Giving free wine to an account as a method of securing a sale is illegal. I play by the rules and only offer legal posted quantity purchase discounts. But Harry wanted more than the normal discounts. He wanted free goods to further reduce the cost of his already discounted goods. I’ve run into this situation all to regularly. No discount is good enough – there has to be something extra thrown in or no deal.
His name was Harry but somehow I felt that was not his real name. Harry had a thick accent and ran a corner market in San Francisco’s Mission District. He carried a good wine selection on the shelves and vividly projected what cops refer to has “command presence.” It’s human nature to be taken back a bit when someone is yelling and shouting at you all the time. This was Harry’s store and his was going to yell a shout all he wanted.
I’ve spent many days selling wine in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s my favorite wine-selling city. It’s close to home and has an unmatched array of outstanding restaurants, independent grocers, wine bars, cafes, hotels and retailers. Ownership is equally diverse with many multi-national and ethnic influences well represented throughout the city. Its proximity to Sonoma makes the area almost wine savvy by default. San Francisco is a world-class food and wine town in my backyard.