The faceless corporations we deal with on a daily basis cannot read your mind, although they are working on that. Front line employees who represent these companies have nothing to lose by giving you a deal. Usually they are going to be paid the same hourly wage no matter what. As long as they follow the rules, they are instructed to make the customer as happy as possible. It feels good to hook someone up with a deal and attracting new customers is expensive. It makes business sense to reward loyalty. Being open to the idea that a company will give you a deal is the first step.
I flew back on United Airlines from South America recently. I landed in Chicago in the afternoon and was looking at a 7 hour layover. I had purchased the cheapest ticket possible, hence the obscene layover. After going through customs there was a United customer service desk. Would they be willing to put me on an earlier flight? I've got 7 hours to kill, might as well ask. I cheerfully walked up and asked Jennifer the desk agent (all employees wear name tags and I find that it helps build rapport if you address them by name. Dale Carnegie would agree) if I could be put onto an earlier flight. I had low expectations but I had just finished a book on the science of luck, and I was feeling lucky. She said the word "no" followed by the word "problem". "No problem, we have an empty seat on that same flight leaving in 45 min". She printed me off a new ticket and I was on my way at no additional charge. I was of course very pleased with myself. Jennifer was also happy that she could help me out. I no longer refer to United Airlines as a bunch of scumbags out to molest my wallet. everyone wins.
I have been working out at Planet Fitness for the last couple years. When I moved to Austin, they had a deal where you could sign up for 6 months and pay $15 a month with no contract. If you wanted the $10 a month basic card you had to sign up for a year. At that time I wasn't sure if I would be staying here so I opted for the 6 month deal. I was crushing it on the elliptical one day when a flyer caught my eye. They were having a Halloween themed promotion called "The killer deal". $5 down, $10 a month, no contract. Usually these deals only apply to new members but I was emboldened from the endorphins rampaging through my brain. I walked up to Thad the Planet Fitness clerk and asked if current members could take advantage of the new promotion. He looked bored to tears. The opportunity to do anything other than stare vacantly into space was a real treat for him. After a vigorous rereading of the promotion he was unsure and said he would need to get the manager. The manager looked like he had been roused from a nap and said the magic words, "yeah, whatever." Just like that I was on my way to saving $5 a month on my already dirt cheap gym membership. Now I was really feeling good so I went over and maxed out on the squat rack and had a quiet celebration because I did not want to set off the lunk alarm.
My credit card has also been getting a workout lately. I have not been steeped in all the nuances of using a credit card. My basic strategy has been use the credit card for everything, pay it off before the grace period so there is no interest and somehow this builds credit. To date I have still never paid out any interest or fees. This had been working until I ran up against the concept of credit utilization rate. I did not realize that using a high percentage of your available credit was a bad thing for your credit score. I had a month where I had a high balance which I paid before the grace period but which tanked my credit score 30 points. I was pissed and needed a plan of action. I picked up a book called "I will teach you to be rich" by Ramit Sethi to educate myself on credit. He advises people with credit utilization issues to call up the bank or credit card company and ask for a higher credit limit. This will only work for people who have the discipline to not use all this extra credit. I thought that since my credit score had just dropped my bank would not be interested in extending me more credit but what did I have to lose. I called the number on the back of my card and asked Sam (Customer service agents are usually required to give their name or at least some name during their greeting) to have my credit limit raised. She hit a couple of buttons and almost doubled my credit limit. Super easy. This will also cause my credit score to increase.
These are examples of times when these requests worked out in my favor. It doesn't work every time. I called up Geico last week and asked for a lower rate on my car insurance and they turned me down. Big deal. I'll shop around this week for a lower rate, call them back and ask them to match it. I find this intellectually challenging and fun. Once you do this a few times you start to see the possibilities everywhere. It's just like Neo seeing the matrix for the first time.
The saving are out there, you just have to ask.
