From My Desk: Dodging the Call for Discount Card

with all due respect, i don't hate telemarketers. i understand that they have to do their job and i for one have to say that i cannot and never will be able to be a telemarketer. tried once, lasted about 2 months. i crawled out of the job with tattered soul, it was all over the place. i was out of job for a month because of the trauma. 

kidding! i quit the job without back up. 

back to the topic: the story starts with the application of the plastic card. you know what happens when you start applying for the card. people will be calling you left and right, offering you this and that, selling possibly everything under the sky. i'm not surprised if i pick up the phone one day and hear this: 

caller: hi good afternoon, ash

me: hi. good afternoon (read in a deadpan voice)

caller: i'm calling you to offer the sky just above your roof. the one that looks like a puppy running towards a kid playing a kite. 

sometime ago (when i say sometime, i may refer to a few hours, minutes or days. it helps to be vague here) i received a phone call offering a discount card. it was from Touch n Go (yes, i'm residing in malaysia). she called me three times already, wanting to know about my credit card. of course, i dodged her call by keep saying that i haven't got the card, wishing and hoping that she will give up eventually. but nay, of course not. a good salesperson will have to work hard and strive towards maximum sales. i received the third call. 

apparently, i have been selected to be the first 3,000 credit card users to be offered with the discount card. i'm so special that they have put my name aside so long ago although i know that wasn't true. i've bought the card for quite sometime (this time it is months and i'm sure of it) and why do they have to call me now? now when they know that i just got a new card? 

coincidence? think again. salesperson will always pick something out of the sky to put some urgency, to make it sound like you are losing something if you don't commit now. 

what a pity. i used to be a telemarketer. 

the deal was quite good, based on what i hear on the phone (while i was looking at tons of purses and handbags and commenting to my friend how good this purse or bag looks). there were offering discounts of up to 70% for purchases made at selected outlets (i'm good when it comes to discount numbers). they will give me tons of coupons, apparently up to RM 3k to use. i can eat in hotels and restaurants (these were the two places the girl place the most emphasis on) i can pay with cash or card, just flash the discount card and yeay! i can save. 

you see, this is what i do not like. credit cards are supposed to be used for emergencies. like the washing machine broke down, i need to pay for anyone who gets hospitalised or the emergency javachips (haha!) at starbucks. but not this, not the opportunity to spend like i'm getting paid USD 100k per month. 

imagine, discounts left and right, promotions and vouchers. free card for life with no annual fees for RM 489. i know it sounds like a good bargain but seriously, i'm not planning to dig my own grave with debt. it is bad enough that i'm already a shopaholic, do not help me become 'shopaholic with tonnes of debt'. i can do that myself if i want to, thanks but no thanks for your help. 

here's another tip: when you deal with telemarketers, they will always demand the reason why you do not want to buy their products or their services. saying ' i'm not interested is not enough', believe me. they are given pages after pages (only exaggerating a little bit) . you have to come up with a rock solid excuse to get away from them. screaming ' put me on the no call list or i'll see you in court' might not work. 

here's how i deal with the telemarketer:

me: ok wait, just let me say something

caller: yeah? (finally stopped saying all the benefits)

me: you see, i don't need this because i will be transferred.

caller: ouh really. where? 

me: i'm not sure. still waiting for the management to decide. it is either australia or india

caller: ouh really? (actually no but i wouldn't tell you that haha!)

me: yes, i'm waiting for my posting because the company is expanding

caller: ouh (continued to laugh. for all i care, she might be giving the middle-finger-up. i used to see that a lot during my day as a telemarketer)

caller: if that's the case, thank you. bye

and i said bye while laughing evilly. 

please, beware on what you are saying yes to. i was tempted initially but i'm not confident that i can be shopping with a clear mind if i have such privilege. 

so, to the caller, thank you very much for the offer. but maybe, you got the wrong person. 

coming up: answer for gymnasium membership package.