Maximizing your bills is easy, and we can help make it even easier for you

If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you‘ll know that one of the things we harp on most is that informed consumers tend to make better decisions with their money. Informed consumers take the time to check out a company’s return policy and actually return items that aren’t satisfactory, they know to shop for flights on Tuesday or Wednesday in order to get the best price, and they know they should call their home service providers every few months to shop for the best rates on their cable, cellphone and internet bills. This last category is where the majority of us spend a large sum of money every year and it deserves the most attention but too many people assume they are in a contract and there’s nothing that can be done.

Unlike travel or returns, home services are costs that you pay every single month, whether you like it or not. Almost everyone needs either a cellphone or internet these days, and until some radical new company comes out with a free version of these things, the reality of it all is that you are forced to pay every month in order to use these services.

Travel is an expense that not everyone can afford and only a small percentage of the population actually do every month, so it’s easier to save for and manage those expenses. Returns are great as consumers are able to maximize the value of their purchase, only paying for things they truly need, but in general they pale in comparison to the amount of money that users pay their home service providers every month, yet not nearly enough of us know that these bills are actually negotiable.

While most people don’t actually like paying their cable or cellphone bills, the number one reason that users don’t call the negotiate their bill down to something more manageable is time. Everyone these days is busy, but when we asked a small set of our users the main reason they don’t lower their bills, the general consensus was that users simple didn’t have the time to call and haggle over the bill, or that they assumed the process would be too time consuming and aggravating. Only a small subset of users claimed that they were actually totally happy with their services, but they were less likely to do anything about it because they assumed that nothing could be done and that the entire process would be a waste of time, or even worse, they were worried the whole process of calling to negotiate would take too long.

The good news is there’s not only something that you can do, but there’s a shortcut that will make this whole process easy and quick.

1. Set two calendar reminders- Whether you have an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy Note, a Mac or a PC, you have a calendar app at your disposal. Do yourself a favor and set two reminders, 6 months apart and have them simply titled “Call cable company about bills.” (Estimated time 2 min)
2. Bookmark GetHuman- Don’t have a cable or phone bill in front of you? Can’t find the logins for your online accounts? Luckily you bookmarked GetHuman and can easily look up the fastest way to contact your home services providers. (Estimated time 2 min)
3. Use a call-back so you don’t have to wait on hold- The call’s on us, so don’t waste your time waiting for a company to pick up. We’ll take care of it for you. (Estimated time 2 min)
4. Ask for Retentions- Once you are connected to a rep, make sure to ask for the Retentions department. Don’t waste your time talking to the customer service department. The customer service department is able to help you with a billing problem or a service issue, but they don’t have the same authority as the retentions department to give you the best deals. (Estimated time 2 min)
5. Let’s do some shopping- Once you are speaking to a rep, tell them you are doing some competitive shopping, that your bill is getting a little too high and are thinking of cancelling. Ask them to let you know what the most recent promotions are and see if they can do anything to help. The most likely results are you will have your bill audited and they can tell you whether or not you are on the right plan, or if you can add additional services to your current offering, without any additional cost. Trust us, most phone calls will result in your getting something. (Estimated time 10 min)

The total time of this call is 18–20 minutes, but if you notice, the majority of that time is scheduling or waiting. In reality, it’s only a 10 minute phone call, twice a year, and it can save you money.

Still not convinced? Not to worry, we made this process even easier for you by partnering with the Kandela concierges (call our free Deals and Packages Concierge: 888–858–0822), to do all of this work for you. Not only can they tell you what the best deals and packages are with your current provider, they can also look at your service provider’s competitors to see if there’s a better option out there for you.

The best part about this is the amount of time it takes you to make a smart decision. There’s no scheduling as they pick up right away, they have all of the deals right in front of them so there’s no asking to be transferred to the correct department, and even better, as authorized resellers of your home service providers they can change your plan right on the spot. It’s so simple and much faster than doing the work yourself.

Want to make this even easier? When you go to create your calendar reminder, put this number in the Notes section so you can skip a bunch of steps and won’t have to look it up (888–858–0822). As always, let us know how it goes in the comments section below!

Make sure to follow our blog and keep checking back for tips on dealing with customer service, and helping you, the informed consumer, save your time and money at gethuman.com.