Doing business in the Philippines

I'm sitting on the floor at gate A6 of the International Terminal at the San Francisco Airport. Heading back home after a 2 week visit with my family. I'm pretty excited to get back to my wife and kid and our very new business. Well, to be more precise, Maricarl's new business. As a foreigner I have to be careful to not even appear to own more than 40% of any business venture. Really, even a partly foreign owned business often is dealt with differently than a local owned. The combination of being a foreigner and having white skin is absolute proof that you're rich. As a relative matter I suppose it may be true but as a practical matter I may be one of the many exceptions.

For instance, the city engineer who oversaw our remodeling including the planning and sub-contracting started out begrudgingly agreeing to Php 40,000 based on my wife's assurances that money was limited (which is true). When it came to his attention that there was a Kano involved he quickly found reasons for upping the ante to Php 50,000. And even this didn't include some of the things we had expected.

Were it not for my wife I have no doubt that I could easily have paid two times what we ended up spending. In fact, I would be surprised if any enterprise, foreign or local, could have accomplished what she did for less. She's that good of a negotiator. However, I take credit for the excellent deal we got on the computers. It was inspired, if I do say so myself. Something that anyone could do when buying any big ticket item or multiple items.

I researched computer systems online and found a very competitive price at a Manila based distributor in Cebu City. I used their online pricing to build 15 systems to my specs. I contacted them by email to confirm the price and ask if any additional discount could be had as I was buying so many. No, but they would throw in the networking materials for free and ship for only 200 or 300 pesos each. I was definitely dealing in good faith as I would have certainly bought them had I not found a better deal.

I printed the quote and went to several local computer retailers and spoke with the managers. I just told them the truth... that I would prefer to deal with a local business and if he could match the price for the same or comparable equipment I would buy them. As it turned out, I got a somewhat lower price and while I didn't get free networking supplies I did get free installation and a better warranty. Prior to doing my homework and dealing with the manager I had been quoted nearly $200usd more per system.

I often get charged more than the "Filipino price." This is why for the larger ticket items I count on my "negotiator." Being able to speak a little Visayan has definitely come in handy when I act as my own negotiator. It's not so much that I can do the subtleties of bargaining in the local dialect but it speaking even broken Visayan establishes that I am not a tourist. Plus people on the whole are appreciative that I am making the effort. I think my efforts imply several things and they are all true. It says that I am not too proud to make mistakes and can laugh at myself. It also says that I respect the local culture and the people and that I want to be able to communicate on a more personal level. Besides, why should I expect other people to speak English? All those positive and friendly vibes go a long way in bargaining.