Just how do you get a dagdag?
These days, if you buy a brand-new car, you automatically get the works — free LTO Registration, free window tint, free rust-proofing, and free floor mattings. No need to ask, the freebies go with the car.
A few years ago, when every Juan, Maria and Tagpi was crazy about badminton, a car dealer gave away free badminton rackets that were "aerodynamically designed with nano technology and made of hi-modulus graphite" (whatever that phrase meant). Of course, the catch was that you’d have to be among the first 50 buyers of its SUV. Guess what? Badminton addicts interpreted the deal this way: buy the racket for only P 1.4 Million and get a free SUV. So 50 of them lined up early at the showroom and bought the racket.
Now, there is another tack you could use if the extras do not come free. (I was tempted to write "If the freebies are not free," but that would have sounded silly.)
If you want a freebie, all you have to do is… ASK. I’m not kidding. If the extras do not come with whatever you bought, try asking for a freebie. Most likely you’ll get what you asked for.
Let me tell you something amazing that happened to me a few days back.
I was reading this book about the untapped power of asking. The author, Robin Sharma, said: "Over the coming weeks, flex your ‘asking muscles’ by asking for a better table at your favorite restaurant, for a free scoop at your local ice cream shop, or for a complimentary upgrade on your next airline flight. You might be surprised at the abundance that will flow into your life when you just ask sincerely for the things you want."
Whoa! That thought was mind-blowing for me! My wife, however, was the first one to put it to the test.
"Magkano ang isang kilo ng mangga mo?"
"Fifty na lang po, Ate,"
So Liza gave the tindera the "peace" sign – as in two kilos, and the tindera called it a deal.
Liza looked already pleased with the bargain she got, but I whispered to her: "Hon, baka gusto mong humingi ng dagdag."
Liza gave me a puzzled look, but dagdag sounded every inch like a Christmas bonus. (Incidentally, have you noticed that "dag" is just repeated twice? Dagdag sounds like the Filipino equivalent of "buy one, take two" to me.)
So Liza flexed her asking muscles and told the tindera: "Miss, wala bang dagdag?" Surprisingly, the tindera smiled her "Yes," and then put in two small mangoes inside the plastic bag.
Indeed, the one who asks receives!
Of course, there was always that possibility that the tindera could have refused the request for a dagdag. But the gamble was definitely worth it. By asking, Liza had the chance, no matter how small, of getting what she wanted. That chance could have been zero if she did not ask.
Let me restate that: The man who asks for what he wants has a chance, no matter how small, of getting what he wants. The man who does not ask has no chance at all.
To that, I have no more dagdag.
Quote Of The Week:
He who asks may be a fool for five minutes.
He who doesn’t is a fool for a lifetime.
– Chinese proverb
