It Doesn’t Hurt To Ask!

I had my car stolen a month ago but it was recovered a few days later with a little damage. I sent my car back to the dealership that I purchased it from and after almost a month with NO communication from the dealership, I called. I was very nice and explained why I was upset and just wanted my car back. The manager was SOOO nice and helpful in answering all of my questions and concerns. Then he told me that because I had received such poor service he would waive my deductible. I didn't ask for it but I am sure that if I didn't call and inquire about my car or if I was nasty to him, he wouldn't have been so generous.

I only have two CVS' in my little town. A couple of months ago I had found an expired ECB, since I had read on other blogs that most stores will still accept them I asked at the store. They said no. I made sure not to let them expire but last week got away from me and I found myself with $15 in ECBs :( I felt sick to my stomack knowing my stores would not take them but I figured it doesn't hurt to ask. I approached one of the managers and explained what happened. She asked to see them and said since they were from the same calendar month they would take them! I was SO appreciative! I will still try to make sure I don't let them expire but at least now I know one of the stores in town will take them :)

I absolutely had to roll my register rewards at Walgreens because I was going on a 9-day vacation but couldn't find anything that would effectively generate more RRs so I asked the manager if he would allow me to buy a gift card with my RRs instead. I figured the answer would be no (I think it's stated on the RR that gift cards are excluded) but he went one step further and bought the expiring RRs off of me! He said he needed to buy some things after his shift ended anyway. He paid me face value!

I pay for health insurance out of pocket, and I went through a broker who did not explain that well-child visits for children three years and older were not covered under the plan I purchased for my toddler (you had to purchase a separate rider). My son's three-year well child visit occurred a few days after his birthday, and our health insurance refused to pay anything, much to my surprise, as I had read the policy. I called the insurance company after each denial because I felt that the policy was unclear. I never really received a definitive answer as to why it was denied (I'm still not sure if it was because it was a "well-visit," which was covered only under an immunization rider that we didn't purchase because he wouldn't need shots again til he was four, or because he had already turned three, which was some sort of cut-off point in our policy, or a combination of the two), but they did eventually agree to pay for the visit after two or three calls.

I have bartered from my stockpile to get services at reduced rates or even for FREE. I have bartered with the tree trimming service, pool boy and cleaning girl. They get a higher value of goods than the fee they would have charged me if they were to go into the store and pay full price. It is a win-win situation to us both. Great post, Rachel! It REALLY never hurts to ask, you have nothing to lose and possibly everything to gain.