From an actual e-mail of a corporate COO, an HBS alumnus, blind-copied to several bankers, who lost their bids for the company's business, as well as to a few other addressees:
"As you know, we analyzed several competing offers. One has been accepted and a good faith deposit paid. All banks were quite detailed and specific in their term sheets. In order to make both a proper and fair comparison, any uncertain items had to be discounted. While it might have been useful to fully clarify all conditions and parameters, we made a decision not to allow banks to tweak their offers. We felt strongly about not creating a Middle Eastern bizarre mentality and having every bank but one ultimately feeling used or abused."
The Frustrated CFO's comment: Never mind the awkward phrasing and sentence structure. How about that biased ethnic remark? Except that it's not. Well, at least it wasn't meant as such. I actually asked and was told that somebody used the phrase on the news and that what the COO thought he's heard. I had to explain that it was a "Middle Eastern bazaar" people referred to as a metaphor for haggling. I talked him out of making a mess with a retraction. "Bizarre bazaar… whatever," I said.
The Frustrated CFO 