You'd be surprised what people would be willing to do for you if you just asked them.
I'll give you an example.
I was out this weekend at a local club.
Now, I had just purchased a couple hundred dollars of new video equipment on my debit card, and funds were low until I would be able to deposit a check the following Monday.
But I knew I had a 20 dollar buffer, so I used the card to buy 1 round of drinks.
Well, I didn't know the club puts a temporary 50 dollar charge on the card, which caused my card to overdraft.
I saw this the next week and was pissed.
I don't like being hit with fees, especially when I'm a responsible consumer and knew I had enough money to cover the drinks.
So I called my credit card company and told them what happened.
With no questions, and after about a 90 second story, the guy refunded the charge.
Why? Because I asked him to.
You would be surprised what people would be willing to do for you if you just had the initiative to ask them to do it.
And in the event that someone DOES do a favor for you, thank them.
It can be a simple one liner email or a quick note sent to them.
It really means a lot to people who help you.
I know that there's no quicker way to never get help from me again if I go out of my way to help you and I don't even get a simple thank you.
I spent about a half hour on a free reply to a man's email once and didn't even get a one word email of "Thanks".
I exnayed him from any future help from me.
In summation, ask people for what you want, and if they give it to you, thank them.