Covert Operations

"G" is for....

No guts, no glory. That's true. When it comes to haggling, you do need to have some guts to go for the glory (and glory here is that something you want at the price you want to pay) But, were you aware of the little trap that is right between the guts and the glory? It's called greed.

I don't care how much guts you have or how much you are salivating over the prospect of the anticipated glory, greed will always win. Know this, when greed wins, you lose. No haggle can come out successful when greed is at the center of it. Greed robs you of the freedom to negotiate fairly and respectfully. Even I'm not immune to that little ugly monster.

I remember one time at a furniture store I was trying to haggle for a better deal. Much to my chagrin, the owner was not there this time. I had dealt with the owner on my last buy of furniture and the negotiations were successful. Strike one: not being able to deal directly with the owner. So, I had to settle for dealing with one of his sales associates. She was pleasant and did offer some leeway on the prices. However, I wanted more. Wanting more is fine, but I think I was a little frustrated that the owner was not there, so I pushed. So far, so good. The sales associate was able to contact the owner to get approval for what I was asking. Everything sounds like a win/win situation, right? No, it was at that very moment when the little ugly monster bit me. Strike two: I let the monster take over. I pushed again for more. Again, a second call in to the owner to get some MORE approval for some MORE that I wanted! Well, you can probably guess what happened with that second call. I guess the owner got mad at his sales associate for bothering him. By this time it was obvious that the sales associate was frustrated and embarrassed for getting yelled at and she was not liking me very much. I called her on it and it just made matters worse. Now, I embarrassed her. Strike three: I was a low life, preying on the vulnerable.

Three strikes and you're out. I finally kicked that little ugly monster off my back and snapped back to ME. Realizing what I had done gave me pause to reclaim my dignity, while trying to make amends to the sales associate for embarrassing her. In the end, all was back in balance, I redeemed myself somewhat and I still left with my discounts. I was so glad to get out of there and I am sure so was that sales associate!

Well, the ugly little monster took all the fun out of that haggle. I came out with the discounts, but all I could think about was how moronic I acted. After that experience, I can tell you I have vowed never to let that happen again to me. So far, I've been successful. I never lose sight of the fact that the little ugly monster is always lurking around waiting to prey on me again. Don't let the monster get you either! Trust me, it doesn't feel good.

So, when I tell you that anything goes when you are trying to strike a deal with a merchant, I don't mean EVERYTHING. Keep greed out of it. You'll enjoy yourself so much more. Even if you do shake that little ugly monster off your back, he'll leave behind plenty of trash to clutter up your brain!

Till next post, keep your eyes open in back of your head and haggle on!