My girls and I walked into Granada Mall last Thursday evening as one of them wanted to have some problem with her Blackberry services fixed by the Mobily geeks in there.
After we finished and were about to walk out we were met by a smooth talking Egyptian Marketing man representing a Travel & Tour Company in Riyadh who had randomly identified us in his marketing quest to sell their services. We were told that we had been one of the 12 randomly selected families who were entitled to win a free tour if we answered two questions right. They asked us the questions and we answered correctly and we won a weeks Nile Cruise for six of us. Hooray!
Then came the punch line.
They took our contact numbers etc to issue the voucher and informed us that hey also have a surprise in store for us if we wanted to take it in addition to the prize we had already won.
They invited us to their office, located in Olaya, on Friday evening at 8 to join the rest of the 12 selected families at a social event where we would receive our surprise. We were impressed and went over at 830 pm last evening. All the other families were also present, most of them Arabic speaking. We were the only English speakers.
We were served with refreshments and each family was invited, separately, to sit with a sales person within a cubicle, privately. Here we were told that the Company has embarked on a new project to provide special services for those who love to travel and see the world blah blah blah.
And the surprise.....
They are offering a five star travel accommodation option, to be utilized within the next 3 years, based on any destination/resort we may choose, from the brochures they showed us.
The offer:
20% discount on the listed five star room rates
40% discount on food
Air tickets and other travel costs have to be borne by us but they will also provide same for a special price if we choose to buy from them.
What we have to do:
Pay up 25% of the total accommodation cost NOW (Credit Card/Cash)
Balance to be paid in equal installments over 36 months.
21 days notice to be given before the actual travel for preparation and reservations etc.
The option to sell our travel rights to others is also available which means we may even make a profit on the subscription purchase.
We said NO THANK YOU and walked off with the FREE Nile Cruise Voucher in our hands.
Now, isnt that a change in the marketing methods we have seen in this neck of the sands?
Imagine if all 12 families paid uo 25% of the cost of their actual accommodation costs they would have netted a tidy sum in one evening. Multiplied by 52 weekends this could end up as a larger revenue for them with nothing in return.
And imagine if they went into voluntary liquidation before we availed the travel offer?
Phew!
Marketing Melodrama
MM, Be careful bc I can assure you that that Nile cruise is NOT free. There are hidden fees even associated with that one. We in the states have the misfortune to have those same sales pitches presented to us all the time. And they are the same all the time, high pressure sales, deals too good to be true, etc... But rest assured, nothing on earth is free, so look into this prize and make sure you are in fact getting a gift. Smooth Sailing!
Very true, indeed. We discussed the saga at home last evening, There are certainly hidden costs within the package. Its only the cruise accommodation on the liner thats free for 6 of us in three cabins. The rest is $$$.
Things are surely changing around here?
There is no such thing as a free lunch!
We also have these scams, for a while there was one that was done by a publication, from memory it was encylopedia of some sort, it kind of went.
Congratulations, you have won $1 million, all you need to do is fill out the application form and complete your subscription, cost is about $2,000. Conditions apply...
The way we figured out it was bogus was we checked if they had a license to issue prizes by lotteries australia. you can guess the rest.
We spoke to the same rep in the same mall a week ago, answered the questions but didn't bother to go to the meeting.
This is the same scam run in the UK by various companies calling themselves holiday clubs. A friend of mine got herself and her family a nice week long holiday in Spain out of it, all expenses paid and cancelled the agreement as soo as she got back, but I guess she was lucky to have a get-out clause she could use. I was suprised to see these scams running here and i'm sure many people will end up falling for it.
In Pakistan,I almost got hired by them and they were working for Canadian agencies ,as soon i got to know their procedure ...I quit so i know how does it work exactly 
Funnily enough, our family was the only Non Arab group amongst the 12. Ten were Saudi, one North Arabian and us. I wont be surprised if the locals fall prey to this scam, especially since the women were also present and I am sure they may have seen it as a great bargain to venture into.
The ploy of inviting the whole family to attend the "surprise" presentation is definitely intended to tickle the sensitivities of the ladies.
People should be made aware of this before they get trampled silly.
This is the main reason why I posted this on the blog, in the first place.
I'm impressed at the new angle they're taking with this.
If it wasn't a 56month thing I would've went for it, me and the wifey were thinking of going to Egypt. This would've been a final push. Oh well
I've seen similar things in Canada, they invite you for the rest of the thing. It's good and it sometimes work. Just things aren't ever too clear, you have to ask a ton of questions to get the answers you want.
But since we're on the subject of marketing. I caught this one yesterday right before the cashier.
Think tickets are still available?
And this one as just too much. Why even bother printing it:
My daughter came out to dinner with us one night and filled out an entry form to win a TV that was being raffled at the restaurant a month from the date she submitted it.
She left for school that September and got a call mid way through the month and the person who called said she didnt win the TV, that she was one of the 10 others who had won a free prize and but had to come to X in Virginia (we lived in Maryland) to pick it up. The place was 80mi from the house.
She called and we informed her that we were unavailable to pick it up, to authorize one of her friends to go and get it. Well she called around and none of them were available either. She was distrought thinking that she had won some big prize and would miss out. Then in desperation, she called a few relatives and then called us back crying.
I tried to explain what the scam was all about, but they had her hook line and sinker and she just couldnt understand and wanted us to go and 'just see!" "Just go and pick up my prize" was all she could think about.
So being the old softie mom that I am, I convinced my hubby to go with me to 'pick up the prize"... because we were married he had to come (he was not happy!)
It was as we thought, a sales presentation about a time-share type vacation arrangements through a company that was associated with RCI (a world wide Time Share & Vacation Club) and they made it sound fabulous and inexpensive...
Believe me they did a good job selling at the basic level and we were on the edge... Hubby was intrigued! Then we tried to back out and they brought in the Big Guns - The Sales Manager. 
He gave us an additional discount... How could we not want to buy it now? The (HIGH) pressure was on... They made a few more concessions and sweetened the pot. At this point WE were even thinking how could we say no? 
They were counting on the EMOTIONAL BUY!
But our senses kicked in (I convinced hubby - usually its the other way around!!! 
) and we finally told them that we couldn't give them an answer that night and of course, as soon as they know they've lost you, your Dog Meat! We told them that we wanted to pick up the "free" prize that our daughter had won...
They begrudgingly gave us the envelope with the info for the prize... Pay $499 registration fee for the 'free trip' (3day/2nite) to Disney or a couple of other places. But 'free' only applied to the hotel stay. Transportation to/from was on you!
After we left the sales office we called my daughter and told her she was dead - and not to come home for a while for making us sit through that painful 3+ hour presentation... 
When we got home hubby looked them up on line and found out that this Time Share Company was in some hot water and had a bunch of actions going in court, not to mention a whole host of negative press.
We were lucky to get out without buying because we were truly on the fence, their tale was so well presented... phew! What we do for our kids!!! 
Thanks for sharing these scams, I hope it makes people more aware.
I feel and have learned that if you are FORCED to buy something right THEN and THERE. Then it's better to leave it.
Always think things clearly, go home, and see the whole picture.
True. They pull this crap when you're buying a car. On that particular day at that particular moment, they can only offer you this 'special' deal LOL
Been there/done that!
Wow! the plot thickens. These jerks in Riyadh are also linked up to RCI. Would you believe that?
Thanks for sharing CAF, its valuable info for the gullible.
Trust me, Im experienced at these things.
I got roped into a Rainbow Vacuum some years back as a youngster... Not the smartest purchase of my life!
Direct Buy in the states is another high pressure sales scam. Its considered a club so there is a registration fee of several thousand dollars. They give you time to pay and get the payments down to where you can afford them monthly... For those of you that are not familiar with it, DB is an outlet to buy furniture, electronics, house wares, carpet, etc., everything for a 'better price.' And its all out of the catalog, there are only a few items at the show room. In fact the showroom is really the sales office!
The issue is, everything come separately. For example, when you go to buy a bed frame, each piece is sold separately, the head board, foot board & side boards, mattress & box spring. The brands are usually off brands that you cant compare others in another store and Im not sure of the quality, but it looks good.
When you make a purchase, your items are delivered to the DB warehouse and you have to go and pick them up - no delivery. All purchases are paid in full at the time of purchase no monthly payments permitted.
Unfortunately, we were just about to finish a renovation of one of our rentals when we decided to go and 'visit' the DB showroom. Its high pressure sales the moment you walk through the door. We should have known that when they made us wait for a sales rep... It was down hill from there. We have yet to use their services so we lost a bunch of money... 
Another dumb purchase!
I have met people who have used the store and love what they purchased, but its not the place for us. 
Caution: DO NOT MAKE EMOTIONAL BUYS! They are always a bad idea. If it sounds to good to be true, it usually is!!!
The minute somebody begins pressuring me, I walk out the door. They try to mock or belittle you when you do this--screw them. I have the last laugh 
When we first said a loud NO to the sales guy he came up with additional incentives of more free packages that would be thrown in if we sign up immediately and pull out our Credit Card.
When we continued with the NO he ended up by pleading, "How much do you want to pay" and subscribe to this package?
That was the last straw. The mother of all desperations. he probably was thinking of his commission.
It was fun saying NO.
RCI itself isn't that bad an outfit.
It is legitimate and allows time share owners to "exchange" the time share they have with a time share they'd like to use.
Because it is one of the few organizations in the world like it, both the good and bad timeshare companies use it.
Now, high pressure time share selling is normally a scam, but not always. Sometimes it is a legitimate purchase, but for you to do anything but invest some time in a presentation in order to receive a "prize" is illegal in most states in the USA.
These folks were obviously on the shadier side of selling to MM and his family. Unfortunately, if you gave them your address or phone number, you haven't heard the last of pressure salesmen. They'll sell that information again and again and again.
Yes, Indeed Stretch!
My mom has a Time Share and has used it many times though out the years. But it was purchased 30+ years ago and is under the old system through RCI. We also know many friends who've invested and are using there places annually. But its the high pressure sales that drives me nuts - one has to be careful what new company you're purchasing through and how it ties to RCI. These days they are selling points, instead of weeks!
What did they offer you MM?
They offered us a three year package for any resort of our choice based on us subscribing to pay the initial 25% down on the total value of a single 5* accommodation holiday for six of us and the balance to be paid in 36 equal monthly instalments.
We could then rent our time to others during this 3 year slot as we choose.
In addition we get 40% off food at all the places of our choice plus an additional FREE accommodation adventure at Sharm Al Sheikh resort in Egypt.
We said DEFINITELY NO in one voice.
Articles to help you in your expat project in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia can be a challenging destination for women. As a strict Islamic country, Saudi Arabia imposes a lot ...
Driving in Saudi Arabia is the easiest and most convenient way to get around. That being said, foreigners in Saudi ...
If there was one adjective that could describe dating in Saudi Arabia, it would be the word 'discreet' ...
Saudi Arabia is a country that holds marriage and family as one of its core values. It is a privilege to get ...
Saudi Arabia is governed by the Shari'a, which is the Islamic Law. According to Wahhabism, animals, and dogs ...
Dammam is the capital city of the Eastern Province, which is made up of smaller cities that, together, form the ...
