Over the course of years, I’ve come across a number of traders and many of them have made one form of impression or the other on me. I’m the kind of person who can really like a trader, as long as you’re comfortable, I don’t mind patronizing you. Even if your goods are more expensive than others. However, the minute I begin to sense some disrespect or some unhealthy and unnecessary hike in prices, I’ll just find someone else at once. Just as there are many customers, there are also many traders.
I used to be good friends with this trader back in school, however, during that cash crunch that hit us during the 2023 elections, I saw her for who she really was. She accepted transfers and payment via POS, however, for every transfer made, she charged an extra N50. So if you bought something of N1000, and you wanted to pay via transfer or card, you paid N1,050 instead.
This was all good and fine during the cash crunch. However, for some reason, when there was more cash in circulation, she didn’t stop. She kept placing ridiculous charges on transfers. That means, if in a day you patronized her four times, you could give her an extra N200 just for nothing. And even more annoying, her goods were the most expensive in the area.
I simply just stopped going there. Everyone has the right to run their business the way they see fit, and I have the right to spend my money the way I see fit. Throughout last year, I didn’t step foot in her shop at all. Not even when the school was on holiday and many shops were closed as a result. I was still willing to walk longer distances than give her that extra N50. Yeah, talk about being petty.
Anyway, I actually had a pleasant experience with a trader and one that I’ve been replicating whenever I find myself in such situations. It also happened back when I was in school. Due to how much I had to do and how little time I had, between working and schooling, I didn’t have time for a lot of things; including cooking. So, I was forced to make do with provisions and buying food outside.
The first time I went there to buy food, I saw a young lady there manning the coolers and everything. When I approached to buy my food, I smiled at her and complimented her beauty. As per Prince Charming wae I be, she blushed. I also told her she had a beautiful smile. That day, the food I bought filled my flask to the point that I couldn’t finish it at a go.
I didn’t really notice anything off until the next time I went there to buy food. This time, the person in charge was a much older woman, the owner of the shop. I asked for the same amount of food, hoping that I’d get the same thing, however, when it came, I was shocked to find that it was just a little more than half of what I was expecting. The woman told me that was all the food my money could get me.
I was confused because the same amount of money had gotten me way more. However, the more I thought about it, the clearer it became for me. I was because of the compliments I paid the young lady. It was as if I had figured out a new cheat code, and I was going to milk it dry. Whenever I went to buy food, I went with my brightest smile and all the compliments in the world. Even the owner of the shop wasn’t left out; I’d call her my big aunty and ask about her kids, tell her that her food was the sweetest in the world.
And like that, I was getting what others would pay at least N1500 for, I was getting it for N1000. I managed to try this trick on other traders, but the success rate was usually mixed. It worked best when the people owned the shop and the business belonged to them, not when sales boys and girls were hired and placed in the shop. Even some guys couldn’t help with my flattery and compliments, calling them “My Oga”, “Chief”, and what have you.
Thanks to all this, I learned that placing the traders in a good mood always helps with the negotiation processes. It didn’t always work though, many times, some of them saw through my compliments and didn’t budge. But still, I had enough success to save me a lot of money.
And till the day I left school, except when I went to a restaurant or a fast food, I never bought food for more than N1000. Considering this is Owerri which I’m talking about, it was a flex, indeed. I still use this technique today. You don’t have to tell everyone that they’re beautiful, sometimes, just a nice greeting, or engaging them in light and easy conversations…
Well, what do I know?
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