Do You Take “No” for an Answer?
August 18, 2008 by Karen Weideman
Filed under financial matters
While my husband and I were out of town last week for job training, our debit cards were denied. Gas. Denied. Wal-Mart. Denied. What in the world was going on? I figured the servers were down or something like that. It’s happened once before. Thank goodness we have a credit card for emergencies.
We got back into town and Saturday I called the bank. A hold had been put on our account because a check someone wrote me was returned. I could see putting a hold on the funds that were bad, but what about the rest of MY money????
I asked that my account be reinstated. The customer service rep from my credit union told me that they couldn’t reverse the hold, that only the person that put the hold on the account could take it off. I told her that if she couldn’t reverse the hold then I needed to speak to someone that could.
The whole point of this story is that you shouldn’t just take “no” from the first person you talk to. When you call your credit card company and the person doesn’t want to negotiate a better deal, then ask to speak to their supervisor. When the mortgage company doesn’t want to waive the late fee even though you’ve been late before, then ask to speak to someone else.
Do you take “no” or do you move up the chain of command?
I never take “No” for an answer. If I don’t get the answer I want then I ask to speak with a manager and if I still don’t get the answer I want then I call back in a few hours. Usually you will get someone else and maybe their answer will be different. I always tell me friends just keep calling until you get the answer you want.
I NEVER take no for an answer. I will create a scene, be nice, or any other technique I think it will take to get what I want. There are times when it is best to be overly sweet, and other times when it is appropriate to be a thorn to get what I want.
Typically I get exactly what I want, how long it takes varies on how difficult the reps want to be, but until I speak to an owner of a company the answer is never NO.
I can usually get what I’m looking for when it comes to getting refunds, etc. What I need more work on is bargaining. I know that there’s room to bargain, I’m just not sure how to get into a mode where I’m talking with someone that can actually make a deal.
The only time I really felt I was bargaining well was when I wasn’t really trying. I had someone that came into my house trying to sell a Kirby vacuum cleaner and the amount they knocked off the price was incredible.
Needless to say, I wasn’t in the market for a new one– just their giveaway– and I didn’t get one.
MInTheGap: If you want to learn how to bargain, then you should hang out with my husband. He is known for getting better prices, even at Wal-Mart!
VERY good point!
Gman is fantastic with bargaining too. He barters more than anyone I know. Then again, he has a skill EVERYONE wants! HAHA
How in the world do you get better prices at WalMart?! Are you talking big ticket items?
What’s the smallest price he’s been able to negotiate?
We talk them down on opened or damaged stuff. Perhaps I should do an article about negotiation.
You’re definitely right to pursue this. What’s sad is that they are doing this consistently and there are likely many more poeple who will *not* pursue this. Keep us updated on what happens. The other bad part of this is if you choose not to do business with them anymore, you’re really the one that is hurt and not them. Argh!