Take your negotiation skills elsewhere

It is such a pity how we tend to only negotiate with the people who are out there struggling to make something of themselves. Yesterday as I was in the market buying groceries, all I could hear in every corner is people trying to negotiate with the vendors in the market and even the less fortunate orphaned boys who sell paper bags and grocery bags as they as well try to help you carry your heavy shopping to wherever you would want for a small amount of money, so at the end of the day they can get money to buy a simple meal to fill their bellies after a long day. The fact that we do not sit and think what they all went through in order to get those fresh groceries or even how they managed to get the simple grocery bags baffles me every day. To make it worse we still prefer to negotiate the simple and very affordable commodities, something as affordable as a bunch of kale that ranges from 5-10 shillings (Kenyan money) according to quantity, a customer would still try to get it at less even if deep down they know they have the amount or they may have even budgeted a higher price than what they are being sold for, and that in no way would it affect ones budget. This is sad and actually quite selfish of us .I honestly would not say am a saint, I know of such occasions where I did the same but I am happy to have realized my mistake and changed that horrible behaviour. The question that troubles me daily is, why do we not negotiate with the wealthy? and those who own big supermarkets who actually sell twice the price yet we do not complain at all, we even see people with shopping carts full of groceries in these expensive supermarkets, it all does not make sense at all, since they sell to us however they damn well please and still we buy without any hesitation. I sometimes wonder how people get the strength and energy to walk for a distance to the market just to go trouble a desperate woman who has toiled from 5am in the morning trying to show off our negotiation skills for a small and very unreasonable price that we may think suits us best. It is such a shame and those who do this should be ashamed. Those with that God given talent of negotiation should try to pursue a career for goodness sake, this is when one can utilize that skill, it will be marketable elsewhere but not inflicting pain and stress on those working in the market, forgetting that they are someone’s mother, sister, wife or girlfriend struggling to make ends meet. This is a trend that should be stopped .Food for thought this Wednesday.