Are you apprehensive to ask for a discount, or to wrangle savings out of a business?
Honestly, it’s not in my nature to be a big time haggler. Generally speaking, I stick to that nature most of the time, or at least in terms of following social norms. That being said, I’ve also learned that at times we have to simply cast aside any apprehensions and just ask for a discount – or whatever it is we want.
One small example of this is a recent episode at a quick-casual restaurant I visited for the first time in a while. For two people, the total cost came out to around $19. Not exactly a fancy dinner, but it got the job done that evening. Some days you just don’t want to cook, right?
First Discount
Anyway, before paying, I remembered that I had a loyalty card there – so asked if they could credit my card. Or, just give me points, or whatever it is they did there. I really didn’t remember how it worked, but just wanted to get credit toward whatever it is was I could get.
So, the girl behind the counter said that I had to have my card present. At that point, I asked if she could look it up if I gave my phone number. She then proceeded to look it up, and guess what? I apparently had earned $5 off my purchase, based on past activity there!
Clearly, it paid to push past her resistance, based on me not having my loyalty card. Just following up her objection by asking if she could look it up saved me $5.
Second Discount
The next discount was even better. It then occurred to me that I had an old punch card in my wallet, from years ago. Actually, I had recently found it and put it in my wallet with the idea that I could try to use it the next time I was at this place. Luckily, I happened to remember this before paying.
I had six “stamps” on this paper card, which then entitled me to a free meal. Now, this had to be 5 years old, and was from before plastic loyalty cards became the standard. I mean, how often do you even see those old-fashioned paper punch/stamp cards these days?
Anyway, I then pulled out the old, beat-up card and said I’d like to use this. She looked at it as if it she was looking at something from outer space. Her jaw dropped, and she stammered something about “I don’t think we give these out”. I mentioned that I got this years ago, at this restaurant, but just forgot to use it. She seemed a bit flustered, and said that she wasn’t sure they could accept it.
I then asked her if she could find out from her manager, as I’ve been a customer for a while and simply hadn’t used the card. Plus, it didn’t have an expiration date anyway. So, she went to ask the manager. A minute later, she came back and said she could honor it and I’d get the free meal I asked for.
Hooray!
She then asked me if I wanted to sign up for their loyalty card, at which point I was the one with the puzzled look. Uh, remember the first discount I asked for? I tried to nicely mention that I already had a card, and that’s how I got the first discount. She then said “Oh, you already have one? OK.”
I can see that the first part of our conversation wasn’t so memorable 🙂
Bottom Line: Just by being a little bit persistent, I saved $14 on a $19 meal for two people by getting two discounts. It’s another example of how sometimes it pays it to ask.
My Questions for You
Have you ever been persistent in asking for a discount?
What are some examples where you’ve taken the extra effort to save money?
A clerk with a little less experience might not have been able to get everything done, and one with a little less patience would have likely tried to stonewall you. The stars were aligned, but in cases like this, sometimes you may not get exactly what you were looking for (or maybe not all at once in any case) in which case you might have had to spread out some of that $14 savings across other visits, which it sounds like you’d make anyways.
Money Beagle – yeah, to some degree our success can be impacted by the person behind the counter. No question about that.
Your story reminds me of my wife–I can see her being just as persistent as you were, and getting the discount in the end. “Getting what she deserves,” I call it. I think I’m too lazy or too non-assertive to do this most of the time, but more power to those who make it work. No doubt we’ve saved a lot of money because of my wife’s diligence in ‘getting what she deserves.’
Kurt – lol, that’s funny about the “deserves” part 🙂 I look at it as if there is room to negotiate in a roundabout way, so by not asking, we might be leaving value on the table.
About 10 years ago, I bought a big screen TV. The salesman reminded me that the store had a price match policy. I went home and found a store for them to match. in addition, I put i on their store credit card for an additional 10% off. So between listening and the additional offer, I saved 40%.
krantents – 40% is pretty good, especially since it would have been 0% had you not taken the initiative.
I recently got a pretty good discount on a sofa sleeper, just by saying “What kind of a deal can you give me on this?”
Marie – that’s great, you put the ball in their corner, and paved the way for a discount!
Oh my goodness, this is seriously a huge fear of mine that I need to get over. I am the person who asks no questions. For example, I’d walk around the store 20 times before I would ask where something is. It drives my husband crazy. Thanks for the reminder that I need to get bold if I want to save some money:)
Jules – yes, just getting over that fear can save money! I did it again yesterday when I bought something for about $65, for which I didn’t have a 20% off coupon with me. I simply asked at the register, and they gave it to me.
My favorite was the last time I negotiated a car purchase. I used the consumer reports workups for a new car and got a really great deal. Those things really work.
I have a few times when I have felt the service has been crap, like our past cable provider. However I am not as diligent with normal purchases like I should be. I have to say I feel awkward about it.
Nice! I actually have several paper punch loyalty cards that I use at a few lunch places near my office. Only one soup place I go to has the plastic magnetic strip kind of card. I almost threw it away as I stopped going there for over a year, but fortunately I kept it and I started using it again. A few more lunches and I’ll get a free one!