What do you get a friend who has almost everything in life? I knew he likes durians! This was someone who I have not met the last 9 years! Time to pay his family a surprise visit!
I knew he’s quitted smoking. I knew that I wanted healthy good fruits for him so I decided to get him some durians, jackfruits, kiwi fruits and some small to medium-sized mangoes.
I was standing in front of 2 signs which said,”3 for $5″ and “3 for $10″. I could get 6 durians for $15! My budget was about $20 to $25 for up to 3 durians, so the prices suited me.
I asked a short and stout man, which durian tasted nicer.
He asked, “Sweet or bitter?” I said,”Sweet.” although I wanted very much to ask if sweeter durians meant genetically-modified ones.
He led me to a section where there were NO LABELS as to the type of durians nor the price (later I was to find out from my friends that those may be “rejected” durians!)
He proceeded to ask me,”How many people are eating?” “Four,” came my reply.
He said it would be at least 5 to 6 durians.
I said,”That’s too many! Because I don’t even know if they have enough space in their fridge!”
He countered,”I will place them into boxes for you – there’s no issue on fridge space.”
I protested,”3 would be better for me but what’s the price first?”
“It’s by per kilogram. I’ll let you know the price later. I’ll choose a smaller one for your 4th durian.”
I could not protest! This durian-seller was one heck of a stubborn salesman! He cut the durians BEFORE I could even protest! And even after I told him 3 durians!!
As he was cutting, I said,”Ok, but you let me know how much first (before I decide if I want them!)”
As soon as he slit the durian offering me a peek into the yellow nice flesh of the durian, he said,”Fragrant right?”
I said,”I can’t smell a thing! I don’t eat durians and I am not buying these for myself!”
He was very fast, weighed the durians and showed me it was 5.8kg. I said OK. I was still waiting for the price!
Before telling me the cost, he was transferring the durians to another table to pack them into boxes. With a calculator, he told me that the total is SG$87.
SG$87 for 4 durians?!?? That’s more than $20 each!
“That’s too expensive! Out of my budget! And besides, you did not tell me first-hand that it costed $15 per kilogram. If you did, I would have said I wouldn’t want those durians but the cheaper ones that I was looking at in the first place.”
I only had less than $30 cash with me. I whipped out $10 to him and told him to give me the 3 durians for $10 instead.
He took it and said he knew I had more cash with me – as if he knew! I took out a white envelope and he said,”There’s your fat wad of cash!” He must have felt relief but I told him sternly that I could not afford more (there were other things I’d like to blow on – the jackfruits, etc). I didn’t feel like blowing $20 for 6 durians!
It was at this moment the man’s colleague asked him if I even sampled the durians. Was there even a price to pay for “food sampling”?? I didn’t know!
Out came my atm cash-withdrawal card from the envelope! I was prepared to say GOODBYE to my 10 bucks but because of the comment by the man, I changed my mind! I said,”I’d TRY to withdraw some cash!”
The stout man told his colleague to FOLLOW ME to the atm cash withdrawal machine – an age-old tactique used by pimps to make sure prostitutes get their money too! lol
I was telling myself FINE, SINCE YOU WANT TO FORCE THIS SALES OF DURIANS TO GO THROUGH!
I showed the man what the ATM Machine read,”The withdrawal amount exceeded the limit.”
I went back the the durian stall-holder and told him I am only willing to spend $10 for 3 durians shown OVER THERE.
His assistant (the one who followed me to the ATM) said,”If you are not happy you can go to the police.” And that was exactly what I did.
In the end I got back my $10 (they rather not sell me their durians)!
Sure, people will say I wasted 1.5 hours but it was not for the $10 I fought. It was to make sure people like this durian-seller do not use unethical means to pressurise people into buying more than they wish. He wanted EVERY CASH in my pocket with no care in the world if I needed them for bills and such!!
If you want the sales, show ALL your cards and do not hide anything! (Later, I found another stall selling durians at $5 per kilogram. The price is written RIGHT THERE for all to see!)
I am still considering whether to go to CASE because of this unpleasant experience. May be I was too darn stupid and the durian-seller was too darn of a smooth talker. It will only be out of compassion that I do not pursue this case but I am worried others will be their next victim.
What do you think? Should I pursue this with CASE?
It’s a small battle if I go to CASE for this, but I think it will be a bigger and more worthy battle if I start a food-testing service to test for toxins, banned and dangerous food additives and for genetically-modified organisms in foods! and drinks! Should I start one (food-testing service)?
Are durians genetically-modified? The last 2 I tested last year attracted NO ANTS! Something must be wrong! What’s your take?
As for my friend and his family, they’ve flown to Malaysia already. I look forward to seeing them again!
A little tidbit about me: My grand-dad was a Malaysian school principle in his hay days and owned lands of rambutans and durians. They were abundant and freely available to me when I was a kid. I was never fond of durians. If my parents knew and appreciated lands for organic and non genetically modified foods, they would not have sold their share of the land. What a pity!! There’s no more joy (other than travelling, love from family and friends) than having your own land or space to grow your own healthy and nutritious foods and herbs – untainted by science and full of goodness your body needs for good health and disease prevention! Think about it – every cell in your body is LIVE so shouldn’t your diet have as many live nutritious cells as well?
