Honesty and turst are a creditor's capital<\/p>\n
By Ati Nurbaeti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): When Amas Misbah first walked down alleys
\ncarrying kerosene stoves, he was embarrassed. At 21, he was the
\ntarget of many women's merriment.<\/p>\n
\"Hey, did your wife kick you out?\"<\/p>\n
\"Are you going camping somewhere?\"<\/p>\n
What he was doing was being determined to learn from his
\nuncle, who had a 20-year career of selling goods on credit.<\/p>\n
Mang (Uncle) Ade managed to have his own shop for a while and
\nhis sons now go to college. Another creditor has been able to
\nmake the haj trip.<\/p>\n
The profession of selling goods on credit has long been
\nsynonymous with Amas's hometown in West Java, Tasikmalaya.<\/p>\n
\"I would say 75 percent of creditors are from Tasikmalaya,\"
\nAmas said, though he is not sure why.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe we just inherited the talent from our forefathers,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Jakarta's teeming kampongs provide a vast market. Thanks to a
\ncreditor, one can meet all the needs of urban life.<\/p>\n
Even if a store holds a 50 percent discount, a tempting tape
\nrecorder of Rp 200,000 would be too much for a vegetable vendor,
\na construction worker, or a prostitute.<\/p>\n
Anything can be theirs by paying Rp 500 or Rp 1,000 a day, or
\na week, to men like Amas.<\/p>\n
One can even skip a day or two and Amas will understand.<\/p>\n
Apart from Tasikmalaya, many say that people from other areas
\nwould not stand the routine for very long; collecting small
\npayments daily through entire kampongs for months on end.<\/p>\n
But for Amas, now 26, with almost 100 clients in Pejompongan
\nand Petamburan, Central Jakarta, his uncle's work seemed light.<\/p>\n
\"Mostly all you do is walk around with a book,\" he said.<\/p>\n
You're free to set your own work hours and holidays. Just take
\nin orders and have them delivered, he said.<\/p>\n
As an apprentice, Amas first followed his uncle on his rounds.<\/p>\n
Sometimes Mang Ade would deliberately return to Tasikmalaya,
\nleaving Amas to collect the payment.<\/p>\n
This is when he began to learn the character of each customer.
\n\"By and by we get to know and trust each other,\" he says.<\/p>\n
Amas was then trusted to do the shopping for orders,
\ncontacting shop owners in Tanah Abang and Jembatan Lima who
\nalready knew his uncle.<\/p>\n
\"Beginners start with the basics like glasses and plates,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
After a satisfying first deal, the client will then order more
\nexpensive items. Now, Amas says fondly, his clients \"have all
\nbecome like family\".<\/p>\n
A shrewd estimation is essential in deciding to agree on a
\ncustomer's request. He considers the customer's profession, their
\nreliability, and whether they are a tenant or house owner.<\/p>\n
Goods costing about Rp 200,000 are rarely offered to
\ninhabitants of the nearby red light district. \"We've got to be
\ncareful,\" he said. But the customers there are his favorite,
\npaying up to Rp 5,000 daily for shoes or bed sheets.<\/p>\n
If trust is broken, Amas will decline to take more orders.
\n\"Sometimes there are clients who protest, 'how come I still owe
\nyou that much?'\"<\/p>\n
\"That means that while I trust her, she does not trust me.\"<\/p>\n
Most clients, he says, have faith in the notes in his big
\nbrown book.<\/p>\n
Amas says he is never offended by harsh reactions when he
\ncomes to collect. \"If some of them use strong words I understand,
\nbecause I know it is their nature,\" he says.<\/p>\n
He denies that creditors are rich, although total credit
\nmarkup reaches 100 percent of the goods.<\/p>\n
\"We use the surplus to buy more items,\" he says. \"And one must
\ntake into account the risks involved.\"<\/p>\n
The greatest risk in his five years of work was last year,
\nwhen fire razed many of his clients' homes in the nearby kampong.<\/p>\n
He tracked down some of his clients not long after, but they
\npleaded with him, saying they had lost both the goods and their
\nearnings.<\/p>\n
Amas hasn't even bothered to count his losses. \"It gave me a
\nbig headache.\"<\/p>\n
Then the worst flood hit the area a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
This time he didn't even try collecting. He was busy himself,
\nmoving goods upstairs.<\/p>\n
Even without these disasters, Amas is prepared.<\/p>\n
\"Our fortunes from Allah cannot be exchanged with another's.
\nOne person may say she cannot pay me but she pays another
\ncreditor -- that's just not my share of fortune.\" That is why he
\ndoes not worry about competition.<\/p>\n
In reflection, he says, it is not enough being a native of
\nTasikmalaya.<\/p>\n
\"My uncle would not have lent me my first Rp 3 million if he
\ndid not see I could be trusted.\"<\/p>\n
Honesty, he said, is a mandatory requisite.<\/p>\n
One must also not throw money around. Just enough for the
\nmovies once in a while, and visits to his family.<\/p>\n
One must not be grumpy or sharp-tongued, you have to smile a
\nlot.<\/p>\n
And education?<\/p>\n
\"Don't ask that, I'm ashamed. School is not important in this
\njob. It's just learning about people, how to approach them, how
\nto get along.\"<\/p>\n
Financial success alone does not bring respect back home.<\/p>\n
\"People talk if your behavior is bad,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Orphaned from three years old, he says he sometimes wonders
\nwhy he is destined to take care of the whole family.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe if my father was alive I could have my earnings to
\nmyself, like other men.\"<\/p>\n
Nevertheless he is proud. His younger sister will soon
\ngraduate from secondary school.<\/p>\n
Amas has no wish to continue school. Even college drop-outs
\nhave shifted to being creditors.<\/p>\n
He hopes his business will expand, \"but I have no lofty
\ndreams.\"<\/p>\n
\"We should plan in accordance with our capacity.\"<\/p>\n
One thing is sure. \"If I have a son, he must not be a creditor
\nlike me.\"<\/p>\n
\"He must be better than me.\" At least a stable office job,
\nwhich Amas once yearned for when he was younger. Indeed he
\ntreasures the freedom of being his own boss.<\/p>\n
But his son, he says, must not inherit the stress of unpaid
\ndebts, and clients who disappear with his trust.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/honesty-and-turst-are-a-creditors-capital-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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