Situation
You are the owner of a small jewelry store. A customer leaves a family heirloom with you for cleaning. By mistake, a salesperson sells the ring to another customer. How would you handle the situation? Now, imagine that you were the customer who purchased the ring for your fiancé. When the owner calls you to tell you about the situation, what do you do?
Solution
There are many types of behavior in special situations when people mislead each others’ words. In this case, all the attention should be paid to the beneficiary part of the changing deal because if one side of the agreement will be unreasonably punished, then all the process of changing the status quo will be failed.
Turning to the concrete issue, it is important to define all the aspects of misunderstandings correctly. Firstly, the salesman will be punished due to his neglect attitude to customer’s jewelry. Secondly, the family that bought the ring is in the beneficiary situation, as from the judiciary and moral side, they are innocent. Finally, the family who lost the heirloom is in the worst position, as this was their property, which they cannot take back without any losses. When the owner of the ring calls me, I will describe the situation as it is and offer him or her free service, which will help in handling the situation.
To find a possible approach to take back the jewelry, I should make a proposal that cannot be declined due to its benefits for all sides of the agreement. To begin with, based on emotional intelligence principles, I will immediately create the proposal for the family who bought the jewelry (Goleman, 2005). After that, I will call them and explain the situation that happened. After the general description, I will offer them 50% less price for all of the jewelry in my shop. In addition, I will make all the processes as easy for them as possible by delivering and taking my products by myself. After that, when they deny my proposal because the item has pleased them fully, I will try to make the price as beneficial as possible because this is the only logical stimulus to take the jewelry back.
In the case of a “purchaser” role, I will be empathetic to the shop owner. On the other hand, I will request the same proposal as I would make in the shop owner’s situation: 50% sale on the specific jewelry items that were too expensive for me the previous time. As a result, the shop owner will receive his ring back, the other family will be happy to see their item again, and my fiancé will be pleased by the more interesting ring.
Overall, it is crucial to provide beneficial offers for all subjects of the negotiations. While some people are interested in just gaining the status-quo, those who are innocent should receive compensation to equalize their contribution in the negotiation process. When people use their intelligence to find the solution, the approach may be found much easier.
Reference
Goleman, D. (2005). Emotional intelligence (10th ed.). Adfo Books.