I'm a notorious bill fighter. If you dare to send me an invoice, be prepared to get a phone call from me contesting every charge.
I find that my "stupid woman" persona works best for getting charges reduced without getting up the ire of the billing specialist.
Here's how a recent conversation went with my kids' dentist receptionist:
"Dr. Painful's office, how can I help you?"
"I'm confused. I don't understand my dental bill."
"What seems to be the problem, ma'am?"
"Well, I'm no expert, but I don't see why Frances got charged $40 for the cleaning while Jeffrey and Alice-Grace got charged $43 for the same thing."
"Oh, gee, my, I'm not sure either."
"Oh, I'm sure it's not your fault. Probably just a slip of the fingers on the keyboard."
"Let me check on that for you."
Sure enough, I got a new bill in the mail, for $6 cheaper and a note of apology.
I've done this with my bank (they used to take one or two pennies more from my account than my checks were written for, but NOT anymore), my doctors (I get billed twice for procedures all the time), and even the IRS (yes, I beat down the tax man).
The best part is that they feel super smart and competent by helping out the "stupid woman" and I get my bill reduced. Win-win!
7 comments:
Very wise for a "stupid woman"! I'll have to remember this tactic.
(After all that responding to my comments...are we still friends?)
You know... the best thing about your blog is your clever use of titles. Way to go. You get my official "Clever Title" award. (Not sure yet what that entails, but I'll work on it.)
AMN2DEEP -- yes, we're still friends. You are too funny.
RAPIDRUNNER -- I SOOOOO appreciate that! I must admit that I spend the most time thinking up my titles. I'm glad someone noticed.
Whew! Really? Even after I called you "stupid"? ;D
AMN2DEEP -- especially because you called me stupid (just kidding).
I hope to one day be as stupid as you are, Lois.
GEO -- that's going to be pretty tough. Good luck with that goal.
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