A relatively small and parochial point this week, but it illustrates that opportunities to negotiate abound. A deal may just improve your position in any walk of life.
I have been working in the US this week and flew into JFK on Monday with the intention of staying in Manhattan on Monday prior to starting work on Tuesday. I booked into a small hotel just off Broadway.
Now, New York is 5 hours behind UK time so at around 9 pm (2 am on my body clock) I decided to turn in.
I switched on the TV for a little R & R. Nothing doing. Intermittent picture and no sound. A call down to reception. A knock on the door.
The technical guy managed to fix the TV. Problem solved.
After a couple of hours of fitful sleep I come round at 4 am local time, groggy and grumpy.
I switch on the TV. Nothing. Problem back.
It crossed my mind to get the technical guy back. But at 4 am? Not very happy. One of my priorities when staying in a hotel with the possibility of Jet Lag is having a decent entertainment system.
At reception that morning I informed the desk about the problem.
They wisely apologised and asked me what they could do to fix the problem that they had created. A great question.
Now tempting as it is to have a good old rant and complain, not much sleep makes anyone grumpy, I resisted. I also recognised a deal opportunity. I made a proposal: Upgrade me to a better room and give me a free movie - and that would make the problem go away. Deal done.
Look, the reality of life is that things go wrong. Mistakes get made. Stuff breaks. Changes create hassle. Having a good old moan is an option, but it gets you very little apart from the pleasure in making someone else unhappy and an increase in blood pressure.
If you have a complaint make a proposal to improve your position. It just might work.
Alan Smith
