Of 黑妓院 & GNCs
Yes.
Retail therapy can be quite off-putting, sometimes.
Ever walked into a 黑妓院 (黑店+妓院) skilfully disguised as a health centre or SPA?
All you need is a simple and decent massage to ease the knots and aches, probably $80? But what you get is the mamasan pestering you to get the expensive & yet economical package, like AromaMassage($120)+Scrub($55)+Steambath($30)+Footbath($35) = $150 (was $235). Yeah rite, like anyone ever walked in solely for a $55 à la carte scrub or a $30 à la carte steambath?
But nevertheless, you gave in since the Maths says, it's a good 35% discount! (But who determines that inflated prices to begin with?)
Nevermind, let's move on!
Next, masseurs within 4 walls try their very best moves on you, concentrating on your strategic spots throughout the massage so that you would feel vulnerable enough to take up their "special service", which they shamelessly have a verbal price tag for an assortment of exquisite services they provide. Chances are, people do give in to the temptation, human's mind is weak, presumably an additional $100 for that? After getting fleeced $250 for an $80 massage which you originally wanted, you felt a bit sore, you're ready to move on, get the fuck out and forget that it ever happened ... Then mamasan insists that you take a look at their premium inhouse products, at the same time introduce some buy 10 get 1 free package.
A typical relaxing day at the spa? I don't think so..
I can be quite sure some of you can relate to these scenarios ...
However, this sort of ruse doesn't work on me and that's not what I want to talk about in this post either.
This is just a prelude ....
During your birthday month, if you are a GNC member, you get a Happy Birthday card prompting you to utilised your 35% discounts off their disgustingly inflated prices (for certain products, for most products actually if you compare to those selling online in USA). And you know what? I can actually draw some parallelism between that whorehouse above and GNC, wanna know why?
I'm what you call, the "informed shopper", meaning I read up and decide what I need to buy before I step in. I take what I want, pay up and get the fuck out, as simple as that. If there should be any new item that catches my attention, it will be on the subsequent purchase list after I'm done with my research. I don't get swayed by empty sweet talk or get intimidated into buying some recommended products which they think I need or higher priced alternatives to what I originally wanted. (So, if I just want a massage, I get a massage, $80 nett. I don't care about other astronomically priced service going at a discount or special limited edition services by your Best Whore in the House or your repackaged "premium" inhouse products)
Yeah, I'm the nemesis of any sales staff.
If you ever shop in GNC stores, you might have encounter the sort of hot air staff they employ and the sort of disgusting sales tactics they deploy. Basically their motto is like, "Expensive = Best" + "Sales & Commission = Priority". It's their dream come true if every walk in customer is some rich unsuspecting victim who would listen to all their ridiculously expensive recommendations?
Well, not the Spawnily.
I needed Vitamin C and I took the most economical bottle on the shelf. 1000mg, 360 tablets for $77.50. (the one that I usually buy)
Almost instantly, the staff counter recommended "Ester C", she claimed that the one I chose was harsh on the stomach, doesn't absorb well into the body compared to EsterC, openly bashing the one I chose and shamelessly promoting the one she endorsed. The difference? EsterC is almost 4 times the price of what I wanted.
Then, I took a bottle of "Biotin" . 600mcg 120 tablets for $19.99
She wanted to know who and why the person's taking Biotin for, I said it's for promoting hair growth, for myself. Wasting no time, "why not try ShenMin instead", blah blah blah .. Price? One month supply $104 & 6 months at least to see results. I've tried that before, I've wasted money on that, didn't get the sort of result I expected. So she claimed "Do you know it's now an improved formula?"
Are you telling me that the previous formula I got was a prototype, and I was a guinea pig? Are you telling me to spend another 6 months + $600 to experiment and see if this improved formula will do any miracle? Are you including a money back guarantee this time since you seem so sure? Or was it "If Yes, good for me, If Not, too bad again"
Errrrr ...
"Just give me that Biotin!"
After that, I took a bottle of BComplex, that's the only Vitamin B that they sell, so nothing to recommend. BUT ...
I noticed some expires on Jun 07 and some expires on Feb 08. I see no reason why anyone should take the former if they are of the same price. I was holding a bottle with me (Feb 08), but that cunning little hoe swiftly took another bottle (Jun 07) and place it at the cashier together with my Vitamin C & Biotin. I signalled her over and said I wanted the one that I'm holding, she got the incredible gall to feign ignorance and tell me it's the SAME. Does my face says I'm stupid? Why didn't I see this initiative from her for the previous 2 bottles?
I can fully understand her efforts [First in First out], but at least have some basic fucking wiliness to display JUST the old stocks so that people don't get to choose! Else, clear the old ones at a cheaper price if you want to display them together, let people have some incentives for clearing your stocks. Resort to such crass craftiness under my nose and expect to succeed? Nice try, ho!
She was clearly annoyed since I refused to heed any of her kind recommendations, she started giving sardonic answers to some of my queries, like, "I don't have colon problems, I don't eat that" when I asked if she had any rough idea how this colon fibre thing would taste like. I don't deny that the superior ones she recommended could be better, that's a reasonable expectation from higher priced products. At the same time, shouldn't she be looking at the buyer's willingness to spend and his budget instead of just her fucking commission and sales target all the time? Hasn't she learn my spending trend by the 3rd bottle? I chose peasanty over premium range, which I think is good enough for the average peasant like me, for the amount that I'm willing to fork out on pills and supplements.
Under usual circumstances, if I get this kind of shit treatment at any shop, I will abandon everything and walk out without buying anything. I don't pay money to receive this kind of treatment or endure this kind of nosense. But this time, she jolly fucking well had the upper hand since she knew that I will have to buy from her outlet and I will spend $200 at least.*
*Why $200? FORUM the shopping mall has this inhouse promotion.
Spend min $200 in any shop with a DBS credit card, the first 125 customers gets $40 voucher. (1 per customer)
For $40, I put up with her, but not for long. =)
I will ensure a tub of Primrose oil up hers as a suppository if it's her red time of the month.
I took a few more items and the total was $170+, another $30 to make it to $200.
Next, a bottle of Vitamin E, my usual antioxidant, 400IU 180 softgels for $63.99
Same, I mentioned the word antioxidant and she got an orgasm, "have you heard of Pycnogenol? 175 pills for $299. It can do this, do that, yada yada yada. It's like the miracle all purpose pill. So I asked, should I cancel whatever I had at the counter and just take this since you make it sound like it can even revive the dead and it basically comprises of all the effects that I'm looking for in the other pills?=) She froze for a while and stuttered, those got their individual purposes and you can take them all together as an add on, flashing her money face beneath that fakest smile ever.
I commented that it's expensive, I did a mental calculation with my little brain while she did her little calculation with her calculator. Each pill will cost approx $1.00+ after the 35% discount, but she insisted it's $0.80. So, we punched in the numbers together on her little calculator
(299 X 0.65) / 175 = $1.11
1.11 X 0.80 = $0.888
Where the fuck did "X 0.80" come from?
Ms Ho says since $200 gets $40, that equates 20% discount.
It's min $200, not every $200, she doesn't seem to understand that even if I spend $2000, I still get $40, and that becomes a 2% discount
So she should just based her calculations on GNC's 35% and any other benefits that i've secured doesn't apply.
She didn't get it ... still pounding furiously on the buttons and staring at the little screen.
Why the fuck did we learn trigonometry when people can't do basic daily Mathematical calculations like this?
That doesn't impress me much. Maths aside.
Just what is this desperation towards blindly recommending all the pricey expensive items, totally oblivious to the customer's needs and ignoring their budget considerations at the expense of commission, sales target in disguised as goodwill? Can you see the resemblence between how people behave in GNC compared to the whorehouse above? This sort of nonsense is not solely limited just FORUM shopping mall's branch, it's blatantly the same elsewhere, it's just how whore it goes, whore, whorer, whorest.
FORUM = WHOREST
And those in Global Active Limited will need to know this, I will ensure that she gets her suppository. (Yes, there will be blood)
Having said that ..
I've been in sales line before (retail, counter, promoter, showroom)
My ability to subtly read minds helped a lot. There are all kinds of customers. I read them, their patterns and trends.
~ Some walked in cluelessly to browse. I spend some time to impart essential knowledge to them, they are thankful.
~ Some are price conscious, want fresh, cheap & big tits. I recommend the most economical option, nothing to be ashamed of. .
~ Some are just RICH, they want premium quality and they have money to throw. Make them feel good and show them the best.
~ Some just want freebies or samples, I give them out generously, whether they come back or not, it doesn't cost me a thing.
~ Some walked in fully armed, they know their prices and what they want. Leave them alone, they don't need my assistance. A smile to acknowledge their presence suffice.
You want sales? First, you need to know who you are dealing with and how to handle accordingly.
If you just want to whore it and display your greedy money face, then you are no different from a ho in a whorehouse.
Retail therapy can be quite off-putting, sometimes.
Ever walked into a 黑妓院 (黑店+妓院) skilfully disguised as a health centre or SPA?
All you need is a simple and decent massage to ease the knots and aches, probably $80? But what you get is the mamasan pestering you to get the expensive & yet economical package, like AromaMassage($120)+Scrub($55)+Steambath($30)+Footbath($35) = $150 (was $235). Yeah rite, like anyone ever walked in solely for a $55 à la carte scrub or a $30 à la carte steambath?
But nevertheless, you gave in since the Maths says, it's a good 35% discount! (But who determines that inflated prices to begin with?)
Nevermind, let's move on!
Next, masseurs within 4 walls try their very best moves on you, concentrating on your strategic spots throughout the massage so that you would feel vulnerable enough to take up their "special service", which they shamelessly have a verbal price tag for an assortment of exquisite services they provide. Chances are, people do give in to the temptation, human's mind is weak, presumably an additional $100 for that? After getting fleeced $250 for an $80 massage which you originally wanted, you felt a bit sore, you're ready to move on, get the fuck out and forget that it ever happened ... Then mamasan insists that you take a look at their premium inhouse products, at the same time introduce some buy 10 get 1 free package.
A typical relaxing day at the spa? I don't think so..
I can be quite sure some of you can relate to these scenarios ...
However, this sort of ruse doesn't work on me and that's not what I want to talk about in this post either.
This is just a prelude ....
During your birthday month, if you are a GNC member, you get a Happy Birthday card prompting you to utilised your 35% discounts off their disgustingly inflated prices (for certain products, for most products actually if you compare to those selling online in USA). And you know what? I can actually draw some parallelism between that whorehouse above and GNC, wanna know why?
I'm what you call, the "informed shopper", meaning I read up and decide what I need to buy before I step in. I take what I want, pay up and get the fuck out, as simple as that. If there should be any new item that catches my attention, it will be on the subsequent purchase list after I'm done with my research. I don't get swayed by empty sweet talk or get intimidated into buying some recommended products which they think I need or higher priced alternatives to what I originally wanted. (So, if I just want a massage, I get a massage, $80 nett. I don't care about other astronomically priced service going at a discount or special limited edition services by your Best Whore in the House or your repackaged "premium" inhouse products)
Yeah, I'm the nemesis of any sales staff.
If you ever shop in GNC stores, you might have encounter the sort of hot air staff they employ and the sort of disgusting sales tactics they deploy. Basically their motto is like, "Expensive = Best" + "Sales & Commission = Priority". It's their dream come true if every walk in customer is some rich unsuspecting victim who would listen to all their ridiculously expensive recommendations?
Well, not the Spawnily.
I needed Vitamin C and I took the most economical bottle on the shelf. 1000mg, 360 tablets for $77.50. (the one that I usually buy)
Almost instantly, the staff counter recommended "Ester C", she claimed that the one I chose was harsh on the stomach, doesn't absorb well into the body compared to EsterC, openly bashing the one I chose and shamelessly promoting the one she endorsed. The difference? EsterC is almost 4 times the price of what I wanted.
Then, I took a bottle of "Biotin" . 600mcg 120 tablets for $19.99
She wanted to know who and why the person's taking Biotin for, I said it's for promoting hair growth, for myself. Wasting no time, "why not try ShenMin instead", blah blah blah .. Price? One month supply $104 & 6 months at least to see results. I've tried that before, I've wasted money on that, didn't get the sort of result I expected. So she claimed "Do you know it's now an improved formula?"
Are you telling me that the previous formula I got was a prototype, and I was a guinea pig? Are you telling me to spend another 6 months + $600 to experiment and see if this improved formula will do any miracle? Are you including a money back guarantee this time since you seem so sure? Or was it "If Yes, good for me, If Not, too bad again"
Errrrr ...
"Just give me that Biotin!"
After that, I took a bottle of BComplex, that's the only Vitamin B that they sell, so nothing to recommend. BUT ...
I noticed some expires on Jun 07 and some expires on Feb 08. I see no reason why anyone should take the former if they are of the same price. I was holding a bottle with me (Feb 08), but that cunning little hoe swiftly took another bottle (Jun 07) and place it at the cashier together with my Vitamin C & Biotin. I signalled her over and said I wanted the one that I'm holding, she got the incredible gall to feign ignorance and tell me it's the SAME. Does my face says I'm stupid? Why didn't I see this initiative from her for the previous 2 bottles?
I can fully understand her efforts [First in First out], but at least have some basic fucking wiliness to display JUST the old stocks so that people don't get to choose! Else, clear the old ones at a cheaper price if you want to display them together, let people have some incentives for clearing your stocks. Resort to such crass craftiness under my nose and expect to succeed? Nice try, ho!
She was clearly annoyed since I refused to heed any of her kind recommendations, she started giving sardonic answers to some of my queries, like, "I don't have colon problems, I don't eat that" when I asked if she had any rough idea how this colon fibre thing would taste like. I don't deny that the superior ones she recommended could be better, that's a reasonable expectation from higher priced products. At the same time, shouldn't she be looking at the buyer's willingness to spend and his budget instead of just her fucking commission and sales target all the time? Hasn't she learn my spending trend by the 3rd bottle? I chose peasanty over premium range, which I think is good enough for the average peasant like me, for the amount that I'm willing to fork out on pills and supplements.
Under usual circumstances, if I get this kind of shit treatment at any shop, I will abandon everything and walk out without buying anything. I don't pay money to receive this kind of treatment or endure this kind of nosense. But this time, she jolly fucking well had the upper hand since she knew that I will have to buy from her outlet and I will spend $200 at least.*
*Why $200? FORUM the shopping mall has this inhouse promotion.
Spend min $200 in any shop with a DBS credit card, the first 125 customers gets $40 voucher. (1 per customer)
For $40, I put up with her, but not for long. =)
I will ensure a tub of Primrose oil up hers as a suppository if it's her red time of the month.
I took a few more items and the total was $170+, another $30 to make it to $200.
Next, a bottle of Vitamin E, my usual antioxidant, 400IU 180 softgels for $63.99
Same, I mentioned the word antioxidant and she got an orgasm, "have you heard of Pycnogenol? 175 pills for $299. It can do this, do that, yada yada yada. It's like the miracle all purpose pill. So I asked, should I cancel whatever I had at the counter and just take this since you make it sound like it can even revive the dead and it basically comprises of all the effects that I'm looking for in the other pills?=) She froze for a while and stuttered, those got their individual purposes and you can take them all together as an add on, flashing her money face beneath that fakest smile ever.
I commented that it's expensive, I did a mental calculation with my little brain while she did her little calculation with her calculator. Each pill will cost approx $1.00+ after the 35% discount, but she insisted it's $0.80. So, we punched in the numbers together on her little calculator
(299 X 0.65) / 175 = $1.11
1.11 X 0.80 = $0.888
Where the fuck did "X 0.80" come from?
Ms Ho says since $200 gets $40, that equates 20% discount.
It's min $200, not every $200, she doesn't seem to understand that even if I spend $2000, I still get $40, and that becomes a 2% discount
So she should just based her calculations on GNC's 35% and any other benefits that i've secured doesn't apply.
She didn't get it ... still pounding furiously on the buttons and staring at the little screen.
Why the fuck did we learn trigonometry when people can't do basic daily Mathematical calculations like this?
That doesn't impress me much. Maths aside.
Just what is this desperation towards blindly recommending all the pricey expensive items, totally oblivious to the customer's needs and ignoring their budget considerations at the expense of commission, sales target in disguised as goodwill? Can you see the resemblence between how people behave in GNC compared to the whorehouse above? This sort of nonsense is not solely limited just FORUM shopping mall's branch, it's blatantly the same elsewhere, it's just how whore it goes, whore, whorer, whorest.
FORUM = WHOREST
And those in Global Active Limited will need to know this, I will ensure that she gets her suppository. (Yes, there will be blood)
Having said that ..
I've been in sales line before (retail, counter, promoter, showroom)
My ability to subtly read minds helped a lot. There are all kinds of customers. I read them, their patterns and trends.
~ Some walked in cluelessly to browse. I spend some time to impart essential knowledge to them, they are thankful.
~ Some are price conscious, want fresh, cheap & big tits. I recommend the most economical option, nothing to be ashamed of. .
~ Some are just RICH, they want premium quality and they have money to throw. Make them feel good and show them the best.
~ Some just want freebies or samples, I give them out generously, whether they come back or not, it doesn't cost me a thing.
~ Some walked in fully armed, they know their prices and what they want. Leave them alone, they don't need my assistance. A smile to acknowledge their presence suffice.
You want sales? First, you need to know who you are dealing with and how to handle accordingly.
If you just want to whore it and display your greedy money face, then you are no different from a ho in a whorehouse.