When you’re shopping for something here, if the salesclerk doesn’t know the price or how to handle a situation, one of two things happens here.
One. The clerk will charge you what she thinks she should, which is usually 5 or 10 times more than the actual cost of the product, if not more. She won’t bother to check with bosses or anyone else, even if you ask or suggest. She’ll do what she wants and you just have to tough it out.
Two. The clerk will start asking questions of other employees, and what could have been a simple transaction for Rs.4.50 becomes a new order of hell as you wait twenty minutes or longer for someone to finally figure out what’s going on. Leaving before the end is… Difficult at best. Entangled. Complicated.
As I see things, the only reason Fahim was going to take that damned pencil was the hassle factor. He wanted the pencil, but didn’t want to have to go through the (almost) inevitable 20 minute wait while management’s called over to figure out how to deal with a silly pencil.
I’ve seen it happen with equally silly things here, and there’s just no escape when it starts.
I say wait until we hit a stationery store or buy the whole dang pack if it’s that much of a problem.
But yeah, maybe he was just messing with my head. He’s good at that. Hmm. Dunno.
