Canadian Finance Blog

Posted: 18 Aug 2010 02:00 AM PDT

Discount on internet bill

One year ago, when I moved into the basement suite I currently reside in, I had to decide on an internet provider. We have two main providers in our area, and while I wanted to keep service from my former provider, the cable company seemed to be unable to figure out how to split our cable line from our landlords. So we ended up getting a DSL connection from their competitor. Through my work I was able to sign up under a discount that I assumed to last the length of my agreement with the company, but a couple of months ago I noticed a spike in our bill. I eventually phoned in, wondering what was going on, and was told that the discount that I had been getting was only for a year, and had since expired. When I explained that I was under the impression that the discount was permanent, I was told I would have to call back and talk to the Loyalty department, as they were closed that day (it was a weekend).

So I called back and explained my story to another CSR, who also told me that I would have to talk to the Loyalty department, but that he would put me through. After a short wait, he connected me with the “Loyalty and Retentions” department. She had already been told by the first rep that I was under the impression that my discount was permanent, so she told me that she would renew the discount. They had, however, raised the base cost of their service, so my monthly bill would be $3/month more than the original amount I had signed on for, but it was still about 40% less than without a discount. When I asked if this discount was permanent, I was told that no, they can only do discounts for a year at a time. I would have to phone back in yet another year and do the whole thing over again. Annoying, yes, but definitely better (and cheaper) than not getting a discount at all.

Free groceries

It is amazing how much a person or company is willing to bend when you simply ask if there’s anything they can do. Just a few days after my successful phone call with our internet provider, my wife and I were at a major grocery store picking up a few necessities for the next week. We grabbed a few items and headed to the checkout. There were only two lines open, one full regular lane, and an express lane with only one person in it. Seeing as we just had a small basket of items, we hopped in the express lane. My wife was keeping a close eye on the price of some salsa she picked up, and sure enough, it rang in 3 dollars higher than the advertised price. When she pointed this out, the cashier (who apparently was off in 5 minutes), sighed and asked, “Are you sure”? We were sure, so he sent someone out to do a price check. While waiting, a lineup started to build behind us. He pointed out that this was, in fact, an express lane, and as such, we shouldn’t be in this line as we had more than 15 items. Oh well, we said, this was the only open lane!

The price checker returned with the price tag, and sure enough, we were correct. Of course the cashier was unable to void the original price and input the new price without an override, which caused more time delays. Even after retrieving this device he was unable to get the correct price into the till, so he simply put the salsa in our bag and said, “take it”. So we did. We got free salsa just because we asked for a price check. Yes, it was a little awkward as we held up the “express lane” (we had 19 items, most of which were duplicates of the same item, like 4 yogurts, 3 lemons, and 3 limes), but I think it was worth it to simply ask, make sure you are paying a fair price, and in some situations, you might just get a deal out of the situation.

Clothing for a reduced price

Just yesterday my wife was killing some time at The Bay while we waited to go to a wedding. She found something that she really liked that was already marked down on sale, so she went to buy it. She noticed that there were some smudges on an unimportant part of the article of clothing, mentioned it to the cashier, who mentioned it to the manager, who promptly took off an additional 15%.

What amazes me the most out of all these situations is how simple and quick they all were to do. I spent a total of maybe 20-25 minutes on the phone with our internet provider, and I am saving about $150 over the next year because of it. We stood in line for an extra 4 minutes waiting for a price check, and got free salsa (valued at $10). My wife mentions some stain during checkout, and she gets an additional 15% (worth about $7.50) for waiting 2 minutes while the manager approves it. It is as simple as just asking a quick question, and apparently, it can save you some serious money.

How has simply asking for a discount saved you money? Have you had any success getting your monthly bills lowered?