d.   Goldbrick  Salesmen

Mediators  are  extremely  wary  of  goldbrick  salesmen.   Goldbrick  salesmen
are  people  who  are  not  sincere  or  open  about  their  position  or  the  information


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they  share  with  the  mediator.   They  claim  they  have  nothing  to  add  or  they're
at  the  bottom  line  but  they're  the  kind  of  people  "who  can  lead  you  down  the
garden  parth."  \Jhen  working  with  these  goldbrick  salesmen,  the  mediator  is
in  the  greatest  danger  of  becoming,  what  Saul  Wallen(1974)  referred  to
a  "sparrow  caught  in  the  badminton  game".   This  metaphor  refers  to  the
possibility  that  the  mediator  will  be  used  by  one  or  both  parties  to  further
their  own  end.
Goldbrick  salesmen  present  a  problem  for  the  mediator  both  in  terms  of
sharing  information  and  discussion  of  issues,  because  the  mediator  can't
rely  on  what  they  say.   When  the  mediator  gets  a  position  from  the  goldbrick
salesman,  it  may  not  be  a  true  one.   "You  can't  believe  him  when  he  says  it's
P  the  final  offer."  The  other  side  may  know  that  it  isn't  really  final  and
it  damages  the  credibility  of  the  mediator  if  hte  says  it  is.
This  case  that  I'm  on  now,  another  mediator  had  it
before.   The  mediator  was  involved  in  five  issues.
He  told  the  union  that  it  was  the  company's  last  and
final  offer.   The  president  of  the  union  commended  the
mediator  for  his  commitment  but  not  his  astuteness.
He  stated  that  he  could  get  two  of  the  items  and  he  did.
