

The 20 Dollar Millionaire - DarrenMills
http://www.esquire.com/features/the-state-of-the-american-man/ESQ0903-SEP_20DOLLAR?click=main_sr

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hughprime
This article is less interesting than the original, mostly because most of the
stuff he gets isn't all that outrageous or interesting. Of course the hotel
staff will bring you random objects for $20, and a stripper doesn't care if
you want to talk about your dog. It's only interesting on those odd occasions
where you get something which is worth, in some sense, more than $20.

The final paragraph, though, about the power of calling service staff by their
names, is is interesting. Maybe I should try that. Anyone got any experience
with habitually learning and using names (or just reading off their nametags)?

~~~
blhack
People really open up to you when you call them by name...

I never realized it, but almost every conversation I have on the phone goes
like this:

    
    
        ring
        ring
        "Thenks for calling hacker news, this is PG, how can I help you?"
        "Hey, PG, whats up?"
    

This totally throws the customer service rep off. Most people just ignore the
name and start screaming off their question. It makes you different and "fun"
to them. Think about answering the phone all day. Suddenly somebody showing an
interest in _you_ goes a long way.

I never realized that I did this until a good friend of mine pointed it out to
me. I now feel kindof bad about being manipulative :( (although
unintentionally).

The same thing also works for most other service people. Be _nice_ to them.
Treat them like people and suddenly things happen for you :)

(there is a restaurant in Tempe, AZ that does _not_ serve fried pickles.
However, if you're nice enough to the server, they'll generally pull some
strings for you and BAM! friend pickles. I emphasize that they don't serve
them because, if you get a server who is in a particularly bad mood and you
ask for them, they will get sortof angry at you. I think they're a pain in the
ass for the cooks.)

~~~
nazgulnarsil
I'm going to go ahead and be the counter point on this. I worked at a shitty
service job for years and nothing pissed me off like people using my name and
trying to get friendly.

~~~
blhack
Umm...no offense, but how would you prefer that people be nice to you?

Did you just hate your job? There is no sense getting mad at the people that
were trying to treat you like a human being. I _also_ spent many years working
in service industry jobs. People talking to me like I was a person and not a
piece of shit that was somehow below them made all the difference to me.

To each their own, I guess.

~~~
nazgulnarsil
because it was fake. if they're not going to be sincere I would much prefer
people just stick to business.

~~~
blhack
It sounds to me like you're assuming that everybody who tries to be nice to
you is being _fake_.

My being nice to people when I talk to them is a result of my mid-western
upbringing, as well as my working the majority of the jobs I'm talking about
here.

It must suck seeing the world through your eyes.

~~~
nazgulnarsil
well, I live in the 3rd richest county (used to be #1) in the united states.
the people here are worse than you can possibly imagine (lots of inherited
wealth).

------
ShabbyDoo
Bribing service employees to steal from the store for you (figuratively) seems
like a good ROI:

<http://www.thetwentydollartrick.com/>

I'm not much for the false feeling of status resulting from bribery, though.

~~~
dchest
This is how almost everything works in my country. Road police stopped you?
Give money and you're free. Want bureaucrats to process your documents faster?
Give money. Want better medical service? Money.

The thing is, people are now _demanding_ bribes, and are not willing to do
what they are supposed to do without money.

------
DarrenMills
There's another version where he takes his stack of 20s to Manhattan. Both are
amazingly well written and quite intriguing.

~~~
mattyb
This one?

<http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0303-MAR_20DOLLARS>

~~~
DarrenMills
Yea... the search feature was being flaky for me... nice job.

------
Tichy
"So I went to twenty blackjack tables and offered twenty dealers twenty bucks
for their best advice."

That would have made a fine N-List.

Also just noticed that Esquire has an interesting Javascript running if you
copy text. If the text is long enough, it will add a link to the article to
the copied text.

------
swolchok
Is the "millionaire" as in "People will treat you like a millionaire for
'only' 20 bucks"?

~~~
anigbrowl
I think the hack here is that $20 is the price of renting someone's loyalty.
$10 isn't worth it, $50+ makes you a bit crazy and possibly dangerous, bu $20
will get people to bend the rules temporarily without worrying about whether
you're a criminal.

------
quellhorst
You could get much of what he asks for if you asked for it and told the people
why you wanted / needed it. Doubtful? Look at what some will do for Mardi Gras
beads.

~~~
hughprime
Mardi Gras beads are a good example -- nobody does anything for Mardi Gras
beads that they aren't sort-of looking for an excuse to do anyway. Offering
them a trivial reward just gives them an excuse.

