Have you ever wondered about getting a discount on a purchase or an upgrade on a service but you’ve been afraid to ask? I want to encourage you – don’t be afraid to ask. I’m not talking about discounts for dissatisfied service, that’s something else entirely. What I’m referring to are discounts “just because.” Let me give you a couple examples.
David and I booked 2 nights in the cheapest room of a fancy hotel for our anniversary one year. Our anniversary is in December, which was off-season for the hotel so they weren’t even close to being booked. At check-in we told the woman we were there for our anniversary. She thought that was wonderful and gave us two coupons for free breakfast ($40 value). David asked if there were any room upgrades available. It would not have even occurred to me to ask. Sure enough, the woman checked and upgraded us to their jacuzzi suite at no extra cost. WOW! Upgrades are one of the easiest things for hotels to hand out. If the room isn’t occupied then it literally “costs” them nothing, all the while they’ve made you feel privileged.
Another time I was shopping with my mother at The Childrens Place. She purchased a whole mound of deeply clearanced items. At checkout she mentioned to the cashier that she saw there was a coupon for Carters, located in the same shopping plaza, but not for their store. Then she asked if they would match their discount. The supervisor was standing nearby and agreed to give her 15% off her entire purchase. Again, WOW!
Granted, it doesn’t always work. When KB Toys was going out of business, David and I happened peek in when they had very little left on the shelves. We noticed a whole rack of Barbie clothes that hadn’t even been touched. David (because clearly these things occur to him and not me) walked up to the front and asked if they’d be willing to sell us all of those Barbie clothes for one flat price. They looked at him like he was completely out of his mind and said, “No.” We shrugged our shoulders and stifled a laugh. No harm done.
The point here, is if you’re willing to put yourself out there and ask you can get a discount much more frequently than you would think. Have you ever ordered 10 pizzas from your local pizza place? I bet they’d give you a discount if you asked. Many businesses even expect it.
Alright, it’s your turn. Tell me about a time when you received a discount simply for asking or when you were flat-out refused like we were at KB Toys.
Why I do what I do ~ Chloe and David had a Daddy-Daughter day on Saturday. I was out of town with my mom that day. They went shopping together and David called me a couple times on my cell phone. Apparently he showed Chloe which number was the speed dial to my phone because while he thought Chloe was “pretending” to call Mommy, she actually was. She called me 3 times in a row, telling me what she had for lunch and everything Daddy was doing. I kept thinking, why is he letting her call me this many times? 
photo credit: quinn.anya
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
One thing I have learned is that some stores even have coupon booklets but you have to ask to get them.
This happened to me at my local Publix. I knew there were several coupon flyers and booklets that were not out at my store but were at others, so I went to the customer service desk and asked for them.
They reached under the counter and handed me what they had. If I hadn’t asked for them though, I never would have gotten them since they were hoarding them at the desk.
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GREAT idea! My husband has done this with car rental (once we’re at the airport), and I do this when I notice something is dented, ripped or torn… but you’ve taken it to a whole new level! LOVE IT!
Thanks!
Teachers get great discounts! You just have to ask. Sometimes they’ll give you a card to use every time you purchase something; and other times, you’ll just have to show your school i.d. badge. You can also ask for a discount when there’s a button missing or the zipper doesn’t work right, etc., on a piece of clothing.
@Theo-Ann – Great to point that out! The same usually goes for students. College students can get discounts EVERYWHERE but a lot of times you have to ask.
I love asking for “extras”! It embarrasses ppl around me sometimes but I don’t care.
Some things I’ve done:
I bought a baby sling from Target. It didn’t have the instruction DVD in it. It was already on sale from $40 to $20. I asked if I could get a discount since it was missing the DVD. She gave me 10 or 15% off in addition to the sale.
I’ve also been known to walk away from “deals” and the person chases me OUT THE DOOR. We were buying a new van & my husband & I wanted it for “X” amount. They wouldn’t go lower than $3000 more than that. We walked TO OUR CAR, started getting in, he runs out after us & brought it down to $300 more than what we were asking. Yeah, we took the deal.
I wanted tires for my new car, walked out the door cuz I said I couldn’t afford that. He came out after me, said, “Oh, I forgot you’re leaving your old tires with us. That counts for something” and gave me the deal I wanted. lol
I probably have more, but those are the ones I can think of. Thanks for the reminder & extra ideas!
@Ruth – Those stories are great!
We try to always ask. Arthur gets discounts on everything, even at stores you wouldn’t think give discounts. He also searches around for competitors that offer to price match or beat certain prices.
We always ask at restaurants too if the service isn’t up to par or the food isn’t great. Why pay $10 for a meal that is served cold when it should be hot? Just last night we went out to dinner and after it took 30 minutes and we hadn’t gotten our food we asked to speak to the manager. He took our kids’ meals off our bill and gave us free dessert. Never hurts to ask!