From ST online:
OVER the past three months, lone motorists in malls and office
carparks are finding themselves pounced upon by wine sellers.
Think of scantily-clad women who hawk certain types of liquor in
night spots and picture the same scene in a carpark.
The wine 'cellar' is in the boot of a sleek car. The peddlers
are women in their 20s who work in pairs or groups of three. One
would be the driver circling the area spotting lone men making
their way to parked cars, even blocking the vehicles to make sure
that the motorists do not get away.
The others would be out in a jiffy to make their sales pitch,
except that they usually pitch their wine booty as free giveaways
or going on the cheap.
They spin tales of quarrels with chefs from fancy restaurants
and hotels such as The Fullerton and Swissotel. Because of these
disputes, they have to find other means of selling the wine or in
some cases, they say, it is their way of getting back at the
unreasonable chefs.
Anyone who buys their story would be asked for sums ranging from
$30 to $100, for wine that the women indicate is worth $500 or
more. Deal sealed, a receipt is made out to the buyer and the women
move on to their next catch.
They have been hired by Dickson Enterprise, a company which
started selling liquor and soft drinks last September.
Their favourite haunts include Paragon Shopping Mall, Ngee Ann
City, Suntec City, UOB Plaza and UIC building. They sometimes also
trawl the heartland malls such as Northpoint in Yishun and have
also been spotted at St James PowerHouse.
Graphic designer Carol Lee, 24, was at the Paragon carpark last
month when she was approached by a woman who told her she had had a
huge row with a chef and wanted to give away the wine to spite
him.
She led Miss Lee to a car and showed her several bottles inside
the boot. After placing two bottles on Miss Lee's car seat, she
asked her for any sum ranging from $50 to $100 for each bottle as a
token of 'appreciation'.
When Miss Lee said she had only $30 on her, the woman took back
one bottle.
Looking back, Miss Lee felt the woman had 'manipulated' her into
feeling guilty for taking something 'expensive' for free. 'I don't
even dare drink the wine now and I'm going to throw the bottle
away. Who knows what kind of drink it actually is.'
The women's sales tactics have made it onto Internet forums,
with netizens warning one another not to fall for them.
The women did not seem to have an easy time getting buyers, as
The Straits Times observed over several days.
They start off just before noon from their office at Lorong
Ampas in Balestier and usually hit about five shopping malls before
calling it a day by 8pm. On average, only one out of 10 shoppers
they approach buy the wines.
The owner of Dickson Enterprise, Mr Victor Toh, 36, said he used
to sell home theatre systems under the same company name, which was
first registered in 2002.
But after receiving negative feedback from people saying they
did not like being approached by his salesmen in the streets, he
changed tack.
Last September, Mr Toh re-started the company, this time selling
mainly Chilean, Spanish and French red wines. 'I'm new in the
market and I don't have the cash to jump in big time. We can't
afford a booth or a shop front, so we go direct to the consumer
now,' explained Mr Toh.
The company sells over 500 bottles of wine a month now, he
added.
When asked about his employees' sales tactics, Mr Toh said he
had received a few complaints last October.
He said his staff had been instructed to tell such tales by
their trainer, whom he has since fired. 'I told them not to use
such stories anymore,' he said, adding that his employees were
always polite and customer-oriented.
'My girls have been briefed to give good service to the
customer. I told them to provide their names and handphone numbers
too,' he said.
He told The Straits Times that unsatisfied customers are
entitled to a full refund or a free replacement. 'If there're any
problems, the customer can always contact us. We're not doing a
hit-and-run business.'
No one has called them for a refund in five months, he said.
Sales have picked up during the festive period, Mr Toh added,
and he was getting good feedback from customers. He said some of
them have placed orders for wine hampers worth about $500.
'Sales are picking up, so it can't be that my girls are still
using the same tactics which made customers unhappy.'
Mr Toh insisted that his employees do not tout. 'I told my
girls...when customers want to listen, you talk to them. If they
don't want to, you walk away.'
However, president of the Association of Small and Medium
Enterprises Lawrence Leow said such sales tactics were 'absolutely
wrong'.
'It's misrepresentation. The value of the goods is not worth
that much and yet they are asking for a premium.'
He added that consumers should stand firm and just say no. 'You
shouldn't just purchase the goods...you never know if it could be
expired or of inferior quality.'
The presence of the wine sales team in carparks is making mall
managements sit up.
Shoppers and tenants at Paragon Shopping Centre complained to
the management about the women two weeks ago, said the mall's
spokesman.
She said that Dickson Enterprise was not allowed to sell any
products on its premises, including the carpark, as it had not
approached the management for permission to do so. Its security
officers have been told to watch out for cars that appear to be
circling one too many times.
Ngee Ann City's management was unaware of the women, but said
they would put a stop to it immediately.
Mr Toh said a few shopping malls had told his employees they
could not hawk wines on the premises and they have stopped going to
these places.
Some of the Internet chatter in forums has also raised doubts
about whether the wines were really worth that much.
The Straits Times bought two bottles - which the women claimed
could fetch about $150 each if sold to restaurants - and got four
wine experts to try them.
The Merlot, they said, had a retail price of only $20 or less.
The other bottle, which sounds like it is from Valencia in Spain
but has German words on the label, would sell for about $12 at
best.
Fine wine distributor Patricia Britton, 39, said: 'There's not a
chance that these wines are worth $500!'
She said it was 'quite likely' the wine had been artificially
sweetened. 'The sweetness is not the natural fruitiness of a grape,
even if it was an over-ripe one.'
Mr Toh, though, put it down to a matter of opinion. 'It's a
matter of individual taste.'
careful not to fall for it...
