December: It never hurts to ask
January 5, 2010
Readers’ successes:
SS4BC – I was shopping at REI for some shoes. I had a $50 giftcard that needed to be used (this was a rebate giftcard from buying merchandise from them the year before).
I found a beautiful pair of Merrells that I wanted. With my $50 GC, I would pay around $36 out of pocket for them. Not too bad.
I went up the the cashier and smiled. Then I said “Hi, I would like to buy these shoes, but I don’t want to pay full price.”
To which he replied (I kid you not): “How about a 20% discount?”
Me (astonished that this actually worked): “Sure! That sounds great!”
He rings them up – $86 with a 20% discount, we’re down to $63. I hand him my $50 giftcard. I pay $13 for my $86 pair of shoes. And could not have been happier.
All because I ASKED.
RainyDaySaver – Today alone, I got a free cupcake because it was my birthday and had a jeweler take links out of my too-big watch for free. And a follow up post here.
Sense to Dollars – When I complained about my dental visit a little while ago on this blog, I also put my sentiments into a letter written on the Lumino site feedback form. I very nicely explained my disatisfaction with my visit, and how horribly inept I found the dentist’s technique to be.
Read the rest here: Complaining pays off in more ways than one
Success! There were issues with my seats (reading light out, sound was out) to and from HNL last month. I emailed United informing them of the malfunctions, and left it at that. I suppose this doesn’t really count as asking, so much as speaking up. They replied with an apology and a $150 courtesy gift certificate good for a one-way or round-trip fare, expires in a year.
Success! I’ve been helping a friend move into a new place. When we picked up furniture in the city, we had to park in a neighboring structure to go into the store. It wasn’t until we were committed to the $6 parking fee that we found out that the folks in the storage area would be willing to carry out and help load our packages in the car only if we pulled up front. They wouldn’t help if they were brought out onto the sales floor. I asked the parking attendant to let us pull out and pick up the stuff, and then come back and park, explaining that we had no idea they’d only help us if we were pulled up out front. The attendant decided to be kind, giving us the first hour free so that we could leave and come back after loading up the car.
Success! My missing rebate finally arrived.
It’s fun keeping track of these wins, big and small. If anyone wants to join in the fun, or submit their own for inclusion, please email me!
I have a couple:
1. My MIL is (finally!) quitting smoking. She has been using Kroger brand patches. She went to get another box of the step she was on. Couldn’t find it. Went to 3 more Fred Meyer’s and… nothing.
So she went up to the pharmacy and asked if they had any in the back. He said they were out. She mentioned they were out at 3 other stores. So he made a call. Turns out, they’re not going to make that step anymore.
She asked if he would give her the Nicoderm at the Kroger price. He said he didn’t think he could do that. She pointed out that it seemed unfair to pull the rug out from under people who had started the program with the generic. He thought about it, made a call, and gave her the generic price. Fifteen dollars saved — which is a big deal when you’re on disability!
2. We got Tim 3 pairs of sunglasses (he loses/breaks them a lot) and he wanted to get a case or two to keep them safe. So we headed over to Walmart’s optical store. As we were discussing the merits of various cases, an employee approached us. He had a case — nicer than the ones we were looking at, and it came with a cleaning cloth — that he had been given and wasn’t using. He just handed it to us. (So, okay, this wasn’t us asking, per se. But it was still pretty cool!)
3. At Macy’s the woman in front of us was using a $10 off coupon. I asked where she got it, she told me it was in that day’s paper. When it didn’t work for her, she offered it to us. It was supposed to stop working at 1 p.m. (It was about 1:10.) But we tried it anyway, and it worked. And I wouldn’t have gotten the coupon if I hadn’t asked the woman about it.
@Abigail: Nice!
My “ask and you shall receive” is here: http://444express.blogspot.com/2010/01/insufficient-funds.html#comments