Free Stuff

I have a very good friend named Esther, who has taught me much in life. One of the greatest lessons she taught me is how to get free stuff. Specifically, she taught me how to get free stuff out of businesses when they haven't handled my service/purchase correctly. She is a great negotiator. Law school only taught me so much; Esther allowed me to see hardcore negotiation in practice.

I've also seen my dad in action. We call it "Caterpillar mode" (while he would humbly deny it, he is a higher-up in the company). I still remember being in junior high and watching him operate in Caterpillar mode with a Ford dealership who sold us a lemon. I believe the result was a brand new car (we had had ours for a couple years by that point) for very little cost. But I remember being a little scared of him while I watched him in the process. lol

One of his lines is "So how are you going to compensate me for this?" It really throws them. I've adapted that with a few of my own. For example, throw in a firm "This is unacceptable. I WILL NOT accept this." Or "What are you going to do to restore my faith in your business?" Or "I am a regular customer here, and this is very disappointing. How are you going to make it up to me?"

So here's one of my examples. Williams Sonoma sent me a monogramed item one time, on which the monogram was slightly off center. Not enough to really affect the product, but you expect more than that from a company like Williams Sonoma. It was a Christmas gift, and I had ordered well before Thanksgiving. But by the time the item arrived, it was backordered-- meaning they couldn't send a corrected item until late January. I negotiated, got to keep the slightly off-center monogramed item, and also received in the mail a gift certificate for the amount of the item (which I in turn passed on to the family member who had received the monogramed item-- he got a double present that year!).

Anyway, you will find that if a business is run correctly, they will do these things to make up for mistakes. We've gotten a free Dell printer, coupons for extra-percentages off items, etc.

This weekend we experienced another situation. We are SUV-shopping (I know, I know; we aren't "green" in this household). I had set up an appointment to see a 2007 Pathfinder at a dealer 2 hours from here. When we arrived, they had sold the vehicle-- but failed to call me.

The result? A free tank of gas for the Smith household.

I'd love to hear other situations where this kind of negotiation has worked. I'm always up for new ways of getting free stuff. :)