Negotiation Assessment

This morning I wake up with an uneasy feeling. It is a mixture of many things: joy, anger, disbelief, uncertainty and guilt. I hope to put a closure to the three crazy days I've been through this week, rest through the long weekend and start anew. Here is how I have justified my actions:

God has put me in a place where I was able to help a family friend and right this wrong. (+ joy) Under the circumstances I was forced to learn a great deal about car leasing, which will benefit me and my friends in the future. (+ knowledge) It made me realize how much stronger I have to be as whole if I am to protect the ones I care .(+ self-realization) I dove into the world of greed once again and witnessed how dark men can be. It reminded me why I was so determined to leave the real estate business. (+ disbelief) For the first time in my life I raised my voice and scolded someone over the phone. In the heat of the negotiation, the manager became extremely upset that I seemed to have slap him on the face numerous times. (+ guilt)

Financially, we did quite well. Initially we were to shell out $28,824 over the course of 4 years for the lease. Now we will be paying only $23,300. This is a discount of $5,524. After another careful calculation, the dealer made a profit of roughly $500 to $1000 on the deal, taken into account of their possible expense of freight and discount offered. This is slightly below the average of $1000 profit of what's considered a good deal for a Japanese model. If we look at the fact that we have secured the only black Altima 2.5 S in BC without having to resort an excessive additional cost, we did extremely well.

Morally, we caught them red-handed ripping off an old customer. I gave the sales person and the manager the humiliation of their life time. Many times he tried to run the same scheme on me and acted as the righteous, condemning me. I doubted myself. Fortunately God was there to watch my back and gave me evidence and clues from time to time to make the negotiation slide our way with a dramatic twist at every stage. Have we taught them a lesson? Yes. But will they continue like this? Most likely.

Now I am confronted with the question: Is this really justice? I started out acting as a crusader of justice. After the three day roller-coaster ride and the great emotional triumph over the dealer, it pains me now to have seen them suffer. I make excuses for them. They're trying to make a living as well. Maybe they have families on their backs and selling cars are the only thing they're good at. Perhaps this practice was imposed upon them by their management that they were just pawns of a greater evil. Maybe they might feel relieved to have secure a deal at the expense of ripping someone off, but at some point in their life when they recount their actions, they would feel remorse and guilt. Is this really the justice I sought?

I pray that God have mercy on their souls and lead them out of the darkness before it's too late. Though I try, justice is not upon me.