In times of economic woes, saving a few bucks here and there can go a long way.
WTAE Channel 4 "Call 4 Action" Reporter Aaron Saykin set up his own haggling school to show how a little training can come in handy when negotiating a lower price.
Retiree Georgia Homer enrolled as a student in Saykin's haggling 101 class, with shopping expert Jennifer Melnick Carota playing the teacher.
"Now is the best time to haggle. Folks want to keep your business and they love loyal customers," said Carota.
Carota outlined three basic guidelines for haggling.
Like every student, shoppers should first do their homework, knowing what the competition is offering and for how much.
Secondly, hagglers should be assertive and confident, but not overly eager.
"You know what you want, say what you want and ask for what you want," said Carota.
Lastly, using the magic word "cancel" often prompts service providers to start making a deal.
"Often you will either be shipped into a supervisor or perhaps even someone higher than that who can actually make that happen," said Carota.
As part of her final exam, Homer set out to see if she could convince three different businesses to give her a discount.
Homer first called Comcast, asking them to lower her monthly bill of $58.
Initially the company didn't budge, but once Homer mentioned the word "cancel," they were willing to lower her bill from $58 to $34 over a six month period if she signed up for digital cable.
Homer next made a call to Verizon, her Internet service provider.
"All I'm asking is for a few dollars to be lowered on my Internet FiOS connection," said Homer.
Once she mentioned an offer from a competitor, it was smooth sailing.
"She [the Verizon representative] was not argumentative at all. She said, 'I'll take off $10 per month.' That brings it down to $32.99. Oh, Hallelujah," said Homer.
For the final part of her exam, Homer went to three drug stores -- CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens -- with a flier from a competitor, offering four 12-packs of Coke for $11.
Homer's goal was to convince at least one of the stores to give her the deal in the flier.
She managed to walk out of CVS with a shopping cart full of Coke for the price she wanted.
"I'm shocked. I'm actually shocked because it does pay to ask, and if you call it haggling, then I will haggle. It's wonderful," said Homer.
Homer passed Saykin's haggling school and walked away with more than $250 in savings.
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