My wife and I have very different perspectives when it comes to saving money. I take a much more passive approach, content to hunt for coupons or search for the lowest advertised price. My wife, however, takes a much more direct approach preferring to negotiate a deal with whomever she’s talking to. She’s spent half an hour on the phone with hotel employees trying to get the best deal, and is never afraid to ask for a manager to discuss a discount. Sometimes I feel like my wife should be writing articles for this site. I’ve suggested as much, but she says she’s content being the source of my material.
Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Since she doesn’t want to become a blogger, the least I can do is create a series of posts in her honor. I hope you enjoy the latest installment in a series I will now call, “Ways My Wife Saves Us Money.â€
We host a party each year the weekend before Memorial Day. It’s our way of getting together with our friends and family to kick off the Summer season. We ask everyone to bring a bottle of their favorite beverage to help stock the bar, however we do supply some drink basics. We’ve done this for a number of years, and have gotten to know the owner of a local liquor store. As loyal customers, along with the fact that the bill does add up to a fairly substantial amount, he usually gives us a discount on our purchase.
We asked to talk to the owner, however he was not working the afternoon we stopped in the store. We mentioned that we normally have received a discount, to which the employees working responded that we would likely get a 10% discount. By the time we had completed gathering the items on our list, the manager on duty had returned from a delivery and started ringing up our items. My wife again mentioned the discount, to which the manager nodded his head. He showed us the receipt, as well as how much he took off the bill.
During the car ride home, my wife stated, “That wasn’t much of a discount.â€
She read me the total, and the amount of the discount, which I quickly calculated at about 5%. When we got home, she headed straight for the phone and dialed the number on the receipt before she even sat down. She mentioned to the manager that we had bought our supplies there for years, typically had received a larger discount, and asked if there was any way he could give us a bigger break.
He agreed to give us a 10% discount, and said that if we could stop by the store, there would be an envelope with cash in it waiting for us.
We picked up the envelope a few hours later when we were running some other errands. I just shook my head and said, “You worked your magic again.â€
Have you ever asked for, and gotten a bigger discount AFTER a purchase was complete?
After the fact I’ve never really had success but then again I’ve never really tried that I can think of. Great work by your wife!
Love it! I made a purchase at JCPenney using a coupon from my mobile phone. I asked the cashier if she added the coupon and she said she had, but as I walked out of the store and looked at my receipt, it was obvious she hadn’t. I turned around, waited in line for about two minutes until my mom signaled to me the same cashier was working at a different station and could assist me. The system had some issues so the transaction took about 20 minutes and netted me $3 savings, but it was the principle!
@moneybeagle – it never occurred to me to try to ask for a bigger discount AFTER the purchase either…to tell you the truth I was shocked that it worked!
@Kendal – in those cases it’s impossible to know that those sort of issues would occur, but I’m with you – I would have pressed on just for the principle…as well as for the good of future shoppers. If the cashier knows there’s consequences for not ringing up the coupon, he/she will be more careful next time – thanks for stopping by!
I’ve gotten discounts after a purchase is complete because of some defect or poor customer service, but never from anything like this. Your wife is smart to phone and ask! I am sure the store loves your business and would prefer to keep you around.
Wow, your wife got a great deal. Good for the owner of the liquor store for recognizing a good customer when he sees one and doing his best to keep them happy and coming back.
Your wife really did a good job! I remember before, one time when my father bought several wines and drinks to the liquor store, he politely asked the cashier if she could give at least a little discount but the cashier firmly said “no”, so he looked for the manager and asked the same questions again, surprisingly the manager gave us a 10% discount of our total receipt.
@Daisy – I would agree that this store does customer service right…they know we’re repeat customers – not only for our party in May, but we stop in there a couple of times a month for our own personal use too. It’s almost like a “hometown” discount. Great to hear from you!
@MikeCollins – My wife certainly lets people know what she expects, and that she’ll make it worth their while to give her what she wants. We’ll be going back for sure!
@Marie – it never hurts to ask, right? Thanks for sharing!