Negotiating for the Non-Negotiator

There is a certain skill associated with negotiating.  I know a lot of people enjoy the thrill of bartering, the back and forth banter involved in sealing the deal, the whole dance.

Craig, for instance, has a patented approach to buying a car.  He puts on his game face and brings his A game.

I usually just do what I am told.  If I ask a price on something, I, typically, just accept the price and either buy the item or move on.

Today, though, I went a little of script.

I had to call the oil company to “lock in” my ceiling rate…  Currently I pay no more than a $3.99 a gallon but my term was running out.  I was putting it off because, hey, who likes calling the oil company?  Not this girl.

Anyway, walking thru the mail yesterday I saw a competitor’s sign offering new customers a rate of $3.69/ gallon.

Bitterness poured over me…  A loyal customer surely deserved that price!  So, today I called my oil company with a little more attitude…

The representative had a very nice voice…. It almost threw me off my game…  So, be wary of a nice voice.

I was told the average rate on Long Island (without an agreement) was $4.54 a gallon but since I was such a good customer I was given a rate of $4.24…

A far cry from the siren’s call of $3.69  at the mall…

So, I politely said I would call back tomorrow after discussing the value with my husband and investigating the price from the mall.

Just call me Miss Passive Aggressive.

Well, apparently that is all I needed to say.   The nice man on the phone spoke to his supervisor and lowered the price to $4.09.  Not the best price in the world, but much better than the first price…

So, what is the point of this meandering story?

Sometimes it pays to be a little hard to get…

Solid advice that can be used across the board.