7 Secrets to Getting What You Want from Businesses

We have all been there. A store or business does something you believe is unfair to you. You go to the manager with your story of how they did not treat you fairly. After you've told your account of the incident, the manager says, "I'm sorry, it's our policy and I can't do anything more to help you." Is that infuriating, or what?

Here are seven secrets to getting what you want.

1) If you're in the right, you should never accept no for an answer. However, you need to know when to fight and when to flee. By that I mean this. Let's say a business owes you $15 for a refund they didn't honor or something like that. If you choose to fight and it will take you five hours of your time, you best course of action is to flee. You have to put a value on your time. Whether you think you're worth $10 an hour or $200 an hour, you must establish your value. Five hours to fix a $15 business dispute is not worth the time, so move on.

2) To get what you deserve from a dishonorable business you have to think the same as they do. They don't care if the washing machine they delivered is an off white and you wanted white. They only care about the bottom line. Don't give them some sob story, appeal to their bottom line thinking. Make them a business proposition that will make them money. Explain that you are prepared to tell people how unfair they are and you are also prepared to loudly and publicly protest your unfair treatment and even convince their customers to shop elsewhere by offering them incentives. You must convince them that to ignore you will cost them money.

3) Be willing to play a little like Dirty Harry. Look the business bad guy straight in the eye and tell them that as a concerned citizen you are willing to pass out flyers or money just to make sure no one else shops there and has a bad experience like you. Tell them that you are so upset at their customer service you've written down your horror story and plan on giving it to their competitors and the local newspaper with permission to publicize it.

4) If you're dealing with a large company and getting nowhere with customer service, call investor relations or the sales department. Here's a neat trick. Buy 5 shares of the company's stock. Call up the investor relations department and relay that as a stockholder you are appalled at how they are treating their customers. Tell them that you plan on attending the next annual meeting and stand at the microphone and let the chairman of the board know how awful this company is towards their customers. That will shake them up.

5) Make the little guy your ally. When you contact someone about your problem, chances are you are going to get an overworked and underpaid middle manager. Make them feel that they can be the hero by saying, "I know you can fix this" or "I would love to write your manager and tell them how helpful you've been in fixing this problem". Make sure you get their name, phone number, and any other information that might be of use later.

6) If you shout or swear, the business has an excuse to dismiss you as a problem customer. You have to keep your cool. You stand a much better chance of succeeding if you behave businesslike and simply state the facts and not accept no as an answer in a pleasant way.

7) Let your credit card company help. Ask them to put the charge on hold. Let the business know what you have done. This will give you additional leverage in your fight for fairness.

As a consumer, you deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity. You do not need to settle for less than a satisfactory and positive business transaction.