Why Comcast's Price Discrimination Strategy Makes Me Hate Them

[Commentary] This morning I went through what has become a semi-annual ritual. My Comcast broadband bill arrived, and it included an unannounced price hike, from $52.55 to $80.51.

I picked up the phone and called Comcast, telling the customer service representative that I wanted to cancel my service. I told her that I liked Comcast’s service, but that the price was getting too high so I was going to switch to Verizon DSL. This was a lie—Verizon DSL in my area is unlikely to be fast enough to be an adequate substitute for cable. After trying to upsell me to a “triple play” package and putting me on hold for a minute, she offered me a $10 discount. I probably should have held out for a bigger discount. But I wasn’t actually prepared to have her actually cancel my service, and $10 is better than nothing. I’ll probably call back when I’m better prepared. I’ve been going through this routine every few months for at least five years—first with Charter in St. Louis, now with Comcast in Philadelphia. At first, I would call up and ask if they had any discounts available. But I’ve found that honesty doesn’t get results; the most reliable way to get big discounts is to pretend you’re actually going to cancel. I’ve done this a half-dozen times and they’ve never called my bluff.