The “It Never Hurts to Ask” Experiment

Shortly after I graduated from college, I learned about direct sales. Whether visiting elderly or infirm hoping to provide them with an at-home emergency response system or calling on families and individuals interested in owning their own set of Encyclopedia Britannica, I honed my people and sales skills the only way I knew how.

Along the way, I learned a key in making more sales.

No matter how strong your presentation or how persuasive your skills, you still have to ASK for the sale. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

As it would turn out, the concept of “asking” is something that I have applied to many areas of my life. In fact, as I parented my two children, again and again I drove this one point home…

“It never hurts to ask.”

What’s the worst thing that can happen if you ask for something? You get “no” for an answer, which is basically what you had before you asked.

However, I’ve discovered that asking has helped me get what I need or want numerous times in my life.

About two months ago, I went to one of my favorite restaurants only to discover that my favorite dish was removed from their menu. Upset, I went to their website and wrote an email to their customer service department simply to express my discontent.

Shortly thereafter, a support representative indicated that they wanted to keep my business. As an act of good will, they sent me a $50 gift card so that I wouldn’t give up on them.

I was impressed. I hadn’t even asked for anything. I merely expressed my dissatisfaction with their new menu.

That got me thinking. What if I wrote restaurants with a local presence and boldly asked for a free meal?

In a matter of minutes I composed the following email.

My name is Joel Comm and I am an author/speaker/blogger at joelcomm.com. I’m well known in the internet marketing arena and speak at events around the world.

I am writing today regarding a marketing experiment I am doing focusing on “asking”. For years I have taught my kids that in all circumstances “it never hurts to ask.” What’s the worst thing that can happen?

I am contacting a number of restaurants in my area and outright asking if you will provide me with a gift certificate or card so that I might try your restaurant. The results of which restaurants reach back by inviting me to come will be part of an article I will compose for my blog.

I know you likely have protocol to follow for these types of requests, so I am curious to see which restaurants give just because someone asked nicely. So, would you please participate by inviting me to your restaurant?

If digital, send certificate to (my personal email). If physical card, ship to Joel Comm, (personal address).

I will be detailing which restaurants responded either affirmatively, negatively or with silence in my article sometime in May.

Thank you for your kind consideration and I hope to visit your restaurant soon.

It’s been about three weeks and I thought I would share the results of my experiment.

I wrote to 36 restaurants, most with a regional and/or national presence. It took me approximately one hour or so to hit all their websites, locate a contact link and send my email.

A number of restaurants have not replied. This could be due to my message being passed on to someone who might be able to make a decision, or perhaps I was just ignored.

Those restaurants included:

Sonic

CB Potts

The Egg and I

Qdoba

Hu Hot

Brothers BBQ

Abo’s Pizza

El Tapatio

PF Changs

Benihana

Mimi’s Café

Subway

California Pizza Kitchen

Jason’s Deli

Jimmy Johns

Carabba’s

Smiling Moose Deli

Outback Steakhouse

Rock Bottom

Buffalo Wild Wings

The Melting Pot

Maggianos

No reply from any of the above… yet.

The following restaurants DID reply and said “no.”

Chick Fil A

McDonalds

Village Tavern

Red Robin

Quiznos

Panera Bread

Chipotle

Lucky Pie

Vesta Dipping Grill

I found it amusing that McDonalds reminded me that they have a one dollar menu. 😉

The real heroes? These restaurants each responded affirmatively and send me a gift certificate to enjoy a meal at their establishment.

Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant – $50 gift card

Twin Peaks – $50 gift card

Old Chicago – $25 gift certificate

Buca di Beppo – $10 gift card

Thank you to each of these that responded so positively!

All told, that’s $135 in free meals from the four restaurants. Not bad!

What’s the moral of the story?

It never hurts to ask!

Oh, and one more thing.

If you have an hour to kill, you can put the axiom, “there’s no free lunch” to the test.

Your thoughts? Let’s hear ’em!