Nagging and Haggling

In Morocco you regularly haggle on prices.

This can be a bit strange at first, even if you have some prior experience with it (as I do from my time in Ecuador). If you really want to get a good deal, you need to be aware of the price ranges of all sorts of things; most adult Moroccans can quote you the prices on a great number of items at a variety of places around the city. What's more, you need to learn the tricks of the trade. Many times a decent deal requires a large time investment. I think this is why Americans tend to dislike haggling so much; it is anything but efficient and convenient.

And even if you speak the language well and are aware of the usual price range for an item, your foreignness can still bring the price up a notch. Often the desire to haggle a little bit more cash out of foreigners extends well into the realm that we would consider unethical. Sometimes you may be billed for nonexistent services, and sometimes restaurants may charge you at a higher price than normal. My roommate Daniel and I encountered this dynamic this past week.

A week and a half ago, after we signed our lease, the landlord came over with a handyman to repair a few things that were not working. He fixed some broken electrical outlets and started to repair the 15-year old blinds on a couple of our windows.

Since he was with the landlord and the problems existed before we moved into the house, we assumed that the landlord would pay the handyman. So it came as a bit of a surprise when the handyman showed up at our door a couple of days later wanting something. I wasn't home and so Daniel had to try to negotiate with him in French, but his French wasn't very good. Daniel refused to give him any money. So he went downstairs and got the concierge. But the concierge speaks less French than the handyman. Apparently they kept asking about me, as if my halting Darija (Moroccan Arabic) could help remedy the situation. The way Daniel tells it, the whole conversation sounds rather hilarious. In the end, he held his line and refused to pay.

A couple of days later, the handyman returned and tried to haggle a bit of money out of us again. I talked with him a bit, but before he got very far, I popped out my cell phone and dialed the landlord's number. I explained the situation in French and handed the phone over to the handyman.

I have no idea what they talked about, but I haven't seen him again.

The landlord, however, came over again this weekend with a different handyman to finish the repair job. He told us in unequivocal terms that he would pay for all repairs to the house and that any handyman trying to negotiate an extra price with us was to be refused.

It's a small comfort to know that there will be no haggling for anything regarding the house. However, I still have a lot to learn before I am anywhere near a proficient haggler for things that actually merit haggling.