Huge price increase after promotional period expired!

Very frustrating experience all around, but in the end I did get a reduced rate.  The Xfinity Assistant chatbot was completely worthless -- the best they could do was offer to reduce my $59 to something like $50.  I made the post here on the forum & sent the DM immediately, but it took 75 minutes for a representative to respond.  While I was waiting, I ended up calling the 800 number.  I explained to the first rep I spoke with that my preference was to have my $20 promotional rate extended.  When this wasn't possible, I suggested that there was a $30 new customer rate prominently advertised on the Xfinity home page at a higher speed, which I was willing to accept.  She responded that she could not find any details of that offer -- even though I kept pointing out it was front & center in all the Xfinity advertising right now.  Finally in frustration because she could offer no good solutions, I told her to forward me to the retention specialist so I could cancel my account.  TMobile here is offering a $35 deal with their 5G modem along with a price lock, which was much better than anything Xfinity was offering to that point.

I explained the entire situation again to the retention specialist, who continued to claim they could not help me.  I finally asked what if I canceled my account and then immediately signed back up, would I receive the $30 rate.  Stunningly, the response was this was the only way to receive the $30 promotion.  So that is what I ended up doing with the help of the retention specialist.

She first claimed that this would force me to wipe out my entire account history & start with a fresh account, and my internet would be down for a few hours.  However, I pointed out that while this would be inconvenient & silly, I could run just fine using my phone data for a day or so -- all the while pointing out that T-Mobile was looking better by the minute.  But I must have called her bluff because after she "canceled" my account, then she "discovered" that I could start the new service on my existing account.  In the end, I received confirmation of a service change just like I see every year, my account history is intact & there was no disruption in service, and I'm now signed up at the $30 promotional rate for another year.

To any Xfinity employees moderating this forum -- please make note of this experience & try to send a complaint up your chain of command.  My experience today was horrible customer service & entirely unnecessary.  For at least the past five years, I've had no issue signing up with a new promotional rate after my old one expired.  A few times, I was able to quickly complete this though the chatbot, which is exactly like this should work.  Being required to cancel my service & shop with your competitors just to get the same price you offer new customers is entirely disrespectful. This is what you all used to make me do 15 years ago when I was forced to jump between Comcast & AT&T every other year.  Simply treat your existing customers with the same offers you extend to your new customers & your churn rate will drop significantly.  Until Xfinity can figure out this simple common courtesy, WOW! is already active in my adjacent community & I keep praying they extend their line just a few miles farther...

Hi there @user_n9z319. Thank you so much for the feedback. Now our Forums team is not an instant chat, when we ask for a DM there could sometimes be a delay in responding back, while we do any account research. I am sorry to hear that you had a horrible customer experience while trying to get a new promotion added to the account. 

I am happy to hear that a retention specialist was able to get you into a new promotion. Please do not hesitate to reach out back to us here on our Forums page if you have any other question or concerns.