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Anyone know the secret word for getting promotional rates on XM radio?

6K views 23 replies 10 participants last post by  remmyman 
#1 ·
Last March I was able to setup a year of XM Select for $86 because I mentioned that a lot of folks were getting the package for $77. Price went up to $86 but thats OK. Now with my new car and the trial about to end, I tried twice to get the rate I had but they dont want to offer it until the trial expires. I cant stand it. So if anyone got a reduced rate prior to their trial ending, can you let me know what number you called and what you said to get the rate. I hate dealing with companies that do this but I have 2 radios plus Internet Radio and because everything has to end at the same time, paying top dollar becomes a bit much. My wife just got an email from the Sirius side(she has a Chrysler) offering 70% off or about $5 month for Select just by ignoring them on renewal. And because I already have a credit card on file, I can just see them auto renewing the trial and XM Premier.
 
#3 ·
The secret word: Pandora.

Or just wait until it expires. That is the only way to get the discount. And be sure to cancel your auto-renewal with your credit card or they will get you.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the info - I will wait for now. According to terms I just read, they cannot auto renew a trial. I hate to haggle. I am willing to pay a fair price for good service and overall, XM has some extremely good content and variety and probably worth around $15 a month. Of course when it all started I said to myself "are you kidding? - pay for radio". But the manner in which they do business in bordering on unfair practices. The sad part for me is that the station I listen to over 90% of the time is Cinemagic - which was moved off XM and onto Internet Radio. Something I feel should come free with the service. And when that end date comes, it wont let you on like the regular radion service that stays active after the subscription ends. And at my age in life, I dont have any sort of CD or MP3 collections. I never got over the elimination of vinyl records and strobe settings and needle/catridge tinkering. What I do have are tons of classical music collections I should start loading up on the HDD but I sure love a good movie score when all is said and done. One last question - there are about 5 different tele numbers to call for XM. Is there one that works the best for doing subscriptions and getting to the right people?
 
#5 ·
No particular number for getting to the right people. They're all morons.


You stated you enjoy Cinemagic and it is now on internet. Do you have a smart phone? Get if "free" over your smartphone.
 
#7 ·
I know - I sometimes connect my iPhone to NAV radio and run the APP using the iPod connection. Only thing is that the radio display shows unknown content. I have found that my 2GB data plan gives me ample usage w/o worrying about exceeding data limits.
 
#6 ·
Let your subscription lapse. They will seriously call / email you twice a day. I had to ask them to take me off of their call list, twice. Then tell them you received a flyer in the mail for the 6 months at $25.00 rate. They should honor that. They will auto renew you at a higher price UNLESS you beat them up over the phone and ask them to set it to automatically cancel. Then, call back at the end of 6 months and repeat the same promotion. $50.00 per year is about as cheap as you're going to get it.

Ask me how I know it works :p
 
#8 ·
Yeah, I wish the radio showed more content as well. Even with the Sirius/XM, it cuts off the names of songs and artists. Just like my local newspaper...all the news that fits.
 
#11 ·
The truth may not set you free in this instance, but it should save you some money.

BTW, I also told them that the only reason I subscribe to their service is because it's necessary to get the live traffic info on the GPS map, that I rarely listen to any of their stations except when I'm out in the boondocks (which is true -- I live in L.A. and have 100 free stations to choose from, plus my car has an HDD and a 32GB jump drive full of music). That resonated with the guy I spoke with in the customer retention department, who gave me a big discount.
 
#14 ·
So my trial ended and immediately lost Internet Radio where my favorite channel is and then lost the radio in the car. I couldn't deal with getting frustrated by contacting them so I just signed up for a quarterly plan for Mostly Music and added Internet Radio; didnt add NAV Traffic/Weather. Of course they then charged me the $15 activation fee. Only reason I went the way of the chicken is that I despise having to haggle and would probably just get canceled when I threatened to do so. And I also had over $100 credit on my account. Come November I will plan on pushing for a better deal as I had on prior car. They wouldn't do any deals now until trial ended. My wife just ignores them and her radio keeps on running(her yearly subscription ended). I guess with the trial they dont hesitate in pulling the plug - or maybe they dont like me. I will wait to see what communications I get on offers between now and November. Also - with Mostly Music you dont get the full Internet Radio channels despite paying $3.50/month for all Internet Radio plans. You have to have the Select or higher radio plan to get full channel lineup. I am waiting to hear if I got the multiple radio discount on my quarterly plan as I have a second radio at home. Probably will be told I need to have a yearly or longer subscription to get multiple radio discount.
 
#16 ·
It depends on your attitude as well.

Receiving good customer service isn't about acting like a 3 year old all the time. It's a delicate balance of being that person's BFF for 20 minutes and slightly nudging him/her in the right direction with a firm stance on critical topics.

Having worked in the industry, I can tell you, 95% of the time; Nice people get the good stuff, *******s need to take their concerns a pay-grade higher than mine.
 
#17 ·
I agree with M5eater about the importance of attitude during negotiations, which is precisely what you're doing when you're trying to get a better deal out of someone. As I noted in Post #11 above, I simply laid out my situation to the XM Radio representative with whom I was dealing. I was factual and honest when I told him that I don't listen to their stations because I have plenty of music available, lots of free stations, that I mostly listen to the news, that all I want is the traffic information for the car's GPS, and that I would cancel my subscription if I had to pay what they were asking. No anger, no screaming, no calling XM Radio a bunch of whoring thieves. And I got what I wanted.

I've been adjudicating, mediating, and arbitrating negotiations and disputes between parties for 40 years. Trust me, the most effective advocates are those who are calm, collected, prepared with the facts and arguments, listen carefully to the other side, are thoughtful in their responses, slow to anger, and pleasant to everyone, including the opposition. As the old saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
 
#18 ·
Their service is pretty good and provides alternative listening choices - it all depends on what you listen to, your age, and if you still have records(kidding). They just need to pick a price and stick with it and cease these promos and back door negotiations. Thats unfair to their customers and then thats when their customers start complaining. When you call a company, you need to know what to expect in terms of costs and when you see the invoice 2 days later, its exactly what was agreed to in your call. They also need to eliminate having multiple radio subscriptions end at the same time. That just makes the overall costs too much when you are paying for 2 or more radios at the same time each year.
 
#19 ·
jghiller said:
Their service is pretty good and provides alternative listening choices - it all depends on what you listen to, your age, and if you still have records(kidding). They just need to pick a price and stick with it and cease these promos and back door negotiations. Thats unfair to their customers and then thats when their customers start complaining. When you call a company, you need to know what to expect in terms of costs and when you see the invoice 2 days later, its exactly what was agreed to in your call. They also need to eliminate having multiple radio subscriptions end at the same time. That just makes the overall costs too much when you are paying for 2 or more radios at the same time each year.
If you were referring to the classic vinyl station, I love it:) Many of songs do sound like records at times.

Our area is "hilly" so the stations do drop out often but since its a consistent drop-off,shuts switch to the HDD. otherwise the signal has been perfect.
 
#20 ·
Well I called the number today that had the promo rate for 6 months. I changed it to a year at $95 for Select as I didnt want to go thru this again in 6 months. Now with all the credits I had and partial credits for the quarterly plan I previously just setup, I will try and figure out all the numbers on their invoice. It aint easy.
 
#21 ·
Had to to a 'refresh/activate' for car as for some reason, some channels werent coming in. Word to the wise - make sure you have all the channels and do refresh/activate off their website if needed. Leave car on channel 1 for a bit. Takes a few minutes to refresh.
 
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