On Tuesday 28 January 2014 17:49 The Medway Handyman wrote in uk.d-i-y:

I often work for people of a certain ethnic origin, who always,
always,
always haggle about the final bill. It's a deep rooted cultural
thing.

Even though you have quoted a price for a job in advance, they will
always, always, always try to get a few quid knocked off when it comes
to payment time.

So I've adopted the tactic of adding £10 or £20 to the estimate,
knowing full well they always, always, always haggle.

I did that today - and they just paid up, no haggling!

I feel slightly guilty now......


It suggests that you are perhaps underquoting a little, normally. In
this case you have not conned anyone. Price quoted, job done, price
paid.

If a large proportion of your customer base are used to haggling, it is
arguably better to add a buffer, then allow then to feel that they've
"won" by getting £10-20 off. You're happy, they're happy, everyone wins.

Quoting the actual price you want and refusing to budge is clearly going
to alientate some of your customers, so that would be a wrong tactic.

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