By
Kate
Treloar,
book
purveyor
Here's
a
short
scene
to
ponder...
SETTING
Adelaide's Pop-up Bookshop at the Adelaide Central Market. Stand is stacked high with good quality reads, mainly literature, classics and bios. The books are looking great, in fact numerous customers need to ask: “Are these books second-hand?”
Adelaide's Pop-up Bookshop at the Adelaide Central Market. Stand is stacked high with good quality reads, mainly literature, classics and bios. The books are looking great, in fact numerous customers need to ask: “Are these books second-hand?”
CHARACTERS
Book Purveyor (BP): hard at work, constantly rearranging and perfecting her stall, loves the offering of books that she has time-consumingly handpicked to ensure her customers have only excellent items from which to choose.
Book Purveyor (BP): hard at work, constantly rearranging and perfecting her stall, loves the offering of books that she has time-consumingly handpicked to ensure her customers have only excellent items from which to choose.
Unappreciative
Customer (UC):
Has
just
picked
up
a
weighty
Murakami
pb
– an
excellent
choice,
madam
– in
superb
condition
and,
clutching
her
find
delightedly
to
her
chest,
approaches
the
Book
Purveyor.
(Meanwhile her partner is roughly reading his way through every book on the stand, bending back all front covers as he goes... GRRRR!!! But that's another story.)
(Meanwhile her partner is roughly reading his way through every book on the stand, bending back all front covers as he goes... GRRRR!!! But that's another story.)
THE
ACTION
BEGINS
UC: (Holding out the Murakami, priced at $12) Would we able to talk bargaining on this?
UC: (Holding out the Murakami, priced at $12) Would we able to talk bargaining on this?
BP:
(In
a
calm,
friendly
tone)
I'm
always
open to
discussion,
but
in
this
particular
case,
the answer is “No”. You see, that
author
and
title
are
relatively hard
to
come
by
and
in
too
high
demand
for
the
price
to
be
lowered.
Besides
I
literally
just
put
the
book
out,
nobody
else
has
had
a
chance
to
see
it.
So
I'm
sorry
but
that
price
really is
100% non-negotiable.
UC:
(Tone
becoming
slightly
aggressive)
How
about
I
give
you
$10 for
it
then?
BP:
(Still
calm
and
friendly,
but
admittedly
this
not
coming
as
naturally
anymore)
In
light
of
what
I
just
explained,
I
consider
that
offer
a
professional
insult,
so
can
we
please
let
the
matter
drop?
UC:
Come
on,
$10?
BP:
(Uses great self-control in not snatching the book off the customer
and saying something childish – but valid – like “I wouldn't
sell it to you for any price now, I would rather throw it in the bin
than see you have it!”) You
are
actually
insulting
me
now,
why
don't
you
just
leave
the
book?
UC:
(Pays
the
full
asking
price
– with
a
$50 note
– and
mercifully
leaves
quickly
taking
her
book-bending
partner
with
her.)
BP:
(Is
sick
of
being
treated
thus
and
needs
a
warm
double
chocolate
muffin
from
the
cafe
next
door
to
recover.)
EPILOGUE:
A
short
while
later
a
customer
asked
for
a
lower
price
on
a
different
book.
His
request
was
assessed
on
its
individual
merits
and
a
small
price
change
granted.
Everybody
else
just
paid
the
asking
price.
Discussion
on above scene...
When is it acceptable to ask for a
discount?
We don't get flooded with requests but
it happens enough to have prompted some thought on my part as to
where I stand on the issue. My conclusion? There are two schools of
discount request – one is ok and one isn't, as I will show you
below.
- REQUEST WITH REASON (RWR)
In a business like ours, pricing is ultimately a judgement call made on thousands of individual items. It also involves prices which can change over time because, say, information becomes outdated, authors die, tastes change etc. At times (not too often though as the vendor would go out of business) genuine errors of judgement are made and a price no longer reflects the item's true market value. A customer who knows their stuff is quite entitled to POLITELY point this out and negotiations can begin.
I believe the best test for RWRs is that if the vendor doesn't change the price, the customer usually won't purchase.
A subgroup of this request type occurs when the price is correct but extenuating circumstances permit negotiation, eg an expensive item or bulk purchase or possibly a pensioner discount. - TRYING IT ON REQUEST (TIOR)
Wishing you could get an item for less is not a valid “reason” for requesting a discount. This is where the lady in the story above fits in. These people still will go ahead and purchase even if the request is denied. In fact, if the item had been priced lower initially, they probably would still ask for a discount – it's the relative price they care about, not the absolute one.
I often hear it said that “There's no harm in asking,” however, I hope my little dialogue above shows that this isn't always the case. Nobody goes into Woolies and asks the person stacking shelves whether they can perhaps pay a dollar less for their tim-tams today, thanks. Most tiny businesses like ours are run by hard-working people who don't earn a fortune; it's a labour of love. Our prices are not claiming to be the cheapest on the planet, but then if you want rock-bottom prices there's no way you will get the selection, atmosphere and personalised service we are constantly thanked for. Our prices are fair for what we offer.For me, TIORs are at best tiresome and turn what is nearly always a pleasant shopping interaction between customer and vendor into something uncomfortable that needs to be ended quickly. At worst they are downright insulting and refuse to acknowledge the vendor's right to a fair income.In conclusion:RWR - OKTIOR - NOT OK:)
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