Was having dinner and a chit-chat with my mum in her room (yes, i am allowed to sit on my mum's bed and enjoyed my food..let's not digress). Now, where did i stop?? Oh yes...there came this knock on the door. Me and my mum were contemplating who should answered to it when i gave her the look that my butt super-glued to her cosy bed.
She, as good-natured as a mum she is, she went to the door. As a good-natured daughter as I am, I followed behind. The door opened, and what presented to us was this teenage boy, who started rattling off some speech @ an enormous speed. Probably 95 wpm on a typewriter.
When the speech was over, we stared @ each other with wide open eyes. He, confused @ our expressions and we, overwhelmed by his ability to finish everything in just one long breath. Now what's impressive is not the speed but the story behind.
This not-so-over-puberty looking teenage explained his situation, again but in @ a slower pace. He was from Yish** Basketball Team. There will be a upcoming tournament and they badly needed money to sign up. So he and his friends (so there's a wolfpack) went to work for this ice-cream distributor. They got the ice-cream @ $9 but selling @ $14. From there, they'll earn the difference to pay for the sign up fees. He then showed us the ice-cream and coerced us to buy some from him. My mum was sympathetic but not me. I told her, no, we are not going to buy his story nor his ice-cream. I mean, i find the whole damn story totally absurd.
There are a few tell-tales signs that this is all a hoax.
1) If they really belong to a basketball team (in this case, seems like a town or constituency team), they should have sponsors.
2) They have no proof that they are members of the so-called basketball team.
3) If they don't have $, how are they able to get the ice-cream from the distributor? Why would any businessman, let these youngsters be on credit, get the ice-cream first and pay later?
4) They claimed that they are working for the ice-cream distributor. If you are working, you'll be paid. But it seems that they are earning by hacking up the prices which is to me purely EXTORTION.
5) Maybe there wasn't any tournament at all, it's just a gimmick to sell those ice-cream.
I would not advise to market the ice-cream in the way they did. Somehow or rather, if you just let our potential consumers know that this is a new brand of ice-cream and if they would like to buy some to try, sales might be better. Because at least you won't get the door slammed in the face, not doing anything against your conscience and definitely not illegal soliciting.
Whatever is the reason behind all these ,there must be a more proper way. Teaching these youngsters to lie, gain sympathy and what-not, surely is not very effective and moral way to bring up our future generation.