Rejection 48: Bike Race at Toys R Us

Today I stopped by Toys R Us to pick up a new crib for my baby son. While there, I wanted to be a kid myself and ride a child bicycle. Also, I wanted to see if an employee can share my pursuit for fun and race me inside the store.

This was a session when I felt a little disappointed, mainly because I already got a yes from an employee, only to be overturned by the manager. This confirms what economists describe as loss aversion, that the magnitude of negative feeling of losing something is stronger than that of positive feeling of gaining the same thing. It also teaches people that don't say 'yes' unless you know you can deliver. Otherwise you might really disappoint the other party.

Learning: the oldest rule in sales/customer service - under-promise, over-deliver.