I’m sure we are all familiar with the phrase “Nice people finish
last”. Now, I don’t think that’s always true, as I made clear in last post. You
can get free stuff by being kind and helpful. But sometimes, to get things for
free or at a discount, you have to get mean.
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| image from pixabay.com |
Have you ever ordered a meal at a restaurant, and they got things
wrong? Your food was undercooked, overcooked, or you got the complete wrong
thing? You could just accept that, and eat it anyway. But, if it is at a chain
restaurant (like Frankie & Benny’s, Chili’s, etc.), you can probably get
something for free out of it. You can have your meal completely paid for, or
get the drinks for the table covered. It doesn’t have to be limited to your
food being messed up either. I once went to a restaurant, and it took 30
minutes to bring us drinks, and over an hour to take our food order. Needless
to say, we got some stuff for free that
night. The biggest issue I believe people (especially Brits) have, is that they
are afraid to ask. Don’t be afraid to ask, or even demand, that a restaurant
gives you a discount or free stuff if they messed up. Trust me, they would
rather give you a free burger and have you come back again, than lose you
forever as a customer. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen? They say no
if you ask for it to be comped?
Other times, it isn’t as easy as saying, you messed up my salad,
can you give me a free soda. Sometimes, you should get really angry. This works
best when you are dealing with online booking situations. If you book a rental
car, and you turn up and they give you a smaller car than you ordered, you can
demand a discount. They might try to say no at first, but they will eventually
give in. (This rental car situation has
happened to me, instead of a discount, I got a free upgrade to an even bigger
car!). You can also do this with hotels as well. If your room isn't cleaned, or you got a smoking room when you requested non-smoking, then ask for money back!You just have to stand your ground.
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| image from pixabay.com |
If your flight is late, and you miss a connection, then that is
definitely grounds to get something out of the airlines. My plane was late into
Las Vegas, and I missed the last flight out to Seattle. I had to spend the
night in the Vegas airport. So, the airline gave me free first-class seats, and
food vouchers to places in the airport. (In a similar situation, an airline put
me up for free in a hotel). Another time, an airline charged me twice for a
ticket. After calling them, demanding to speak to a manager, then lodging a
formal complaint, I got $150 in gift cards to the airline. Airlines and
airports are an ideal place to get seat upgrades, free food, free hotels, and
some extra air miles.
The key in all those situations, was not taking no for an answer.
Companies will always try to just apologize and then brush you to the side if
they mess up. Some people will accept that and just complain quietly to their
friends. But, I never accept it. I know that companies have budgets set aside
to manage screw ups, and employees have a certain amount of leeway to give
upgrades, discounts etc. So, if a company messes up, I make them give me things.
If they say no at first, I ask to speak to their boss. If they say no, I
threaten to write a bad review for them online. (A bad review can mean a lot of
lost business for a company, especially if there is a good human-interest story
attached to it). Usually, after I refuse to back down, I get stuff for free.
And I never feel guilty or like a bully. The companies messed up, they need to
correct their error. Plus, I’m poor so I never feel bad about getting something
for free.
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