ALWAYS PLACE A CALL TO ENSURE YOU'RE GETTING WHAT YOU WANT
Before I ever finalize anything (from travel to online shopping) I will call the business to ensure I'm getting what I want. And what I want is the best outcome for my dollar. When I make my travel plans online for instance, I will phone both the airline and hotel I'm considering, and will actively seek out a "better deal." More often than not I find one! Two examples from this past week:
1. I am going to be flying to Japan on business and was interested in purchasing an upgradeable economy ticket (so that I could use my miles to move into Business class). The internet pulled up fares starting at $2700 which seemed exhorbitant to me, so I picked up the phone and called United Airlines directly. Sure enough, I was immediately quoted a fare $500 less than the web had presented - coming in at $2200 for the EXACT same itinerary. I don't have any visibility (or insight) into why this is the case, but it's either a system glitch or goes to prove that human-to-human interaction uncovers greater options than human-to-computer. I booked the flight at $2200 and made my boss very happy!
2. My boyfriend and I were eager to get away to a local vacation spot for one night of R & R. When checking the website it was clear that weekend stays require a two-night minimum. We only wanted to stay one night. We picked up the phone and called the property directly and were immediately extended a Saturday night-only stay, no questions asked. This one call enabled us to get away because had the two-night min. held, we wouldn't have gone.
These are two solid examples of why calling a business (any business) can reap rewards with little effort and energy spent on your part.
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