Cui Zengqi: Yunnan trip (seven)

Cui Zengqi: Yunnan trip (seven) What makes me dissatisfied with this trip is that shopping takes up too much time. During the two days of traveling in Kunming, one and a half days were spent shopping...

What dissatisfied me about this trip was that shopping took up too much time. During the two days of traveling in Kunming, one and a half days were spent at shopping spots. I went to two jewelry stores and a Pu'er tea specialty store. The shopping process reflects that China's current commercial sales methods have been pushed to the extreme. They have fully studied the psychology of customers and fully mobilized the enthusiasm of customers. However, sales behavior inevitably reveals short-term commercial behavior, eager for quick success and lack of business ethics and credibility. Our guide is a college graduate and has a solid foundation. The entire guide and commentary, from scenery to emotions, cultural landscapes to historical stories, can really be called "first-class". As we approached Kunming, we started to explain the status of jade in Chinese culture and some jade-related stories in Yunnan and Myanmar. We had a hunch that the arrival station ahead must be a jade shop. At this time, he talked about a way of thinking. You come to the motherland from abroad, participate in tourism at a preferential price, and save money to buy some souvenirs to give back to relatives and friends, which is also a contribution to the motherland. These words sounded very reasonable, and I was very moved. So, everyone had some idea of ​​buying something. This is a very magnificent shopping store that looks like a palace from the outside, named "Colorful Yunnan". When you enter the store, you can choose from many stores with 20% off and 30% off in the halls on both sides. The warm reception lady came forward and told you kindly that these are defective products. You might as well go to the lobby and have a look. After a hard trip to Yunnan, you should always bring something decent back. Moreover, our products here have national quality certification certificates and are guaranteed to be returned or replaced. It sounds very reasonable. When I was choosing in the main hall, there was a receptionist who talked to us very sincerely about home affairs. She called us uncle and aunt very cordially, just like your biological children. She went on to say that jade is of good quality and is worth a lot of money. It will be worth leaving to your daughter or grandson in the future... In short, I seemed to gradually fall into a dream. From time to time, the tour guide would come over and say a few words of love to you like a serious person. Finally, he took out his credit card and bought an expensive jade like a man possessed. He felt very happy and felt that he had accomplished a big thing. In this regard, I have fallen into this state more than once. I made such a mistake during my last trip to Jiangnan, and I made the same mistake again this time.

Attached photo: The magnificent "Colorful Yunnan" The second shopping spot is called the Jade Processing Factory, where you can admire each exquisite piece of jade. First, the students will introduce the works, and after a while, the teacher will be invited. The teacher came to Taiwan to study at Peking University, and after graduation, he came to Yunnan to engage in jade carving craftsmanship. He showed the nobility of Chinese intellectuals and despised the tendency of those in power to use the public to give gifts and compete with each other. Therefore, the prices he set were very high, which was to deal with corrupt officials, which suddenly brought us closer to each other. Then he said that we overseas Chinese should treat us differently. As long as you like it and like it, we have special discounts today, some are half price, some are 30% off, and we can even give them to you if you really like them. Experienced people say this is called sadness selling. Because I had already bought one, I didn’t buy it again. My friend from Taiwan who was traveling with me did a lot of business after being moved. The third shopping store is Pu'er tea, a specialty of Yunnan. Of course, I invite you to taste tea first, which lasts all morning. First of all, there is a special offer today, buy three and get one free, and buy two and get one free, and buy one and get one free. The varieties are different, and there are so many names that you will be overwhelmed. Also, because Pu'er tea is so valuable, there is also a special offer of getting one piece of tea back in exchange for two pieces of tea after ten years. Buying tea can actually be used to invest and increase value. I was determined not to buy tea, but I was not moved. Two hours passed, and people were sitting there waiting to leave, but there was no trace of the guide. So the sales girls launched a new round of offensive, asking each household to talk to each other individually, and then give you discounts on prices and gifts. They also said that this was specially given to you by the manager. Unable to withstand the repeated attacks, I bought a new Pu'er tea brick at the "lowest price" of 400 yuan. Experienced people call this "time tactic", which is a common method used in American casinos. They will drive you there for free and keep you there for five or six hours. If you don't believe me, you won't make some contribution. The real story is yet to come. After shopping, I carried my big and small bags and flew away happily. No one thought anything more about it, but I stayed for three days to travel freely and reminisce about my childhood memories. When I walked into the market in Kunming city, I found that the things we bought were three to four times higher than the market price. The tea brick I bought for 400 yuan, the best packaged one in the market was only more than 100 yuan, and the average package was only 70 to 80 yuan. I asked where this "Colorful Yunnan" is? Many locals didn't know it, but my friend found the address for me. It turns out that it takes an hour by taxi from downtown Kunming. My friend told me that it was a place specifically for people traveling out of town to buy things, and people from other places didn’t come and go. I thought about why the stores are not located in the city but far away from the city. They take tourists to go shopping in big cars, and when you come back after buying something, you will feel that something is wrong and you will not be able to back out even if you want to. This is a low-level business behavior that makes a lot of money, and does not consider business reputation and business ethics at all. In order to find out, my friend drove with me to "Colorful Yunnan". I asked to return the jade I bought three days ago, and three staff members majoring in jewelry from Wuhan University received me. They tried every possible means to persuade me to keep this piece of jade. I told them that if they buy something in the United States, as long as it is not used, they can return it within a certain period of time. Haven't you repeatedly said that your store is value for money and comes with a guarantee of return and replacement? Why can’t I return my original item intact? They explained that if there are quality problems, they can be returned or exchanged. Mine is intact and has no quality problems, so it cannot be returned or exchanged. This is completely a stolen concept. Then I pushed back and said that my boss didn't agree to return the goods and if they let me return it, they would lose their jobs. In this tragic situation, we made an agreement that I would buy a piece of jade with a slightly lower price and lower quality. This way I will still buy their stuff at a higher price, but I will lose less. Yeah! Spending money buys experience, but this incident made me see the essence of their carefully designed deception to deceive tourists. I made up my mind not to buy anything when I join a tour group in China in the future, so as not to be deceived again. Let’s carefully review the guide’s statement that buying something is also a way of serving the motherland. It is also misleading. This statement changes the concept. The preferential treatment for overseas Chinese to return to the country for sightseeing is the compensation given by the government to the tourism industry from tax every year. Overseas Chinese should thank the Chinese government for its care for overseas Chinese, but it is the enterprise that sells the goods. This money flows into the hands of the operators and becomes the boss’s wealth. It would be nice to call on the overseas Chinese to make some donations to poor rural areas or out-of-school children before the end of the trip. It would be better than being deceived and letting the money go to the pockets of profiteers. However, in today's China where money is paramount, that person is no longer desperately trying to make money. What we encounter is just a drop in the ocean.