No. of Recommendations: 9
There is a business opportunity here. I need someone like jetjockey to go through all our subscriptions and contracts and clean up the mess.
It’s not hard…just good ol’fashioned bargaining. Put on your poker face, and when you call, just ask to cancel. If they’re doing their job, they will up channel you to “retention.” That’s where the rubber meets the road. They are more skilled and polished at that level, and will take a moment to listen to your concerns. I don’t ever let them launch into another sales pitch or upsell. I calmly state exactly what I want, and if they won’t concede, I’ll simply tell them to cancel immediately. Usually it works, but BE PREPARED TO FOLLOW THROUGH, if they call your bluff. In the case of Sirius, I have walked before, only to get a followup offer in a week or two that was exactly what I wanted or better. It’s not like losing your internet. I can do without Sirius for a short period of time, because, invariably, they will come right back at you, knocking at the door with an offer that is too good to turn down.
What I should have done in my previous message was to tie my story about penny pinching and shredding of my subscriptions back to BRK. Essentially, I think Ted is really on to something. I’m just one anecdoctal data point, but my experience at age 70 illustrates that I’m part of that targeted aging demographic that he sees as central in his analysis. Like the apple eco-system, which is inextricably linked across 3 devices in my life, I have now concluded that my Sirius subscription is something equally sticky, which I will probably never want to do without, unless the price rises substantially over time. I am not going back to FM radio with signal fadeout. At less than 5 bucks per month, the package is quite the deal, and loaded with all kinds of “on the go” content, much of which you may never even use. News, financial commentary, music, podcasts, etc..it’s all there. In contrast to the Bieber generation, seniors who don’t really care if they have the option or not to cherry pick a specific song can still setup endless channels to listen to their favorite genre of music. If you’re in a folk rock mood, there is Bob Dylan or Joan Baez channel. If you’re into classic rock, everything from the Beatles, Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Zeppelin, Beach Boys are available on separate channels dedicated to each artist, or simply add one of the many classic rock channels which covers all the bases. All I’m saying is that you get a helluva lot of stuff for a cheap price. You can place the Sirius app on different devices and stream in alternative ways: in the car, around the house, at the coffeehouse, or on TV before bedtime. I know that this streaming service is very sticky for me and will probably be around for a long time, however, at this cheap price, I don’t have a good feel for earnings growth and future FCF. It just seems like margins could really get squeezed at this price point.
