Art of Negotiation
Fish markets in India is where most people negotiate as if their life depended on it. Before you could see the stalls and vendors of the market, you could hear the noise of high-pitched vendor voices and buyers hustling to buy fresh groceries and fish.
My grandfather often took me to the fish market to get fresh fish for the day’s lunch. We would reach the market in the early morning hours after breakfast to get fresh fish put out by the vendors.
My grandfather would point to different fishes and tell me their names and where they were found. He and I would then go to a particular vendor and ask for our usual portion of fish. The specific vendor, my grandfather, bought from was herself, an older woman. Because we were her regular customers, we would get the freshest catch from her lot at a reasonable price.
The vendor often showed us new fish that her son caught that morning. She would call my grandfather elder brother and smile at me genially. I never saw my grandfather negotiate loudly or like his life depended on it. He would be soft-spoken but firm with the vendors.
I saw how other buyers at the market would negotiate with the vendors. The negotiations felt like a back-forth table tennis match that I would often lose track of.
“Grandpa, why don’t you negotiate the way they do?” I asked him while I walked in step with him towards the market exit.
“They are street vendors, son; it is their hard-earned money. Besides, most things in this world can happen with a gentle tone and a bit of love. No need to get worked up like these people !” My grandfather would tell me as if the crowd at the market collectively disappointed him.
I don’t remember when exactly but I stopped going to the fish market with my grandfather after a while. Then my father took care of going to the fish market. I didn’t have to go to the fish market until I had a family of my own.
When I entered the fish market later, I had a fancy engineering degree and a couple of years of negotiating experience (at-least I thought I had 😅) as a Software Engineer in an MNC. I was roaming around trying to get the best vendor to buy from. There was a lot of noise at one corner as a couple of people were fighting over a fish, trying to decide who picked it first. I was walking backward, still looking at the fight, when a sweet elderly tone warned me. “Look where you are going, son.” I stopped and turned around. I saw an older woman sitting on the ground with her day’s catch spread out. I was almost going to step on the fish.
“Do you enjoy such fights, people fighting over a simple fish, huh!’ She said in a slightly scolding tone. She reminded me of my grandfather. I decided to buy some fish from her.
I scratched my head and said, “How much is that major fish, aunt?”
She looked at me for a moment, her eyes examining me, then said, “This. This is Rs.500 per kg.”
I was taken aback by the fish rate but it was usual for the fish prices to rise on certain days. I was searching for the money but the negotiator in me told that I should get at-least a 10 percent discount. I told the elderly aunt timidly, “Aunt, can’t you make that Rs. 450? Think about me; I have a family to feed too.”
At this, the old lady started laughing and put a hand on her head. I was worried she would say no, and I would be embarrassed by my demands. To my relief, she said, “ Give it to me. I will give you some money back.”
I handed her the 500-rupee green note and waited. She packed the fish up and handed the bag over. She also gave me back 200 rupees!! I was surprised and checked it twice. My face must have been like a happy child’s as I looked at her. Before I could ask her, she said, “You are such a simpleton, son. What are you doing in this market, not knowing the rates? How will you run a family like this, throwing away your money?” She grumbled on like a concerned aunt.
She smiled and shook her head.
“God bless you; come to my stall next time you want to buy fish. I will give you fresh fish and a good deal.” She said.
I hurried from there, my cheeks pink as if I had found my lost childhood in the market. Since that day, Aunt would give me the freshest catch at reasonable rates every Sunday. I now understood what my grandfather meant when he said most things in this world could be achieved with a gentle tone.
