I'm sorry, was I not clear when I said theres no discount?

[ShugoAC]

Ok, so I’ll be honest.... This post is more of a general gripe than caused by this one customer. I'll explain later...

Me:
DD: Discount Dude

Me: Hi there, thank you for calling XXX my name is Shugo how can I help you today?
DD: Uhh yeah I'm looking at this 2 bedroom condo on your website and it's saying the rate for XXX to XXX is $100 per night ... Is that right?

*checks for the customer*

Me: Yep! That’s the correct rate for that time period.
DD: *pauses* Can you do any better than that?
Me: No sir, these rates are given to us directly from the local companies and we cannot change them.
DD: So you're not going to give me a discount?
Me: No sir. Those are the rates.
DD: Then let me speak to your manager and he'll give me one.

*It's important to note that we cant give a discount to anyone... the rate is hardcoded into our system. We don’t touch it, it comes to us from the local companies server.*

Me: No sir, you can’t talk to my manager. He's busy right now and he's going to tell you the exact same thing I’m telling you. We *can’t* change the rate.

*silence*

DD: Ok... i'll go ahead and book it then.

*Fin*


People looking for discounts on an already low rate drive me batty. Hey I get it, the economy sucks, I took a significant pay cut to keep my job, and I’m with ya. But if I tell you the rate is xxx a night then it's because...... it is xxx a night. I'm not holding out on you and giving it away at $5 a night to the person who asks. The Priceline Pandemic where people think they can negotiate the price down is getting old. Even Priceline doesn’t' really work that way. You're just negotiating how much extra they're making beyond the rate they were given to sell at.

*sigh*

And I also heard some guy on the radio today talking about (or at least I think that's what he was saying) how if a customer service person isn't willing to work with you and lower prices on a product you should talk to their manager and get them fired. I was like .But I don’t have the transcript because I was in the car and trying not to get killed. Where do these people come from that that sort of behavior is even mildly acceptable.

There is no secret squirrel handshake to get you a better rate.

[KhirasHY]

It's the same thing with those news broadcasts and website posts that tell people to go into retail stores and haggle with them, threatening to walk out. There are few things that can generate more dickhead SCs than that on short notice. I don't know when "no" became "maybe", but it pisses me off to no end.

Also, for the asshat talking about getting people fired...send him to me. I have a tendency to *raise* rates when people try that...

[Danno]

Yeah, the haggling bug leaks into everything. One time a woman came up to the window at the custard stand and said she'd give me a dollar for our dollar-fifty cone. That's right, she tried to bargain down the price of an ice cream cone. I told her the price wasn't negotiable, but "That's enough for a cone," she said.

So I asked her how I should make the register balance, whether I should take the other fifty cents out of my own pocket or simply steal from the store? She didn't think that was funny, but she took the hint and paid the normal price. Alas, to her detriment the register came unequipped with a "make shit up" button for random wacky pricing.

[BethB]

I recently saw something in Cosmo (I read stupid smut, what can I say) and it had a tip for looking online to find low prices and bringing them to the store to match. I don't know about many stores but our Wally does not price match websites due to being able to photoshop any old price on it and we do not have internet access. But we have had a few geniuses want us to price match our own site...uh...no.

[smileyeagle1021]

There is no secret squirrel handshake to get you a better rate.

But there is to get into Heaven

And I'm with Khiras, I'll raise the price on people who are dicks... though actually I can type in any number I want for the rate... I'm not going to because I like having a paycheck. Now, if we're talking about what it normally costs to upgrade from a standard to a standard with microwave and fridge, yeah we'll talk... you want me to give you half off, go to hell.

[workerbee222]

I had a very good experience by being nice, actually.

I booked a hotel room through Hotels.com (will never do that again).

I appear at desk, and there's no reservation. Not under my last name, not under my last name misspelled, or my first name. I hand the clerk the paper confirmation from the internet, and he finds nothing. There were still rooms available, though, and he matched the price. Some local bakery had given the desk cookies for advertising purposes, and he gave me extra ones because i'd been a good sport about the whole thing. I thought he'd been real accommodating.

[Naaman]

I recently saw something in Cosmo (I read stupid smut, what can I say) and it had a tip for looking online to find low prices and bringing them to the store to match. I don't know about many stores but our Wally does not price match websites due to being able to photoshop any old price on it and we do not have internet access. But we have had a few geniuses want us to price match our own site...uh...no.

When I was at the game store we wouldn't price match websites in store, going through our website would probably get them a price match though

[malmalthekiller]

I recently saw something in Cosmo (I read stupid smut, what can I say) and it had a tip for looking online to find low prices and bringing them to the store to match. I don't know about many stores but our Wally does not price match websites due to being able to photoshop any old price on it and we do not have internet access. But we have had a few geniuses want us to price match our own site...uh...no.

Yeah, I work there, too. People come up all the time adn say "I saw this for the price on the website", and I tell them we can't price match it, and they flip out.

Um, why don't you buy it online and get it shipped to the store for free? Jesus.

Also, when people just say they saw something for cheaper somewhere, but they don't bring in proof-as if I'll believe them.

[earl colby pottinger]

Why not ask nicely?

Why not ask nicely about options? I have looked in renting villas in the Caribbean and cottages in Northern Ontario for vacations.

And what I noticed most was the range of prices available once you started looking even a little off the beaten path.

Villas in the Caribbean often start in the $2000 to $5000 week, yet on the same island I have found homes that were for rent for an entire month for less than $1500.

If you are going to spend the entire time driving around and visiting beaches you don't need marble floors or an in-ground pool.

Same for the cottages. I want to go canoing. The cottage is the place to drive to and keep the stuff that is not going in the canoe. Plus comes in handy if the weather turns to rain all week.

Bet you had cheaper places if he had asked nicely.

[ShugoAC]

Nice doesnt convince the rude

Why not ask nicely about options? I have looked in renting villas in the Caribbean and cottages in Northern Ontario for vacations.

.....

Bet you had cheaper places if he had asked nicely.

It wouldn't have worked.

We might have had other properties available, but that wasn't what he was looking for. He wanted *that* property for a lower rate. If he'd asked if we had a better rate at a different property this post wouldn’t exist.

I'm all for helping people find the best property available for the best deal, in fact that's what I do 90% of the time. I completely agree with you that its better most times to get an out of the way place and walk or drive to where you're going. You'll save money and often times the homes is a much better return on your money.

What I was talking about are the people who've seen Shatner jump into the room and say "Let’s negotiate". We can’t negotiate, if someone tells you they can’t and you still attempt to browbeat them into it by threatening to "talk to their manager" then you're just being rude. And as far as customers go, he was fairly tame. I've had people scream at me over the phone for not giving them a discount because their members of the Ant Farm Workers Association of West 21st Street, or give them one just because their…. them.

[Bramblerose]

it had a tip for looking online to find low prices and bringing them to the store to match.

Umm, why? Every place I've seen price match wants hardcopy from a brick and mortar store. Add to that I think nearly every CSR on this site would concider beating you with the nearest price scanner gun if you whined about it..........

[Primer]

IMHO, it never hurts to ask nicely. The worst that can happen is the answer is "no." But then you're in no worse position than when you started. But there is no reason to become an EW.