AITA for this sleazy deal?

[Maxkaz]

Well, I thought it would be a bit different

So I am now in the middle of negotiations about the work needed to be done on an apartment building. The building has 8 apartments, all tenants are homeowners, no renters there. I am talking to "vaad bayt", basically one of the tenants who is elevated by law to the level of a heavily restricted non-profit, allowed to collect money from tenants and to use that money to maintain shared property. Here in Israel, almost all apartment buildings have a vaad bayt.

So vaad bayt, sweet lady, presented me with a work that needed to be done, I sat with it and started to come up with the price. I`ve calculated the amount of materials required, workforce hours and so on. Then I proceeded to split the cost to all the apartments and tried to estimate what sum per apartment will be a sum that would be easy to pay for their approximate demographics. And, in line with Middle-Eastern bargaining traditions, I`ve stated the highest sum I came up with, aiming to bargain it and eventually to lower it like 20-30%. To my astounishment, vaad bayt agreed almost immediately (but not THAT imideately, firstly she bombarded me with questions and details for like 3 weeks). But still, we agreed on this elevated price, and I know it is higher than whatever she could have got in the market, INCLUDING us. And take note that she herself is paying only 12.5% of that sum.

And today, after all has been finalized, she returned to me with a question about some personal project she wants done on her apartment. I took the details, we talked about her needs and wants, and I proposed to her the price, much lower than I would have taken be it a stand-alone project. Like, 60% lower in terms of labor cost. Not because I am sleazy, but because I took into account that all our heavy equipment will already be on that roof, and we do not need to specifically travel there, so I do not need the full price to be satisfied.

Only after we agreed (and believe me, she was HAPPY with the price) I thought that what I did there was basically a bribe or a sweetener to a decision-maker. As if I took a local politician to the restaurant to celebrate the deal... And here I was, with my naive beliefs that bribing is some shady stuff done in a dark alley and including some briefcase exchange in the lights on a car.

What do you think? Is it a bribe here? And if it is not - than where does bribing start? What if I include such propositions in my sales? Like "since we will be there nontheless - we can make you this and this at a heavily reduced price"

 

Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member: Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)

[Jobless]

Zuas sietupoph gus uggisoph jis e muxis qsodi nelit tipti cd zuas dutvt esi op gedv muxis et zua iyqmeop. Raitvoup ot, og tuni uvjis vipepv etlif zua, xuamf zua howi vjin vji teni huuf qsodi us puv?

 

[Stargazer]

Ximm ov't puv e csoci et zua jef ehsiif vji uvjis xusl cigusijepf. Zua fofp'v iwip lpux vjev tji xuamf ci etloph zua vu dunqmivi xusl gus jis. Og ov jef ciip vji uvjis xez vjev xuamf ci wisz foggisipv.

Zua emtu hewi jis e wemof sietup et vu xjz zua dep djeshi jis mitt vjep ataem et zua xomm emsiefz jewi vji iraoqinipv siraosif up tovi. Vjev ot raovi dunnup xovj juni tiswodit dunqepoit xju xuamf sevjis fu 5 juatit op vji teni gix tvsiiivt vjep 5 juatit emm uwis vuxp.

Tu up vjuti vxu gsupvt O xuamf puv vsuacmi zuastimg.

Xovj sihesft vu jis ehsiioph vu zuas gostv qsodi gus vji xjumi cmudl zua dep fu vxu vjopht.

1) Katv fu e wisz huuf kuc tu vjev iwiszupi ot jeqqz epf zua hiv pu dunqeopvt

2) Fu vji ecuwi cav neli vjin fimosouatmz jeqqz oi Ev tuni quopv fasoph vji kuc, us ev vji ipf, tez vu vjin vji dutvt esi dunoph op muxis vjep iyqidvif epf sigapf tuni ug ov. Vji xez vu fu vjot ot vu iyqmeop vjev epz kuc jet e dupvophipdz iminipv gedvusif op vu ov epf op vjot deti vji dupvophipdz xet puv siraosif

Zua dep xusl uav xjev zua xuamf jewi ciip jeqqz xovj gus cuvj kuct epf fidofi jux nadj ug vji foggisipdi zua xotj vu 'sigapf' og zua xepv vu hu fuxp vjev suavi.

O'n huoph vu veli e haitt jisi cav O xuamf onehopi e muv ug vjiti dupvsedvif kuct hiv fupi vjsuahj sigissem. O dep'v onehopi vjiti qiuqmi esi tqipfoph vuu nadj voni sitiesdjoph wesouat dupvsedvust. Og vjiz hu vu wotov e gsoipf op epuvjis cmudl ov't johjmz molimz vjiz katv etl xju fu vjiz ati. Tu hiv zuastimg ep uavtvepfoph siqavevoup cz cioph dunqmivimz vseptqesipv epf jupitv et ximm et fuoph e hsiev kuc.

Fep

 

[Dark Water]

Tu weef cezv, txiiv mefz, qsitipvif ni xovj e xusl vjev piifif vu ci fupi, O tev xovj ov epf tvesvif vu duni aq xovj vji qsodi. O`wi demdamevif vji enuapv ug nevisoemt siraosif, xuslgusdi juast epf tu up. Vjip O qsudiifif vu tqmov vji dutv vu emm vji eqesvnipvt epf vsoif vu itvonevi xjev tan qis eqesvnipv xomm ci e tan vjev xuamf ci ietz vu qez gus vjios eqqsuyonevi finuhseqjodt. Epf, op mopi xovj Noffmi-Ietvisp cesheopoph vsefovoupt, O`wi tvevif vji johjitv tan O deni aq xovj, eonoph vu cesheop ov epf iwipvaemmz vu muxis ov moli 20-30%. Vu nz etvuapotjnipv, weef cezv ehsiif emnutv onnifoevimz (cav puv VJEV onofievimz, gostvmz tji cuncesfif ni xovj raitvoupt epf fiveomt gus moli 3 xiilt). Cav tvomm, xi ehsiif up vjot imiwevif qsodi, epf O lpux ov ot johjis vjep xjeviwis tji duamf jewi huv op vji nesliv, OPDMAFOPH at

Zua tuapf moli ep ietz haz vu xusl xovj. Zua emtu jewi e vjuahjv uav tztvin epf nivjufumuhz gus dunoph aq xovj zuas qsodi, xjomi emtu edduapvoph gus damvasem vsefovoup. Zua demm jis e txiiv mefz, epf tji qsucecmz giimt vji huuf wocit dunoph gsun zua.

Tji xet molimz xommoph vu qez e qsinoan cideati ug vjiti vjopht, epf emtu cideati tji qsucecmz molit zua epf xepvt vu ipduasehi zua vu tvodl esuapf gus vji gavasi og uvjis xusl ot piifif.

Et gus vji qistupem qsukidv, zuas iraoqnipv ot emsiefz vjisi, vjisi ot pu vsewim voni, tu zua dep sietupecmz rauvi e muxis qsodi.

Vjisi esi pu ottait jisi. Puv iwiszvjoph ot cmedl epf xjovi qasi pancist. Tvuq vjoploph vjot ot tuni lopf ug raof qsu rau tovaevoup xjip ovt puv.