Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
The Conversation
So, as with most years, when I turned the calendar to 2018 I decided to look at some of the things I spend money on that really are a wasted expense on me. Subscriptions I used to enjoy, but don’t really bother with anymore, etc., and start rethinking them and either update or cancel them. Yesterday, I received a renewal notice for my Sirius XM radio subscription in my car. I only subscribe to one of the lowest services – mostly music – with limited stations and only have 6 stations plugged into the channel buttons on my radio. Of those 6, I mostly only listen to 3 or 4 of them and switch between them as I drive. I’ve found that they tend to repeat the same songs a lot – like they are on a 24 hour loop or something, so rarely hear something different. So, I have gotten so I hardly ever even turn the radio on when I’m in the car, anymore! So…..no brainer, here — why continue to spend $150-ish a year for something I find I use on a limited basis and can get for free on my regular local radio stations……yeah, it is commercial free (but, I find when I DO listen to the radio, it tends to be mindless background noise and the commercials just blend in)……yeah, when I go for drives outside the area I don’t have to search for local stations (but, really, it isn’t usually an irritation for me and as often as it may be, is it really worth $150-ish a year?)!
So…..this is one expense I decided to drop. I went online to turn off the auto-renew option so it won’t just continue after my subscription ends in March. I looked all over the site…..found ways to change my service, change the duration of my service, change my credit card info (but not remove it so it can’t be auto charged), etc…..but, no way to actually cancel the service!!! I looked at the renewal notice to see if it had instructions for how to cancel prior to auto-renew and, yes it did…..if you want to actually cancel, you have to call and talk to a physical person! I thought…..yeah, right…..they want the chance to talk me out of canceling!!! But, I did, indeed, want to cancel, so I called!
Here’s how it went…..the conversation is paraphrased, cause I honestly didn’t take it down word-for-word in shorthand (yes, I took shorthand in HS) while it was progressing:
First I had to go through all the automated mumbo jumbo…..which resulted in the robo-person telling me they don’t recognize my information and put me through to a real-person. Of course, I had to hold before said real-person picked up. Once she came on the line, she had a heavy accent I could hardly understand, so there was a lot of “excuse me, could you repeat that?” and “sorry, I didn’t understand what you said”! But, we did, indeed, have a conversation…..albeit a frustrating one!
Real-Person: “How can I help you, today?”
Me: “I received an auto-renew notice and I’d like to cancel my subscription so it does not renew in March.”
Real-Person: “Certainly, let me pull up your account.”
At which time we went though the exchange of info and she found me in the system…..something the robo-person was not able to do….score one for the real-person!
Real-Person: “I see you have been with us since 2012 and we would hate to lose you as a customer. May I ask why you are canceling your service?”
Me: “I really don’t listen to the radio much in the car anymore and can’t see spending the money on it at this point.”
Real-Person: “I totally understand that, but before we cancel your service, let me tell you that I can offer you more channels for less cost. For xxx channels, instead of xx channels, you will only have to pay $90-ish a year. Is that something you would be interested in?”
Me: “No, thank you. I honestly only listen to the same 3-6 channels anyway and, like I said, rarely do that, anymore. So, getting more for less is not of any value for me.”
Real-Person: “I totally understand that, but I’d hate for you to miss this opportunity, as I can only offer it to you while you are an active customer. Are you sure you want to pass this offer up?”
Me: “Yes, thank you, I just want to cancel.”
Real-Person: “OK, I understand that, but I have one more option for you because we really don’t want to lose you as a long time customer. We can change you to a 6-month plan for only {I forget what she said, but it was a super small amount to extend my current expiration out to 6 months from today}. Maybe by summer you will want to hear music in the car, again. Is that something you may be interested in?”
Me: “No, thank you, I really do just want to cancel.” {By now, she could tell me it is FREE and I’d still want to cancel!!!”}
Real-Person: “I understand, but what about news and current events? I don’t want to see you miss out on that.”
Me: “I never listen to news in the car – I get it for free on TV and internet, so you don’t need to worry about me staying up-to-date.”
After one more attempt to remind me that these offers are only good while I’m an active customer and suggestion that maybe I wait and think about it more, she finally processed my cancellation effective at the end of my current subscription, but did tell me that I can change my mind at any time up to the cancellation date! 😀
Why do these things have to be so difficult???
On a brighter note……we’re seeing warmer temperatures and some melting going on! YAY! The forecast for this week has some 40s and 50s in it!!! Woo Hoo!!!
And…..this is my favorite Daily Photo Challenge photo from this past week – it was taken in church yesterday morning:
“Sun Through Stained Glass”
#light
And, finally…..a funny:
{insert sinister laugh, here}
Kim's Thoughts 
…what a lot bull.
It was interesting….
Sorry about your frustrating sales call. I dread having to call in for help. If you’re up for a real challenge, give your health insurance company a ring – that’s a boat load of fun!
On a lighter note: I absolutely LOVE the photo you took in church! Looking forward to getting to know you better.
Thanks for visiting my blog! Hope you’ll visit often!