Financial Journey
(featured column)
If
You Don’t Ask, the Answer Will Be "No"
by
Karen Kuebler
Do you realize
that you have a wealth of opportunities in your life that you may not be
receiving because you are afraid to ask a question? I learned this secret
years ago and could probably fill a book with the services, gifts, and money we
have received by merely having the courage to ask for something. More...
I thought I would share some of the more recent examples of
what we have received because we took the time to make a request either in
writing or verbally. Our budget has been tighter than normal because we
have been helping a family member financially. Each time we receive a
positive result, we are elated that we are able to put a little more money back
into our savings.
You might think that some examples are too small to bother with, but think of it
as more opportunities for practicing your skills. It all adds up, no
matter how small:
* We have a collapsible ice cooler that works beautifully on
trips. We originally paid $25 for it, but it has saved us countless money on
food when traveling. If we are flying we can collapse it in the suitcase and
fill it with ice and food when we reach our destination. If we are
driving we fill it at home for our entire trip. We’ve had it for
years, but on our last trip it was leaking to the point my husband was going
to throw it away. I looked on the internet for the brand, found a
contact number, and a few days later we had a brand new zipper liner in the
mail at no cost to us.
* I am careful to keep records when I send in for rebates.
We recently sent in for several rebates and I had difficulty with two of them.
One sent back a notice that we had not purchased the product within the
specified time period. I called and clarified the date of purchase.
The customer service representative wasn’t very happy, but we did receive
our rebate check for $20 a few days later. The other one had sent the check
and found it had not been cashed (therefore lost in the mail) and they
immediately sent another check for $10.
* We recently had to buy new tires for our mini van. I
asked my husband if we should get some money pro-rated on the worn tires since
they had 70K mile guarantee. He said that we couldn’t get any money
back because the tires had worn because the car was out of alignment, which
was our responsibility. So I decided to go with him to the tire store
when we had the new tires installed. I said to the customer service rep
that I assumed we would receive a pro-rated amount back on the tires since
they had worn much sooner than the 70K mile guarantee. He went outside
and looked at them and then gave us $60 each in credit for a total of $240!
Never assume you can’t get the money back; approach them with a positive
attitude (and a smile) that you know you are entitled to this money.
* I won’t mention name brands in this example, but it
demonstrates what persistence will do. I had a computer with a 4-year
warranty. The warranty was about to run out and I was having one thing
after another go wrong from the touch pad, to the key board, to the mother
board, to the hard drive and more. I was able to extend the warranty for
another year. I was ready to pull my hair out when they sent a 3rd
mother board and it was DOA (dead on arrival). They were going to send
another, and I was exasperated as well as unable to use my computer which was
dead. Long story short, I started calling every day. I spoke with
5-10 different managers who all promised to get back to me. I still kept
calling. Finally, I got the ear of somebody who "listened" and
really felt my frustration. I now have a brand new computer, the
latest model selling at the stores, without spending any extra money.
They couldn’t replace it with my model since it no longer existed, and I
have a much more powerful computer.
* We were going to take a trip to France some months back
when we had a medical crisis occur in our family. Our airline tickets
clearly stated they had a $200 non-refundable penalty per ticket since we
bought the less expensive tickets. We couldn’t take the trip because
we were involved in medical treatments for the next 6 months. I called
and explained our dilemma, but didn’t get anywhere. I then wrote a
letter, attached a letter from our doctor explaining the condition, made
copies of the admission papers to the hospital, and then sent them to the
airline headquarters. I explained in my letter not only were we facing a
serious medical condition, but we were disappointed that we couldn’t make
this trip because it was our first opportunity to go to Europe. Shortly
after I sent this, I received a refund of $400 for both tickets.
* Also, related to the trip to France; we had purchased 2
round trip tickets for the Chunnel. We were going to fly to Heathrow,
London and take the Chunnel to Paris. These again were completely
non-refundable. I called their offices and they said they had never seen
anyone successfully receive a refund, no matter what their extenuating
circumstances were. I decided not to stop with that negative input.
I sent a similar packet to their Headquarters, including the medical
information. I received a letter that they were making an exception to
their rule and granting me a courtesy refund!
* With the recent cat food recall, we had several bags of a
certain brand that was on the list of unsafe foods. Although these bags
did not have the UPC codes and dates listed, we didn’t want to take a chance
of any kind. We took them back to the store and even though they were
half used, we received full refunds for both bags.
* Several foundations, such as different cancer societies, American Heart
Association, etc. might have benefits available to you if someone in your
family suffers from an illness. I wasn’t aware of this, but called on
a fluke to get some information about a particular illness. I found out
we were entitled to gas mileage reimbursement for all trips taken to receive
treatments for this medical condition. They also told me that if we
didn’t have coverage for the medication, they provided $500 toward that. We
were fortunate to have the coverage, but this is definitely worth researching
if you or a family member suffers from particular conditions to check out what
benefits might be available because of donations to their foundations.
For fun, I’ll add up the money we received by following up
on these few examples in the last few months:
Rebates = $30.00
Ice Cooler = 25.00
Tire Refund = 240.00
Computer = 1,200.00
Flight refund = 400.00 (non-refundable penalty portion)
Chunnel = 250.00
Cat food = 10.00
Mileage = 160.00 (reimbursed by
Cancer foundation)
Total = $ 2,315.00
See what a little time and a lot of persistence can do? Try it, you’ll
love the results! If it feels uncomfortable at first, just keep
practicing. Each time you ask for something it gets easier and easier.
I have lots of friends call me with their own stories now and tell me that they
thought of me when they asked the question and were successful in receiving a
variety of positive results!
Remember, if you don’t ask; the answer will be "no" so if you are
prepared for the worst, what do you have to lose?
* * *
Copyright
© 2007 by Karen Kuebler. All rights reserved.
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