Your grandchild for my dog?
Living in suburban New Jersey, we had a purebred golden retriever. She was two years old and would sit on a large boulder in our front yard. Children walking on the sidewalk would point at her and call her “Lion King!” Her actual name was Sona (which in Indian language means “gold”). All this was fine, except for one elderly lady. She wanted to buy our family puppy for her grandchildren. She would ask my 10-year-old daughter if she would sell Sona to her. Every time she saw my daughter, she would offer a little more money.
One day my daughter came inside exasperated. The elderly lady had become a constant source of annoyance. In spite of my little girl telling her “No” repeatedly, she just wouldn’t give up. I suggested an idea to my daughter, and she smiled.
A few days later, the lady brought it up again, this time raising the offer even higher. My daughter paused for a moment, and then asked, “How many grandchildren do you have?”
The lady said, “Oh, I have two lovely grand-daughters. I love them very much.”
My daughter, “How old are they?”
Lady, “seven and five.”
My daughter, “So, how much money would you want for the sale of your younger granddaughter to me? I have the money. If you do that, then I will sell you Sona.”
The lady was horror-struck and never bothered my daughter again.
Put a price on demands
When you try to return certain products bought online or from a store, the seller may require that the product is returned with its original packaging, or, it may be returned within a short fixed period of time, such as 5 days. We are all used to conditions that are examples of “putting a price on demand.”
Some people make unreasonable demands. A simple “No” may not deter these people from repeating their demand, time and again. A better deterrent is to “put an unreasonable price on their unreasonable demand.”