A few months ago, after Time Warner Cable (through some arcane rite) became Spectrum, I noticed the amount on my credit card statement was $74.99. That number didn’t seem right, so I looked at the paper bill. I don’t know why they send a paper bill, but it has come in handy. The month before it was $59.99. That amount still seemed high to me, but it’s more or less in line with what people pay for internet.
I called them up. I was all ready to give them a piece of my mind and threaten to go to some other company. Luckily, we happen to have another company that I can switch to. Pretty soon we will have two other companies, but they started in the south and are working their way north instead of starting at my house and working their way outward from here as I suggested.
When they asked why I called, I said that, “My bill is too high.” The guy I talked to, who happened to be out of Lincoln, said that he would take a look. A bit later he said that he could see that I used to be paying $59.99 per month and he would see what he could do. A little bit after that he got back on the line and said that he could lower the rate back to $59.99 and double our internet speed. I said that that would be fine.
Fast forward to yesterday. I notice a Spectrum bill in the mail (as well as yet another offer to bundle things together); I think they spend half of the money I send them on mailing things back to me. Just to keep them honest, I open the bill. They have raised my rate from $59.99 to $64.99. I’m a little bit miffed, but I know what to do.
I called and said, “My bill is too high.” The nice lady on the other end said that she would see what she could do. A minute later she came back on the line and said that she had lowered my rate to $44.99 and, without me saying anything, said that she had made sure that it would be at least a year before that rate could be raised. I thanked her and wished her a good day.
I don’t know if I’m an isolated case, or if they just raise prices every so often to see if people notice. If you notice, they make it a better deal than before. If you don’t notice, you keep paying more. Seems like a reasonable way to run a company –as long as you can sleep at night.