The weirdest reason they give to not buy from us.

Working at a fruit stall means you eventually build a mental library of bizarre customer interactions. You learn to read micro-expressions, anticipate haggling tactics, and expect the unexpected. But recently, I experienced what has to be the absolute weirdest reason a customer has ever given to walk away from our stall. It wasn’t just a strange excuse; it was a glaring reminder of the invisible barriers you face when trying to make a living in a foreign country. It started in the middle of a sweltering summer day. A couple of ladies approached our store, looking over our fresh produce. As I prepared to assist them, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. The owner of the competing fruit stall next to ours was openly and aggressively trying to poach them. He was constantly staring at our customers, making exaggerated hand gestures, and subtly waving them over to his side. Ignoring the blatant distraction, I focused on the lady in front of me. She pointed to the bananas and asked for the price of a dozen. "It's $2.50," I told her. Immediately, she began to bargain, eventually whittling the price down to $2.40. In the fruit business, margins are incredibly tight. Even selling a dozen bananas at $2.50 barely yields any profit, primarily because they are highly perishable. If they aren't sold exactly on time, they go bad, and a narrow profit turns into a total loss. But wanting to secure the sale, I agreed, carefully packed the bananas, and handed them to her. While this transaction was happening, the lady accompanying her turned her attention to our apples. Just then, another lady walked by and also asked for the price of the apples. "It's $2.50," I replied. All the while, the neighboring store owner had not stopped his relentless gesturing. The customers were clearly noticing it, too. Their eyes kept darting between our perfectly stacked fruit and the competitor waving them down. This is the unspoken reality of our daily grind. We are foreigners in this country, and we face a quiet, constant undercurrent of discrimination. We work twice as hard to ensure our produce is fresher, better, and cleaner. Yet, time and time again, we watch locals choose to buy from local vendors, even if it means paying significantly more for the exact same—or sometimes worse—quality fruit that we sell at a lower price. The lady looking at the apples hovered her hand over the display. She looked at me, then glanced over at the other stall. Then, she delivered the excuse. "The apples are hot," she said, pulling her hand back. I just stared at her. Mind you, this is the peak of summer. She was about to carry these fruits onto a crowded, sweltering public bus without any air conditioning. Furthermore, the other fruit seller also operates an outdoor stall under the exact same scorching sun. There was no geographical loophole that made his apples cold and mine hot. It defied all logic. "The apples are hot. I'll go look at the other store," she announced confidently. And with that completely absurd justification, she turned and walked right over to the gesturing competitor. As soon as she moved, the other lady followed her like clockwork. When people want to act on an inherent bias, human behavior dictates that they rarely admit it out loud. Instead, their brains scramble to find a rational-sounding excuse to cover an irrational choice. They will grasp at the most illogical straws to justify their decision to themselves and to you. It was never actually about the temperature of the apples. It was about finding a convenient, out-loud reason to buy from the local vendor instead of the foreigner. Working in a foreign country is deeply stressful and emotionally taxing. You can meticulously manage your inventory, offer the best deals, and smile through the heat, but moments like this remind you of a harsh reality: sometimes, no matter how superior your product is, you simply cannot out-price prejudice.