Expect Errors!

In an earlier post, I expressed that one of the most important character traits of a good negotiator is persistence. If there's one thing that experience has shown me, it's that when negotiating, the parties involved often forget the details of the new deal. Chock it up to the rush you'll get from exercising your newfound purchasing power, and the rush your adversary gets from satisfying you.

Case in point: my new cell phone plan. I received two pieces of mail recently. First was my bill for the coming month's service under the new plan; second was the confirmation of the details of my new plan. Nevermind the backwards order in which these communiques arrived; I had significant issues with both of them. The former, because it claimed I owed my provider about twice what I was expecting under the new deal, and the latter, because several provisions agreed upon under the new deal were conspicuously absent.

To make a long story short, the errors were due to two specific blunders:

1. The provider did not apply the new plan to both phones on our account, resulting in $60+ in overage charges.
2. I made the mistake of negotiating the new plan in the middle of a billing cycle. This one makes me feel like a newbie.

To sum up, expect your new service details to take a little ironing out once the ball is rolling. As sad as it sounds, expecting the worst from your providers. That way, if your expectations aren't met, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Also, take copious notes on both the old deal, the new deal, and all aspects of the negotiation. Keep a running journal. It will serve you as vital documentation when problems reveal themselves. Finally, wait until the very end of a billing cycle before you make your move. This serves the twofold purpose of preventing sticky grey-area errors, as well as making such errors much easier to detect. I am positive that, had I waited until the end of my billing cycle, I would have at least avoided the half-hour it took me to track down the mistakes.