Recently I had an online discussion with a Shaw Communications representative after I noticed my internet service plan would be reaching the two-year mark shortly. Before going into details, let me add that Shaw’s Twitter help service is generally excellent and has very timely responses.

Were we talking about this, say, three years ago, we wouldn’t be mentioning Shaw and “service plans” in the same sentence, as up to that time the cable company was known for its no-contract options.

Nowadays, though, the service providers want to lock up their customers as much as possible, in the process cutting down on the costs associated with churn – the industry term for account holders switching providers.

Having been a long-time Shaw customer (going back to when Rogers ran the cable TV and internet business here in B.C.), I reluctantly agreed to a two-year internet service agreement when the company rolled out its first 150-megabit residential service in November 2017. Since then that 150 has been boosted to 300, at no additional cost. The 100+ speed Shaw service was introduced with two-tier pricing, higher for the month-to-month variety, lower for the two-year contract.

Coupled with my subscription for Shaw’s $25 basic or limited TV, I had managed to get TV and internet service down to the $100 mark. Mind you, streaming service subscriptions have begun eating into that price point, but that’s another story.

With the expiration of the two-year promotional pricing this month on the high-speed internet packages, it is time to gear up to do battle with Shaw. We are now paying $130 for 300-megabit internet and TV. I want to get back under $100. So far all I am getting in the way of offers is $120 for the first year and $130 for the second. They will give me 15 megabit (!) and TV for $105.

Yes, you read that correctly: 15-megabit internet service! What company offers such a speed nowadays and has the temerity to refer to it as high-speed?

I have no desire to return to the bad old days of $160+ pricing for internet and TV, albeit with many more channels than we now have. We managed to cut back to $80 or so at one point, but the company has managed to claw back much of the savings with periodic price increases.

Shaw’s helpline rep of course touts the “beauty” of the company’s two-year ValuePlan agreements. “Within the agreement,” he eagerly notes, “we have to provide you with a discounted and guaranteed rate to avoid paying regular full rates and protecting you from the incremental rate increases that happen in the industry.”

Yes, it’s those incremental rate hikes that have led to widespread cord cutting. That $150+ price point seems to be the trigger for many to abandon traditional subscription TV and go with a streaming package or two.

Eventually, after multiple back-and-forth messages, the Shaw rep agreed to state a price. He reminded me that the $33 discount that has been appearing on my bill these past two years is expiring this month. He offered me the Limited TV package we currently have, along with two add-on channels that keep increasing in price – RAItalia and News 2 – along with the 300-megabit internet service for $127 plus tax for 24 months.

I’d of course prefer something closer to a hundred dollars, so I turned down the offer. This time the Shaw rep came back with a first-year/second-year variant, offering $117 the first year and $127 in the second year. Around $120 less over the full two years.

I still demurred, and the following morning another rep contacted me to remind me that the only way the company would drop the price to $100 or so would be if the internet service was dropped down to that 15-megabits-per-second rate.

Just before this column went to press, I thought I’d try once again to see if any additional price drops were in the cards. Yes, indeed, there was a little additional incentive. The price would now be $119 plus tax per month for the two-year period. That was broken down as $80 a month for the 300-megabit internet service, plus $39 for the limited TV and its two add-ons.

Interestingly, the company’s rate chart, as posted on its website, shows internet 300 at $90/month when part of a two-year plan, and $105/month otherwise.

It looks like that is the best I can manage from Shaw. Who knows, perhaps the 300-megabit speeds will once again double at no additional cost, as it did during the now-expiring two-year plan.

In retrospect, keeping that $33 discount reminder on the monthly bill is smart marketing by Shaw, even if it is somewhat disingenuous in that the currently listed two-year plan discount is $15 a month.

Sparring with internet, TV, and telecom services representatives seems to be part of the fabric of life in Canada. At least in my experience, it has always been amicable. 🙂

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pvogel@outlook.com