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Ding dong.
“Yes?”
“Assalam-o-Alaikum, sir!”
“Wa-alaikum-us-Salaam!”
“Sir, I have this detergent here which we are publicising.”
“I see.”
“And we have got an introductory prize scheme too for our customers.”
“Ahan.” Of course you do. Everybody does.
“Well, sir, in this packet of detergent, which I am holding, are hidden many prizes, such as a cell phone, an iron, Rs. 3000 cash, and many others…”
“Ahan.” And where’s the detergent in this packet?
“And sir, if you win any of these prizes, only then would I ask you to pay the price for this packet.”
“Which is?”
“Rs. 600.”
“Right.” 600? For this little box which you are calling a packet?
“And sir, if you don’t win any prize, you will not have to pay anything. And also sir, if the packet turns out to be empty, then you’ll be given four packets of this detergent without any charge, alongwith a cash of Rs. 500.”
“Oh really?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Hmm…”
“So why don’t you try your luck and open it?”
“Well, thanks for the offer, yaar… but leave it.”
“Just try it, sir. May be it turns out to be your lucky day.”
Yeah right. “No thanks.”
“I think there’s no harm in just opening the packet, sir. It’s a scheme from the company.”
“Well as I said, leave it.”
“Sir, many people have tried it, many people have actually won prizes.”
“I don’t want to win any prize actually.” I want to go and get prepared for my Friday prayer.
“Well, sir, that’s very good for you, because if you don’t win any prize, the company is going to give you four packets and Rs. 500 cash.”
“I actually don’t want to win these either.”
“Come on, sir, just try it.”
“Leave it.”
“Phir bhi.”
“Yaar, I have to go and prepare myself for the Friday prayers.”
“Sure, sir. But it takes just two minutes to open this packet.”
“Then why don’t you try giving this chance of two minutes to somebody else?” Instead of wasting five minutes here.
“Oh come on, sir. Many people in Islamabad have won either prizes or four packets with Rs. 500 cash.”
“Phir keh raha hon yaar, leave it.” Because this is Rawalpindi.
“Just try it, sir. Maybe you could win Rs. 3000 cash. Then you can pay Rs. 600 for this packet from that prize.”
“Yaar, I have to iron my clothes and get myself prepared for the prayers.”
“Of course you do, sir. But you can try first. May be it’s your lucky day. After all it’s Friday.”
“Of course it’s Friday, but my lucky day is Wednesday.” How come it never occurred to me before?
“How do you know, sir? Any day can be your lucky day.”
And today certainly isn’t. At least these moments.
“So sir, will you try?”
“Chorro yaar, leave it.”
“Sir, it’s just a matter of moments. Open it and see what your luck has got for yourself.”
“I am saying again, yaar, leave it.”
“Sir, it’s a scheme from the company. Rs. 3000 cash, cell phone…”
“Well, convey my deepest apologies to your company and let me iron my clothes so that I could go for prayer.”
“Just try, sir.”
“Yaar, why don’t you come after the Friday prayer?” Don’t. Please don’t.
“Well, sir, we are visting this area just once and we’ll have to move on.”
“Then don’t waste your time on a customer like me.”
“Last time, sir. Try it.”
Thank God it’s last time. “Well, thank you very much yaar, but sorry.”
“OK sir, sorry to have disturbed you.”
“It’s OK.” What do you mean, sorry? I’ll be late!
“OK sir, good-bye.”
And I closed the door.
13 comments
sal
Sep 6, 2003 at 3:36 am
alll throughout my reading this post, i kept thinking inthe end you were going to write about how you finally gave in and won a 3490402342389432 million dollar laptop.
ok but it seems ur a slick lad.
eXcalibur
Sep 6, 2003 at 4:00 am
hahaha these guys just get on ur nerves yeah. lol if i see a salesman at my door i never open it they are like leeches..
yasmine
Sep 6, 2003 at 4:55 am
oh man. hahah. masha’Allah at sticking to your stubborness throughout the whole experience. =) (i’m stubborn like that with my parents, only they don’t appreciate it as much.) =)
Laura
Sep 6, 2003 at 10:55 am
With us it’s the phone. They really try to engage you in a conversation to get your money. I have become really good at saying, “thank you but I am not interested” and then just hanging up, no matter if they continue talking or not.
With a salesman at the door it wouldn’t be that easy. Good job at resisting, Saadat! Makes for an interesting story, too.
anne
Sep 6, 2003 at 11:53 am
hooray for ur will power then.
wish i was more like u though, i never hold that much of resistance when salespeople pester me and entice me with their talk.
one time, there was this sales person from a phone company offering me bits and stuff and i signed up — i got skinned alive by mother afterwards, how could i have been that gullible she says.
oh well, i learned my lesson on that incident.
hope i remember it. hehe
hope u do too.
peace.
AWK
Sep 6, 2003 at 11:58 am
these people do tend to get on your nerves…but at times i feel so sorry for them…it is their way fo earning livelihood…i remember having bought a shady looking Pantene shampoo i later used to wash the bathroom, just because I wanted to help the poor lookind lady selling it!…
i don’t have your kind of reserves of patience or resistance to stick to your stance and keep on saying no…I’d rather let them want and get my peace at the doorbell…
Saadat
Sep 7, 2003 at 11:19 am
Well everybody … that’s the first time I have ever resisted a salesman entirely on my own, without any help from some external factor …
Sal: I actually WOULD have opened that packet if a laptop was there on the prize list!
eXcalibur: I also think that I am not going to open my door again … or may be I would … (laptop!
)
Yasemine: I bet my parents are no different than yours!
Laura: Yep, it really was an interesting story … and could have been more longer if I didn’t have to go for my prayers. I’ll wait, however, for the day when this happens to me on the phone!
Anne: I am always bad at remembering lessons!
AWK: Yeah, sometimes one does feel sorry for them. Carrying a smile on the face and arguing with stubborns like me need a lot of courage, not to mention the physical fatigue they get. But this is life, you have to face it. It’s the way they are fighting for their survival, but sometimes you need to remain in your own shoes …… May be I am confused here …
jalal
Sep 7, 2003 at 3:11 pm
so you didnt glare at them and tell them “subha kay das baj rahey hain ? waqt ka ahsaas hay aap ko” but at the end of the trade you did end up buying something.
inni
Sep 10, 2003 at 4:20 pm
Bravo Bravo .. I felt so much like myself when i was reading your post … hehe (what am I saying? lol) .. really so true .. man, I salute you!! *salutes* … aaw, things that people do …
Saadat
Sep 10, 2003 at 7:45 pm
LOL … *salutes back*
Mademoiselle
Sep 11, 2003 at 8:32 am
Haha – Mubark ji on not giving on! I usually can’t seem to get a word in edgewise (whether it’s salespeople on the phone or in person!)
This story is gold. haha u done us proud, son
Saadat
Sep 11, 2003 at 10:47 am
Hehe … I made myself proud too!
Talha
Oct 28, 2003 at 2:19 pm
wow…..laptops, dvd, cash prize, bumper prize, i think these are all the stuff which one needs to advertise on the TV and the same *** item sells like hotcakes, unfortunately bought by people like us especially who r just saying bravo 2 u.