Originally Posted by
Speedy12
In 2001, I checked in at the LAS airport car rental (don't remember which company). I politely asked the desk clerk if a free upgrade from my compact was available. She said there is never a free upgrade in Vegas and tried the darnest to sell me an upgrade which I declined a couple of times.
The shuttle picked me up and dropped me right at the car lot and told me where I could find my car. I looked up and down the aisle and didn't see a compact and asked the driver where was my compact. He replied that they haven't had a compact available for a few months and I was being upgraded to a full size car ( Chyrsler Intrepid).
Last year, I had a booking at Thrifty's for a wild card car but I really needed to a minivan. Since I am a blue chip member, I walked straight to the back where the cars are. I asked the guy whether a free upgrade was possible and again he said there is no free upgrade in Vegas. I was just about to offer him a $20 bill when I noticed a sign that said today's wild card car was a minivan. Just my luck. I think in general, there are lots of minivans in Vegas. Not sure if the wild card car really changes daily and I was just lucky.
Anyways, I am going back next week and I have both a wild card car and a minivan booked. If the wild card car is not a minivan, I hope I can simply use my minivan reservation. Hopefully Thrifty's doesn't notice I have 2 reservations (maybe I should have done one in my wife's name) and doesn't mind what I did.
Never ask for a free upgrade without some sort of legitimate reason (a coupon or something) or packaging it with something else. Asking for a free upgrade "just because" will just make the
sales agent--who is not only commissioned on upgrades but also usually works on a yield system where a non-sale will actually penalize them--think you're either a) a cheap ...tard or freeloader, b) arrogant, or c) a moron. Either way, they'll think of you as a pest and probably go out of their way, then, to deliberately
not put you into what you want without charging you for it, even if you otherwise would have gotten a free upgrade because they were out (or nearly out) of your reserved size. You wouldn't go to a mechanic and say, "Do you have any free oil changes?" You'd be laughed out of the office.
If you want to get a deal, you have to think like a salesperson and anticipate what he/she wants. They want a sale and the highest price for it. You want something and to get it for the lowest price possible. So, throw them a bone--tell them you'll buy a tank of prepaid gas if they can throw in a free upgrade to a minivan. That particular one is my favorite: it gets me something I can actually get use and value out of (a tank of gas). Or even better: wait until they offer everything, sound interested in their offers (politely declining as you want), and then, when they ask about gas, say, "You know, maybe I'll take a tank of prepaid gas if you can throw in a free upgrade to a minivan." It's the same thing at the auto mechanic: they try to sell you on a bunch of stuff that needs fixing--so you play along, and at the end, say, "Well, maybe I'll get my cooling system flushed if you can throw in a free oil change."
There are certain things you should NEVER do to someone in a service industry sales position who has power over the kind of service you receive (hotel clerks, rental car sales agents, airline gate agents, car salespeople, dealership service writers, etc.--I'm not talking about McDonald's order takers)--things like walking up like you own the place and demanding something, cutting off the agent's sales offers or insulting them by saying "I don't want any of your expensive/rip-off/worthless [whatever they're selling]," and, yes, asking for things for free.
Now, if you've built a great rapport with the agent and the agent is thinking, "This guy is cool," sometimes you can get away with asking at the end (after you've built all that rapport) for something a little nicer. Heck, sometimes they'll even just offer you something because they like you (that happened with me in CLT--I ended up getting a Ford Mustang convertible for free because the agent and I had such a good time chatting--well, I also took full coverage and prepaid gas, but still...). But just walking up and asking if you can get something for free out of the blue is definitely a turn-off to those in service/sales positions.