be maximized more efficiently through lowering of product/service cost and adding more consumers. Depending on the business (type, size) and the market one or the other solution is likely to be better. Could D* increase their profit by reducing cost to the consumer and attracting more customers? Very likely - but that would depend on how much their expenses are actually fixed vs. variable per customer. Frankly I'd love to see a price war between Dish and D*.
 
#84 ·
sigma1914 said:
Ahhh... it's ok for you to maximize profits, but big companies are bad for it. Gotcha. ;)
Maximizing Profit doesn't always result making more money.

Only in Directv/ Dish Networks world!

Big companies Beat the little ones to death, Grab their customers , Lock them into commitments, and Jack up the prices, and now there's no where to go.
 
#85 ·
dishinitout said:
You really think the best service out there should be the cheapest as well?
Why not? Most of America Small business are the Cheapest and Best ran companys. They care about their customers.

I've waited months sometimes to get paid, how long does Directv sit on a bill before they Cut you off at the Knees?
 
#86 ·
damondlt said:
Maximizing Profit doesn't always result making more money.

Only in Directv/ Dish Networks world!

Big companies Beat the little ones to death, Grab their customers , Lock them into commitments, and Jack up the prices, and now there's no where to go.
So what? What little companies did DirecTV and Dish beat down? Satellite and the TV industries are huge multi million dollar organizations.

Start your own Mom & Pop satellite service and save the tv world.

It's truly baffling that someone who owns a business doesn't like companies making money. I guess if your company ever takes off big time, then you won't try to make more money.
 
#87 ·
omartinjordan said:
I am not a business major but if they treated existing customers better and lowered the rates a bit the could eventually have the entire industry. Would you rather maximize profits or cripple the competition?
There will always be churn and without new customer acquisition, the customer base would not hold up. Existing customers are treated very well, though that can be biased on opinion. Depends on what a customer expects the company to do for them, it anything.
 
#88 ·
dishinitout said:
Of course Mr. White didn't feel a thing regarding what the economy is doing because despite the economy going down DirecTV has strengthened over the last few years while cable companies have been bleeding customers.
Your reasoning is flawed because bleeding customers isn't necessarily a bad thing. DIRECTV didn't begin to get their profits up convincingly until they stopped coddling crappy customers.

We're just beginning to see where DIRECTV is going to find equilibrium after several years of untamed subscriber growth.
 
#89 ·
damondlt said:
I've waited months sometimes to get paid, how long does Directv sit on a bill before they Cut you off at the Knees?
I think saying, "Cut you off at the Knees" may be overkill but they give you 6 weeks to pay your bill before any cutting is done. There is an agreement signed before setting up service with the understanding that D* will continue to provide services as long as the subscriber continues to pay for said services. I don't think it's inhumane in any way for a company to turn off your services if you fail to pay for them.

In your case, waiting months for payment is a very noble thing to do but on the other hand, is your customer a bad customer for not paying on time? If you knew it was going to end up that way, was it more charity than a business transaction?
 
#90 ·
damondlt said:
I've waited months sometimes to get paid, how long does Directv sit on a bill before they Cut you off at the Knees?
Are you in a continuing service type of business or an on demand event based type of work?

A continuing service such as DirecTV has a choice of requiring 100% payment in advance and cutting off customers the moment their bill is unpaid or allowing their customers to get behind. SiriusXM is an example of a company that is 100% in advance ... they take the payment or cut off the receivers. DirecTV allows their customers some latitude. And six weeks past due before losing service is pretty good.

Once your customers go past due do you continue to provide them service? Most businesses I have worked with will not serve deadbeats. Some will ... if there is a hope of being paid later ... partially because they are hungry and partially out of charity. And it can pay off - helping someone when they are down can build loyalty.

DirecTV isn't hungry ... and although through leniency (not cutting people off the moment they are past due) and credits they offer some charity they are a business. And they are in a position where they can operate like a business.
 
#92 ·
dcandmc said:
I can call and talk to three different DirecTV CSRs and get three completely different answers based on a specific question. They can't all be right. I'm not claiming to know more than any DirecTV agent, but it's very clear to me, both from personal experience and from reading thousands of posts here over many years, that either (1) DirecTV's training of frontline CSRs SUCKS, (2) the majority of frontline DirecTV CSRs are lazy or don't care, or a combination of (1) and (2).
One and two are not the reason why. The reasoning why is drum rolls please.........outsourcing! Most the agents I know from the call center I work in and the other call centers owned and operated by DirecTV have a strong distaste of the Convertgies Call Centers (play on words as they act like they are really spies whom are really working for dish network to convert customers away from DirecTV). They give customers wrong information and you have to be able to get the customer to realize they were mistold. Cigarette break!

omartinjordan said:
I am not a business major but if they treated existing customers better and lowered the rates a bit the could eventually have the entire industry. Would you rather maximize profits or cripple the competition?
That sounds good when you read it on paper, but the market does not work like that. But lets say it is possible for DirecTV to cripple the competition. That is extremely bad for the consumer. Competition in the market is actually good as it results in:
1.Lower prices for consumers
2.A greater discipline on producers/suppliers to keep their costs down
3.Improvements in technology - with positive effects on production methods and costs
4.A greater variety of products (giving more choice)
5.A faster pace of invention and innovation
6.Improvements to the quality of service for consumers
7.Better information for consumers allowing people to make more informed choices
 
#93 ·
Well, I called to ask if there were any discounts or promotions I was elible for to reduce my bill. I have been with Directv since around 2007 maybe. Been out of contract for several years. She told me all I was eligible for was 6 months of Stars. WTF? Who wants that? The only thing I have gotten from them was 3 months of sports pak for free one time and encore while the Viacom crap was going on. I guess my only option is drop to the entertainment package or switch to Dish. I called a month ago because I was interested ni the Genie if I lowered my package. I didn't tell them I was going to lower the channel package but they wanted $299 for it. They can go pound sand.
 
#96 ·
goinsleeper said:
I think saying, "Cut you off at the Knees" may be overkill but they give you 6 weeks to pay your bill before any cutting is done.
You're slightly off there but not by much as 6 Weeks is 42 days. It's 45 days :p

omartinjordan said:
Well, I called to ask if there were any discounts or promotions I was elible for to reduce my bill. I have been with Directv since around 2007 maybe. Been out of contract for several years. She told me all I was eligible for was 6 months of Stars. WTF? Who wants that?
At least she didn't offer you Showtime blech. I seriously doubt all you had available was Starz for 6 months if you are not currently receiving discounts and have been paying your bill on time. If their are not any discounts offers, Starz wouldn't of been available--that offer is not on an account whom haven't been with us that long. You may want to call back.
 
#97 ·
Wow! you guys got me wondering if i should go back to directv or not.I left directv 3 and a half years ago with verizon i pay about $74.00 a month. BTW if i decide to go back to directv who gets the better deal a returning customer from 3 years ago(under my wifes name) or should i try under my name as a brand new customer?
 
#99 ·
Volatility said:
One and two are not the reason why. The reasoning why is drum rolls please.........outsourcing! Most the agents I know from the call center I work in and the other call centers owned and operated by DirecTV have a strong distaste of the Convertgies Call Centers (play on words as they act like they are really spies whom are really working for dish network to convert customers away from DirecTV). They give customers wrong information and you have to be able to get the customer to realize they were mistold. Cigarette break!
I don't know, and I don't care, whether the CSR I'm talking to is a DirecTV employee or an outsourced contract CSR. For all intents and purposes, from the customer's perspective, they're the same thing. DirecTV is responsible for the conduct and professionalism of both types, whether its through an employment contract or a contract with the outsourcing company.

Volatility said:
Dish Network packages may be priced cheaper than Directv's but they make up for it by charging ridiculous fees like 99.00 for a service call; 5.00 to talk to an operator
Hey, guess what? DirecTV has those fees too! The Dish $5.00 "talk to an operator" fee that you link to above is for ordering pay-per-view over the phone (DirecTV also charges $5.00 for that) and for paying a bill over the phone (DirecTV charges $10.00 for that! That's twice as much as Dish for the exact same thing!).

Volatility said:
Competition in the market is actually good as it results in:
1.Lower prices for consumers
2.A greater discipline on producers/suppliers to keep their costs down
3.Improvements in technology - with positive effects on production methods and costs
4.A greater variety of products (giving more choice)
5.A faster pace of invention and innovation
6.Improvements to the quality of service for consumers
7.Better information for consumers allowing people to make more informed choices
Nice job regurgitating ECON 101. I bet that you passed the mid-term with that impressive knowledge.
 
#100 ·
omartinjordan said:
I have the old total choice package. I signed up around 2006 or 2007. No extras but hd dvr and 2 extra boxes. I get the sports pack every year from September to march.
The Total Choice Package and other grandfathered packages do not qualify for the monthly base package discounts. She should of explained the benefits of moving to the Xtra or Ultimate package with a discount if she did not already.

dcandmc said:
Hey, guess what? DirecTV has those fees too! The Dish $5.00 "talk to an operator" fee that you link to above is for ordering pay-per-view over the phone (DirecTV also charges $5.00 for that) and for paying a bill over the phone (DirecTV charges $10.00 for that! That's twice as much as Dish for the exact same thing!).
no just no. DirecTV does NOT charge 10.00 for paying your bill over the phone. We charge 5.00 for ordering PPV through an operator and paying your bill. Dish supposedly charges 5.00 for also getting technical support, though I am not sure they still do that. Also Dish charges a 25.00 reconnect fee to get your services out of a disconnect if you fail to pay your bill on time. We at DirecTV don't.

dcandmc said:
Nice job regurgitating ECON 101. I bet that you passed the mid-term with that impressive knowledge.
albeit the sarcasm you gave me....Yup!
 
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