When we have something at stake, negotiation processes are often the best ways to pursue a favorable solution. A couple of years ago as part of the much-needed process of redecorating our bedroom, my wife and I camped out for several days in our guest room. To our chagrin we discovered the bed in the guest room was awful. Yet for years none of our guests had said a word. In negotiation, voicing a contrary or critical opinion is not 'being a bad guy'.
People often appreciate a reality check from time to time.
Just because one is expressing a different viewpoint doesn't mean instant warfare has to result. We need to appreciate differences in order to enjoy the fullness of human life. Businesses that play to what they perceive as the public's negotiation phobia are telling us that we can't make up our own minds, that we're wimps, that we haven't the capacity to make independent judgements. We negotiate all the time. Giving a name to this universal human activity does not transmogrify it into a trial.