I don't mind haggling on the phone to get a lower price (see my column on negotiating to lower my cable bill). But when it comes to wheeling and dealing face-to-face, I balk. My husband, on the other hand, won't hesitate to talk his way to a better deal. In fact, he just saved us $200 on a bill from the plumber because he wasn't afraid to negotiate.
The water heater in a rental cottage behind our house died. So when he got a quote from the plumbing company, he asked if we could get an hour of labor knocked off the cost because we were frequent customers. Then he got another hour knocked off the total after questioning whether it was fair for the plumbers to charge us for time they spent driving back and forth to their warehouse to get parts.
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