To not punch my dad in the head!
Yes, yes, I said all kinds of hippy dippy positive shit in my last entry and I totally meant it and plan to do it on Wednesday. This is Monday. I don't have to be positive and happy yet.
Backstory -
My dad believes that everyone you know and have ever met in your life, but especially family, can get you a deal on anything.
So far, the guy he knows who can do my brakes - fucked them up so badly that Honda had to special order a part to fix it.
The furniture that he was going to buy from the store where my cousin works - cousin was authorized to give him a whopping 3% discount. Regular furniture store gave him a 12% discount.
The friend who fixed the AC in his car - the car had to go back 3 times and finally on the third time, the guy admitted that they'd cracked something the 1st time they had it, so it was going to take a few extra days to get that sorted out.
The friend of his who was going to clean my apartment for WAY less than the woman who I usually have do it. She swept the floor, wiped out the sinks and took out the trash. Wow, all that for $45?
The friend he knows who can get me a deal on insurance - charges $22 a month more than my current insurance provider.
The uncle who can get me my glasses for way less money - it took me almost 2 months to get my glasses.
The uncle who could get me a discount on the really good Goodyear tires - I had to take a half of a day off of work to accompany him to the Goodyear store, so I could get my 20% off. I also had a coupon for 20% off. Yeah, I couldn't use the coupon AND the employee discount, so either way, I was getting no more than 20% and I could have saved 4 hours of my vacation time & not had to talk to my annoying uncle.
Is a pattern emerging?
Now, he knows a guy who works for Time Warner who can get me Road Runner, phone, cable, Showtime, HBO, Cinemax & Starz for $80 a month. I pay about $120 now. I told my dad "No, thanks, it's cool." It took me over a year to figure out what the hell was wrong with my cable to begin with (I wasn't able to use the OnDemand channels. I researched it, I fixed it. Yes, I'm a bad-ass.) and now that everything's working hunky dory, I'd rather not fuck with it. Now my dad's all mad at me and acting like a big 'ol jackass because "It must be nice to piss away an extra $40 a month..." and he's going to look bad in front of his friend (Why will he look bad? I don't know.)
So, here's my question - do I just shut the fuck up & let his friend do whatever Time Warner magic he claims he can do (ooh, which by the way, the ex used to work for TW. He was never able to lower my cable bill and I was blowing him. Why *this* guy can, I don't know.) and just cross my fingers that this doesn't end poorly. OR do I stand my ground and just say, "yeah, no, I'm filthy rich & I don't mind spending the extra $40 a month".
What say you?
7 comments:
Stand your ground. He'll get over it.
Honestly, working for Time Warner probably has nothing to do with it. My guess is it's an illegal box or something. And in the end, it'll cost you more than you pay now.
If you want to lower your cable bill, this always works for me:
Call cable company, lie and say I'm canceling and I have an appointment with a competitor. They transfer me to a retention rep, I repeat story, they offer me a better deal to keep me as a customer. Try it, I do it every year (when my "promo" runs out).
Or lie to your dad and tell him you got a better deal.
I'm with Whorish Mouth, try to guilt the cable co. into a deal, failing that, lie to your Dad. Sounds harsh, but the honesty is not always the best policy. And cheaper is not always "cheaper". Alright, I'm off to spread my wise and sage advice across the internet!
Oh, my... if I could count the number
of times my Dad said "Don't waste money on that (fill in the blank). I 've got a (fill in the blank) who can get it/do it cheaper.
The last straw was when his "mechanic pal" repaired my beloved Pontiac Sunbird. After his "repairs" I ended up replacing the engine block and never again listened to Dad. Your dad may object, at first... but an itemized list of just how much he's costing you may help. Worked for me.
I agree with all of the above. Just tell him you're filthy rich and have nothing better to use 40 bucks on.
My immediate reponse to "I can get you a deal on_______ because I know a guy." is, No. Thank you.
Especially with cable/sattelite. There's nothing like watching the Grey Cup (Canada's version of the Superbowl) or a PPV event and having your TV go dead. Then paying the dude $50 for another card.
Thanks, guys! You're all absolutely right, I was just having a hard time figuring out if I was picking the wrong battle. My dad called me later and told me that after talking to his buddy again, the guy could only knock about $6 off the monthly bill & it would only be for a year.
Yeah, SO not worth blowing the cable guy for a paltry $6 a month...
I guess everyone beat me to it with very good advice. I now plan to call TW and tell them I'm going to ATT.
If it helps, my dad wants me to collect free things regardless of whether I want/need them. As If I'm not enough of a pack rat on my own.
Post a Comment