People haggle for things all the time to try to get the best deal. After all, it never hurts to ask!
But have you ever thought of haggling for a phone plan deal? Is it even possible to negotiate with your service provider?
It’s absolutely worth a try!
The main way we save money on our phone bill is to switch to a cheaper plan. Or just changing providers. But did you know you can try negotiate a better price with their current provider. In fact, not only does it save the inconvenience of switching, research shows that customers can often score a better deal by haggling with their current provider.
% of Male and Female successful at haggling
Most providers frequently raise the rates of their phone plans in line with inflation and don’t lower them unless someone pursues them about it.
Haggling works because of the amount of competition in the market. Companies don’t want to lose their customers. If you decide to take advantage of this competition you could be very well likely to land a better deal on your phone plan.
What do mobile plan providers offer to customers who haggle?
Plan Ahead and Know Your Limits
Don’t be fooled by the sales person who says the offer or price is “for one day only.” Before you call your service provider, ensure that you do some research and compare the prices and deals that various carriers are offering.
Also, determine how many minutes, texts and how much data you use per month. If you’re uncertain about this, you can find out this information from one of your previous phone bills.
Compare Prices and Deals
Compare plan deals with other carriers to know how much they are charging for the size of the bundle. Pay special attention to customer feedback and reading reviews from technical journalists on phone plans. Note down the price deals and what you get in the bundle.
Networks offer monthly contracts or a much longer 12 to 24 month contract. Try to stick with the monthly contract wherever possible. Shortlist all the best phone deals so that you can quickly refer to these while talking to a customer service representative. You may not get a deal to match their competitor but may land on a deal close to the ones offered by the competitors. In that case, it’s up to you whether you want the hassle of scoring.
Call Your Service Provider
When you have gathered all of your data, call your network provider and present your case. Tell them that you are looking for a discount on your mobile phone contract. If they don’t offer an expectedly big discount, haggle for other deals with other carriers you found during your research online.
In most cases, you call the normal customer service line. But to haggle for a phone plan deal, you have to reach the retention department of the company. Most big carriers have an entire department dedicated to handling customer retention, and they’re authorised to offer you deals so you stay on.
If you are not able to call the retention team, politely tell a customer service representative that you want to cancel your service. This line alone should get you transferred to the retention department. If your service provider doesn’t have a dedicated retention department, politely ask to speak to their supervisor.
If your provider comes with a good deal, don’t forget to check what the plan offers and whether it involves signing a new, longer contract. Providers often offer a discount if you sign up to a longer contract with them. Be careful as many companies will use every tactic in the book to get you to sign a longer contract. Try to be determined to stick to a rolling monthly contract, and it will allow you to enjoy greater flexibility.
The Next Step
If your provider is not ready to negotiate, say that you want to cancel and switch to another carrier. Ask the representative to transfer your call to the cancellation or retention team, who often gives better deals to customers to retain them. If this tactic also fails, tell them you’ll think about it and end the call. There is a high probability that they’ll get back to you with a better offer.
Sometimes the first discount offer given is unlikely to be the best deal on offer. They may put you on hold, pretending that they’re starting the cancellation process, but they’ll almost always come back with a greater deal. An additional way to save money is to ask the representative to remove all unnecessary features from your account. If your carrier are unprepared to give you a better deal, it might be time to give them the flick – switch to another carrier that is prepared to look after you. You never know what’s available until you ask, and you absolutely can negotiate with your phone carrier.