What is one everyday thing you think is THRIFTY, but your friends/family think is CHE

[Winemaker]

One day Mom brought home a dead ring-necked pheasant she had hit on the road while coming home from work. Damn right we ate and enjoyed it.

Coming home from midnight shift, a co-worker had a turkey come through the windshield, just a few miles from home. He/she flapped around in the car until it died, and the driver continued home, then gutted and plucked the poor thing, and they had it the next day or two for dinner. We all had a good laugh over that one, what a mess.

 

[Perryinva]

Ok, now this thread has just plain gotten too weird......

 

[Koolau]

Coming home from midnight shift, a co-worker had a turkey come through the windshield, just a few miles from home. He/she flapped around in the car until it died, and the driver continued home, then gutted and plucked the poor thing, and they had it the next day or two for dinner. We all had a good laugh over that one, what a mess.

Turning lemons into lemonade.

 

[Nick12]

My friend waters down the Soft Soap he puts in his bathroom soap dispenser because he thinks the kids use too much. CHEAP!

The person probably read the book " The Tightwad Gazette ". I read it from cover to cover about 20 years ago. When working for MegaCorp, one of my peers knew I was always saving and investing so she gave me the book as a present.

 

[Nick12]

One man's cheap is another man's smart. I'm not going to pay $200 a month for cable when a quick phone call can negotiate that down to $120. Or $18 a month for my sirius when I can call and get $5.

That's the way to do it. I do also. I ask to speak to the "retention" dept when I call customer service. I explain to them I am a loyal customer and I am having second thoughts on discontinuing the services. They come back to meetings promotional rates for 12 months. I remind myself in 12 months to call again and they give me another promotional rate. It takes just a few minutes on the phone but in the long run its more money still in my pocket to spend or invest.

 

[Amethyst]

When our home warranty expired, I decided to renew it because most of the appliances are 17 years old. They quoted me a much higher price than the promotional one that the sellers paid. I got it down a little. Two months later, I got a stern "past due" notice for the difference between the original quoted price and what I paid. What ensued was a mess of escalating phone calls, for two weeks. The CS rep had "neglected" to record the discount, so corporate didn't want to believe it existed.

The exact same thing happened when I negotiated our BJs membership from $55 down to $25. We went to the store, they said our membership had expired, we had to leave our groceries, and again I went round and round on the phone, only to find that the CS rep hadn't recorded the discount.

I'm not sure how to avoid this, since the original CS rep can't issue a confirmation; they have to send it somewhere.

But, but, but, they have "one of a kind", personally exclusive name brand sometimes, one of a kind inventory.
Shops as such w/other similar repurposed, overstock, bankruptcy liquidation, closeouts, outdated inventory, etc. have been my favorite shopping locations since becoming self reliant.

I tee shirt for $45.00 on Nantucket, or for $1.00, 30% off on discount Tuesdays @ 0.70cents beats most other offerings imo.
Except one that fits you find on the Long key bridge @ 0.00.

I must be quiet.

That's the way to do it. I do also. I ask to speak to the "retention" dept when I call customer service. I explain to them I am a loyal customer and I am having second thoughts on discontinuing the services. They come back to meetings promotional rates for 12 months. I remind myself in 12 months to call again and they give me another promotional rate. It takes just a few minutes on the phone but in the long run its more money still in my pocket to spend or invest.

 

[Aerides]

I'm not sure how to avoid this, since the original CS rep can't issue a confirmation; they have to send it somewhere.

If they can't confirm, you don't have the right person, or you might ask for a record. I've never left one of these types of calls without an email or some promised "action" that I can expect to see within 24 hours. (like verify in my account or something). Or if it's via an online chat, I print a transcript.

And usually, since call center reps have near-zero time allowed between calls, they can't do follow ups and referrals - they have you on the line the whole time until whatever buttons are pushed. So sometimes these negotiations are 1 minute talking, 4 mins holding while they "check and process" but it's almost always done in real time.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

This is why I try to do all support "calls" via online chat. (Well, that, and as a Gen Xer I hate talking on the phone!) Most chat systems have a way to save the chat, and in fact USAA and some others will save it for you automatically. For those that don't, I've been copying and pasting the chats into Notepad for years anyway.

But if I were you, I'd start taking notes and asking for names. A lot of times I forget and wish I had, but there are a couple of companies that have done that often enough that I ALWAYS take notes.

When our home warranty expired, I decided to renew it because most of the appliances are 17 years old. They quoted me a much higher price than the promotional one that the sellers paid. I got it down a little. Two months later, I got a stern "past due" notice for the difference between the original quoted price and what I paid. What ensued was a mess of escalating phone calls, for two weeks. The CS rep had "neglected" to record the discount, so corporate didn't want to believe it existed.

The exact same thing happened when I negotiated our BJs membership from $55 down to $25. We went to the store, they said our membership had expired, we had to leave our groceries, and again I went round and round on the phone, only to find that the CS rep hadn't recorded the discount.

I'm not sure how to avoid this, since the original CS rep can't issue a confirmation; they have to send it somewhere.

 

[harllee]

That's the way to do it. I do also. I ask to speak to the "retention" dept when I call customer service. I explain to them I am a loyal customer and I am having second thoughts on discontinuing the services. They come back to meetings promotional rates for 12 months. I remind myself in 12 months to call again and they give me another promotional rate. It takes just a few minutes on the phone but in the long run its more money still in my pocket to spend or invest.

Spectrum in my area no longer negotiates rates. I called several times, was told no negotiation, no retention dept, went in person to their local office and was told no negotiation--take it or leave it. So I left and went with Youtube TV, much cheaper, all the stations I want and much better DVR.

 

[GravitySucks]

Spectrum in my area no longer negotiates rates. I called several times, was told no negotiation, no retention dept, went in person to their local office and was told no negotiation--take it or leave it. So I left and went with Youtube TV, much cheaper, all the stations I want and much better DVR.

Same here.
OTA, Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu makes for too much tv watching as it is.

 

[Amethyst]

Of course I take notes and ask for names (all they will give is a first name, usually something odd). I learned this from my Mother But when someone says the issue is taken care of, I have tended to believe them.

What I need to do is insist on timely confirmation before I will end the call. After 2 hours (even on chat) that takes willpower, which I can summon. Then again after 2 hours (for which they are being paid, but I am not) I start to wonder if the discount was even worth it!

But if I were you, I'd start taking notes and asking for names. A lot of times I forget and wish I had, but there are a couple of companies that have done that often enough that I ALWAYS take notes.