I have two quick examples of how asking for something special can get you something special. First, I paid for a hotel room on New Year’s Eve. It was a no frills room at a decent Red Roof Inn. When I checked in I was sure to be extra friendly to the desk attendant. I asked if there were any free upgrades available for the night and lucky for me she looked through her system and found a better room for me.
Second, I bought the new G1 (Google’s delicious piece of cellular technology) two days ago. I scoped out buying it online before I went in the store and noticed that they were currently waiving the $35 activation fee for “web orders only.” I definitely didn’t want to wait a week for the phone to arrive and I didn’t really want to pay for shipping, so buying online wasn’t an option. So, I called the store I was going to visit before I went in so that I could ask if they had the phone in stock. Being that the person I was talking to was friendly and helpful already, I asked her if she could honor the activation fee waiver. She double checked with her manager and sure enough I saved $35 when I bought my G1.
These aren’t new tricks by any means, but a reminder that it never hurts to ask.
