by dave_v
I’m old but this sales tactic is new to me.
Service providers like insurance, banking and in my case utilities (Australia), put you on 12 month plans that at the end of the cycle drop you back onto the worst plan for you. Insurance companies are really bad.
So here is the current tactic we encountered.
Our separate gas and electric contract (same supplier) ends about now to default to NO discount. We got a discount to join them. (If you ask they give you the same discount again each year) My wife calls and they cannot locate one of the contracts. While they look, she is offered multiple complex sales packages they have to sell while they negotiate the yearly renewal.
They ‘suggest’ we don’t have a contract at all. Constantly asking all sorts of sales like probing questions. A bamboozle for sure!
Finally after 1 hour, they locate all of the information and my wife just has to move on with her day and is not really clear on what we have agreed to pay.
So I call them back with my wife’s notes with every detail at hand.
I get transferred 3 times. 20 minutes in I get someone who can deal with this enquiry. After 10 minutes answering every question they need for privacy reasons, they ask, have you seen any offers from our company? I say, tell me, of all of those offers, which one is the best.
I suggest I am reluctant to leave them as a have a better offer, I’m disenchanted with the way they treated my wife etc.
I got the highest discount available and a few other fees waved.
We estimate more than a $1000 saved for 2 hours on the phone.
Always ask them
Am I better or worse off making that change you suggested? Is that your best deal? They have to answer truthfully.
It’s a game, know the rules, have time on your side, information at hand, and get competitive prices.
And SCREW THEM HARD!