// A consumer-centered world //

Recent events made me realise that the world is REALLY becoming more consumer-centered. Contrary to popular belief “Consumer is King”, more and more consumers are falling into the trap of the commercial world. Is it because consumers are make out to be easy preys?
Going by the rising complaints received by CASE, I believe it to be so. There are in fact many other unreported cases, which I think, are unreported due to the fear of “losing face” or simply because many people have accepted this as a way of life.
Sometimes, I seriously think that people in the same industry has impeccable camaraderie, despite the fact that the job they do may be vastly different. That is how two or more companies can work together hand-in-hand to squeeze money out of consumers.
To beat the GST hike, a month ago, my parents decided to buy a new refrigerator. Most of the time, I just roll my eyes when the sales people address all males buyer-to-be as “boss” in Chinese and all females buyer-to-be as “miss” in Chinese.
No offense to the salespeople, after all they are simply doing their job to promote the stuff and most of them do not even have a good idea of how reliable the stuff is. So you can’t blame them when your newly-bought appliance spoils.
Well, it just so happened that ice formed in our new refrigerator…in the wrong place.
Ice miraculously formed in the bottom tier of our three-tiered giant, resulting the need for vegetables to be thawed before cooking.
Luckily, the warranty was still available so a maintenance man was called in.
Now, the middle-aged male owners are known as “uncles” while middle-aged females are known as “aunties”. If you run out of luck and encounter an inexperienced person, just brace yourself for the worst. Most likely, he will check your appliance and maintains that nothing is wrong with it. It is no big deal having ice forming on your veggies…plus, many people trust the brand, says the repairman.

I still remember, some time ago, there was this “Go the Extra Mile for Service”.
Oh please. Most people do not even budge an inch, let alone a mile!
Rather than focusing on better service, I think honesty will do.
How many consumers have fallen into the trap of “failing to read the miniscule printed words hidden at the extreme bottom of advertisements” and hence needing to pay than what the ad was supposed to offer?
How many letters proclaiming, “You have won a prize”, were received by people who have never purchased anything from the sender?
How many times have consumers been “coerced” by retailers to buy extra accessories for their gadgets that were supposedly to have “__% discount”?
The truth is, consumers have been exploited unknowingly by retailers.