a brief rant

So I was paying bills today and while viewing my phone bill online, I notice some charges for long distance, call features, etc. that we do not use. I guess I just never paid close attention to those fees and charges before. I called AT&T to have them help me "rearrange" some features based on our calling patterns. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, if I made any changes at all, I'd have to pay a per-minute-charge to make any calls outside of my NEIGHBORHOOD (a slight exaggeration, but you get the point). Since when do you have to pay additional fees to call someone in your own town? Isn't that the reason I'm paying for phone service anyway? Aren't those calls covered in my monthly bill? Out of town calls - I get that, it's long distance. But local stuff? Seriously?! Sensing my frustration, the AT&T Rep said "hey, I see you've been with us for 10 years. Let me see if I can do anything to lower your bill and keep the same features you already have." The next thing I know, she came back and said she had lowered the bill by $30/month AND upgraded my internet service for free. I was so excited and especially surprised at how willing she was to try and find a better solution when I didn't even ask for a "discount" or anything.

That was easy enough, so I decided to call Directv and ask up front if they could offer any discounts. This time, I got a rep who BARELY spoke English and said his name was "Elmo". (Uh, more like 'Muhammad'...which is not a racial remark, simply a nod to the common Middle Eastern name.) The language barrier was so severe in this case, that Elmo could not understand what I meant by saying "let's compare packages and see if I can reduce my bill, but keep most of the same features I have now". I finally had to break it down for him..."Elmo, can you offer any discounts to lower my bill?" Now we were getting somewhere - he took $10 off my bill for 6 months. Just like that.

So my question is this - how much does a phone or satellite service really cost? I mean, are the representatives authorized to pick random discount amounts? Is there a method for determining how much of a discount I deserve compared to what my neighbor may qualify for? How do I become more worthy of discounts? I intend to find out...I'll be calling insurance companies next. And then, possibly my electric company - especially since I noticed a $50 "customer fee" on my bill. What? Now I have to PAY for the service AND the privilege of being a customer? Isn't that the same thing? Pay attention to your bills, people...you may be getting fleeced!