All it takes is for you to ask a question.  Be polite.  Ask nicely. Say thank you regardless of the outcome. You will sometimes save money, get extra or better value with the super simple act of asking a question. Some people feel embarrassed asking a question or feel like it is rude to do so, but if you ask politely then nothing you’re doing is offensive.  The asked could be offended, but that has nothing to do with you.  They can simply say no.  If they get upset at having to say no, then that is there deal.

You’ll really never know what options you have unless you’re willing to ask.  Be creative.  Be open to different options and don’t be afraid to ask. Here are two examples of how asking a couple questions made my life better.

Best Seat in the House for $8.. and a Free Beer

Last month I wanted to watch a UFC payperview fight, but didn’t want to shell out $70 to watch it at home and didn’t have any friends in town that I knew were paying for iy.  So I looked up what bars in town were showing the fight and I headed down to one.  Turns out the place was packed… and there was a $5 cover.  The bar area had dozens of screens so you could see the fight from almost any table, but there was standing room only.  I made my way towards the back area of the bar where there was a bit more standing room and noticed that a decent sized table only had 3 people sitting at it, 5 could easily fit.  I asked nicely if they wouldn’t mind if I sat in one of the chairs facing away from their table… they didn’t mind.  So I ordered myself a beer for $3 and sat there with a big screen TV only a few feet away.

There had to be at least 50 people crammed into the bar area all uncomfortably standing there for a couple hours. All I had to do was ask the table if they minded if I used a chair.  They could have said no and nobody would have been worse off, but I took a few seconds to ask the question and at the end of the night I got front row seats with pretty much my own TV screen and a beer all for $8.

Getting What I Want + Extra… For Less Money

I just moved to Seattle and I forgot my cable to connect my Canon camera to my computer to get the photos off.  I know I own several of them, but I couldn’t find a single one if the stuff I brought up with me.  I found a RadioShack just a few blocks down and walked over to buy the missing cable.  When I got there an associate showed me $21.99 RadioShack brand cable after I explained to him what I needed… I asked about another cable at $19.99 and was told it wouldn’t work and that the cable he selected was “made for a Cannon camera.”  That makes about as much sense as certain bread being made for crunchy peanut butter and another bread being made for creamy, but for the $2 it wasn’t worth dealing with him any longer. I let it lie.

On the way to the counter I asked about if they had any Card Readers.  He reached onto a rack and grabbed a 6-in-1 card reader for $12.99.  Oh, it included a cable too.  He asked if I still wanted the RadioShack cable too… I did not.

I got the cable I wanted plus a 6-in-1 card reader because I asked one more question and was thinking creatively… Saving me $9 or 40% off.
 
 
Do you have a story about asking a question for a great reward?