[Follow up to an earlier post]
#4. The economics lesson. This one cannot really be used as a standalone, but is rather a warm-up act to enable other tactics to be more effective. Example:
You: “How much for a taxi to Gandhi Chowk?”
Him: “60 rupee”
You: “Come on friend… be serious!”
Him: “Business-very-bad-my-friend…”
You: “Ahem. My friend, are you familiar with the laws of the economic model of supply and demand based on price and quantity in a market which predicts that in a competitive market price will function to equalize the quantity demanded by consumers and the quantity supplied by producers resulting in an economic equilibrium of price and quantity depicted graphically in curves which show that if the demand decreases then the demand curve will shift inward and the price will consequently decrease? 30 rupees.”
Him: [nonplussed expression]: “Huh?”
Your man is now ready to be hit with, for instance, the devastating tactic #1.
#5. The “Time is Money”argument. A simple but effective use of logic to wrong-foot the other party. Example:
You: “How much for a taxi to Gandhi Chowk?”
Him: “60 rupee”
You: “30 rupees”
Him: [belligerent stance]: “No. SIXTY rupee.”
You: “OK. Let’s look at this another way. You can sit here for the next 20 minutes and earn zilch – nada – nothing – zero, or you can drive me less than 2 kilometres for 30 rupees, which you and I both know is a stunningly good deal for you in the current climate. So what’s it to be, boy-o? 30 rupees or bust?”
Him: [after pondering for a few moments]: “OK OK, 30 rupee”
Job, as they say, done.
Andrew Duff 