One of the most annoying trends I’ve noticed is with local traders, and I’ve seen many people following in these footsteps, despite how often customers complain about them. It can be quite frustrating when traders try to tell you what to buy with your own money. They go off thinking that they can decide for you how you get to spend it in their shops.
And many times, these guys are even adamant about it. They refuse to back down from their stubborn stance and insist that you do it their way, or you don’t do it at all. I’ve never seen people who don’t care about the progress of their businesses, like petty traders and small business owners. Because many times, they let their convictions get the better of them, even costing them money.
Why will I want to buy a pack of Pepsi from you, and you’ll tell me to mix it up? Yeah, that’s exactly what happened to me! I tried to buy a pack of Pepsi just yesterday. I wanted only Pepsi and nothing else. But this woman didn’t want me to have it. She said I can’t just take only Pepsi, that she must mix it with other Pepsi products like Mirinda and the like.
But I didn’t want Mirinda, I wanted only Pepsi, why the hell was she trying to make me take others? She wanted to split it half Pepsi and half Mirinda, but I wasn’t going for it. Everyone I was buying the drink for wanted only Pepsi, and since she had it, she was supposed to let me have it.
This is not the first time something like that has happened. There was a time I tried buying up to 10-15 of a particular biscuit, and I was told that I couldn’t. I had to mix it up with another brand. The brand I originally wanted was popular, and people went after it more. But they wanted me to also take the lesser-known brand. They literally tried to force me to take it.
I don’t know if these people think that this is a good business strategy, but I just don’t see it. I understand that they might be trying to keep their goods moving. By forcing customers to also buy other products, they get them off the shelves and still have some of the popular ones to sell to new customers. Also, there’s also the fact that buying a lot at a time could mean that other customers may not see it when they come for it.
I understand all these, but it’s still not a valid reason to me. I don’t see why I have to pay for all that. If I want ten packs of Pepsi, and the trader has ten packs of Pepsi, she has to sell them to me! She shouldn’t try to get me to buy five packs of Pepsi, two packs of Mirinda, and three packs of Mountain Dew. If I take the last ten packs she has, she restocks so that new customers will also be able to buy.
Traders are meant to know their customers. If you have customers who buy things in bulk, you don’t chase them away by trying to shrink their needs; instead, you rise up to meet their demands. It’s their money, not yours. You give them what they ask for, and if you run out, you get more. Always keep the train moving, no matter what.
Because now, as far as I’m concerned, that particular trader is no longer good for bulk buying. I can only go there when I want to buy a single drink or biscuit. At most two. But when I want to buy packs, or dozens, I’d simply go to places that are more favorable and more willing to give me what I want.
It’s my money, I do what I want. Nobody will beat me.
