greedy

a couple of negotiation tips from mabi:
1. always know before hand what your ideal solution is and what your "bottom-line" is.
2. anticipate the other party´s bottom line, their ideal, and their exaggeration.
3. NEVER-EVER (pronounced loudly= nevuh evah!) go against your "bottom-line" because once you do, you have lost all credibility.
4. know a little about the other party and show some respect.
5. never let them see you sweat.

i have four days left in salvador. but my lease ended today. i thought staying a few days extra would be no problemo. but, my slumlord´s intermediary, C, told me i must come talk to her about this. sigh. so, i went to C´s agency to negotiate a four day stay in the apartment.

as expected C started out with all this mess about high season. "lots of italians coming to the area. three other people waiting for the apartment." note: it´s always three people are waiting. she said she negotiated the BEST deal for me. said she was "firm" with slumlord. blah blah blah. i sat and grinned at her, because i knew all this bullshit was coming. then she told me that i would keep the same rate. sounds good. not.

she explained my rate, for example was R$1300 for the month of july. same rate for august per C´s explanation. but instead of determining the daily rate by dividing by 31 days she divided by the number of days i was staying (well, actually 17 because my friend wanted to stay 13 days after i left). now, i am not a math-magician, but this doesn´t add up correctly. it´s like twice as much or more.

so, i pointed this out to her. we disagreed. she reminded me of the three italians waiting for the place. i leaned back in my chair and told her that she obviously has a better deal on deck and so do i. ;)

then she calls my slumlord (via phone), who was actually just down the hall from my apartment. go figure. they talk. more BS. i received two bottom lines. two.

now i naturally want to become indignant because this is all unnecessary. and i felt like they were taking me for a fool. must. stay. calm.

so I smile and say "hey, if you have three Italians waiting to pay more, you should go with them because I am not paying any more than i have been paying."

even if i would have been paying more at my plan b (i.e. the dollhouse), i would not have given them another dime on principle. truth is, slumlord and co. will have an empty apartment. there is no "italian" waiting. they got greedy and tried to shaft me. busters.

unfortunately, the dollhouse (my first digs here in salvador) was completely occupied. but O had my back. she asked her hostess to put me up for the next four nights. and she agreed. hol-la. i have now moved over to Torroro (toh-doh-DOH) for the final nights here. older, quaint apartment. $10 US a day. warm welcome and company.