The most dangerous time to make purchases from a vendor is when you're both very busy and very happy. Researchers at University of Hong Kong and National University of Singapore found that joyful customers don't adequately evaluate all purchase alternatives. These customers tend to just select either the first alternative or the last alternative.
This insight is helpful when you're in the role of the seller and your shoppers are in the role of customers. But if dealing with vendors, you are the customer. So when you're in high spirits, stop to check that you're not entering some zone of excessive optimism which includes mumbling, "A good retailer can sell anything to anybody."
Maybe the reason you're really happy is that your store is bustling, which means you're especially busy. Then an added danger in negotiating with the vendors is that you won't take time to verify you are making good business decisions instead of only easy, time-saving ones.
Does this mean you should wait until business is dead before setting appointments with vendors or deciding on your refill order? Well, no. Hopefully, the rate of your business will never die out. And as to refill orders, these are less sensitive to the dangers of making purchase decisions when you are busy. If the products are selling and the order system is in place, chances are it makes excellent business sense to place the reorder. But with orders for new items, carve out time to think it through with care.
And do the research findings mean you should get yourself all grouchy before placing an order? Again, no. What the findings do mean is to check on your joy while evaluating the alternatives and to keep unrealistic optimism in check when making the decision.
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