3 Tips for Getting Free Pizza
Asking for free pizza serves a purpose to practice negotiating in business. For now, I’ll break down the tips to get you free pizza, and will forego the business tips.
There’s no silver bullet to getting free pizza, so it won’t always work. In my experience, I have about a 40% success rate getting something for free.
Tip #1: Ask for free pizza
This may seem obvious, but it’s surprisingly difficult to get the words out. You also need to make sure you communicate clearly. Don’t mumble, speak up. The display glass that covers the pizza can be high, so you’ll need to project your voice.
Your word choice matters here as well. There can’t be any confusion about what you are asking. Your language needs to be clear so that the server understands that you are asking for free pizza.
Tip #2: Timing matters
You’re going to be less successful on your quest for free pizza if you ask right when the pizza shop opens. You’re also going to be less successful if you go during a lunch or dinner rush. If the shop is busy, they won’t have time to fulfill strange requests. Plus, if the place is packed, everyone will hear you asking for free pizza, so you’ll be less likely to get it. Imagine if they said yes and then everyone in the store asked for a free slice too.
Closing time is the best time to get free pizza, or later in the evening on a weeknight. Weekends tend to be busier for pizza places, so the likelihood of getting a slice for free is lower.
Tip #3: Buy more than 1 slice
The rule for The Pizza Principle is that you need to purchase a slice before asking for one for free. Take care not to leech off of a small business. With every slice you purchase, the percentage of the amount of free pizza compared to paid pizza goes down. For instance, if you buy one slice and ask for one for free, that free slice is an additional 100% of what you paid, but if you buy two slices, the free slice percentage drops down to 50% compared to what you paid.
The more you “invest” (aka purchase) up front, the more justifiable it is for the server to give you a slice for free. I find it’s even more helpful if the slices I purchase are specialty slices, which are more expensive. Then asking for a plain slice for free appears more reasonable.