Is there supposed to be a teaching in here?
The alternative was using the phone call with the manager to calmly explain the situation and try to negotiate.
The blog kept talking about using "no" as a starting point for negotiating, then when the negotiation opportunity peaked he refused to listen to the other person and gloated about it.
The second half of the book's advice (the negotiate part) flew right over his head. He was too stuck on the "No" part.
I would not assume the manager was making things up. He might have truly believed what he was saying. In these situations if you take the time to understand, you can get a lot of leverage by getting to the root of their concerns and then building a pathway to address them mutually.
If they thought it was going to harm the compressor, you would listen and understand their concerns. Then you would explain that you are familiar with the system and can show them that it won't cause harm to the compressor. Then you propose a reasonable alternative, such as offering to set it to the desired temperature as soon as you leave and possibly sending them some authoritative HVAC source to allay their fears.
The person in this story didn't even try to do that.
If you spend time with professional sales people (the good ones), the first thing you learn is that you have to listen to the other side, understand the root of their concerns, and work toward a mutual resolution. If you shut down and refuse to even listen, you get nowhere like this guy.
I don't do sports but assuming the muscle heat requirement is a thing, how does anyone exercise or do heavy work outside in countries where the temperature falls to 18° some days of the year? Presumably one could use a jacket? And how do the office workers manage in 18° air? I'm a dude and I'd still freeze my nipples off when doing desk work when you can cook eggs outside and I came in a t-shirt. There's so much here that isn't explored and then the story ends open-ended. It doesn't seem useful even as an n=1 anecdote
Metabolism produces heat, human bodies have a complex heat management system, that for reasons of physics, is much better at heating itself up when it's cold, than cooling itself when it's hot.
> how does anyone exercise or do heavy work outside in countries where the temperature falls to 18° some days of the year?
18°C is t-shirt territory if you're exercising or doing physical work. As you go below that, you adjust your clothing to keep enough body heat, trying to maintain the point when you aren't sweating badly at peak effort.
Yet the author considers that temperature unworkable for their sport due to muscle heat and sweating requirements. Another thing about the story that doesn't add up..
If the AC got turned off last night the building is sort of like the burning embers of a fire that will reheat the room, then at 8 or 9am you are at 30C and your building is getting that energy too.
To win that race your AC may need to come in early and start bailing out BTUs before the race begins. Even earlier than a yogi rises from bed to their practice!
The 25c setting is usually a basic thermometer and then on/off or maybe power adjustment to the unit.
I don't see 25c mentioned anywhere btw, the 18 I'm referencing is what the author says they walked into when it had been on during the night
It doesn't magically give you the upper hand in one-sided negotiations. It only ensures that your actions are in line with your principles.
If the authority figure has the balls to say 'fine, I'll get your contract terminated' I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if that was exactly the outcome.
The reason is that a lot of people do cave. "Free" wins. If it does not work, they just pretend nothing happened.
Being in the same yacht club as the owner of the building conveys these kind of powers - it's like no one has encountered preferential treatment, good or bad, before.
Few people cave when there are lots of eyes on them., and less people make empty threats with a bar full of spectators - that's why punches get thrown.
Regardless : 'I'm a renter' is by no means a strong argument unless you have a very specifically worded renter agreement -- it's pretty obviously a bad idea to anger the crowd of presumably better paying tenants, what would you do as a land owner, kick out the group every other tenant hates or change policy to protect the small fry?
Nothing. You would do nothing.
You want both to stay, because you also don't enjoy losing any amount of money, and not doing anything is most likely going to get you that.
From the "I'll get you thrown out"-party, it's the same tactic again, directed at the landlord this time. Moving buildings is neither fun nor cheap. Your employees would have to go somewhere else, there might not be anywhere else close by that is convenient to you or as nice/familiar as the place you got, some people might quit over any annoyance this brings too.
Nobody enjoys this shit. There are contracts. There are lawyers. It's never fun to do these things and it can all be dragged out for a long time. Being a somewhat bigger renter is (fortunately) not something that helps you in a court of law.
> Regardless : 'I'm a renter' is by no means a strong argument unless you have a very specifically worded renter agreement
It's a very strong default argument, unless you have a specifically worded agreement, that would strip you of a potential right.