I found a nifty way of cutting your Comcast bill by up to 33% on Get Rich Slowly. The author, G.E. Miller, gave readers a chat transcript between him and a Comcast representative. He ended getting his bill down by about $50 a month. I, personally, can’t get any further of a discount than I do already on my Comcast bill since I have the student discount.

The moral–of sorts–of the story is how to haggle prices. Miller lays out seven excellent (and universally applicable) techniques for price haggling.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

1. Don’t be afraid to ask. Asking to cut my bill worked. Amazed at how simple it was to cut more than I was aiming for from my bill immediately, I asked for an even bigger cut. That request was denied (not to my surprise or dismay). Truth be told, I’m not sure that any of the techniques I used triggered the better offer, but I do know one thing — had I been afraid to simply ask for the price break, I would have never gotten one. Rule number one is to overcome your fear and just ask.
2. Be pleasant. Congeniality is king when interacting with CSRs. Being rude only infuses CSRs with the desire to deny your request. CSRs aren’t paid near what they should be, and probably don’t have the highest job satisfaction levels. If you can appeal to their gentler human-side, you win. Spit fire at them, and they will slam the door on you with pleasure.
3. Refer to the competition. I had heard that Comcast was motivated to be a little more giving with the entrance of AT&T U-Verse cable into the marketplace (at lower prices). I’m not sure that it helped in this specific case, but referencing the competition specifically or generically (if its offerings are weaker) rarely will hurt you.
4. State the facts. More than anything else, I wanted to lower my cost, and that’s what I asked for. Someone I know had received a better price than I was paying and I stated that fact.
5. Do your research. Knowing what kind of promotions the company is offering to new or exiting customers is essential to getting the best deal. When it comes down to it, if you can quit your service and then re-start it the next day at a cheaper price, the company knows it has little incentive to let you leave without matching that offer.
6. Look for special circumstances. I’d heard that working with Comcast online chat representatives often yielded better results because the reps weren’t actual Comcast employees, and therefore had lesser incentive to play the hard line. That’s why I chose the online chat route versus the phone.
7. Let them make the first move. Before the chat, had I not received a cost break, I was willing to cut my service levels. I didn’t offer that right away, and it turned out that I didn’t need to. Don’t show all your cards right away.

These haggling tips can be applied to your cellphone bill or your regular home telephone bill. Utilities like power, water, sewer, and mortgage probably isn’t the best bill to try and haggle since most of those are set by state or municipal regulations.

Even if the first time you don’t succeed in getting your bill down to a level at which you’re satisfied, take notes on the conversation and use the information you find out to better serve you on the next round of negotiations. Miller found out a few things about Comcast he’ll be able to use the next time he gives them a call or chats online.

Personally, anytime I call customer service I write down the representatives name, the date and time of the call, and all relative information. For one thing, if the information the representative gave you was incorrect, you always have a backbone for a case when you get a higher bill because of the incorrect information. For another thing, you have an archive of information to use to give you the upper hand in other discussions should a billing or service problem arise.

Let me know how you’ve saved money on your bills by using negotiation.

[photo via alykat]