Because that’s the way it’s always been done, and, seeing how you’re still, quite “fresh” you can’t argue with them, but, surely, you’d, come up with an alternative way of comparison shop for your office, translated…
Many years ago, I’d worked for a certain organization, once I was in charge of buying the office supplies, because the cost was high, I’d asked three shops for the estimates, to find the one with the lowest costs. I’d gone to the first store, the owner of the shop asked, “Do you want three, five?”, I’d become, confused, and asked, “Wouldn’t one be enough?”
The owner smiled at me mysteriously, “Young man, I mean, I’ll give you the prices of three separate stores, so you won’t have to run all over town.” Oh, so he has the estimation slips from the shops, and, of the three he’d handed me, one was from his shop, and naturally, it was, the cheapest, and the two other shops, were naturally, higher, but, if his shop has the cheapest offers, then, it would be, hard to tell.
The owner’s intentions were clear, and I was his, complying accomplice.
“Just one,” I’d said without hesitation.
“You’re destroying the markets, it’s common knowledge, everybody does it. Let me tell you what, I’ll give you the incentives later.” the owner was a bit angered. And yet, I couldn’t, agree with this “common sense” of his, and insisted on only buying one, and he’d not do business with me, chased me out.
And, for the shops I’d gone to that followed, they’d had the same claims, and it seemed, that this was, an unspoken agreement, they’d not debated the hiked up prices of their fellow shop owners, and, they’d, helped each other out, and all of us, buyers, became, suckers, or that we may, get the gifts for buying with certain shops.
This small market has only these couple of shops in it, if ALL the owners worked together against me, it would be, most difficult for me, to finish my task, what should I do? Bow down and admit my defeat? I’d walked onto the streets, feeling defeated, combating with myself.
Suddenly, an idea came, I’d run quickly back to the first shop, asked for three estimation slips, then, went to the second, and the third, I’d gotten a total of nine estimation slips, and in the end, I’d compared the prices, and found the cheapest of the three. On the surfaces, I’d, fallen into their traps, but, in truth, I’d, fought against their ways.
And now, it’s been, thirty years, and all nine estimation slips were still, kept intact, inside the display windows inside my mind, reminding myself, to not forget: the owners’ ideals from back then I’d not agreed with then, and I won’t agree with the injustices of the merchants in the futures to come too.
So, this, is how this person who’d only begun working managed, to solve the problems on his own, he’d had to think hard, and, found out a way, to check the three shop owners’ mates, and, he still kept the memories so clear, as a reminder, of how he’d stuck by his values in life like he should.