Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
-
- Posts: 2799
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:05 pm
Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
A sign at a restaurant in Nice, France reads:
Coffee Prices on the Terrace
"One coffee" .....................................7 Euros
"One coffee, please"............................4.25 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please" ....... 1.40 Euros
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... -customers
Coffee Prices on the Terrace
"One coffee" .....................................7 Euros
"One coffee, please"............................4.25 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please" ....... 1.40 Euros
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... -customers
-
- Posts: 62
- Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 11:39 am
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
LOL!
What's the polite phrase that results in free coffee?
What's the polite phrase that results in free coffee?
- thedayisbrave
- Posts: 122
- Joined: Sun May 05, 2013 8:56 pm
- Location: NC
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
Haha, I love it! To the question above: make friends with the baristas. May not get you free coffee every single time, but when I worked at a coffee shop we were definitely more generous with the customers considered our "favorites"MrManlyMister wrote:LOL!
What's the polite phrase that results in free coffee?
- TomatoTomahto
- Posts: 17158
- Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
My family accuses me of having the human equivalent of a puppy's wagging tail. It is nearly always appreciated by the various clerks, waiters, cashiers, gasoline pumpers, etc. that I encounter, and sometimes I get to say to the family: "scoff all you want, but that act of generosity/kindness/decency you just witnessed was because of my tail wagging."
Btw, for all the joshing they give me, the kids are pretty darned respectful and friendly with the people they interact with. They learn what they see, not so much what they're told.
Btw, for all the joshing they give me, the kids are pretty darned respectful and friendly with the people they interact with. They learn what they see, not so much what they're told.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
-
- Posts: 3007
- Joined: Wed Jul 10, 2013 2:59 pm
- Location: Metro ATL
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
Have you noticed that the news paper weblink has "police customers" and not "polite customers" at the end.
-
- Posts: 2799
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:05 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
Gasoline pumpers? What's that? LOLTomatoTomahto wrote:My family accuses me of having the human equivalent of a puppy's wagging tail. It is nearly always appreciated by the various clerks, waiters, cashiers, gasoline pumpers, etc.
- TheTimeLord
- Posts: 12130
- Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2013 2:05 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
I have been given multiple free lattes at Starbucks and the occassional free dinner at a restaurant. So sometimes being polite does pay.TravelforFun wrote:A sign at a restaurant in Nice, France reads:
Coffee Prices on the Terrace
"One coffee" .....................................7 Euros
"One coffee, please"............................4.25 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please" ....... 1.40 Euros
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... -customers
IMHO, Investing should be about living the life you want, not avoiding the life you fear. |
Run, You Clever Boy! [9085]
- TomatoTomahto
- Posts: 17158
- Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
You obviously don't live in NJ. We're not trusted to pump our own gas. I accidentally typed it as gasoline pampers the first time, which is possibly a more appropriate spelling.TravelforFun wrote:Gasoline pumpers? What's that? LOLTomatoTomahto wrote:My family accuses me of having the human equivalent of a puppy's wagging tail. It is nearly always appreciated by the various clerks, waiters, cashiers, gasoline pumpers, etc.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
- Epsilon Delta
- Posts: 8090
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:00 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
My original thought was to order in French, but I see the OP was not literal.MrManlyMister wrote:LOL!
What's the polite phrase that results in free coffee?
"Good morning! One coffee please" is 10 Euro.
"One coffee" gets the pot in your lap.
- JupiterJones
- Posts: 3624
- Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:25 pm
- Location: Nashville, TN
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
Oregon's the same way.TomatoTomahto wrote: You obviously don't live in NJ. We're not trusted to pump our own gas.
I remember driving a rental car there once and pulling over to fill up. I was chagrined to find that there were no self-serve pumps... so I drove down the street to the next gas station. Oddly, it was the same thing!
Eventually an attendant explained what was going on.
"Stay on target! Stay on target!"
- Taylor Larimore
- Posts: 32842
- Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:09 pm
- Location: Miami FL
Being Polite.
Travelforfun:
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being polite is that it makes you feel better knowing you are a good human being.
Best wishes
Taylor
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being polite is that it makes you feel better knowing you are a good human being.
Best wishes
Taylor
"Simplicity is the master key to financial success." -- Jack Bogle
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
"One coffee" .....................................7 Euros
"One coffee, please"............................4.25 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please" ....... 1.40 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please and thank you"....1.00 Euros
(curtsy when you say it)
"One coffee, please"............................4.25 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please" ....... 1.40 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please and thank you"....1.00 Euros
(curtsy when you say it)
Slow and steady wins the race.
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
One would argue that you should always be polite. In most cases, it's a sign of respect. In another case, you are trying to get something from the other person, so you have to hold your temper and ask nicely so you can get your stuff back, even if you feel like strangling the other person.
Paul
Paul
-
- Posts: 487
- Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:20 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
IMHO being polite is primarily a sign of respect to yourself. It signals that you come from a cultured/civilized family.paulsiu wrote:One would argue that you should always be polite. In most cases, it's a sign of respect. In another case, you are trying to get something from the other person, so you have to hold your temper and ask nicely so you can get your stuff back, even if you feel like strangling the other person.
Paul
Anakin
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
If you're an employee providing a service, obviously it makes the day more worthwhile when the customers are polite.
But if you're a customer dealing with a service provider, competence is what's most important (to me at least). I'm pretty much indifferent to if the waiter, the customer service rep or the sales clerk is "nice" or "friendly". What I care about is that they know how to do their job! Especially with technical support people. A task almost worst than death is trying to talk with a tech support person at an ISP. They are unfailiningly polite and have probably all been forced to take some kind of "How to Win Friends and Influence People" course, but they are also almost unfailingly frustratingly subpar at providing technical support.
But if you're a customer dealing with a service provider, competence is what's most important (to me at least). I'm pretty much indifferent to if the waiter, the customer service rep or the sales clerk is "nice" or "friendly". What I care about is that they know how to do their job! Especially with technical support people. A task almost worst than death is trying to talk with a tech support person at an ISP. They are unfailiningly polite and have probably all been forced to take some kind of "How to Win Friends and Influence People" course, but they are also almost unfailingly frustratingly subpar at providing technical support.
-
- Posts: 2799
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:05 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
No I don't live in NJ or OR. Here in Texas, full-service gas stations no longer exist.JupiterJones wrote:Oregon's the same way.TomatoTomahto wrote: You obviously don't live in NJ. We're not trusted to pump our own gas.
- TomatoTomahto
- Posts: 17158
- Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
I'm not sure that what we have are "full-service," but you're not supposed to pump your own gas. There are, however, some that will take your clean windshield and smear it up, but thankfully those are more rare than ones with free air for your tires.TravelforFun wrote:No I don't live in NJ or OR. Here in Texas, full-service gas stations no longer exist.JupiterJones wrote:Oregon's the same way.TomatoTomahto wrote: You obviously don't live in NJ. We're not trusted to pump our own gas.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
-
- Posts: 1405
- Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:31 am
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
I think I'm polite but I'm not friendly.
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
I'm the sort who'd be just fine submitting the order via computer screen.
Does that get me an additional discount?
(Just so you have an idea of the mindset at work, I'd love to see an automated fast food restaurant. Submit your order, and then watch the machinery build it. )
Does that get me an additional discount?
(Just so you have an idea of the mindset at work, I'd love to see an automated fast food restaurant. Submit your order, and then watch the machinery build it. )
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
I think polite and "businesslike" is the way to go. If we're friendly, that's just leverage to extract more of our net worth out of us. These days, if a customer service rep is friendly and you return the friendliness, they feel it's their right to put you in a more expensive Internet plan. Or they may guilt you into thinking they will be denied a promotion if you don't fill out a customer satisfaction survey. Or you may feel forced into leaving a bigger tip than you would otherwise because you've just had a friendly chat with the wait person and now you are best buds or BFFs. This can all be gotten around by being polite, but businesslike.fareastwarriors wrote:I think I'm polite but I'm not friendly.
- TomatoTomahto
- Posts: 17158
- Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
I'm sorry that has been your experience. I find that very few people try to take advantage of friendliness, and I don't think you have to be gullible to be friendly (although they do sometimes go together).dl7848 wrote:I think polite and "businesslike" is the way to go. If we're friendly, that's just leverage to extract more of our net worth out of us.fareastwarriors wrote:I think I'm polite but I'm not friendly.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
If I toast with the coffee and say 'Ваше здоровье!' will I get it for 0.95 Euros?TravelforFun wrote:A sign at a restaurant in Nice, France reads:
Coffee Prices on the Terrace
"One coffee" .....................................7 Euros
"One coffee, please"............................4.25 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please" ....... 1.40 Euros
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... -customers
Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake |
Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. |
Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
-
- Posts: 2799
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:05 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
Sure! Why not? Cheers!!!VictoriaF wrote:If I toast with the coffee and say 'Ваше здоровье!' will I get it for 0.95 Euros?TravelforFun wrote:A sign at a restaurant in Nice, France reads:
Coffee Prices on the Terrace
"One coffee" .....................................7 Euros
"One coffee, please"............................4.25 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please" ....... 1.40 Euros
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... -customers
Victoria
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
My stance is this, because I want people to be polite to my, I must be polite to them first.
In other words, I always give before I ask.
RESULT: The return of GOOD Karma
In other words, I always give before I ask.
RESULT: The return of GOOD Karma
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
My mother used to say "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar". She was right about that. If you are nice to people, they will be nice to you, sometimes even going out of their way to be nice. It's just common sense. I've always tried to do that, and it works.
Slow and steady wins the race.
- dratkinson
- Posts: 6116
- Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:23 pm
- Location: Centennial CO
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
Make a Vinegar Trap for Fruit Flies [aka vinegar fly]:Abe wrote:My mother used to say "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar". She was right about that. If you are nice to people, they will be nice to you, sometimes even going out of their way to be nice. It's just common sense. I've always tried to do that, and it works.
http://insects.about.com/od/insectssoci ... -Flies.htm
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (save money).
-
- Posts: 775
- Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 4:50 pm
Re: Being Polite.
Taylor Larimore wrote:Travelforfun:
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being polite is that it makes you feel better knowing you are a good human being.
Best wishes
Taylor
This
Debt is dangerous...simple is beautiful
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
It would be funny if people pulled in and pumped gas for each other. Just to skirt the rule.TomatoTomahto wrote:I'm not sure that what we have are "full-service," but you're not supposed to pump your own gas. There are, however, some that will take your clean windshield and smear it up, but thankfully those are more rare than ones with free air for your tires.TravelforFun wrote:No I don't live in NJ or OR. Here in Texas, full-service gas stations no longer exist.JupiterJones wrote:Oregon's the same way.TomatoTomahto wrote: You obviously don't live in NJ. We're not trusted to pump our own gas.
I wonder what the training consists of that allows the attendants to safely pump the gas in a way that no customer could ever accomplish without such training. Was it a union thing that led to such laws? Or am I misunderstanding?
Kalo
"When people say they have a high risk tolerance, what they really mean is that they are willing to make a lot of money." -- Ben Stein/Phil DeMuth - The Little Book of Bullet Proof Investing.
Re: Being Polite.
Yep!Taylor Larimore wrote:Travelforfun:
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being polite is that it makes you feel better knowing you are a good human being.
Best wishes
Taylor
Never in the history of market day-traders’ has the obsession with so much massive, sophisticated, & powerful statistical machinery used by the brightest people on earth with such useless results.
- StoppedOut
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:09 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
No, they really don't trust us. I guess you've never watched Jersey Shore. Besides, we have so many lawyers that every time some rocket surgeon barbecued himself, there would be a law suit - even if it was caused by the customer trying to juggle three blow torches while pumping his gas. Litigation here is practically a form of sport.Kalo wrote:It would be funny if people pulled in and pumped gas for each other. Just to skirt the rule.
I wonder what the training consists of that allows the attendants to safely pump the gas in a way that no customer could ever accomplish without such training. Was it a union thing that led to such laws? Or am I misunderstanding?
Kalo
I'm not even completely convinced they believe we know how gasoline works, what with the spark and the boom. So even if we would follow the rules (yeah, right), the danger would still be there since many wouldn't take it seriously. 'Look the poor dog seems hot. Let's wet him down with some nice cool gasoline.'
-
- Posts: 9279
- Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2010 11:47 am
Re: Being Polite.
Exactly.sschullo wrote:Yep!Taylor Larimore wrote:Travelforfun:
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being polite is that it makes you feel better knowing you are a good human being.
Best wishes
Taylor
The object is to make you laugh, and as a result, to want to be a nice person, which will make you laugh even more.
Not to save a euro or two.
Especially given that Nice is a tourist destination, the sign is in English (and thus directed at you, not at the locals), and it probably cost you thousands of euros just to get there. You can afford 7 euros for coffee.
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
It always amazes me how many people are rude to waiters, flight attendants, etc. and think that making a stink will get them free a free meal or an upgrade to a better seat. The person you are berating likely had nothing to do with creating the problem at hand, but may very well have the discretion to fix it. Why alienate them?Abe wrote:My mother used to say "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar". She was right about that. If you are nice to people, they will be nice to you, sometimes even going out of their way to be nice. It's just common sense. I've always tried to do that, and it works.
I have a friend who is always polite and professional and who ALWAYS asks for perks that she thinks are within the discretion of the person with whom she is dealing. We recently traveled together overseas on an airline for which she had elite status, which entitled her to a free upgrade to preferred seating (i.e., extra leg room). The upgrade cost for me would have been $159, but she called the customer service agent and told her that she was traveling with a friend who didn't have elite status. I was upgraded for free.
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
“And, in the endjmndu99 wrote:My stance is this, because I want people to be polite to my, I must be polite to them first.
In other words, I always give before I ask.
RESULT: The return of GOOD Karma
The love you take
is equal to the love you make.”
A philosophy I have always lived by. It must work, I'm one happy guy.
"Happiness is not about doing, it’s about being." - R Branson
- TomatoTomahto
- Posts: 17158
- Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
An example I've pointed out to my children:cherijoh wrote:It always amazes me how many people are rude to waiters, flight attendants, etc. and think that making a stink will get them free a free meal or an upgrade to a better seat. The person you are berating likely had nothing to do with creating the problem at hand, but may very well have the discretion to fix it. Why alienate them?
Some years ago, my wife had a technical employee who wanted very much to move into management. He was a technical talent, very hard-working, etc. During a lunch with him and some other co-workers, he was very rude to the waiter, and afterwards, my wife talked about how he probably had no idea that the lunch had cost him a 6-digit amount annually.http://www.finlit.fi/fili/en/books/dont-you-know-who-i-am-a-history-of-arrogance/ wrote:Sometimes self-importance comes at a high price: Sir Richard Branson launched a search for a director of his Virgin business empire on a TV programme called The Rebel Billionaire. The competitors were driven to Branson’s mansion in a taxi. The driver was always Branson himself, who disguised himself as a taxi driver. The driver chatted with the contestants during the journey. Once the taxi reached its destination, Branson removed his disguise. He eliminated two contestants straight away because they had conducted themselves poorly during the taxi ride. Branson believed that a contemptuous attitude towards ordinary people was also damaging for his company.
I was a cab driver for a short time between undergrad and grad school. People's true character comes out when they think they're dealing with someone with a lower station in life.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
Re: Being Polite.
Indeed. Thank you Taylor!Taylor Larimore wrote:Travelforfun:
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being polite is that it makes you feel better knowing you are a good human being.
Best wishes
Taylor
"I was born with nothing and I have most of it left."
-
- Posts: 2799
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:05 pm
Re: Want to Save Money? Be Polite!
My favorite Beatles' quote too.astrohip wrote:
“And, in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make.”
- Epsilon Delta
- Posts: 8090
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:00 pm
Re: Being Polite.
That's a very strange version of English that looks exactly like French. Here is the link again. Please read it this time.protagonist wrote: Especially given that Nice is a tourist destination, the sign is in English
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... -customers
Re: Being Polite.
Epsilon Delta wrote:That's a very strange version of English that looks exactly like French. Here is the link again. Please read it this time.protagonist wrote: Especially given that Nice is a tourist destination, the sign is in English
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d ... -customers
That doesn't look like French to me. Now if you are saying the OP posted a misleading post, assuming that everyone would know that reads is just another word for translates as, then I would agree. In fact, when I first clicked on the link, I was surprised it was in French; I thought at least half if not more of the point was that the sign was in English. What is more polite than a French business posting a sign in English for the English speaking tourists?A sign at a restaurant in Nice, France reads:
Coffee Prices on the Terrace
"One coffee" .....................................7 Euros
"One coffee, please"............................4.25 Euros
"Good morning! One coffee please" ....... 1.40 Euros
So who didn't read? The OP, who couldn't tell French from English, protagonist, who couldn't tell French from English, or everyone who didn't know what reads means?
- Epsilon Delta
- Posts: 8090
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:00 pm
Re: Being Polite.
Unfortunately many people and groups make up rules so they can feel good about themselves while scorning outsiders for not knowing them. This is not politeness. It's simply another form of prejudice.Taylor Larimore wrote:Travelforfun:
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being polite is that it makes you feel better knowing you are a good human being.
Best wishes
Taylor
Politeness respects the dignity and worth of everybody, even when they are different from you. The, probably apocryphal, hostess who mimics her uninformed guest by drinking her own finger bowl comes to mind.
Re: Being Polite.
I concur! I do feel better when I am being polite and I try very hard to always be polite. I learned that from my Mother -- It makes the receiver of the politeness feel better and that is my purpose for trying to be polite. There are no losers when a person is polite -- everyone feels better and that is good!Taylor Larimore wrote:Travelforfun:
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being polite is that it makes you feel better knowing you are a good human being.
Best wishes
Taylor
Complimenting people for doing something well has the same properties as politeness. When someone does something wrong he often gets criticism. When he does something well he rarely gets complimented. It really makes both of you feel especially good when compliments are handed out (it is even better when you pass the word on to his boss/her also)!
Contrary to the belief of many, profit is not a four letter word!