Bandar Seri Begawan - It seems that some shoppers can't do their shopping in peace nowadays without being harassed by young agents acting as product promoters. According to these annoyed patrons of shopping areas, a group of at least three agents would approach them, stopping them in their tracks and telling them they have free gifts on offer.

The gifts are supposedly "time-limited" and will not be offered again in the near future. Sometimes, the agents will ask a shopper to use scratch cards. And every time a card is scratched, the promoter would say the shopper had just won a certain free gift and urge them to follow the agents to their office.

Some of these promoters are so convincing that the shoppers will follow them to their main office situated at the shopping area. But before you can ask for your free gift, they will inevitably change the subject and tell you to buy their products at new reduced prices. These products will range from the hundreds to thousands of dollars, and will come in the form of so-called "new age" toasters, vacuum cleaners, ovens, washing machines and many other electrical appliances.

The promoters are so well-versed and trained they will spend the next 10 minutes, or at times even more, explaining how these appliances will radically change their lives. And usually you can't even get a word in!

One shopper said she tried to object to their blatant promotional tactic, "but when three agents try to talk to you, the lone voice of protest from the shopper is drowned in no time at all".

A housewife in her 30s who only wished to be known as Hjh Rozy said, "It is really overwhelming when they approach and promote their products to you. I couldn't get a word in to say I am really not interested in their products. But they argued that to qualify for my free gift I had to listen to them. But these products they were promoting ran into the thousands of dollars and so I told them I could not afford them."

The agents then suggested that she make a deposit of a few hundred dollars to purchase a product, and that she could pay the balance in monthly instalments.

Hjh Rozy said she soon grew very upset and close to tears, and just walked out of the office.

"Isn't there a law against harassing customers? I know it is illegal in some countries to harass people in shopping malls and other shopping areas," she explained. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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