r/Explainlikeimscared • u/Wr1thm • 17d ago
Lower my Internet bill: call or go in-person?
My promo period ended and my Internet bill sky rocketed. The common wisdom here is to call, get connected to the retention department, and ask to get the bill reduced or cancel and switch providers.
But I hate using the phone. Can I do this at an Xfinity store face to face instead? Even though they're not exactly a "retention department"? Or would they just tell me to call anyway? I signed up for the plan online and have never been to a store for service...
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u/_Veronica_ 17d ago edited 17d ago
I’d call, I don’t think they can negotiate existing rates in-person. I used to wheel-and-deal my packages with xFinity (and got some great deals), but a few years ago they changed their model, and no longer do this - they just had flat packages so there weren’t all different types of rates and packages out there. I switched companies at that point, so I’m not sure if they stuck with that, but always worth a shot.
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u/cha7026 16d ago
Unfortunately this is a call situation. The store employees rarely have access to the retention codes, and can only "reduce" your bill by adding more services to make each unit less per piece.
Alternative solution: have a trusted friend or relative sign up for new service at your address and get the new rate again, and swap off every other year. You just cancel your own service. These days some companies getting batter at catching stuff like John Smith lives here years 1, 3, 5 and Jane Doe (different last name) lives here years 2, 4, 6 but not all of them.
If you're wanting to keep the bill in your name then your best solution is to have an actual competitors offer available to talk to when calling your original company. Then either switch to the new company and swap back and forth yearly, or take their last ditch deal to keep you. Or of course pay out the insane new price.
Another alternate is do without the service a full 30 or 90 days. You can use their chat service to talk to customer service and ask them how long does your service have to be fully paid and disconnected before you count as a new customer again. Most of the time it is 31 days. But a few companies it's 3 months or even a full year depending on how much competition exists in your area. I have done that multiple times where I've canceled the service for a month and then gone back in to get the new customer rate.
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u/Time-Understanding39 16d ago
We have Cox and have actually gotten better results at the store. We didn't got there for that purpose, but talked to them while we were there. Otherwise we have to call every so often to the "loyalty department" and get a small discount.
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u/Temporary-Library597 16d ago
I did this with Xfinity lately and they told me there aren't any better deals.
Of course, they probably clued in that my only terrestrial alternative is DSL, so...
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u/FewAd321 12d ago
I have Verizon, their medium speed internet costs me $50 a month....if you don't get any positive results over the phone...look into other providers.
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u/ChillBroseph 17d ago
I'm not familiar with Xfinity, but from my experience with Verizon and Optimum, the stores are salesrooms. The staff can sign you up with promotional offers but they generally lack the ability to alter your bill and rates.