Let's Make A Deal!

Sigh.

So we just moved into this great new house with a wonderful heating system which actually keeps us warm on cold days, something quite new to us and oh-so-appreciated. Well, we got our propane bill a few weeks back for what was in the tank when we moved in. It was like $900! Josh and I both took a deep breath and said, Well, let's dig in a little bit. Josh called the folks at the propane company and said, "Do we really owe you $900?" And they said, "Yes." Yikes. So we looked at the bill and saw that we were being charged $2.35 per gallon. Having absolutely no background in the purchase of home heating fuel, Josh called his pop and asked him if that was a reasonable price. Well, unfortunately, The Kaiser (as we so affectionately refer to Josh's father) heats mostly with wood and hasn't bought propane in a long time. He said he thought it sounded high and that we ought to call around.

So we did.

The FIRST place we called quoted us $1.99/gallon. The second, $2.03. The third, $1.75! Wow, that is a significant difference! Josh called our propane company and recounted his tale of cheaper fuel. They tried their scare tactics, suggesting that the fuel cost fluctuates so frequently we would end up paying the same thing eventually anyway, etc. Josh talked the lady into a 10-cent reduction in price per gallon for the fuel that we had already used, and informed her that we would be changing propane providers just as soon as the ground froze again and we felt okay about two heavy trucks (one to take their tank away, another to bring their tank in) driving on our lawn. The lady expressed her regret at losing our business but didn't try all that hard to keep us.

Well, Josh is away this week and didn't get a chance to call the propane companies to switch our fuel service to one of the cheaper providers. He left me a note with the phone numbers and asked me to give it a shot if I felt comfortable doing it, and he said that he would take care of it when he got home if I didn't. Now would probably be a good time to tell you that negotiating with a business person over the phone is not in my genes; my dear mother won't even phone in a pizza! But, I have this independent streak which has served me well for most of my life and I decided to give it a try.

I confirmed the price of $1.79/gallon at the cheapest fuel provider in the area. I set up the transaction for them to come next Wednesday and bring us a tank of their fuel. After hanging up with the new fuel company, I called our current provider to let them know they could come get their tank. The woman on the phone again expressed her regret at losing our business, and said she could probably get us a reduction in price. She asked what it would take to keep us as customers. I said, "Well, to be up-front about things, if you can't match $1.79 per gallon, we are going to switch to the other company. We've just moved in here and it's not that hard for us to make changes at this point." She asked me if I would mind holding for the manager, but made it pretty clear that matching $1.79 wasn't going to happen.

Manager on the phone now. Ahem, ahem. "What would it take to keep your business?" he asked. I reiterated to him that unless he could match the price we were quoted at the other company, we weren't interested in staying with him. He asked me if the other company gave me any kind of time frame throughout which they would guarantee $1.79 per gallon. I said that no, they had not, but seeing how it had only gone up four cents in the past week, I felt comfortable making the switch. Especially since the difference in their price was nearly 60 cents! Well, we chatted a bit, back and forth, yadda yadda... but eventually the deal was sealed: Not only did he match the $1.79 per gallon, but he guaranteed it through June 30. AND he changed the price of the fuel already in our tank! Instead of $2.35 or even $2.25 per gallon, he is charging us $1.69 per gallon. Wow! Who knew that kind of reduction was possible? Nice work, huh?

Josh says I am a good negotiator. Perhaps I should hold an in-service, and share my "skills" with folks like my mum, so she won't be afraid to pick up the telly and ring for a pizza.

Hee hee.