Interacting with traders is almost like a daily ritual here in Nigeria, either one is pricing for fresh tomatoes in the market or buying suya on the street, you meet all kinds of people with different experiences. Some encounters leave you smiling for days, and some leaves you questioning humanity. Now, I have two encounters I’ll never forget, one was warmly and the other was the opposite.
Its better to start with the good one I guess? I was in the busy, bustling city of lagos that. It was a sunny saturday morning, I went to get fabric for a friend’s wedding, Lagos markets is not for the faint hearted, traders pulling you from left to right and all, to remind you, in anything make sure to keep your phone and purse very well an dot get carried away by fights or dramas, it might be staged, else one might learn the hard way. Back to my story, I was already tired and stressed out, I stopped at a small shop run by an elderly man, he had this calmness about him, like he was immune to the chaos around us. After showing me a few fabrics, I picked one I liked and prepared myself for the usual battle of price negotiation. But instead of inflating the price like most traders do, this man looked me in the eye and said, “My pikin (my child), I will not cheat you. This is the price I sell to everyone, and I intentionally reduced it a bit again for you seeing you are younger".
I was amazed, his price fair, it was below the price I had determined to get it before leaving home, even the honesty in his tone was something I had never seen, it wasn't sugar coated. He even went on to tell me how to identify fake fabrics and avoid being scammed by other traders. I left his shop feeling like I had just met someone special, someone who reminded me that kindness and integrity still exist in unexpected places. That encounter taught me that no matter how life gets, there are still people who are good, humane and hold on to their principles, something as simple as "honesty" can leave a lasting impact, it did leave one on me.
Now, the bad encounter. This one happened in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state. It was a saturday morning also, only that this particular saturday was a sunny one, I don't know why the sun decide to come in its full force that very morning, maybe it's a sign for me to not go out.
But my love for akara(beans cake) will not allow me sit at home. On my way to work a day earlier which was a friday I saw a woman frying akara, I know she just acquired that space, as she wasn't there before.
I got there and it was a long line, what, am I not the only one who loves akara, are we many anticipating this in my area. Shes new and could still amass this kind of crowd. Well I took as a good sign. When it was my turn, I asked for akara worth ₦500. The woman gave me the smallest, most pathetic pieces of akara I had ever seen, they were burnt. When I politely asked if she could just change them, she shouted at me, I asked her calmly again if she could at least change some of it, and mix it with some good ones, I was still being understanding, you need to see the way this woman snapped at me. “If you don’t want it, leave it".
I was shocked, not just by her words, but the hostility in her tone and the fact that she's not customer friendly, she's new for crying out loud. I tried to explain, but she wasn’t having it. She started shouting about how customers love to complain and all, I felt a little embarrassed, I was the last person standing and people were all around watching and all, you know how people tend to think whatever without knowing the whole story. I just took the akara and left, yes I took the akara, smiles. Maybe she had a bad night, or has been provoked by her children or husband before leaving home was my guess. But must you rake it out on your customers, coupled with the fact that this was your first day here, if another person was to come around, I would make sure no one ever comes to your stall, I could even set up an akara stall with what she just did, well that was what I was thinking on my way back home. Customer service is important. She might think she's justified in being rude because she's had a bad day, but her attitude can cost her her business. The thing is people remember how you made them feel, and bad energy drives them away.
Its funny how opposite those two experiences were. The man taught me the value of treating people with kindness, while the akara seller reminded me of the damage negativity can do. Both experiences stuck with me because they showed me how much power we have in our everyday interactions. In any and everything we do, the way we treat people matters. One might not realize it, but those small moments of kindness does matter.
Now, when going to get anything I remind myself to appreciate the honest ones and to be patient with those who might be struggling. And if I ever find myself selling something, maybe it’s an idea, a product, or anything, I would imbibe the attitude of the fabric seller. Life as we all know is a big market consisting of different people, and the way we treat people here in this market of life is our currency.
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