Pam in the Sand: Let's Make a Deal

Deep Negotiations...

We were sitting in our living room and had just commented to our friends that the electricity and internet had been very stable over the last week. They agreed and said that when the army is in charge, services stabilize. I was pondering this piece of new information when ironically the lights went out.

Thankfully and gratefully our friends had brought us a housewarming gift of candles. I found the box of matches and lit our room with little tea lights. As we sat in the glow of the flames, we recounted to them our afternoon of furniture shopping.

Our friend and taxi driver, Sadik, had returned from his vacation in Cairo. According to him it hadn't been much of a vacation at all due to all of the trouble on the streets. He said he was glad to be back home and glad to see us. John conveyed our joy to see him and told him we were interested in purchasing a closet and some other furniture. Sadik said he knew where we should go.

We pulled up to a small storefront that had chairs, tables and a few wardrobes. I began to look at the selection (exactly 3) and then asked if there were others. There were not. These wardrobes were extremely large and very ornate. We are more of a Zen/mission-style type of shopper so it really is a…let's call it "challenge."

Shopping Success!

Sadik knew of another place and hopped out of the car with us this time. This place was indeed bigger and even had an upstairs. We saw some pieces that we liked and soon we were trying to calculate Egyptian pounds to dollars to see what kind of ballpark we were in.

We rounded the corner and beheld a gloriously plain closet. It was solid wood and well-made. We knew to look no further. The salesman tried to point us to the more ornate one next to it, but we would not be moved. He mentioned that another one was coming just like the plain one, but it was smaller. We told him we would take that one too…sight unseen. He shook his head, and said we could have an ornate one made to size. We thanked him and stuck with the less Napoleon ones. He disagreed with our choice, but wouldn't decline a sale no matter how ridiculous the customer was.

John, Sadik and the salesman went upstairs and began to finalize the order. I took this as my opportunity to make the rounds one more time to see if I missed anything and to also snap a few pictures.

I had finished my looking and went to check on the negotiations. Prices, written or verbal, are a starting point. John and the salesman were working out an appropriate "discount" when Sadik piped in to assist. Soon they were all talking, calculating and slapping hands. An agreement had been reached.

Maybe for the guest room...

John tried to pay for everything, but the salesman said that we should keep our money until they have gathered all the pieces which should be tomorrow. Inshallah.

We returned to the car happy to mark yet another thing off the list. Sadik was driving us back toward our flat when I heard him mumble something about a chair and then he just laughed and laughed. John began laughing, too, and I knew I had missed out on something.

It seems that John and the salesman had reached an impasse about the final cost of all the furniture. The salesman told John his bottom dollar and John told him his. They were at a standoff. Finally, John said, "I will give you the amount you want IF you give me another dining room chair." The salesman thought for a moment and smiled, "It's a deal."

Sadik thought that was the funniest thing he had ever heard. A foreigner who bartered with a salesman and got an extra chair! I thought it was a good story, but Sadik thought it was hilarious. He laughed all the way back to our flat and slapped John's hand a couple times when he was overcome.

Finishing our story, we asked our friends (as we continued talking in the dark) if we had made a good deal. They smiled and said yes, but if we needed some plain items in the future they knew a carpenter. Good to know...

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Today's BOGO Blog: You Gotta Have Friends