Selling practice<\/p>\n
As frequent visitors to Indonesia over the past 15 years, we
\nhave been increasingly impressed by the improvement in the
\nstandard of living of the average Indonesian. To a large degree,
\nthis has been the result of the government's economic policies
\nand the exercise of tight controls over foreign investment and
\ndirect participation in business activities within Indonesia.<\/p>\n
However, we have recently discovered an enterprise in Bali
\nthat appears to offer no tangible benefits to the Indonesian
\neconomy. This involves the sale of timeshares to mostly English
\ntourists on behalf of a Singapore based company.<\/p>\n
While visiting the new Matahari department store in Jl. Pantai
\nKuta on Jan. 15, 1996, we were approached by a pleasant Balinese
\nman on the steps and asked if we would mind completing a tourist
\nsurvey. This lasted a few minutes and we were invited to draw a
\nprize from a large envelope he was carrying. I won the first
\nprize, seven nights free accommodation in a five star hotel, and
\nmy wife won a Bali T-shirt.<\/p>\n
We were then led to a quiet corner office some 100 meters from
\nthe store to claim our prizes. To our surprise the office was
\noccupied by a young English girl who explained that to receive
\nour prices we must attend a one hour presentation on the hotel
\nchain she represented.<\/p>\n
We agreed and were led upstairs to a large room with many
\ntables and chairs and attended by a purported Balinese named
\nWawan -- a most unusual Balinese name! Other tables were also
\noccupied by tourists, but were attended by Englishmen.<\/p>\n
It was clear from the presentation that this was indeed a
\ntimeshare proposition. And this method of selling has had
\nconsiderable bad publicity in Australia, we explained that we
\nwere not interested in committing to any further obligations at
\nthis stage. At the end of the hour and after completing a further
\nquestionnaire, we were taken back downstairs and told by another
\nlady that our prizes were no longer available to us.<\/p>\n
Feeling somewhat foolish, but determined not to let these
\npeople win, we teamed up with a bunch of English people and
\nsought out the original English girl to remind her of her
\nprevious commitment.<\/p>\n
Eventually we were told that we could have one of the prizes
\nand received a voucher for the free accommodation. The conditions
\non claiming the prize were very restrictive, and made it unlikely
\nthat we would ever take it up.<\/p>\n
This is a business being conducted in Bali. But except for a
\nfew Indonesians employed to lure tourists to the office, it
\ninvolves tourists and a Singaporean company staffed by English
\npeople. We can only ask how this benefits Indonesia and how these
\nforeigners obtained work permits, if they did!<\/p>\n
LYN and BARRY FOX<\/p>\n
Victoria, Australia<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/selling-practice-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }