This blog entry has been building up in my mind for the past few weeks, as I have been experiencing more and more situations where speaking up would either save me money or get me more for my money. I think a lot of people go through life not wanting to raise a fuss or be difficult. Here are some examples that demonstrate just how many different ways in which we let others take our money, on a regular basis:
- Fees to use our debit card: we’ve all become accustomed to being charged these “convenience” fees when using debit cards. I plan to have a more detailed blog about them, but for now let me just recommend something. If you are unaware of how much the fee is and upon reaching the part that displays it you feel it’s too much, then cancel the transaction and tell the clerk you’ve changed your mind. Add that you’re choosing not to purchase because of that fee. If enough people did that and shopped elsewhere, perhaps those store owners would abolish the fees. As far as I’M concerned, offering that service to their customers should be considered a cost of doing business, and not passed on to the customer. 25 cents, 35 cents, 50 cents. That adds up over the course of a year.
- Being given small portions: I was in the food court of a grocery store last week and ordered some chicken tenders and potato wedges. It was a three-piece meal and I watched as the guy reached down and picked up three of the small pieces. I know this might sound petty, but I asked if I could get a 4th one on account of those being smaller. If I’m paying for something and am used to getting a certain size portion, then I don’t really feel like paying the same amount of money for a smaller portion. This can happen just about anywhere you order food. Get what you pay for, and if you don’t feel you’re getting your money’s worth ask for more.
- Receiving a wrong/unsatisfactory food order: if you’re dining in a restaurant – even a fast food place – and the order is wrong, why would you keep it that way and pay for it regardless? Again, this may seem petty and we often like to avoid seeming difficult, but you’ve ordered a certain food item and have agreed to pay a price for that item (well-prepared). If it is burned, undercooked, or not the way you ordered it, ask to have it fixed. This amounts to nothing more than both sides completing their side of the transaction as implicitly agreed. If after an incorrect or underwhelming meal you decided to pay less, the restaurant would not accept that lesser payment, so why should you accept the lesser meal?
- Higher price than expected: I find that some food establishments don’t always make it clear how much things cost, so if you order something (ideally something already prepared and not something they had to make for you) and the price is higher than you are willing to pay, feel free to let them know you changed your mind. A friend of mine and I went to a local pizza place recently and she ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza, with a side order of donair sauce (for those of you who are unfamiliar, here is a link to the first to introduce donairs in Canada – right here in Halifax). The price ended up being $5.48 and we both looked at each other, kind of puzzled. I wondered what else she ordered to make it cost so much. We debated whether to stay and eventually decided to shop elsewhere after telling the worker that it seemed quite expensive for the most basic pizza slice they sold, with a side of what essentially costs pennies to make (evaporated milk, sugar, white vinegar, garlic powder). He told us the sauce was 85 cents!! I’m spoiled, as I have a pizza place downstairs that sells a slice for $3.50 after tax (and includes donair sauce for free, like most places).
- Taxis taking the expensive route: I am pretty opposed to taking taxis. If I can walk, skateboard, or bus I would MUCH rather do that than spend money on a taxi. I am so stubborn in this respect that I will walk 30-40 minutes sometimes just to avoid paying for a cab. It’s only usually when I’m late or have a lot to carry that I will cave and use this method of transportation. I’m sure many of you have experienced the cab driver who takes you the expensive way. Sometimes the longer way can be a better deal for you if it avoids sitting in traffic, but other times a savvy rider can catch on to a cabbie who is taking them for a ride. Speak up! Call the driver on this and ask him/her to please take the most direct route rather than zig-zagging or taking a roundabout way. See if they can defend it at all. I realize this one can get confrontational, as they have more experience than most of us. But let’s face it, sometimes cab drivers just take the long way to make more money.
I hope I’ve helped you to realize than there are many ways that we just pay for things we shouldn’t and that realizing when it’s happening can eventually help us to get more for our money. If you have any other examples, I’d be happy to hear them! Stay tuned for my upcoming blog entry about those infuriating debit “convenience” fees.
Comments (10)
I'm always scared to return my food... I'll suffer through it. I've seen too many exposés and nasty movies about what happens to returned food. Call me Paranoid.
Taking a cab home last weekend...the cabby tried to abuse the fact that I am not from Sudbury. Me being all drunken and stupid I probably should not have mentioned that fact. Anywhooo...I mentioned to him that it seemed like an awfully long cab ride in a direction that made no sense to me. I told him straight up that I paid like $9 to get to the bar earlier in much heavier traffic (looking at the amount on the dash and it was already past $10). Turns out by speaking up - even drunk - I got the ride for $9 again instead.
Sudbury is such a dirty rag and crime-infested town (especially downtown) this whole experience actually kind of scared me.
Tim Hortons messed up my order one morning last week as well. Put PLAIN cream cheese on instead of HERB & GARLIC (OMG can you imagine!!!!?). They were all irritated that I gave it back and asked them to give me what I ASKED for (even though I asked so politely)...that is the part the sucks the most about standing up for yourself like that. People get so defensive and ugly when it is THEY that made the mistake anyway.
Sudbury? A crime infested town?! As a Sudbury native, I can attest to the fact that Sudbury has one of the lowest crime rates in Canada! As per Statistics Canada's latest report on crime, Sudbury had a robbery rate of 41 per 100 000 population, as where Winnipeg was at 229 per 100 000, not to mention all of the other rates that are super low.
And cabs in Sudbury are pretty sketchy... I won't debate on that one!!
In this cornaah, we have Michelle, who not so long ago lived in what Maclean's magazine hails as 71% above the national average for sexual assault (3rd highest in their list) and 186% above the national average for robbery (5th highest in their list)
- March 24th Issue
In the other cornaah, we have Michel (if you write Le Michel, we have all the same letters as his contender) who comes from a place far less dangerous than Halifax (that JUST snuck into the Top 10 Worst Canadian cities for crime at #10 according to the same Maclean's article).
Ding Ding Ding! Aaaaaaand...fight! Haha.
Seriously though , thanks Michelle. You make some valid points, that go to show that sometimes we do have to speak up to avoid being ripped off. Even in a place as Pleasantville-y as Sudbury, Michel.
ROFL! Pleasantville-y!! Nice!
Although, I must admit, I get pretty upset when my herb and garlic cream cheese is not spread on both sides of the bagel, so I can just imagine if they got the kind of cream cheese wrong...
articlessssscccmmmmmmarticle!! :)
nick, you take a little stroll in sudbury at night and you will see what i am talking about...it is just feels less safe in sudbury because there are a lot less people hanging around and it seems like a lot more dirty people. in halifax you have a gazillion young university students hanging around til all hours of the night which kind of provides you with this false sense of security. i had no qualms walking home by myself drunk at 4am in halifax. i would not even try that here in sudbury at any timeof night whether that be 9pm or 2am!!
i mean, seriously...michel would you be more comfortable walking downtown toronto by yourself after dark or sudbury? ;P
AND what is up with that horrible spread job!! they may as well just slop it on cause you have to do it yourself again anyway. most of it is oozing out the middle and when you pull it apart all of the cheeseeeee lands on the one side.
on that note...my friend went to tims one time and got a coffee. as she was drinking it she found that it tasted rather strange. when we got back to her place she poured it out in the sink and her coffee was not just coffee...it had a tea bag inside the cup too! oooops?
Outstanding post!
The squeaky wheel gets the grease. (or something like that)
At places like restaurants where portion are not usually measured out, the worker will almost always give you a bit extra if you ask nicely. The guy making $6 an hour would gladly give up a few fries for someone who makes the work a little less mundane with a joke or a complement.
Service fees are the "tips" of the 21st century. Tips were originally meant for excellent service, now it's understood that you pay 15-20% for a haircut, a meal, etc. I think service fees are the same. 10 years ago, very few "services" requires fees, now they're understood. Criminal.
Oh, thanks Cory. I appreciate that you 1) read the entries here and 2) comment on them. It helps get a dialog going. It's funny how blog entries sometimes become the accumulation of things that just keep popping up over and over in our lives. Coming soon is going to be a story of how much trouble I had just getting food at SMU. Might even video blog it up...I don't think written words do it justice. I think some good ol fashioned rants are in order soon. Haha. I am too old for that Rant Like Rick Mercer competition, as it's only for high school students, but I now have my own forum. I should use it.
Hi Nick!
I just read your comment on my guest post at Consumerism Commentary, and how funny, we did write about a very similar subject! I didn't even think of including bank fees or portions that were too small in my post. You have some great ideas here. Thanks for your comment!
Best,
Emily
Thanks so much for stopping by, Emily. I appreciate the kind words. Glad you took the time out of your blogging schedule to check it out. I'll be sure to wander over to your blog when I'm out and about in the blogosphere. You're very thorough in your coverage of credit and finance-related issues. Cheers.
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