Fuck the small shops!
Judging by the title of this article, I assume you already know by now:
“I fucking hate small shops”
Yup, I do, with all my heart : )
Part 1: The Reason
Now, before I go on a rampage shitting on all “small shops” lol, I think it’s essential that we first define what am I referring to.
So, for me small shop is any shop where “you are expected to bargain”. Yup, that’s the category. These include mainly the street vegetable vendors, and “those shops” (you know what I’m talking about, can’t think of examples lol). Like places where you go to buy real shit like tomato, brinjal, underwear, cheap watches et cetera. Basically, any shop that has anything even related to the “B” word, I fucking hate it. No second thoughts.
Bargaining.
Ah I hate this word man! I mean, who likes to do that? Well… apart from middle aged aunties with nothing better to do (sorry aunty!), I think everyone is on the same page: “We don’t like Bargaining”. It’s messy, it’s time consuming and it honestly SUCKS.
And what’s more, in these small shops, the prices are kept deliberately high because they expect you to bargain. That’s all fine if I actually enjoy talking with people but what if I am not one of those middle-aged aunties? What if I don’t want to talk? What if I don’t want to play this stupid game of price negotiation?
Well, then they fuck you. Hard.
Yup, they charge you like 2.5 times the cost price, and you have to swallow it, smile and cough up the money.
I’ve experienced it myself, too many times lol.
And whenever I share it with people (let’s be honest mom), they look at me as if it’s me who is wrong? I mean, it’s not me who is cheating people! It’s the shopkeeper! But, since somehow this stupid game called “bargaining” is so normal in the society’s eyes, you can never be the victim (even if you have clearly been, as I’ve mentioned earlier, fucked by the shopkeeper).
Part 2: All hail the Supermarkets!
And ladies and gentlemen, that’s why I go to the supermarkets.
Ah! The supermarkets. I think it’s the second-best thing that ever happened to humanity (after penicillin of course). The long aisles full of stuff that I don’t need but I’ll probably end up buying anyway, the apparent lack of people whom you have to talk (even if you are dying inside), and most importantly NO BARGAINING.
I genuinely think about supermarkets when I’m anxious, it gives me peace of mind like nothing else.
They are fast, efficient and way easier to understand than the streets (for a dummy like myself lol).
Now, now, I know the popular sentiment around supermarkets: “Ohhhh ohhh they, they are too expensive”. Yeah right, you autistic motherfucker. This argument is only true for, again, those middle-aged aunties who were seeming born to bargain on the streets. For 90% of the population, you know the somewhat sane people, supermarkets are a far better option than the streets.
And yup, they might be a little expensive, but they don’t do you dirty like they do you on the streets. You can rest assured that you have transparency on the price. There is no hidden shit. There are no playing games. If you like it, buy it. If you don’t, leave.
They don’t waste your time.
You, the customer has the choice.
Plus, you don’t have to talk to people!
Part 3: I hate People!
Let’s be honest here. You don’t like people.
See, when I’m out there. It’s a sunny afternoon. I want some biscuits to eat (cause I’m a moron who doesn’t know how to cook). I check my wallet. I get into my slippers. I go to the nearest shop. Then everything goes downhill.
I have to actually talk with this motherfucker whose name I don’t even know. I have to first ask what biscuit is available. Then ask the price. Tell him if I want it or not. If I happen to want that one, then tell him which one. Then ask if a 10-dollar bill will do? If he says no, then go to the nearby shop like a fucking idiot asking for change. And then….
Holy shit! Stop!
Too many fucking steps for my tiny brain. I can’t do it.
Can’t I just go to the shop, look for the shit myself and buy it without needing to do all the extra steps? I mean, it ain’t rocket science, is it? “Gimme my shit, I’ll give you my money.” Simple.
I don’t want to talk to some “Ram Krishna Dai” just to get my biscuits. I just want my biscuits man!
But nope, these small shops don’t get it. And that’s why I like supermarkets.
It’s fast, it’s simple and there is one less face to talk to. And that… makes all the difference in the world. If it costs me a bit more, I’m more than happy to pay for it. Just cut the bullshit, will you?
Part 4: But what about poor people?
Now, it’s a sad reality that in a “poor” country like mine there are not many supermarkets. People are too poor to afford supermarkets, and I might sound like a douche bag for having such an affinity for shiny grocery stores. But just hear me out.
Yes, they are too poor to afford stores, but I’m not talking about the consumers like you and me (the consumers can afford it just fine), I’m talking about the sellers. Especially, the daily vegetable seller.
Most seller can’t afford to sell their products in supermarkets.
In most South Asian societies, we still get our veggies from the streets. And the people who generally sell these are the poorest of the bunch. So, the problem is, how can they afford sell in high end super-markets when they don’t have money for the bus ride?
Well, that’s what I fear.
As more people are figure out that it’s simply much easier and more notably, affordable to buy veggies from the supermarkets, I fear the poorest of the bunch, the common vegetable seller will have a really hard time (cause he will have fewer customers).
What hurts me when I shop on the streets is the fact that I have to bargain with the poorest people. And I don’t have a choice because I am expected to do so! If I don’t then, I feel like I am being cheated (cause, some of them do keep prices high because of bargaining). If I do bargain, I feel like a piece of shit bargaining with poor folks.
It’s a dead end either way.
And the reason why, they can’t sell like supermarkets might seem obvious: Capital. To open a supermarket, it takes a lot of fucking money. Money, which poor people don’t have. But, it’s not necessarily the money that’s holding them back, I believe it’s the community.
If all the sellers agree to sell stuff at a fixed price, there is nothing to stop them from doing so. But that requires a level of organization within these poor sellers, which they (for some reason) they can’t seem to achieve. So, if a bigger body, like the local government or the community itself pushes these sellers to sell at a fixed price and make the process easier then I believe it’s easily possible.
Hence, that’s why this idea of fixed price is good for us (the consumers, because we don’t have to feel like shit) and it’s good for the sellers too (as they will hopefully attract more buyers like myself).
So, that’s it! I believe most of our miseries do not come from the fact that we are poor, but from the fact that we lack the basic organizational skill and ideas to make life easier and efficient.
Geez! I sound like a fucking economist lol. What a shame.
Conclusion.
So, there are 3 things that we learnt from this seemingly random rant (from the depths of my heart):
- Small shops suck
- I love supermarkets!
- A little bit of thinking can possibly solve big problems in life.
So, anyways that’s it for today.
And if you happen to have to talk with someone named, “Ram Krishna Dai” the next time you are out there to buy some biscuits. Convey a warm FUCK YOU to him from me, will you?
Cheers!
= )
Honestblogs 