Don't Be Afraid To Ask

Today I had a discussion with the bank. The check from the insurance company for my car was returned because it didn't have a signature endorsement. (Mental Note: Make sure you personally sign an insurance pay off check!) Because it went into an account that I rarely use, I didn't notice that it had been returned for awhile. We all know bank's like to make as much money as they can and mine was no exception. Not only was there a returned check fee, but there was also a daily fee.

I went into the bank to point out that it was their teller that endorsed the check not me. They knocked off half of the fees for me. Now, I admit that I'm not quite done. Some people may be happy with that and suck it up paying the rest of the fees. I am going to ask again and see what we can do by taking it another level.

If we are afraid to ask for things, we don't lose anything... unfortunately, we never gain anything either. On my to do list for this week is calling my credit cards and asking them to lower my interest rates. I've done this before with success, but it has been a couple of months. It's time for another try. The worst they can say is no.

A little HR secret... there are many articles out there proving that men are paid more than women. (It is catching up and I'm not here to start a sexism argument.) I would say that in my experience, men will ask where women tend to assume someone will notice. Lesson: Speak Up and Ask!