Can’t afford it? Keep it moving

If the price tag is too high for you, accept it with grace rather than complaining about it. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • If a price comes off as too high, ask yourself what you are you comparing it to.
  • Is it a product of a similar value? Most of the time, it isn’t.

A couple of months ago, a photo of a receipt from a city hotel went viral. Reason? They were selling their chapattis for Sh550 a piece.

Literally every week, there will be similar camera shots trending online, from this club or the other because of the pricing of drinks.

There are those Kenyans who will always complain about having to spend money anywhere. Then there are those who will speak against any establishment whose prices do not match their pockets.

These ones are a bitter lot and they are dramatic about it. ‘Why are they charging so much?’ ‘Aren’t they greedy?’ ‘They should make their prices affordable.’

‘We should all stop shopping there,’ you will hear. What few pay attention to is the fact that there is a reason products are priced like they are.

Few will pay attention to the time it takes to create that stylish kiondo or to the prices of the chemicals used to create that make-up product.

FEEDBACK

If a price comes off as too high, ask yourself what you are you comparing it to. Is it a product of a similar value? Most of the time, it isn’t.

If you are using your hard earned cash, you sure deserve the best services so feel free to complain about how rude an employee at that store was or how long it took to get served at a certain restaurant.

Feedback is useful in any business so go ahead and complain about the waiter getting your order wrong or there being a bug in your food, but not about the pricing.

The moment you find yourself tempted to complain about the price of that bottle of your favourite drink, you should realise that you probably are not their target customer. ‘Expensive’ is a relative term.

If a certain product or establishment does not fit your budget, feel free to make a different choice. Just because you can’t understand why a shoe can cost so much does not mean that the person selling it is wrong. It just means that you probably prioritise something other than shoes in your budget.

Let’s learn to cut our coats according to the size of our cloth. And if you’re eating or shopping somewhere the very first time, do your math ahead of time so you do not work yourself into a frenzy afterwards.

If you are in business and you find yourself constantly on the receiving end of complaints regarding your pricing, you should consider re-branding.

Your current look is attracting the wrong people.