Haggling with your current service provider for a better deal is tedious and time-consuming. But in times of high inflation and rising costs of living, it’s more important than ever to get fair prices on your mobile phone, broadband and TV contracts. Here are the top 8 tips from our negotiation experts to get the best results.
1. Check the best contracts available online and use it as your benchmark
Before going into any negotiation you should be clear on what your target service package and price is. How low might your service provider be willing to go? To get a sense of what is possible, check out online comparison sites like comparethemarket.com or moneysupermarket.com to see what your provider is offering. Don’t rely on your provider’s website as the offers there are usually worse than the offers on comparison sites for the same providers.
2. Speak to the right department
It is absolutely crucial to speak to the right people. Customer service does not have the best deals available. Try to reach a department called customer retention. They can be reached by telling your service provider that you want to leave. These are the right people to talk to as they can offer the best prices and highest discounts.
3. Don’t talk too much but be persistent and friendly
Everyone knows this awkward moment of silence when no one speaks. Customer service teams (and retention teams in particular) are well trained to make you pay more than necessary. After making an offer they will pause and wait for you to accept. If you reject, they will say that’s the best they can do. They will pause again and use this awkward moment to put you under pressure.
Just don’t fall into the trap of accepting an offer because you cannot handle this moment of silence.
4. Don’t accept the first offer
Never accept the first offer. Look at it from this angle: You are offered a new deal with the expectation that you will want to negotiate an even better deal. If your provider would offer the very best deal straight away there is no room for further manoeuvre for them. So there will ALWAYS be another better offer from them. You might use phrases like “what is the best offer you can give me?”, “my absolute maximum is X£ per month”, “This is still a lot, competitor Y offers the same for X.”
5. Go for one-off credits and use the right timing
This is an easy way to save money fast. One-off credits are easier to give away than massive discounts. If you have been a loyal customer for some time you might just be eligible for a one-off credit.
Surprisingly, discounts depend heavily on the month but even in any given month staff might be able to give higher discounts earlier in the month. The reason is that service providers often have a certain number of discounted deals they are allowed to give away and there might not be any discounts left towards the end of the month.
6. Mention problems to get a better deal
Mention any problems you experienced, like bad broadband connections, to your service provider. This will put a bit more pressure on them to make up for it and give you a better deal. Also did you know that your provider is legally bound to compensate you for service outages? Make use of it to gently increase the pressure on the provider.
7. Choose the right time of the day to avoid waiting times
Waiting times can be excruciatingly long. It’s key to pick the best time for calling your service provider’s hotline. Avoid calling at peak times if you can. Our experience has shown that calling between 8 and 9 am, around lunchtime and between 4 and 6 pm will lead to the longest waiting times. During these times you can expect to have waiting times of more than 1h.
8. Try to switch to a new contract before the old contract ends
Did you know that you can get a new, better contract even if your old contract hasn’t expired yet? Depending on the specific policy of your current provider you might be able to renew before your contract comes to an end.
The easy way
There are many different ways to save money if you know how to do it. Join our growing community today and find out how much money you can save at breviusapp.com.
