This particular incident took place a couple of years ago when I was doing my overseas vacation internship in Beijing, China. During one of the weekend afternoons, I was brought to the Beijing Zoo by my internship mentor and a colleague. The whole unpleasant incident started after my zoo visit when I realized that the sole of my shoe had come off. Then, my mentor suggested buying a new pair from a wholesale clothes and accessories market opposite to the zoo. Unexpectedly, this particular visit to the “Dong Wu Yuan” (the name of the shopping place) became the most memorable incident of my entire internship.
At the start, I was told by my colleagues that this shopping place is always very crowded during the weekends as it is a favourite with the locals for the cheap bargains. He also mentioned that one needs to be able to bargain well in order to get good deals. True to his words, the place was very messy like a “war-zone” and noisy with people actively promoting their sale items. I soon found a pair of sneakers to my liking and began to haggle with a lady shopkeeper over the price. Realizing that I was not as eloquent at bargaining as her, I stopped arguing with her over the price and asked to try the shoes first. However, upon trying the shoes, I found the material to be very stiff and uncomfortable and then decided to leave the shop. To my utmost horror, the shopkeeper then pulled me back into the shop by tugging at the strap of my bag. I was shocked at her demeanor and continued to walk away. Suddenly, two fellow shopkeepers came forward and stopped me from leaving. Fortunately, my colleagues spotted me in this fix and came forward to confront these unruly shopkeepers. These shopkeepers then claimed that I had “discussed” the price with them and hence it was only right that I pay for the shoes. However, I maintained that I did not confirm that I was going to take that pair of shoes as they were uncomfortable. Those shopkeepers then continued to hurl nasty words at me and my colleagues and even claimed that we have no money to pay for the shoes. They continued to pull us back and scold us ferociously for reasons out of this world. It was only when my mentor called up the local authorities to report on this matter that the shopkeepers stopped following us and retreated back to their shop (grumbling along the way).
At the start, I was told by my colleagues that this shopping place is always very crowded during the weekends as it is a favourite with the locals for the cheap bargains. He also mentioned that one needs to be able to bargain well in order to get good deals. True to his words, the place was very messy like a “war-zone” and noisy with people actively promoting their sale items. I soon found a pair of sneakers to my liking and began to haggle with a lady shopkeeper over the price. Realizing that I was not as eloquent at bargaining as her, I stopped arguing with her over the price and asked to try the shoes first. However, upon trying the shoes, I found the material to be very stiff and uncomfortable and then decided to leave the shop. To my utmost horror, the shopkeeper then pulled me back into the shop by tugging at the strap of my bag. I was shocked at her demeanor and continued to walk away. Suddenly, two fellow shopkeepers came forward and stopped me from leaving. Fortunately, my colleagues spotted me in this fix and came forward to confront these unruly shopkeepers. These shopkeepers then claimed that I had “discussed” the price with them and hence it was only right that I pay for the shoes. However, I maintained that I did not confirm that I was going to take that pair of shoes as they were uncomfortable. Those shopkeepers then continued to hurl nasty words at me and my colleagues and even claimed that we have no money to pay for the shoes. They continued to pull us back and scold us ferociously for reasons out of this world. It was only when my mentor called up the local authorities to report on this matter that the shopkeepers stopped following us and retreated back to their shop (grumbling along the way).
After we got back to our residences, my mentor explained that this was an incident of “overboard forced selling”, and he added that those shopkeepers were pretending to be very fierce to scare me as a foreigner into buying something that I don’t want. Then, he added that it was fortunate that I didn’t retaliate when they pulled my bag as it could give them more opportunities to “hold against” us. Then, he also apologized for not warning me earlier that most locals will usually try on the items after agreeing on the sale price. Thus, when I asked to try the shoes, they probably thought that the deal was confirmed. However, we agreed that this doesn’t mean that I cannot refuse to buy the item and it certainly does not warrant for the "physical attacks" at our bags and T-shirts.
All in all, I have come to understand that cultural differences are part and parcel of mankind in the numerous global living spaces and knowledge will (in most cases) enable us to effectively embrace this interesting social phenomenon everywhere.
Hi Kenny,
ReplyDeleteYour account of your shopping experience reminds me of a similar one I had when I was in Hangzhou. In my case, it was my friend, who is actually a Chinese national from northern China, who met with the problem.
He was interested in buying a shirt at one of the street markets. He asked the shopkeeper if he could try it on. After trying it on, he felt that it was not suitable for him, thus he returned the shirt to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper then claimed that he had dirtied the shirt with his sweat, and now there was no way she could sell the shirt anymore. My friend insisted that he had confirmed with her that it was okay to try on the shirt without buying it. Just like in your case, the shopkeeper was extremely aggressive and the situation was only resolved when the authorities were called in.
In this case, my friend was not technically a foreigner, even though he was from another city. However, he faced a similarly nasty incident. Needless to say, those of us who witnessed it were quite shocked by it. We are not sure what the locals in Hangzhou are accustomed to doing. However, like you said, the safest way in approaching such situations is to probably be knowledgeable about the local customs and habits to minimize such incidents or misunderstandings from occurring.
Ronnie
Hi Kenny,
ReplyDeleteWow. The experience must be unnerving. I do agree with you that knowledge will help in bridging the cultural divide. Knowing beforehand the dos and don’ts before going to someplace new is very important to avoid making a fool of yourself or offending others, or in your case, getting into trouble with the locals.
However, I think this way of selling might be a ploy instead of the culture of the place. The shopkeepers might be trying to take advantage of tourist that fall into their ‘trap’ unknowingly and their aggressiveness might frighten them into giving up their money for the goods just to make the incident go away. Yet again, it might have started of as a ploy and, since all the other shopkeepers practice it, might then be absorb into the culture.
Anyway I am glad that nothing worse happened and that you were able to get away with it. Calling the local authorities is definitely a good idea!!
Jon
Hey Kenny,
ReplyDeleteI can give you a totally different situation that I faced in India. I wanted to buy this Taj Mahal key chain. I was told previously that the price would be hiked up by large extent so I decided that I must get 50% discount for anything I bought. The sales person was asking for 45 rupees for 1 key chain initially, which is like $1.50. And so I tried for 20 rupees and the person told me the unit price was at 25 rupees and I can't go below that. And I really believed it. But before I could decide on how many to buy, my team members had arrived and I had to leave the place immediately. This was at the Red Fort. We were heading to the Taj Mahal. And the person literally followed me till my taxi and reduced the price to 20, then 10, then 5, and then 1 rupee per keychain. But I really couldn't buy it because we were late and so I didn't buy it there.
Based on my experience in India, "walking-away" is a bargaining tactic where the shop keeper will either follow behind you or call you back and give you the price you wanted.
Hey Kenny,
ReplyDeleteWow! It was a good thing your mentor was there to get you out of that mess.
It's funny how we tend to take things for granted as a universal norm. In most places, we usually try things first to see if it fits our liking and then decide on whether we want to buy it or not. I guess this just goes to show that one should never assume something about another's culture.
Thanks, Kenny, for sharing this story with us. When reading this my expectation was that you would be forced by the vendors to buy the shoes since you had already tried them on. That could have been justified just like in the scenario where Ronnie explains how his friend was told he had to do so since his sweat had soiled the shirt.
ReplyDeleteAs Lalitha says, we tend to "take for granted" the behavioral norms that we're accustomed to, and when we encounter new situations, such as those in that market, where are norms aren't practiced, we often have to grope for meaning. Live and learn!