Refute Your Accounts Using the Art of War
Chinese General Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is not only literal tactical maneuvers, but also psychological warfare. Written in the 5th century BC, people have found many ways to use the advice in this tome to wiggle their daily lives . So why not use The Art of War to save money?
Vice writer Nick Green decided to try to lower his internet bill from a whopping $ 65 to $ 39.99 with a classic manuscript. His travel description is filled with much more poetic quotes from Sun Tzu, but here are the basics.
Forget your ego and lie with your ass
Green started the case by asking the representative too bluntly if he could get the discount, which ended in defeat. Most of us curl up our tail at the first sign of failure, licking our wounds. You cannot win if you care what people think of you. Go back to the horn and try again. And this time lie. Or, as Sun Tzu says, “all war is based on deception”:
“I saw something on the internet that said your internet only costs $ 39 a month,” I lied to the new operator. It was a risky maneuver at the beginning of my attack, but in the words of Sun Tzu, “Let your main goal be victory, not long campaigns.”
Greene ended up getting involved with the customer loyalty department with a rep who asked where he saw this deal and ended up asking, “Was that our $ 29.99 a month promotion for a year?”
Um, damn it.
Acting stupid
If you seem gentle and confused, your enemy (Comcast) will fail in their own defenses. In the end, Greene persuaded the rep to talk to him about Arli $$ and then asked the best way to close deals:
I’ve built an easy answer with S- and I would use that to my advantage. We talked a little more about Arli $$ , and with her vigilance safe, I asked her for advice on how best to get cheap contracts going in the future.
“Just give us a call at our loyalty department,” she said. “In the automatic phone menu, tell them that you want to deactivate the service, and it will go straight to us.”
“Having local spies means using the services of local residents. Having internal spies [means] using enemy officials, ”says Sun Tzu.
Come to them from all directions
While discussing the new contract over the phone, Green also went to his cable TV provider’s website and began talking with a representative. Personally, I prefer to solve all online problems because they are pretty much just as useful and you are not put off.
But things got a little confused because he talked too much. You want to divide and defeat your enemy, not your brain. Greene eventually signed for $ 39.99, but tried the next day to go to Comcast’s actual customer service center and go even lower.
When the representative opened my account, surprise flashed across his face. “Wow,” he said. “Looks like you’ve already got a good deal here.” I put a little pressure on him, but it was clear that this was the bridgehead that I could not overcome. I have already penetrated the well of victory to unimaginable depths. “It says here that you renewed your contract yesterday. I mean, it’s actually as good as it gets. How did you do this? ” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I just called.”
This representative would not bargain further, even if all the wisdom of the “Art of War” was applied to him personally. Sun Tzu did not say this, but it looks like now is the moment to realize when you are putting too much energy into one campaign.