International business ambush

My dad was an international businessman; his company sold large ductile iron pipes used to carry water over long distances. He once told me a story about a particularly nasty customer.

Dad’s company was based in France and looked to expand into Asia. One of their new prospects was a businessman from Southwest Asia. He was looking for a bargain and negotiated the price down as much as possible. Dad and his team gave him the best deal they could and told him to take it or leave it. A few weeks later, the Southwest Asian businessman called to tell them he accepted their offer and that he needed to close the deal as soon as possible. They had only a few days to sign the contract and wrap up the paperwork.

Dad’s team wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of traveling from France all the way to Asia on short notice for a single signing. They usually traveled for a week in a given region to meet multiple clients and prospects. Nonetheless, they wanted to close this deal and made travel arrangements to meet the customer and sign the contract.

After a long flight, they arrived at the buyer’s office and prepared the paperwork for the signature. That’s when the businessman dropped a bomb. He announced he wouldn’t sign the contract unless he got a 10% discount on the agreed-upon price.

The team was baffled. They couldn’t give him a discount; the offer they made was already at rock bottom. Reducing the price was impossible; otherwise the company wouldn’t make a profit. The customer wouldn’t budge; he insisted he couldn’t sign the deal without the discount.

After arguing with him for an hour, dad and his teammates did the only thing they could: they left his office to head back to the airport. They had heard about this trick before and were expecting a call from the businessman accepting the original offer on their way to the airport. They reached the airport and waited, hoping for something, but he didn’t call.

They checked in to get back to France with the next available flight. They walked to the gate and sat down in the waiting area. It looked like they wasted a couple of days of traveling for nothing; they were bitter. This guy played them in the worst possible way, he put them in a lose-lose situation. When it was time to board, they got up and started walking toward the gate.

That’s when they saw him—the businessman, emerging from behind a concrete pillar like a magician completing his trick. A satisfied smile played across his face as he strode toward them. He declared that he accepted their offer and would sign the contract here and now.

This was a business trip; they were flying business class, which meant they were the first to be called for boarding and had about 10 minutes to spare before the final boarding call. They got the paperwork out and scrambled to get everything completed before boarding the plane with a mix of euphoria and anger.

Once on the plane, they were in no mood to celebrate. The contract was signed, but the past couple of hours had been exhausting and infuriating. They had to stay stoic in the face of treachery. The client put them in an impossible situation hoping they would give in to his unprofessional behavior.

The trickster was dedicated; he waited behind the pillar next to their gate until the very end. He wanted to be completely sure he was getting the best deal. I wonder if his dirty tricks ever worked. He didn’t care about his reputation or forming long-term business relationships.

You’d think that would be the end of it, but this shady character had one more trick up his sleeve. When the shipment was delivered and loaded on the boat to be transported to its final destination, he had to sign the bill of goods to acknowledge he got the full shipment and complete the transaction.

Once again, he refused to sign it unless he got a discount. This was impossible; you can’t get the delivery person to give you a discount on what you already paid for. If he didn’t sign the bill of goods, he wouldn’t get the shipment and would still have to pay the full amount. It was his last-ditch effort to get a discount.

He delayed the boat for half a day until the captain called to tell him he was going to unload the cargo. Only then did he sign the paperwork and send it back. The boat could finally leave.

The things some folks will do to get a deal...