Advertisement
Advertisement

No wiggle room in pricing policy

There is no argument: the time-honoured practise of haggling over prices is dying.

Ho Chi Minh City tourism officials have introduced a new quality assurance programme which forces shops to offer their wares at fixed prices if they wish to share in the scheme's promotional benefits.

Meanwhile, the booming numbers of modern shopping centres and trendy retail outlets in Vietnam's other large cities are taking it upon themselves to do likewise.

'Haggling is going out of style,' said Nguyen Thi Khanh of Ho Chi Minh City's tourism department. 'Fixed prices are the most important part of our programme.'

As in much of Asia, customer-vendor negotiation has been the key method of establishing selling prices since time immemorial in Vietnam. But in the fast modernising cities, customers and proprietors alike say they are beginning to prefer the stability and fairness of preset rates.

Ms Khanh said 22 sites had already signed on to Ho Chi Minh's new programme, including the city's trendy Tax Centre shopping plaza.

She said she expected that number to rise sharply as the programme matures. And several customers at the Tax Centre said they were happy to escape the fear may get cheated in the haggling process.

'The salespeople don't have to be unpleasant like before,' said shopper Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung.

Despite the signs of demise, haggling is still expected to continue for years to come, especially in traditional outdoor markets.

The practice retains the force of custom, and many say they enjoy the art of the deal. Even some affluent Tax Centre shoppers said they wouldn't want it to disappear entirely.

Post