Last Sunday, I made a trip down with my family to Toa Payoh, because Dad was going to buy me a new handphone. I knew vaguely what model I wanted (always the old-fashioned, outdated kind of model), so I guess then that the price was the deciding factor.
Ok, everyone knows how competitive the handphone industry is, unlike the state of monopoly SMRT reigns over us. For every two shops, the next one is a handphone shop. I'm not kidding about this, neither am I exaggerating, because I actually counted. Two shops, handphone shop. Two shops. Handphone shop. Another two shops. And another handphone shop.
The first shop we went to was a small little shop tucked in a cosy corner, away from the buzz of Toa Payoh. After that shop, we scanned the entire Toa Payoh area to find the cheapest handphone of that model.
After our search, we came to a conclusion: The first shop we went to still had the cheapest price of that particular outdated handphone model. And, so we went back.
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It was a plump, middle-aged man that served us. He spoke articulately, and I felt his disposition pleasant enough.
My Dad then told him: "Tell me about the bad side of this handphone. I don't want to hear about the good things, just tell me the bad ones."
And, the man very patiently started listing out all the bad plus good sides of the phone. I was very very pleased at his service standards. Who says service standards in Singapore are profit-oriented? This was a man, who was clearly helpful, patient and honest enough to be truthful with us about the bad side of the handphone.
Following which, he took the pain and effort to introduce some of the better models off the shelf. Asking me which kind I prefer and which functions I were looking at, one by one, he explained the pros and cons of each handphone.
Sounds good, enough?
In the end, I decided on the initial model that I had set my eyes on.
This man, he then proceeded to take out a piece of paper and actually wrote down everything we needed to know about the phone. I really liked his service a lot, and I know my Dad is a sucker for good service standards because he always says there are so many shops of the same kind everywhere, and why should we let the rude ones earn his money? True enough, I agree that the consumer dollar shouldn't fall into the hands of the conniving, bad-tempered employee or boss.
Well, my fairytale ended faster than it began. On the very same piece of paper, he started listing out things like battery, battery charger etc. I had no idea where this was going, but by the end of his 'sales pitch', he concluded, 'The usual price for all these items is $XX. But, because it's our company's 4th year anniversary, we are selling it at a discounted rate that you can't get anywhere else. I'm offering you $XX for all these items.'
My mind as usual works at the speed of a snail crawling. So, I was thinking to myself, "Hey, great deal! I want to buy it!" But, Dad outright rejected his 'sales-talk' and said, 'What for? Why would we need to buy an extra battery and blah blah blah for...we've been doing fine without it for our old handphones blah blah blah..."
Meanwhile, the words such as '4th year anniversary', 'special offer' and 'discounted' were swirling in my mind, and I thought Dad was being a fool for not grabbing such a great deal by the throat, but just letting it sneak away like a fugitive.
The man then tried persuading my Dad, saying, "We are humans mah, sometimes lazy, charge overnight, scared the handphone inside will spoilt mah..So at least if you buy a second battery, you can alternate between the two."
He then took out three examples of batteries that he claimed were returned to him by customers. One was bloated. He then proceeded to say, "See? All these are given to me by customers. That's the risk you take when you charge your whole handphone together with the battery. But, by buying this separate battery charger, it will defuse all the unused energy inside first before charging it from start. This way, your battery will last longer."
"Wow!" I thought to myself. "Sounds great!" This is the elixir must-have for any handphone!
After much persuasive sales talk (which all goes to waste immediately when used on my Dad because he's a businessman himself, heh), my Dad was as obstinate as a mule, saying, 'No.' Finally, out of exasperation, the man said, 'Sir, buy one from me lah!" Was he whining? "Help me lah, buy one!"
My Dad rubbed his tummy and shook his head.
The man finally relented. After that, his attitude did a 180 degrees somersault that would put even Cirque Du Soleil to shame. His whole face turned black, and he continued serving us with a half-hearted attitude. The twitch tugging at the sides of his lips never left.
I could feel the whole atmosphere hardened between the one trying to push sales and the one who refused to buy it.
Finally, it was clear that we just wanted the phone. Period. The man took out a calculator, punched in some numbers and then said, "Ok, $XX dollars for the handphone, plus GST, so that amounts to a total sum of $XX."
Ok, the amount actually added up to a sum that made it one of the more expensive ones of the same handphone model out of all the shops that we scanned through.
My Dad was taken aback. He'd bought countless handphones in his life, and he has never once heard that you have to pay GST for a handphone.
The man tried to justify the additional GST charge, attributing it to his small shop front.
Pity for him my Dad wasn't about to be taken in. "No, no, no...Where got handphone got GST one??! No such thing lah..." My Dad then displayed a very dimissive attitude, waving his hands and backing away, as though coercing the employee into silent compliance.
Waive the fee. Period.
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I've been with my Dad on so many trips where we purchase big items, handphones, computers, cameras blah blah blah.
When it comes to this point, you know what every stall owner or employee will do?
"Ok, waive the fee." This is what they will always say. Sometimes, they consult their bosses and the boss says, "Waive for him, waive for him," shrugging their shoulders dismissively. One even said 'Waived the fee' and served us drinks.
These are smart bosses, I say, who understand the business of not short-changing oneself by nit-picking on small amounts of cash when there is a whole treasure trove waiting to enter into their pockets.
The logic is easy enough. Give up this, in exchange for something bigger, instead of losing the whole deal altogether. Of course, this logic is exceptional in cases of monopoly.
Well, this man, he stood his ground and said the fee cannot be waived and that GST is a MUST to pay. Again, tempers silently fused. Now, on retrospective, I swear the man did it ON PURPOSE! He added in the GST charge because we REFUSED to buy the additional items from him.
Finally, the man turned to his boss/another employee, and gestured with his eyes. 'Eh, how like that?' His eyes said. The other man replied with a shrug of his head.
Following which, the man took the handphone and its contents OFF THE COUNTER AND PROMPTLY PLACED IT BACK ON THE SHELF.
My brain didn't have time to react. But, I was like WTH is this man trying to do?!! Apparently, the message the two men were trying to convey to us were: Pay the GST or you can forget about getting your handphone.
WTF!!!!!!
After much eye-exchanging between the two men and my Dad still, I think, reeling from the shock, the other man finally said coolly:
"Sir, it's alright. You haven't pay the money yet what. The stock (gestures to handphone on shelf) is still with us, and your money (gestures towards Dad) is still with you. So, it's okay one. Not say you pay the money already what, then it's different. You haven't, money still with you, stock still with us."
He paused, as though trying to sum up his thoughts, then finally added, "No use because of this GST then argue."
WTF!!!!! How absurd can!!! GOT PEOPLE DO BUSINESS LIKE THAT ONE AH, IT'S A WONDER THEIR SHOP HASN'T CLOSED DOWN OR SOMETHING.
Not to mention that all their employees looked like they just graduated from The School of Gangsters. Acing all their modules with excellent grades, which come in weird names such as 'The Art of Staring" or "How to Beat People Up Effectively".
And, hands-on theory would be for them to pick on a kid during lunchtime and bash him or her up. The one responsible for the dead kid then graduates with Honours.
Now, wait a minute, at that point in time, all the above didn't strike my mind. I was then thinking, 'Oh shit! Dad, faster tell them you will pay the GST lah, I don't think it's a lot anyway! I want my phone!"
They were playing mind games with us. And, like the innocent naive teenager that I am, my mind was sucked into all their sales talk whatsoever, going through a thorough cleansing routine and believing all that propaganda talk.
And, hor! They are a small shop what, no reputation to uphold like those bigger handphone conglomerates like SingTel, StarHub or M1, they like say what then say what lor! Customer kena koto left right centre also don't know.
I really thought that Dad was thinking the same thing as me. I really thought that he was embarrassed by the whole scene and that he would say, 'Ok lah, ok lah!' then he would take out the money from his wallet and pay them out of goodwill.
And, they would be laughing inside and probably high-five each other the moment we are out of sight, but whatever as long as I got my phone.
Also, I was worried that all this hoo-ha would siphon into something terribly awkward. I was ready to give in, if anything, to soothe any frayed nerves.
I'm glad that Dad has so much more sense than me. I must have eaten pig's brain for lunch or something, or maybe I just have a pig brain all along. Dad walked out of the stall, and we all followed behind him quietly. Meanwhile, I could feel invisible daggers behind my back.
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We barely took twenty steps before we bumped into an M1 shop, just around the corner. We got the phone 10 dollars cheaper, hooray! Most importantly, we (Ok, my Dad) didn't make ourselves into a mockery by giving in to those two stupid men psycho-ing us.
Now that I see things clearer (not say I stupid lah, only my brain works 10 times slower than others which means, eh i'm stupid hor?), I say all that business talk about company anniversary and items on discounted prices are baloney.
What if it were a tourist, with no prior knowledge of the local handphone industry (prices and stuff), and had not had any initiative to conduct some market research by asking around first, and that shop was the first that he or she stepped into? They would most probably have been conned by the people from that shop!
After the whole horrible episode, my Dad said, "What for want to pay that extra money?"
I replied, "No, Dad. What for they want to throw away a good business?"
THESE PEOPLE ARE FUCKING STUPID CAN.
But, what irks me most was the horrible customer service I received.
And, that's why I say 10,000 GEMs (it's a campaign to promote courtesy in the service industry) won't do a fuck to change matters.
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