the art of negotiation
Three ladies came in wearing clothing that covered most of their face and hair and were new to America. I tried to be polite and let them examine the jewelry we had on sale. We had the jewelry priced at scrap gold prices just for a valentine special. All three began trying to bargain for a lower price which I said was not possible due to the price of gold. One of the ladies would not quit haggling and the store owner,who had been watching and listening on camera, came out of the back with a hammer and asked me for the ring which he placed on the floor and beat it into a lump of gold handed it back to me and walked away saying “Throw it in with the scrap.” The three ladies started speaking in their foreign language and then the haggler asked if all Americans were like that. I told her “only when pushed”.