HHN question.

slithernoggin said:
...they pull out their black American Express card that, well, annoy me...

Racist.

Vater said:

I agree that if you can't afford something, don't spend money on it. What I don't get is that if I can afford it, I should pay full price even if discounts are available..especially if I own a Bentley.

I'll respectfully disagree.

It's not the people that ask for a discount and then go on to buy tickets that bother me.

It's the folks that ask for senior discounts and ZIP code based discounts and I have such and such credit card discounts and student discounts and it's so close to showtime discounts and it's Tuesday discounts...

... and when I process their payment, they live in Wilmette or another affluent North Shore suburb. It's the sense of entitlement that annoys me.

But that was exactly his point, and mine for that matter. Who are you to decide what people can afford based on their zip code? What you call entitlement, I call managing priorities. Would you make assumptions about what I could afford or call me entitled because I drive an electric space car? Because guess what... a few weeks ago I raised hell about a broken promotion for the Universal BMG show. In the end, I got the $35 deal, not because I felt like I was entitled to it, but because it was available. A hundred different decisions I make are the reason I can drive that car, so your crappy judgment is crappy.

Jeff said:

But that was exactly his point, and mine for that matter. Who are you to decide what people can afford based on their zip code? What you call entitlement, I call managing priorities.

For the record, that's what I was hinting at as well.

Who gets to decide someone "has enough" to not be deserving of discounts? Who even thinks like that? It's this weird larger class thing that's sort of taken hold in the last few years. Has the goofy idea of the rich "paying their fair share" even trickled down to theme park and theatre tickets? Ugh.

Buying something at an available discounted price even though you could afford the full price isn't being entitled or cheap or rude - it's common sense.

I answered the phone and sold things for practically my whole working life. The number one sales rule was not to determine for the customer how they should spend their money, or how much, particularly based on where they lived. And when discounts apply everyone is entitled.

Rich folks don't stay that way by giving their money away.

But I can see somewhat where our Slith is coming from. Sometimes after a billion customer contacts the way some people act toward you and your business can be irksome. And that's certainly a bit natural.

slithernoggin said:

Shades said:

If I can get a lower price simply by asking why would I not do that? Why leave money on the table?

...And again, if you can't afford to see a show or go to an amusement park or what have you without a discount, maybe you shouldn't be doing that to begin with.

Sometimes a discount is the only way people get the chance to have a certain experience and when that's the case I'm certainly not going to blame them for finding a way to see the show or go to the park. If you can't afford something at full price you find a way to get it for less. As long as it's being done honestly it's a survival skill. As far as judging how much money someone has by where they live you never know why someone is living where they are. I've been in the position before of having a desirable address despite not having any money because a housing opportunity came up through coworkers who needed someone to stay in an elderly family member's house.

I do understand what you're all saying. I don't mind people asking for discounts. (I'm someone who's been annoyed that the local grocery store's meat department is managing its inventory better and no longer offers "reduced for quick sale" packages of meat -- I love a deal. (I miss my $2 filet mignons.))

And I have on occasion. for example, offered up our student discount (half price) when the customers are clearly not students because I understood it was important to them to see the show for various reasons but the cost was an issue.

It's the very small number of people who ask for discount after discount, and then pay with a credit card that requires a significant income to obtain, or live in a suburb like Wilmette, where the median list price per square foot is over twice the Chicago metro average*, that causes my inner voice to start cursing. They are not people for whom a discount is the only way they'll be able to afford to an experience.

*And yes, I know that not everyone that lives in Wilmette is earning $400,000 or $500,000 or $600,000 a year; but many of the residents are. I live in a fairly affluent Chicago neighborhood, but I live in a friend's basement.

slithernoggin said:

I do understand what you're all saying... It's the very small number of people who ask for discount after discount, and then pay with a credit card that requires a significant income to obtain, or live in a suburb like Wilmette, where the median list price per square foot is over twice the Chicago metro average*, that causes my inner voice to start cursing.

It doesn't sound like you understand at all.

Publix Grocery store