Secrets To Getting The Best Comcast Xfinity Offer

*** OFFERS / PROMOTIONS ***

You typically get a better price on a package and installation if you have more than one service.

The promotions offered by Comcast Xfinity are hard-coded into the computer system.  When you call in offers are pre-loaded on the agents screen based on your service address since mailers with different offers vary by address.  Agents have very little room to negotiate on rates since they are all hard coded and offer little to no room for flexibility.

Your package price will be different from the advertised offer you may have received which is advertising the starting price.  The average household price for TV and Internet is $100.  For example, an offer for $79.99 for TV and Internet is actually $99 when you add on $10 HD on 1 TV and $10 Wi-Fi Modem Rental. Also keep in mind that $79.99 rate is for one year with a 2 year contract and increases $20 the second year.

The $79.99 offer being mailed to customers with a gift card up to $250 requires a qualifying HD Triple Play package (including TV, internet and home phone or security) and the packages that qualify for the gift card offers start at $139.99 a month without equipment.

The promotional rate you see advertised online or in your mailbox is the starting rate for service without any equipment or any extras.  Comcast isn’t the only provider that advertises this way - all providers including satellite price their Hopper and Genie services this way.  If you don’t believe me, read the fine print on their mailers or web site.  One way to lower your bill is by purchasing a new cable modem.

Comcast has their price structure down to a science.  Their 105mbps Internet Only offer with no promotion including the modem rental is $99 a month.  Their 220 channel package with a SD Cable Box and Wi-Fi Modem rental is $99 a month with contract.  Their 140 channel package with SD Cable Box, 75mbps Internet, Wi-Fi Modem Rental and Unlimited Home Phone service is also $99 a month. Take your pick.

Comcast Xfinity offers free installation with triple play (TV, Phone or Security, Internet) or quad play (TV, Phone, Internet, Security) packages where the base price for triple play is $139.99 before equipment and quad play is $169.99 before equipment.  Very select areas in Colorado and Kansas City offer free installation on TV/Internet packages with a contract.  Everyone else is subject to installation which varies between $49 and $149 in most cases.  Internet-only installation is $89.  In many cases a Self-Install Kit is available if the home has had service recently.

Don’t call in to only order Internet service unless you have your modem, know your home is Comcast-ready and you want to self-activate.  It’s faster and probably cheaper to order internet-only service online. Ordering Internet with other services like TV is more complicated to do online and it’s probably easier to order bundled services over the phone.

Contract offers are $10 less per month than non-contract offers.  This means $39.99 x 12 for 25 mbps Internet-only is $49.99 x 12 without a contract.  Don’t forget to add an extra $10 per month if you are leasing a Wi-Fi modem.

Comcast has the lowest early termination fees in their industry ranging from $110-$230 depending on your package and are pro-rated based on when you are cancelling.  DirecTV has ETF’s up to $400 or more and will put you into a new contract if you add/upgrade equipment whereas Comcast does not.

Existing customers who are moving and call 1-800-Comcast to transfer their service to their new address qualify for a new promotion.  You don’t have to cancel your existing service and then set up new service to get a new offer… just transfer your service to your new address- even if you aren’t moving in to the address immediately you can have billing stopped at the old address and started at the new address on separate days.  Cancelling and then starting entirely new service just makes things more confusing for you and Comcast. (For example, your Comcast login’s for your account and apps don’t move from one address to another unless transferred properly as part of the move process.)

Door to Door Comcast Agents have the best offers; they have better offers than Comcast’s web site, their stores and better offers than over the phone sales.  If a Comcast agent comes to your door don’t send them away as you likely won’t get a better deal- and you have to sign up with that door to door agent.  If you have to “think about it” that same offer is not guaranteed at a later time with a different agent.

The entire month of September and Black Friday are when Comcast usually has their best promotional offers.

Be sure to share this with your friends… they’ll likely be very grateful you did.

Your Comcast Employee Experience / How Comcast Treats Their Employees

*** EMPLOYEES ***

Comcast pays their in-house sales agents minimum wage and commission.  Their commission is calculated two ways and Comcast changes the rates and what/how they pay their employees every 3 months so it’s very unpredictable for the agent you speak with to actually know what their pay will be month to month.  Comcast pays a small commission based on product sold (TV, Phone, Home Security – they do not pay their employees for setting up your Internet-only account) and they add this product commission to close rate commission.  They take the number of calls the agent takes and divide it by the number of sales the agent makes that month and based on the percentage the agent earns the rest of their commission.  They add the close rate commission plus the product commission and that is the agent’s commission for the month, plus their minimum wage.  Bottom line is, every call you make into the Sales Department that isn’t adding money to your account directly penalizes that agent’s paycheck.

In October 2015 Comcast’s West Division revised their employee commission plan and cut their sales agents pay by 30-40% depending on the agents close rate and product sales.  Some agents are seeing a pay cut of $20,000 or more.  This caused a mass-exodus of employees that quit in response.

The Government requires Comcast to answered within a set amount of time or get fined so the company deliberately dumps non-sales calls into the Sales Department which effectively penalizes the paycheck of the agent you are talking to (a win-win for Comcast) and requires you be transferred to the correct department.

Comcast assigns “skills” to their agents as a way of routing calls.  Their Sales Dept does this so Online Sales, Upgrade Sales and New Sales get routed to the correct department.  When Upgrades or “Change of Service” calls overflow the system Comcast routes these calls to the Sales Department.  If the agent isn’t adding money (service) to your account it penalizes the agent’s paycheck.  Comcast doesn’t care because the call was answered so they weren’t fined by the government and it lowers the agents close rate so they don’t have to pay the agent very much in commission.

In-house Agents are required to ask you about all services offered by Comcast Xfinity.  In fact, Comcast pays a third party company to listen to 5-6 random calls from each in-house agent monthly and the calls are graded.  The agent’s shift rankings, pay increases, promotions, etc. are based on these grades.  Unfortunately, most of the customer service complaints actually come from Comcast’s third party vendors but the company takes it out on their in-house employees.  The Comcast Agent’s hands are largely tied regarding what they can and cannot help you with.

Sales Agents cannot remove things from your account.  There is a separate department for adding service to an account (Sales) and a separate department for taking them off (Loyalty).  You cannot call in and instantly get routed to Loyalty- someone has to transfer you to their department.

Be sure to share this with your friends… they’ll likely be very grateful you did.