My baggage was not weighed when I bought my ticket to travel by Greyhound bus service. The suitcase was overweight and the ‘judge’ was right there waiting for me. The moment I handed over my suitcases to the baggage attendant to put into the bus, it became a fait accompli: he said that either I pay 20 dollars to him (no receipt issued) or I go back to the ticketing service upstairs and pay $30 (get a receipt and miss the 4pm bus I had paid for).
Entry into buses is on a first come first serve basis. I stood there, very limited time to think. I opened my wallet, took out a $20 bill and handed over to him. He put the suitcase into the bus.
On second thought, I realized I was in a position to negotiate! I should have proposed to pay $10 for the suitcase. These are moments when you think you have won and lost at the same time! He knew that I wouldn’t miss the bus just because I wanted to pay more and do things right.
So, did we both participate in a corruption deal? You may have your opinion on this but I am happy I got on the bus afterall, a late arrival is not worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment