Ask for Consideration

Mastery Monday – Set Your Intentions for 2019 and Let 2018 Go!
December 17, 2018
Read It!
January 28, 2019

Consideration is a promise for a promise. When the promise is broken it is fair and reasonable to receive some consideration to make up for the promise being broken.

For example – you go to a restaurant and order an item off the menu. You promise to pay for the item by making the order. They promise to provide you something fresh, well prepared and hot if it’s a hot meal. Say your item comes out half frozen (I’ve had this happen before) or perhaps you ordered it without cream sauce because you have a dairy allergy and it comes out with cream sauce.

If you ask for consideration you should get something in return. In the restaurant scenario they usually will provide you a corrected order and will either remove the item from your bill, discount it or offer something extra like a desert of a discount off the next purchase.
Here are a couple of recent examples that happened to me:

1. Delta Airlines flight out of Orange County California. I checked in and arrived early. The time to start boarding had passed and they announced that the plane may have an oil leak by one of the engines, they were checking it out to see if it would be cleared for flight. They didn’t think it was going to cancel but delayed the flight by half an hour.

I decided to call Delta to see what else was available in case the flight cancelled or delayed beyond my connection. They put me on another flight on “hold” but didn’t remove me from the original flight yet.

Then it happened, the said the plane needed to be repaired and there wasn’t a mechanic there who could fix it. Someone had to come from LAX. That’s over 50 miles away with heavy traffic. They said they were moving the plane to another location and that it would be several hours before it took off.
I immediately called Delta and solidified the other flight. Now instead of getting in around 3:30 PM, I would now get in at 10:30 PM and by the time I got the rental car and drove that would put me to my destination at close to midnight. Big difference.

While I was re-booking the flight, I asked what kind of consideration did they have to offer for the problem. (Note – key point here – I asked-they did not offer). I was given an upgraded seat on all my flights there and back AND a $200 voucher.

2. When I arrived back from another trip to LAX recently I had booked a shuttle back to Orange County (OC). I am unable to get into OC late at night so had to fly to LAX. I didn’t have anyone to pick me up so booked a shared ride to save money as budget was tight on this contract for travel.

I got in after 11 pm and retrieved my bag. I indicated on the app that I was ready to be picked up and went to the location to wait. 15 minutes and I hadn’t received any info on the van number that would pick me up. I called and was told to just wait as they would send me the info for the driver when it was dispatched.

I waited almost an hour! When I called back I was told that I would have to find another ride home as there was no one to come get me. Mind you, I saw 3 empty vans drive by while I was sitting there. I believe no one wanted to drive to Orange County so they just blew me off. I had to get a Lyft home which was $25 more. Currently I am in discussion with them to reimburse me the difference of what I had to pay. They refunded me the initial fare but are saying they don’t reimburse for taking other transportation.

I am insisting they do since it wasn’t my fault. Waiting to see how that turns out.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t, but you will lose every time if you do not ask for exactly what you want!
Ask for consideration when a promise is not fulfilled no matter what the issue may be. Many times they won’t offer it, you have to ask.

Eldonna Lewis Fernandez
Eldonna Lewis Fernandez
Veteran negotiation and contracts expert Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, author of “Think Like a Negotiator,” has over 30 years of experience crafting killer deals both stateside and internationally, many in excess of $100 million. She’s currently the CEO of Dynamic Vision International — a specialized consulting and training firm that helps individuals hone negotiation skills — as well as a nationally regarded keynote speaker, session leader and panelist on the Art of Negotiation. Eldonna may be reached online at www.EldonnaLewisFernandez.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *