Regardless of what you think of my opinions, we can all agree that I love sports. Right? I'm into the whole scene. Stats, free agency updates, whatever Chris Sheridan decides to pull out of his ass on Wednesday morning. I swallow it whole.
No surprise, then, that I have been an ESPN Insider for nearly a decade. When I originally signed up, I was asked to pay $4.95 per month. Fair enough, I suppose. That is the rate I have been paying to this day for inconsistent service from ESPN.
How inconsistent? Well, this year, I arrived five minutes late for my fantasy baseball draft, only to realize that ESPN had autodrafted David Patton as my first pick. Who is David Patton? Certainly not anyone you would want on your fantasy team. I complained, to no avail.
Another inconsistency? Having to log in to Insider, even though I am logged into the main webpage. This problem has gotten worse with ESPN's "new look" website.
Today, I was going through the motions, when I noticed an offer for a much less expensive rate. I put a call in to ESPN customer service, and Justin Grill notified me that I had signed up for the monthly plan (the only plan available at the time) vs. the yearly plan. Apparently, a rate of $14.95 per year has been available to regular subscribers for quite some time, and new members can subscribe for $29.95 per year.
I asked if ESPN would be willing to proscribe any further benefit, on account of my loyalty. No dice. Mr. Grill was adamant. Nice way to treat early adopters who have endured through two recessions, ESPN.
So let's lose ESPN some money, eh?
-If you are an ESPN subsriber, and are not getting the $14.95 yearly rate, demand that you get it.
-If you are not an ESPN subscriber, demand the $14.95 rate, and hold out for thirty days until you get it. Your faithful DBB'ers will keep you posted on the relevant information.
-If you already have the lowest possible rate, constantly monitor your rate, and call customer service a lot.
-If you have had problems with ESPN Insider, post them here!