It Never Hurts to Ask

Recently Direct TV stopped airing the Versus channel because the two companies could not reach an agreement to renew their contract. This made me furious because Versus airs 75% of the IndyCar races for the season. With two races left I was faced with a decision - do I cancel Direct TV and go with Cox or Dish Network in order to see the remaining two races? Or do I keep what I have and avoid the hassle of cancelation fees and switching services?

What I decided to do is give Direct TV a call and see if they had any "ideas" for me. I explained to the customer service representative that I didn't want to miss the races, but I didn't want to leave Direct TV either. She immediately apologized, blamed the situation on Comcast (company that owns Versus), and offered me a $120 credit on my bill. That definitely perked my interest, but was it enough to entice me to miss the last two races of the season? No... Ok, well yes, but I thought I could squeeze more out of the deal.

I told her that is was tempting and reassured her that I did not want to change my service, but she was going to have to do a little better than that. So I asked, "Is there anything else you can do for me?" Silence....

"I can comp your DVR service for 6 months," she said. Do this would be a $6 per month savings on my bill - a total of $36. That's not a whole lot but it's a nice addition to the $120. Then she added that she could throw in some movie channels and extra sports channels as well. Overall, not a bad deal. I was glad I asked further to get that nice little bonus.

Through this whole experience I was really impressed with the representative from Direct TV. She was helpful, positive and willing to work with me through my situation. Even though I am bummed that there is no more Versus, I am glad to know that Direct TV wants to keep their customers happy.