Is Africa Considered a Country in Business Deals?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a pricing request from an independent telephone company that mistakenly lists "Africa" as a single entity for pricing, prompting participants to explore the implications of this misunderstanding in a business context. The conversation touches on issues of geography, communication, and the challenges of working with clients who may lack basic geographical knowledge.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concern about addressing the misconception that Africa is a country without jeopardizing business relations.
  • Others suggest humorous or sarcastic approaches to highlight the error, such as asking about the capital of Africa.
  • Several participants note the absurdity of the request and consider declining to bid due to the lack of clarity in the client's needs.
  • There are comments about the potential for the request to be a typo or misunderstanding, with some speculating whether the client meant to refer to a specific country like South Africa.
  • One participant humorously claims to live in Africa as a small country, further emphasizing the confusion surrounding the term.
  • Some participants propose asking for clarification on whether pricing should be provided for each country in Africa or an average for the continent as a whole.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the request is problematic and reflects a misunderstanding of geographical distinctions. However, there is no consensus on how best to address the issue or whether to proceed with the bid.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reveals a lack of clarity in the client's request and highlights the potential for miscommunication in business dealings, particularly regarding geographical knowledge.

Evo
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I'm working on a pricing request for an independent telephone company and they furnished me a list of countries for which they want pricing. What's the first country listed? Africa. :bugeye:

I don't know how to bring up the fact that Africa is not a country without embarrassing them and killing my chances of earning their business. I guess I could just price every country in Africa and give them the entire list. :rolleyes:
 
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You could ask them what the capital of Africa is. (Hope they don't say something like 'Kenya' or 'Congo' )
 
neutrino said:
You could ask them what the capital of Africa is.
:smile: There is so much wrong with this request that I'm seriously considering declining to bid. It won't be the first time I've declined. They forget to tell me where they wanted service connected. That was the first thing I had to ask - "where are you?" :rolleyes:
 
Evo said:
:smile: There is so much wrong with this request that I'm seriously considering declining to bid. It won't be the first time I've declined. They forget to tell me where they wanted service connected. That was the first thing I had to ask - "where are you?" :rolleyes:
Are they in the same country as you are in - North America? :smile:
 
Evo said:
:smile: There is so much wrong with this request that I'm seriously considering declining to bid. It won't be the first time I've declined. They forget to tell me where they wanted service connected. That was the first thing I had to ask - "where are you?" :rolleyes:


Clearly they are alien spies trying to covertly gather intel about the geopolitical situation of Earth by posing as ignorant humans.

Clearly.
 
Evo said:
I'm working on a pricing request for an independent telephone company and they furnished me a list of countries for which they want pricing. What's the first country listed? Africa. :bugeye:

I don't know how to bring up the fact that Africa is not a country without embarrassing them and killing my chances of earning their business. I guess I could just price every country in Africa and give them the entire list. :rolleyes:

I would just say, I am looking over your list and I need clarification on where in Africa you need a specific pricing for. :smile:
 
neutrino said:
Are they in the same country as you are in - North America? :smile:
Yes, and as we all know, the capital of North America is...America.

franznietzsche said:
Clearly they are alien spies trying to covertly gather intel about the geopolitical situation of Earth by posing as ignorant humans.

Clearly.
:biggrin: Working with the public is just frightening.
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
I would just say, I am looking over your list and I need clarification on where in Africa you need a specific pricing for. :smile:
A diplomat is born. :approve:

What's scary is that they listed Nigeria. I wonder where they think Nigeria is?
 
Evo said:
A diplomat is born. :approve:

What's scary is that they listed Nigeria. I wonder where they think Nigeria is?
Nigeria is next to Africa. Duh!

Seriously, is it possibly a typo, and they meant South Africa?
 
  • #10
Chi Meson said:
Seriously, is it possibly a typo, and they meant South Africa?
Not likely. It's the first on the list. If they had meant South Africa, it would be among countries under S. Of course, I'm assuming they gave the list in alphabetical order.
 
  • #11
So what state is Africa in?
 
  • #12
A not-so-good one.
 
  • #13
Is it in a poor state?
 
  • #14
Evo said:
:smile: There is so much wrong with this request that I'm seriously considering declining to bid.
I'd go with this option. Get involved with them and the future will just be more of the same.
 
  • #15
Evo said:
:smile: There is so much wrong with this request that I'm seriously considering declining to bid. It won't be the first time I've declined. They forget to tell me where they wanted service connected. That was the first thing I had to ask - "where are you?" :rolleyes:
You could just bid ridiculously high to make it worth the aggravation if you actually win the bid.
 
  • #17
scott1 said:
Are you sure they don't mean the African Union:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Union
No, it's for telecommunication and each country has it's own rate center. It's no different from countries in the EU, they are all listed and rated separately.
 
  • #18
Evo said:
I'm working on a pricing request for an independent telephone company and they furnished me a list of countries for which they want pricing. What's the first country listed? Africa. :bugeye:

I don't know how to bring up the fact that Africa is not a country without embarrassing them and killing my chances of earning their business. I guess I could just price every country in Africa and give them the entire list. :rolleyes:
:smile: :smile:
 
  • #19
Evo said:
No, it's for telecommunication and each country has it's own rate center. It's no different from countries in the EU, they are all listed and rated separately.
But there's just one Sweden/Switzerland, right?:wink:
 
  • #20
EL said:
But there's just one Sweden/Switzerland, right?:wink:
There's a difference?
 
  • #22
Evo said:
There's a difference?
Well, not according to you...:-p
 
  • #23
BobG said:
how could you not know where Peter Forsberg is from).
Yeah, he's from the city Ornskoldsvik in the county Angermanland in the country Sw..Sweden? Switzerland?...ah whatever, same s-h-i-t different name...
 
  • #25
One delicate way of asking them is to ask whether the want data for each country in Africa or just an avergae for all of Africa combined.
 
  • #26
you guys are sooo stooopid :-p

i live in Africa... it's a small country :D:smile:
 
  • #27
stunner5000pt said:
you guys are sooo stooopid :-p

i live in Africa... it's a small country :D:smile:
Your location says Toronto.

Meh, Africa ... Toronto. Pretty much the same country with a different name, eh?

Neither country is big enough to be recognized by the UN.

http://www.un.org/Overview/unmember.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #28
BobG said:
Your location says Toronto.

Meh, Africa ... Toronto. Pretty much the same country with a different name, eh?

Neither country is big enough to be recognized by the UN.

http://www.un.org/Overview/unmember.html

pretty much
haha
 
Last edited by a moderator:

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