Second opinions are more than just for doctors or auto mechanics. You can ask a second opinion from any company or organization in almost any situation. When calling an airline, cable or phone company or any other company, many times you are treated based on the mood the representative that you are talking to is in. If you feel that you are not getting the service you expect, ask to speak to a different representative. If that doesn’t work, you can always hang up and call right back. The chances of you getting the same person are usually pretty slim.
Here are two stories that happened to me recently where a second opinion helped me out:
Glasses Shopping – I was shopping for a new pair of prescription glasses when I was in
Refund at American Airlines – I just had to cancel airline tickets for my family that we will not be using because the conference I was going to got cancelled. I called up American Airlines yesterday and asked them what I can do about it. The representative told me that she could cancel the tickets for me but would charge me $100 per ticket to cancel. I decided to wait a day to make sure that my conference was for sure not happening. When I called back today, I spoke to a different representative who cancelled my tickets but only charged me a fraction of the price to cancel my son’s ticket since he is a child.
Every once in a while you will find someone in a good mood who is willing to help you and go the extra mile for you. Sometimes employees have the authority to wave charges and will do that for you if they feel like it. When I buy something online, I look at a price comparison website such as www.pricegrabber.com, find the lowest price and then go to that store, sometime even call them, to see if I can get a better deal. It never hurts to ask for a second opinion or if there are any sales or promotions going on. If you don’t ask, you won’t get lucky.
I am a typical person more or less that has always tried to get away with doing the absolute minimum to get by. In school, I did my assignments last minute, I barely passes some of my tests, I crammed for everything and didn't care about retaining any information. I always wanted to be successful and get lucky but my problem was that I thought that luck and chance were synonymous. One day, all that changed when i found out that there was more to "Luck". I learned that it was possible to make your own luck and that people that were "lucky", all had very similar characteristics. I made a conscious decision to become one of those lucky people and the world started to open up. It didn't happen overnight and I'm still not there yet but at least I know what to look for and what to do. Recognizing the opportunities to get lucky is only the beginning of the battle. Now I have to train myself to jump on every opportunity and one day be truly "lucky".
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