Do You Ask For What You Want Often Enough?

Don’t Stay Silent If Something Isn’t Right

A while back I was shopping with my wife at the nearby grocery store and saw a bag of dog treats with a price tag a dollar or so less expensive than the other ones hanging from that same rack. So we put it in our basket. When it came time to check out, it scanned out at the same price as all the others.

“That’s not what it was on the price tag on the shelf,” I spoke up and told the cashier what was printed. So the cashier actually walked back to the shelf where it was displayed and I followed. Sure enough, the tag had the lower price as I told her.

She said as she tore the tag off the display, ” It’s the store’s mistake, so you get it for free.”

“In that case, I’ll take two!” I quickly replied. Of course I was told it didn’t work that way. But the point was the store had a fair policy and I spoke up, instead of letting it go. If you don’t ask you don’t get.

When It Was Hard To Ask

So much for asking at the store. There are more common experiences we share when speaking up is necessary. How about the time when you wanted to ask someone out on a date. If you weren’t going to ask in person, you paced the floor deciding what to say before making the call, all the time being concerned that you would be turned down. Finally, you made the call realizing that if you didn’t it would be just like being turned down – no date. You have to ask. At least afterward, you would know where you stand. Probably nowadays the request would be online or a text.

Discounts And Senior Discounts

Many of us belong to groups and organizations that allow us to claim a discount, for example, at places of entertainment, hotels, and car rental agencies. Even some credit cards offer a discount if you pay with their card. In any case, don’t forget to ask.

Hey, we senior citizens have to remember to ask for our senior discount everywhere we go. Many restaurants and places of business have a senior policy, but they don’t always offer it when you show up. You have to remember to ask or you might not get your discount.

Price Matching

There was an ad with a sale for a flatbed scanner that I wanted at one of the local office stores. When I tried to purchase it on sale, I was told the store had none in stock. I was given 2 choices. Take a rain check with no specific time when they would have them in stock again. Or, with some money upfront, I could order it and have it shipped to the store.

I declined and took the ad to a competing office supply store about a mile away. They had the scanner in stock – more expensive though. Showed them the ad. I didn’t say anything about the first store not having it.

I asked a salesperson, “I generally purchase here and have a rewards card with your store. I would rather buy it here if you can match the sale price.” They did. I asked and got what I wanted.

Credit Card Rates

Here’s one that I personally haven’t asked for yet. However, I hear it’s done all the time. Perhaps you’ve tried this. If you have please comment below how well it’s worked for you. Financial experts on the news and online are always telling people to call their credit card companies and ask for a lower rate. Here’s an article that talks about it.

Steve Jobs And Asking

Apple founder, Steve Jobs, once said, “To achieve your greatest goals, sometimes all you have to do is ask.” He was refering to asking for help when you need some. INC.com has a whole story about this and you can read about here.

Long Story At The Store

For my final example, I’ll do a little ranting about our local Walmart store. We save when we go there, which is great when you’re on a senior citizen budget. But problems aren’t as easy to fix when they arise.

On most shopping trips there is at least one item on the list (many times more) that the store is out of. Could be a certain brand of detergent or a weight size of cheese. Once they were out of their own brand of white bread – the huge shelf where it is stocked was empty. Might be a supply chain issue or the supply chain might be broken in their back storage area of the store. But we live with this because they usually have good prices. It doesn’t hurt to ask a store associate if they have more in back when the shelf is empty , but experience shows it probably won”t help – at least at our local store.

But it’s a whole other story when the product is there, but there is no price tag on the shelf. There used to be scanners around the store to check prices of their many items. They were removed several years ago in favor of downloading the Walmart app to your phone. It’s got a built in scanner that works well. As a matter-of -fact If you ask a nearby store associates the price of something, they might grab their phone to check for you, if they don’t have a portable store scanner in their hands.

Other times there is a price on the shelf – but it turns out to be the wrong price when you checkout.
Or you scan the item with your phone and the price is completely different than the on shelf price. So, which one is it. Turns out it may be neither when you checkout.

So on a recent trip for about 30 items. One toiletry product had no price on the shelf, but I remembered its cost from a previous trip. So OK. But the shelf was empty for our regular bacon, so I chose a different brand that I’ve chosen before with a price tag on the shelf of $1.00 more than our usual brand. Except at the checkout it scanned about $1.75 more. The cashier acted as if she couldn’t do anything about it. So, I told her to take it of the purchase, and she puts it on a shelf near her that “who knows” how long it would stay there unrefrigerated. No thought to call for help.

And finally, the Clorox bleach that seemed a little pricey on the shelf, which I scanned with my phone and got a more reasonable price, came up with the higher shelf price. Rather than deleting the bleach too, there was a nearby supervisor that the associate called over.

I asked the supervisor why my fully updated Walmart app is giving me a different price. She said, “Different locations have different prices.”

To which I said, “The app took my location and knows what store I am at.”

So, then she repeated the same thing the cashier said earlier, “The app might be showing the online price. If you order online the items are cheaper than in person at the store.”

I came back with, ” Why does the phone scanner part of the app show online prices, when nobody ordering online will be using the scanner in the app. The scanner needs to show the correct price for people shopping at the store instead.”
In any case, because I spoke up the manager allowed me to purchase the bacon and bleach for what I thought I was going to pay. Three items with issues out of thirty – 10%. Yes, low prices for many items, if you can find out what they are before checking out.

And note that, I was able to speak up easier because I wasn’t using self check out. There have been recent legal articles mentioning not to use self check out at stores like Walmart. Read one of them here. Well, this is another reason for not using self check out – it’s harder to speak up when there are issues.

Sometimes It’s Easy And Sometimes It’s Hard

I’ve shared some of my experiences with speaking up to get what I want. This is not just an exercise to complain about what’s not right. Sometimes you get results quick and other times, as with my trip to Walmart, it takes a while. And it may not always work – but try! I’m sure you have your own interesting experiences with asking for something – share them in comments below if you would like.

The Inspired Poster

My poster on the subject of asking is simple. As usual it is offered in small, medium, and large. Actual dimensions are in the listing at Desert Square in Etsy. If you want more details, click on the picture of the poster. Purchase it and remind all your friends to ask for what they want in life. And don’t forget to check out my featured posters here at Poster Wit. Take care…