Makkah

While walking outside the Grand Mosque, I saw an old man sitting near the entrance to a large hotel selling miswak sticks. Looking frail and tired, he appeared to be over 70 years old. I stood there watching the old man taking miswak sticks from a bag he had with him and putting them on a piece of cloth which he had placed on the ground. Pilgrims and visitors of the Grand Mosque approached the old man and bought miswak sticks from him without bargaining.

Then a woman approached him. She appeared to be very rich as she was wearing a diamond-studded Rolex watch and very expensive jewelry probably worth around SR100,000. She looked at some miswak sticks and asked what the price was. When he told her SR15, she expressed surprise and started bargaining with him. She offered him SR5 but he did not agree. She persisted and kept bargaining with the frail old man until he accepted SR5. I stood there in complete shock.

I could not help but wonder why a woman like her who was clearly very wealthy would bargain with an old man over the meager price of a miswak stick. To begin with, she was staying at a hotel which probably cost SR3,000 a night or more.

I am sure this woman would not drive such a hard bargain if she entered a Rolex store or a luxury jewelry store. On the contrary, she would be happy to pay thousands and thousands of Saudi riyals. However, it is her money and she is free to do whatever she wants with it. Nevertheless, this does not give her the right to bargain with an old man who sits in the same place for hours and hours to earn a bit of money.

It is ethically wrong to bargain with street vendors who sell cheap products and earn meager profits. Unfortunately, many people do that, just like this woman. I am 100 percent certain these people pay a lot of money at fancy restaurants and hotels and do not dare to bargain with the waiters.