Dialogue with a desperate salesgirl

*phone rings*
I pick it up with a sense of dread, knowing it is probably the persistent travel agency salesgirl who’s been trying to get me to come over for an hour-long sales pitch since the beginning this week.
“Hello? This is D— ah… just calling to see if you’ve changed your mind and whether you can make it today to collect your free gift -”
“Sorry I’m going for a meeting now. Very busy. Can’t make it,” I whisper in hushed tones. It doesn’t work.
“Really ah… How about tomorrow? Can you make it tomorrow? Just come over and collect – ”
“Listen, I don’t WANT the free gifts anymore. I don’t have time to collect them (this part is true). Can’t you just call another customer?”
“Er, haha, it doesn’t work like that, I already told my boss that a customer is coming and we already ordered the 10 rolls of film for you … if you don’t collect I’ll have to pay a fine.”
“Why should you be fined!? Why can’t you get someone else?”
“Er I am very new here… I hope you can understand my situation. I already told my boss got customer coming. If you can come over for just one hour I show you around, you get the free gift, you benefit, I also benefit … If you don’t come I get into trouble…Maybe I put you through to my manager?”
[At this point I’m thinking, to heck with your situation… this is a scam, stop playing the sympathy game!]
“No!” I snap. “Look I’m sorry but I’m NOT INTERESTED. ”
“Is there something wrong that you dowan to come? Did you hear anything bad about us?”
“Apart from the fact that I really don’t have the time, one of my friends complained to me that you guys tried to hard-sell to him. So I’m NOT interested. OKAY? Tell your boss one of your colleagues tried to intimidate my friend. Look, I really have to go-”
“But … maybe that colleague is no longer with us? I promise you, I won’t try to hard sell… in fact I dowan to sell anything to you … I just want you to come over and collect your gift, okay?”
I say ‘no’ one more time. She says something curt and hangs up a split second later.
What salesperson would say she wasn’t trying to sell me anything? Why would they give away ten rolls of Konica film and a watch for free? Coming to think of it, they TOOK my personal information from a supermarket lucky draw I entered months ago. What kind of agency would resort to such tactics unless they had desperate intentions?
And why should she be fined for ordering something which can be used for another customer? Something didn’t sound right. I’m glad she hung up. My only regret was that I didn’t see through the scam right away and slam down the phone on Monday. Initially I had a mistaken impression that it was somehow related to the contest I entered. Doh!

Comments

  1. kar

    never give your personal mobile number 😛
    i alwaes give my office number …
    heeheee, makes life tough for my next colleague …
    haahaaa

  2. vantan

    I don’t know for sure if she tried to sell me that, but it doesn’t matter now, anyway… I’m just perturbed that my personal information which I gave to a supermarket, was used by a travel agency completely unrelated to the lucky draw.

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