Ask And You Shall Receive

Right after reading Getting More, I immediately saved $40. The book paid for itself in less than 24 hours. Here’s what I did:

I had an appointment with my physical therapist. The day of my appointment , I ended up having to cancel last minute. Like many doctor’s offices, mine had a stringent policy stating patients must give at least 24 hours notice if they wish to cancel an appointment. If you don’t give ample notice, you have to pay a $40 fee.

Normally I would have accepted this policy as non-negotiable. But since I had just read Prof. Diamond’s book on negotiations I decided to ask for more.

When I called I was extremely friendly, thereby giving an emotional payment. Many people are irritable when cancelling appointments or discussing money. Armed with my amiable attitude, I simply asked if they ever make exceptions to their policy. They said yes! The whole conversation took only two minutes and I saved $40. Amazing! -Hani R., Senior Solutions Manager, Microsoft Corporation, Seattle, WA..

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SD Comment: With $40 here, $8 there, $100 there, students have made or saved more than $1 billion over the years. Hani’s experience is an outstanding example of how to do this, day in and out, year in and out. May this be the first of many more.