Money or Impression?

I went out to survey for bridal shop today. No, not for my wedding purposes. Haha!! It’s for my family law assignment. We are given the task to make a portfolio of a wedding, and it is to be divided according to religion. So, since my class has many Muslim groups, we decided to focus on the customary or the ‘adat’ of the wedding according to the states of the so called married couple. And of course, we chose the one that is not so common in class. The bridegroom is based on Kedah adat (well, we have no choice since he is the only guy in our group) and the bride is from the state of Sabah! Once they wanted me to be the bride since I’m from Sarawak, but it got rejected in the end in order to keep peace and harmony of the group and to prevent any catfights that can cause major problem to the group. Hahahah

Ok, since I’m running too much away from the topic, lets go back to what I’m really trying to say here. So, we went to this particular bridal store, since we had the card and based on what they told during their promotion, it seems to us that their price is reasonable. We told them that we decided to have a photo shoot at the studio itself, and all we want from them is some wedding props and the ‘pelamin’. And we told them that we are using our own camera to capture the ‘moment’. Haha! So, we waited for the manlady doing the calculation of the price and he said slowly and steadily “RM650”. I was like wha??? Then my friend asked what about if we just use the pelamin and not their wedding gowns, how much will it cost? Again, slowly and steadily “RM2++” and again I was like WHA??? So, we said in a civil way ‘ok, kitorg discuss dulu, nanti kitorg call balik untuk confirm’, but actually deep down inside we were like lets get out of here now!!! When we went out of the shop, everyone said one same thing; “MAHALNYAAAA!!!!!!!” hahahahahaha….Looks like I’m not the only one who thinks like that. Then, we went to other stores. The second bridal shop is being a dawdler. They cannot give the final decision right there and then because the boss was not there. Hello, have you ever heard of a phone call? Is it so hard to dial the number and ask the boss? At least you can give the answer yes or no. Again, the second store is rejected. Then we went to the third and final shop. It’s the only one left here considering that we are in a small, ex-cowboy town. So, we went up, explained to them everything, and we asked for the price. And this time he said ‘RM50”. When we heard that we were sooooooo relieved! At least it’s not as costly as the first one and they can give the final say right there and then, unlike the second one, which if must know also gave a costly price. We were relieved and confirmed with the guys there that we will be there tomorrow to take the picture.

It got me thinking. The first store have really beautiful and elegant wedding gowns, so does the second one. Compared to the third one, those two are really eye catching. The third one is beautiful too, but most of the designs are similar and common. But in the end, it all turned to the third store. Why? Because it’s not really because of the designs that we matter, it’s the price. I was wondering on the two earlier shops, they are too concerned about the price that they left an important thing that should be considered first. We are students! And we are doing it in THEIR own studio! What is there to calculate about? It really gives me an impression. They should be aware that students have this financial problems and duh! of course we cannot afford to pay until 650! Which is most important to them? The money or the impression they’re going to give us? Compared to the third one, the price is reasonable and that too creates an impression that this shop is considerate to people like us students. They don’t really take profit into account, although that is an important matter too. In the end, it is the consideration and the kindness of the person that we will remember. I will remember that store, because they are helpful to us for our assignment. And of course we will help them too by promoting their shop in our presentation and portfolio. It’s a win-win situation for all of us. It leaves a good impression to us. The other studios do leave an impression too, but the impression of being less considerate and greed.