Here's a GREAT comment left on my post titled Is This Really that Great of a Savings?:
After examining all reasonable daycare centers in the area, I visited the cheapest one and asked if they had a [student] discount. She initially said no but 10 min later she said she liked the idea and gave us 10% off. One question and 10 minutes later I'm saving ~$2k/year!
Less interesting but more topical, when I signed up for Comcast I simply asked "can you give me the DVR for free?" The CSR then offered me a promotion. I didn't have a reason to think that such a promotion existed and I wasn't offered it until I asked if any promotions exist. When the promotional period expires, I plan on calling them up and asking if they'll let me keep it for free and I think they'll actually give it to me! It will be interesting to see how long I can get away with this.
The lesson to learn here is that while I'd never walk up to a stranger and ask them for money, you can ask businesses for money, even if you have no rational reason for expecting it, and they'll often just give it to you. Not clear that it's bad for the businesses either because then they only have to compete on price for customers who are concerned about price.
As they say, what's the worst that could happen if you ask for a discount? They could say "no." Big deal (especially in these six cases when you should EXPECT a discount.)
And if you want to know how to ask, use the 7-word weapon that's been so effective for others.
This should encourage all your readers to ask. What is the effort of asking anyway? - Not that much, right? And it is not like you can lose anything. The worst that can happen is that somebody says, "no discount for you".
Posted by: vilkri | April 17, 2009 at 02:22 PM