Asians - why a discount?

[Russ]

Going off in the direction of something I hinted at in another thread, one of the things which really annoys me in my day job is the way some people try to do business - allow me to give you the background.

In the day I work at the DVLA. When you want to buy a registration mark (www.dvlaregistrations.co.uk) from us, I'm the guy you call up to order it from. I get calls from people of all walks of life, from people who buy reg marks which are more expensive than the car they go on to, to the eccentric people who think nothing or ordering 5 marks worth about £5000 each. But one thing which happens is about as consistant as gravity.....

As the callers represent a cross-section of society, it would be only natural that we get a lot of Indian and Pakistani people ordering registration marks. Nothing wrong with that of course but I can honestly say that about 95% of them always ask for a discount (there are none btw - the prices that the government state are the prices you pay) and well over 50% get annoyed when I tell them that there aren't any.

So my question is why do so many of them ask for/expect discounts? Is it part of their culture to haggle?

[paulyoung666]

i reckon it is a part of there culture , so no i am not surprised , mind you if i was spending 25 g i would ask for a discount

[scrotnig]

Yes, it IS part of their culture, but I don't see anything wrong with that.

If the rest of us did that a bit more maybe some of the more extortionate prices would come down.

If you don't ask....you don't get! Good luck to them on this one.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by Mark B

Yes, it IS part of their culture, but I don't see anything wrong with that.

If the rest of us did that a bit more maybe some of the more extortionate prices would come down.

If you don't ask....you don't get! Good luck to them on this one.

that was sort of where i was coming from

[Russ]

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with asking for a discount, what annoys me is when they get shirty when we tell them there aren't any, it's as if they feel they're owed one. And they don't just request a discount on the higher priced ones, they also expect it on the cheapest (£250) marks too.

[SOSAGES]

<--- always asks for a discount on everything except dvds and cd's over the web -

ina shop if its over £50 i will ask for a discount - not on cloths normally unless buying over £100 worth
its no pain to ask and if u dont get it i just dont bother buying it always best to shop around but sometimes on leaving the store worked will say ok - take X amount off - ive been into various shops and the people have used their staff discounts for me i think nothing of it to ask for some reason

yet while on holiday i dont ask .....strange world

[BBKing]

Well, the market in number plates is fairly artificial anyway, so who's to decide whether a particular one is worth £250, the Government, the punter or a combination of the two?

In a real market the punter could go and get it somewhere else. Nothing wrong with that.

[Russ]

The government sets the price, no-one can change that. People can get fooled in to thinking that certain companies can get a registration mark for cheaper - their blurb might say it's cheaper by a few pounds but they won't include the VAT and £80 assignment fee - both of which in included in the DVLA's prices, so what you see is what you pay. Whether or not someone agrees whether it's worth it or not is irrelevant for now, people are happy to continue paying hundreds (sometimes thousands) for registration marks on a dailt basis.

How much would a " cableforum " licence plate cost I wonder ?

[Russ]

Because the DVLA only sell standard marks (ie X123 ABC and CV54ABC etc) we would be limited, but if we were to wait 40 years, we might be able to get away with CA81FRM

Thats what you get for asking a retorical question

[Ramrod]

Strange.....I get a fair number asians (sikhs/muslims) in as patients. I have never been asked for a discount.
They don't like to spend money though.....but who does?

[bb31]

it muster be the culture definately. I would never haggle over price, the price on the ticket is the price im expected to pay. Also i dont tip either - i.e taxi drivers etc - the price they are charging is the price i am expected to pay - no more no less. However I wouldnt last five mins in USA where tipping is the norm - and thats their culture.

With regards to the indians/pakistanis they always want something for nothing and it must be bred into them, i wouldnt dare ask for a discount as they do. And another point, wouldnt expect to go to their country and expect free healthcare and benefits.

sorry if i just gone a bit of topic, but now i got that off my chest i feel better.

[cookie_365]

Originally Posted by bb31

<snip>

With regards to the indians/pakistanis they always want something for nothing and it must be bred into them, i wouldnt dare ask for a discount as they do. And another point, wouldnt expect to go to their country and expect free healthcare and benefits.

sorry if i just gone a bit of topic, but now i got that off my chest i feel better.

I hope this thread isn't going to turn into 'post your racist comments here'

[Russ]

Don't worry, it won't....