Negotiating

People tend to settle for less than what they really should.

I took an Intro to Communications class this past semester at school. Among other topics, one of the concepts that was covered was negotiating - how people do it, when it is done, trends that we can see in negotiations, and the like. One of the ideas discussed was that, when presented with a conclusive situation, people simply accept it. We hear that there is "nothing we can do," and we then proceed to do nothing. What's our deal? Naturally, people want to enjoy the best possible results from every situation. Why give in for a fraction of what we wanted?

Raise your hand if you have ever called customer service. I cringe just writing it out. Consider this scenario: You're calling some phone company for a refund because your cellphone hasn't been working for the last month. You're looking for a $30 reimbursement (which to a big company is chump change). You're greeted by a slow-talking, monotone "automated assistant" who cycles through ALL of the options before he gets to the one you want. You finally get a live person on the phone and start explaining your situation, and they promptly tell you they don't give refunds. You hang up and call back hoping for a different representative, who when consulted, gives you the same answer.

Here is where the fork in the road lies. At this point, more often than not, people are already so disinterested in staying on the phone with customer service (considering they had to go through the automation and 2 representatives), that they accept that answer. But what if you tried to negotiate more? Maybe you would be rerouted to a supervisor, who would then also tell you they don't give refunds. But what if you negotiated even more? What if you gave them such a hard time that they not only give you a refund, but pay you extra for the time you had to waste trying to get it? Many people would have given up by that point, thinking there was no chance of getting their refund. But they wouldn't know unless they negotiated.

So, next time you call customer service (or negotiate anything for that matter), give them some problems. Be that guy that they need to get the supervisor for. Argue your point, don't just give it. Make the other side give in, you don't have to.