You may have seen lately on TV the latest adverts for a UK price comparison site whereby the Iranian comedian Omid Djalili makes a point of a rather alarming fact about the British public, the inability to haggle, otherwise known as the Cringe Gland.

This got me thinking a bit, are we really a society unable to get the best deal? Are we really so easily swayed over by a hardened line or by someone who appears to stand that little bit taller. I’m no psychologist nor am I an expert in cultural diversity in micro demographics but I can definitely relate a few incidents to where I perhaps could’ve got a better deal.

There’s an old saying that “the customer is always right” and yet with the way modern companies market their products, always offering a “better deal” we are hard pushed when it comes to having something quite go our way. It’d be interesting to say how many people reading this can relate to the following. Now I’ve been in plenty of situations, especially in restaurants or public areas where we have enjoyed an exceptional meal experience or the service was spot on but when that waiter returns after collecting your devoured remains that lay on what was once a full plate and asks “Would you like any deserts Sir”, whilst practically thrusting the desert menu in your lap, there is that awful awkward silence where you quickly scan the eyes of your guests and then calmly yet firmly reply “um…err…no…just the bill please?”. Phew! Got away with it and he doesn’t seem to disappointed. But, what lies ahead is quite possibly one of the most cringe worthy moments that can possibly happen. The said waiter returns with your bill, but something’s not quite right, the figures don’t add up, it’s at least £10 more than you were expecting and there’s some form of confusion in the price of your girlfriends salad. Now in this scenario, I will admit I have simply said, no bother, I enjoyed the meal and don’t want to make a scene, so I kindly pay the bill, leave, drive home quietly and then check my online account that sufficient funds are available for tonight’s episode!

But this is only one type of cringe, the other type can come in various scenarios, mainly public and is stimulated by the same gland. But this time lets rewind to that restaurant table and the waiter has handed you the bill. This time however, the dreaded father in law has taken possession of the dreaded l’addition (French for “the bill”). You know it’s going to end in tears for the poor waiter, little does he know that upon his return he is about to be taken on the ride of his life. I usually just try to hide behind my crumpled napkin, but to no avail the cringe gland kicks in and I’m desperate to get out. However, this story usually ends well. The father in law, gets his refund and if he’s really pushy will have got extra money off or a discount for another visit. So all well and good, we like discounts. In fact, I net half of us wouldn’t uttered a word if they hadn’t have charged for that bloody salad? hmm?

Needless to say, we all suffer from it, although it would appear our fathers have built some sort of resilience to said “cringe factor”, maybe it’s something that is earned over time and eventually the gland becomes a weathered veteran of the cringe war that occurs every single day of our lives? Either way there are just some people out there that have the ability to not be affected by this “cringe episode” that so many of us get!

Whether its buying a car or paying the rent we technically do all have an opportunity to haggle. In fact anywhere you see a price tag is not necessarily the actual price of that item. I mean we all know how much of a mark-up there is on clothing so why do we spend £60 on a pair of designer jeans when they cost 20p to make? Well that is another story! But the point I’m trying to make is to not take the price at face value, we all have a right to haggle, they can only say no! The key is to be confident, upstanding and firm, but not harsh!

I recently decided to experiment my theory as I get quite fed up with doing things like everyone else. Sometimes I just have the urge to “go do something about it”! Some of you reading this may know that I am in fact getting married soon, and part of the whole preparation for the big day has been dealing with suppliers and transactions of money from account to account, in some ways very similar to running your own business! Form being in the events industry before I do have a fair understanding of the trade, but I also appreciate the service industry and will happily pay someone what I think there services are worth. So far I think we’ve done alright, still under budget on most items leaving enough in the bank to setup shop post marriage, so to speak, possibly literally! Anyway! The point is the other day me and the future wife were shopping, in Bournemouth, for some colour coded ties for my brothers so they can match our hired cravats. However our supplier had recently changed their supplier thus meaning the shade of pink was different, of which I was somewhat un happy with but cringe gland kicked in and I ignored it! However, walking down the high street I spotted a suit shop with ‘the exact colour cravat’, we entered and they could supply us all the cravats and two ties in the right colour for a good price plus 15% off if we booked at the wedding show which was finishing in 30minutes at a large venue down the road.

Without much hesitation we ran to the show (where our existing suit supplier was also), we snuck in past security (whoops) and found our existing supplier. I presented the idea of hiring just the suits from them and the cravats from another supplier which I had already arranged (but technically not yet). I asked how much we could have back off the suits and they said £4. Immediately I felt the cringe gland kick in, “ok that’s fine thanks”, NO! that’s crap! Add another £1 and you get an extra £12 meaning more than 50% of the cost for the new cravats plus extra ties is covered. I swallowed, stood up tall and simply said “How about £5 per cravat?”. It’s a simple five word line that took no longer than a split second. At this very moment I immediately sensed that the gentleman I was conversing with suddenly had his own cringe gland kick in and he didn’t quite know how to reply, he quivered somewhat, we exchanged various eye motions which lead to a moment of silence followed by a “that will be fine, but I will confirm tomorrow for you”. Wahoo progress!! Anyway, to finish off I found the new supplier of cravats, got the discount, saved £55 and got a much better deal in the end, and to be honest it didn’t really take much!

I left the wedding show after half an hour feeling on top of the world over my victorious encounter, I am a new man destined for success and all because I overcame the ‘cringe factor’. So I will leave you with this little piece of advice, anytime you are confronted with a “I could say this and try to haggle, or I just sit back and take it?” take the first option, stand up, breathe normally, clear your throat and speak clearly, firmly and with purpose. I will most certainly be adopting this approach in the future, just think about how much you could save?

Thanks for reading, sorry it was a bit longer than expected!!!