Being Assertive... It's really not so hard.

I had some paperwork to copy today, so I went over to Staples. I put my folder down on the copier to remove some staples from the correspondence and put them in the feeder. I inserted my card, pressed two (2) for the number I needed and the papers began to feed. The machine keeps tabs on how many copies and then charges you accordingly.

I'm watching this tabulation go up to approximately $20.00 for about 31 copies. That made no sense, so I went over to the girl at the counter and asked her how much copies are. She advised that the machine I am on was a color copier and those copies were $.49 ... I said, oh... well, I only made black and white copies, I didn't realize that it wouldn't make a difference in price. She comes over to the machine, lifts my folder and points to this rather large sign which read that all copies, whether black and white or color were .49 each.

I asked what the other machines cost per copy and she said .08 per copy. I then asked her if I could get some kind of refund or credit as I had inadvertently used the other copy machine not realizing I would get charged the other amount. She said "No"... and really wouldn't budge.

I asked about a rebate, or a credit with the store... it made no logical sense to me to have to pay twenty dollars for copies due to a mistake on my part. She again, said "No".

I thought, wow they're really stern here. It didn't sit well with me at all, it wasn't the policy that was my problem, it was more the unyeilding responses where consideration was not afforded to me for this innocent mistake. It is/was something that could be easily remedied.

I asked to speak to a manager. She called him over, spoke to him as he walked up, pointed to me and he came over. I explained to him that I had made a mistake, I respect that I had misunderstood the little sign and hadn't seen the other sign and would he be so kind as to refund me the difference. I did have two copies that came out in color and I advised I would be happy to pay the dollar for that however the entire cost was completely in error on my part.

He refunded me $16.00 ... and I was happy. So, what's my point?

Don't get mad at the person behind the counter. They are only doing their job.
Don't assume that you must accept something before going further or over the clerk's head to see if something can be remedied.
Don't yell, be defensive, or be rude to the staff.
Speak clearly and nicely to any and all individuals you may have to speak to with your request.
Acknowledge that you made a mistake, if you have, and politely ask for what you want.

You may still get a "no" depending on the situation... however, at least you asked and made an effort to resolve it. Sometimes we assume we have to accept what someone says without question. At minimum, if you ask, and the response is still no... and you are not satisfied you can always go above someone else's head as well.

However, it never hurts to ask, and see if something can be worked out. If you are reasonable and rational towards others in your requests, I can't say that I would think you would meet with any problems.

Try it... The worst thing that could happen ? They could say No... that's not so bad and at least you tried.