I just got a call from Crush Media saying I was selected to preview some high-end products. In return, I will get a free hotel stay in either Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong or Bali, and stand a chance to win a Mercedes AMG plus cash.
I knew it was fishy but the guy on the line was super nice and I know the telemarketer earns his commission by the number of people he can pull to the event. So I was nice and listened to him. His pitch was pretty slick. He starts by asking if I liked a beach holiday or enjoyed visiting a foreign city. Once I answered him, he asked, “How happy would your wife be to have a holiday with you, maybe you can consider this your second honeymoon!”
Then, he mentions several times that I was under no obligation to buy anything. Their only purpose was ‘product market research and sampling’. Then he asked me two questions to confirm that I qualify for the event: 1. Will I be able to attend with my wife, 2. Was my income over RM10,000.00.
Now, no one gives away so much without asking for more back. The two questions he asked are designed to corner you into making a decision to buy or invest on the day of the presentation: you cannot give the excuse that you need to discuss it with your wife first because she is sitting right next to you, and you cannot say you don’t have the money because you have a high income.
I thought it was some timeshare scheme (never buy that!) but he assured me that it was not. When I asked what will be presented at the event, the telemarketer simply avoided the question and explained, once again, the product I would be sampling. He also mentioned that it was not an MLM scheme. In the end, I asked for brochures to be emailed to me.
The brochures were Whatsapped to me and were super slick mentioning all the things I would get but not what the presentation I will have to sit through was. From the looks of it, it could be for a durian plantation investment.
Pepper's World. Notes to myself. 