Exercise my Negotiation Skill

Posted by samakomlao at Sunday, February 17, 2013 | 0 comments

During the past few weeks, the course in Rotary Peace Center was mainly focus on concrete skills and strategies for conflict resolution such as negotiation, mediation, and communication. To put some of what I have learned into practices, I launched myself into a Platinum Fashion Mall and Pantip Plaza in Bangkok to buy some clothes and IT items, and to practice my negotiation (bargaining) skills.

Negotiation, according to my understanding, is a process of trying to reach agreement with another person, so that it somehow meets the satisfaction of the two. In shopping, bargaining sometimes is challenging and thrilling but can be also very stressful depends on various situation.

I myself love bargaining so that I can get the best deal possible. In some countries in Asia, such as Laos, Thailand, and China, bargaining is a part of culture, while other countries such as Japan, and many european countries, bargaining is very rare, and hardly find in many shopping areas.
I consider myself as a very good negotiator, as I could get some good bargains from the shop owners in many situations. In China, I used to get 70% off after a long and difficult negotiation with a shop owner. What I did is that I tried to ask for a bargain, and if the shop owner said "No", I will walk away, and they will call and pull me back to their shop. In Laos, i could get around 20% off from the actual price. In Thailand, my Thai friends told me that I could get a bargain at around 20-30 Baht, the maximum because many products are already in good low prices. However, in some how, I believe that I could get more bargain here.

At Platinum Fashion Mall, I had tried my best to ask for discount for my American friend who want to buy a T-shirt. I first started with a greeting in Thai language to a shop owner

"Sawasdee Krub, how much is this ?"
"250 Baht" the shop owner said.
"Is 200 Baht possible" I replied.
"No", the owner said."
"What about 220 Baht?"
"No", the owner reaffirmed his statement.

I then asked my friend to pretend to walk away, but there is no sign the shop owner to call us back.
I have 3 assumptions in my head, and it may be right or wrong:
1) The price is already low, and they can not give any discount
2) They have many customers, and they don't care who you are
3) I was with foreigner (I myself is also a foreigner), and it is hard to get a discount


In Pantip Plaza, I walked alone to find  a Karaoke CD program to install into my computer. Pantip is famous for its low cost IT products, and I know it is another good places for me to exercise my negotiation skill. I came across one shop, and talked to a shop owner for sometimes. During the conversation, I notice that his accent is from the Northeast part of Thailand, so before asking for a price, I asked him where he is from. To my surprised, He is from Obon Ratchathani, the province that I just visited during the field trip. I was not hesitate to speak Isan language with him, and told him that I am from Laos. I then started to bargain. The price started with 500 Baht, including 2 CDs with 5,000 songs and a book. He offered me 450 Baht, but it was too expensive for me for this price. I asked for 300 Baht. He kept saying "No" to me, but still had a smile on his face. I noticed this, and continued my negotiation.  I begged him that Laos and Isan is brotherhood, so please give me cheaper price. Finally, he nod his head, and gave me the price of 300 Baht.

I am very satisfied with this price, and I knew that at the end, we were both happy, and still had a big smile to each other. From this experience, I have learned that good communication skills can pave good ways to good negotiation, and lead to a win-win situation.