Get VIP Treatment On a Slim Budget |
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Today's guest post is from Donny Gamble, author of a personal finance blog called Invesmint. His website discusses the many topics surrounding various topics of personal finance including what to do if Credit Card Debt Burying you Alive? Dig Out with These Resources.
Think you must have Donald Trump status before you get front row seats in a dinner theater. Not. You don’t have to be claim relation to Sidney Poitier either. Just follow these tips and you not only save on scalper prices, but you get celebrity treatment all the way.
- Purchase tickets just before show time - Ask politely if you can purchase unclaimed Will Call tickets. If tickets are available you may not only get a great discount but front row seats, too.
- Get a table at a trendy restaurant by going after 8 p.m - If a restaurant has reserved a table for at least 25 minutes and the party doesn’t show, they’ll offer the table to you.
- Get a better seat on a plane by scoping out all the empty seats - If you see one you want, wait until just before the seat belts on light appears and make your move.
- Receive top-notch customer service from sales clerks by dressing nicely - Wearing your Sunday best can get you anything from higher end shopping bags (the kinds with handles) to tips on further store discounts, to coupons, to free parking.
- Create a corporate account through online car rental agencies - You’ll receive free car upgrades, discounts on hotels and restaurants, and in some cases free flyer miles.
- Tip baristas well - In return you’ll always receive a correct coffee order. You’ll always get the freshest pastries and even be treated to free refills.
- A sincere compliment gets you more personalized attention - When you visit a barber or hair stylist; a nail technician; or have a one-on-one session with a personal trainer, you’ll receive more than you pay for in time or services if you compliment the person who provides the service.
celebrity treatment, store discounts
... and focuses on:Spending
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Tipd3 Responses to “Get VIP Treatment On a Slim Budget”
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Great tips . . . but:
Asking to purchase ‘unclaimed Will Call tickets’ at a show, will only cause the Box Office staff to roll their eyes at you. ;-) Ask instead to purchase: last minute released seats, RUSH seats (usually for as low as $15), anything but the Will Call seats. Will Call seats, though unclaimed, are STILL the property of the person who bought them. Many theatres have late seating and the box office staff will not sell tickets of someone who may be running late cuz they are having problems finding a place to park. ;-)
The unclaimed Will Call . . .belongs to the person who bought them. If they buy tickets and decide not to come, that’s THEIR business.
But yes, ask. Always ask! Even if they say the show is sold out, the show is NEVER SOLD OUT. Wait until show time and just ask. Producers hold seats – not many, but some – and the Box office also holds Trouble Seats for last minute seating problems. So, yes, ask for those. And waiting til the last minute, asking for the Box Office Manager – and being friendly – usually works.
But yes . . . excellent list otherwise!
Laura
~who works for Ticketmaster part time. ;-)
tipping a barista for pressing a button is idiotic, just like tipping a Supershuttle driver. sorry, you can get the same benefits without doing so. i hope in this day and age of economic turmoil, people will learn what it means to actually work for a tip rather than be entitled to one.
better seat on airplane: online check in and you can pick your seat. be nice to desk person or have lots of miles and get a better seat.
dressing nice for sales clerks was so 80s. with dot com gazillionaires and the 90s anyone could be wealthy, so dressing nicely gets you nothing. in fact, i find that dressing a bit disheveled gets me better service, because they assume that i’m wealthy (ok, i actually am). i was watching a tv show about realator in southern california which best sums this phenomena: the Realtor said rich people don’t dress up to look for houses, so that is how he identified who were potential buyers and who came in from the burbs to drink champagne and dream. he spotted two out then said, i bet they have a mustang convertible rental, and he went outside and voila mustang convertible rental.
you don’t need to create a corporate rental acct, and those discounts aren’t necessarily the best deals anyways. if you check with your bank, company, or whatever, you might be surprised to find they have a corporate code you can use already.
a smile and being nice goes a long way, i agree with that.
be friendly.My favorite Thai Restuarant small-just before Holidays they were busy but as I left the 5 working there all waved and each said thank you.what more can you ask//
ike