I save hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars every year by getting discounted pricing and getting service fees waived on products and services I consume. Often, I will get a rate associated with an association, that I don’t belong to, simply by asking for that discounted rate. You will also find several companies will have the “Nice Person Discount” if you ask for it. Of course, no “Nice Person Discount” actually exists and you are given some other discount, but the end result is the same, you save money. Another good strategy is to ask for the “Manager’s Special”. Sometimes when I ask for the Manager’s Special I get put on hold or asked to wait while the person serving me makes a call, and then ends up returning with a great discount!
For getting fees waived most of the time you just need to ask. Businesses want to keep their customers happy.
When attempting to get a reduced rate or a fee waived keep these principles in mind; be courteous, try to make a connection with the person you are talking to, stress your loyalty as a customer, be confident, have an up-beat tone of voice, and give a nice sincere thank you when you are successful.
My success rate is around 80%. Just the other week I saved my sister in-law nearly $300 on a rebooking fee. She felt unconfident about asking for the fee to be waived since she was already told that she would have to pay the fee to change flights. My wife, knowing my proficiency in this area, volunteered me to assist. On this call, I tried to make a personal connection with the booking agent, stressed the logical reason why the initial booking mistake was made, that the family had three small children and could put the $300 to good use, and that the family were good customers. The agent, from Alaska Airlines, could not have been nicer or more helpful! At the end of the call I thanked her, and let her know that her actions made our whole family even more loyal customers then we already were!
The more often you ask for these types of savings your skills will improve and your odds of success will increase. Keep in mind the worse they can say is No, and often you will hear a Yes!