Lol. Usually negotiate.

Tell 'em it's for sale, not on sale

Couple levels above me, but if they say our quote is too high, we ask, “what gear can be trimmed back or omitted/ sourced local and cheap(ish)”

There is a broad spectrum of negotiability.

Example, if I get a $1M change order on a project, yeah we're gonna negotiate that.

Other end of the spectrum, for a cocktail at a bar, never even crosses my mind

Tell them it's in the contract language. Now do the job or get pcol'd with no pay

Haggle with them our prices have lots of wiggle room.

I laugh , and say " Stop trying to Jew me down ".

"Well we can certainly have someone with less experience take on your project if that's what you'd prefer."

I offer a service. If I can, I offer to reduce my services to meet their price. Most of the time, they don't want reduced services and so will pay the original price.

Here's a tip from the School of Hard Knocks (at least for pricey services) - You never straight up give someone a "special deal", because from that point on they will know your first stated price is negotiable and they will want the reduced special deal price every single time.

Ooooh my favorite. Worked second hand. Knew the costs of running the place. It was not possible to negotiate with me. Either pay or go. They would think we were making all sorts of money. At times I'd humor them with explaining business economics like paying staff, health insurance, taxes, upkeep of the building etc. Eventually I got to the point where it wasnt worth it to try.