2005-02-24 - 7:33 p.m.

Just back from 4 days in Dakar, Senegal for the West African Intramural Softball Tournament (WAIST). I had the time of my life. They actually imported hotdogs for the event, and beers were the same price as back home. I never took a big Spring Break Trip in College, so I got to make up for 5 years of missing out.
People always talk about how bad negotiations are here, especially in the case of arguing for a Taxi, so I submit this story as my own personal example of what it can be like:

On the way down to Dakar, I and 9 other people spent a night in Saint Louis, Senegal. This is the same place I spent my New Years Eve, so the town was already familiar upon arrival. We immediately made our way to the ice cream parlor where I proceeded to eat 5 ice cream cones (chocolate, vanilla, chocolate and vanilla, strawberry, chocolate). That evening we showed the Senegalese what a good time is, and in the morning prepared for an 11:00 departure. The ride I had arranged for was 45 minutes late so we decided to move on to the garage and fight for a trip to the capital. I have become renowned for my negotiating abilities because of my French skills and unabashed way of calling people out on crappy deals. It was for this reason that the group nominated me to handle the bargaining for our ride.

There are three primary means of ground transport in West Africa: Mercedes 4 door (seats 6 passengers in Mauritania and 4 in Senegal. It is the fastest, most reliable and most expensive), Peugeot station wagon (seats 9 in Mauritania and 7 in Senegal, unreliable and generally slow, but fairly cheap), Bus (seats 18 passengers in Senegal and 30 in Mauritania, incredibly unreliable and slow, but comparatively very cheap). At the time we arrived at the garage we felt that time was on our side so we wanted to stay together and save money (i.e. take a bus). I found an expectable price, but the driver was insisting that I pay extra for all of the baggage. I know for a fact that one doesn’t need to pay for baggage on a bus, and he was trying to cheat me because I was white and obviously rich. I got him to say that our tickets would be the standard price without having to pay for the baggage, but after we loaded all of our things up he tried to take it back and get more money. I wouldn’t budge and told him it was his fault for not negotiating well enough at the beginning. In the end I was saved by the chief of the garage. This is the person who gives out tickets and sets the standard rate of travel. He saw that the guy was trying to cheat me and sent him away, giving me the correct price for our travel.

Soon after I caught up with the driver to see how many seats were left on the bus. Once completely filled we could leave for Senegal, but not before. He informed me that there were still 5 empty spots. Now initially we all sat down, willing to wait it out, but after 45 minutes rolled by without anyone adding in I started to get antsy. I proposed to the group that we pool funds and buy out the last few spots. That way we would be more comfortable, and would be more likely to actually arrive on time. They agreed, and I made off to find the chauffer to make him the offer.

Luke had calculated that the price for the 5 spots would total 17,000cfa. I expected him to try to inflate the cost slightly, what I didn’t expect was for him to ask 47,000cfa. I laughed and called him a crook, but he refused to negotiate. I tried to explain how this was advantageous for both of us, because he would be able to leave earlier and then be able to get more work in for the day. We, in return, would be able to get to our destination on time. He agreed this was correct, but wouldn’t change the price. After getting angry and yelling for a while I set out in search of the chief of the garage. After bringing him back, the driver told him there were now 9 open spots and that I had to pay for all of them. I began yelling again, explaining how he had just told me several times there were only 5 spots left. After 20 minutes of work with no results I realized I was working with a con man that wanted nothing but to get as much money out of us as he could. I gave the chief an ultimatum: Either the driver except my original offer at the correct price, and we leave immediately, or we would take all the baggage down and get a ride with someone else that was honest. After much debate he agreed and we loaded up to leave.

I was exhausted and settled into the front with Jared as my copilot. Almost dozing as the chief and the driver worked out the money exchange, Luke piped up telling me that there were 6 people in the car that were not part of our group. I’d had enough. I couldn’t fight anymore. It was up to them to work it out. Luke made a feeble attempt to get the drivers attention, but to no avail. I had to resummon my fury. Reaching down deep for what energy I had left, I jumped out of the car like a rabid pit bull. Getting the chiefs attention I began speaking slowly with confidence.
“We paid for 5 places on the bus. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“So there should only be 4 people in the car besides us.”
“That’s right.”
“Well there are 6.” The chief peered in through the back of the vehicle and counted. He then jumped down and began yelling at the driver. I called the driver a thief several times and in the bustle stole his cell phone telling him I wouldn’t return it till he gave us our money back. After some argument they opened up the back door and made two people get out of the car. I made my way back to the front and hopped in (cell phone still in my pocket). Letting out a sigh of relief, I said, “Well, at least that’s over.” Jared looked at me apologetically and said “Sorry dude but there are still 6.” Flipping around I saw that the two who had exited had gotten back in. Getting back out again, I tried to get the chief’s attention, but he refused to talk to me. The chauffer must have paid him off. After harassing him considerably he told me I had to negotiate with the driver. I yelled “I’m not negotiating with him he’s a bandit.” The driver tried to get me in the car, but I shoved him away, and climbed on the roof of the bus. “We are through with this. We are going to take another vehicle.” I began to throw our baggage off of the roof as the entire garage burst into chaos trying to coerce me down. The driver got back out of the vehicle and agreed to give me back our money. He tried to again get me into the car but I refused. When he got back in as if he meant to drive away I jumped back on the roof and again started lancing bags. Chaos erupted and the driver made a second promise to give me our money back. I got down and he handed me 2000cfa, thinking the problem was settled, although he owed us 4900cfa. He refused to pay the full sum, so I mounted the vehicle for a third time. In the end the driver refused to just gives us back the money he owed, and made 2 of the passengers get down. I feel somewhat guilty for this, but at the same time we were only trying to be treated the same as everyone else. If the driver had been willing to give us back the correct price we would have been more then willing to let them ride. It would actually have been preferable, saving us some money.

The events of this story happen almost every time we travel. There are two choices. The first, pay through the nose, and give the people at the garage the impression that all white people are rich, and will allow you to screw them on prices. The second is to fight to the bitter end with you fingers, toes and teeth dragging the whole way. On this particular case I chose the second option.

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