What is even tougher is negotiating in a position of weakness, when you feel that you are at the mercy of the other party. I experienced such a negotiation two weeks ago. The negotiation involved me trying to have my defective Burberry Jacket replaced or repaired. It was bought more than one year ago and was out of warranty. I was sure that the ZOPA was minimal or even negative; I was 99% sure I would lose. I had almost no leverage, and the one I had, to report Burberry to Better Business Bureau, was weak. My strategy was to focus on the power and right approach, as I doubted the interest approach would be of any use to me, as I had almost nothing to offer in return.
So on the day of the negotiation, I came to the store, asked for a manager and was prepared for an ugly fight. What did I get in return? To my great surprise, I got a deal. The manager agreed to fix my jacket under one condition - I would have to dry-clean it first. I was so surprised and excited, that I took the deal and went home. However, later on, when I came home, my deal didn't seem as good as before. I started reflecting on the negotiation and I felt wronged. I started wondering why I agreed on dry-cleaning my jacket and why I didn't insist on them fixing my jacket immediately, the way it was. I know rationally I should have been happy, as I was expecting nothing, but instead the store manager agreed to help me. But still, I had a weird unpleasant feeling that I lost in this negotiation; that I could have done better. .
So why did I feel that way? I believe it happened because of two factors: the behavior of the store manager and my own tactics and behavior during the negotiation. Let's start with the manager. Technically she did nothing wrong. She was respectful and she helped me when she had the option not to. So why did I feel wronged by her, why did I feel that I got a bad deal? The answer lies in her negotiation tactics.
