Nov

18

In Shop Scams, from Craig Mee

November 18, 2012 |

Going to the chemist, known locally as the Apotik, down here in Indonesia, normally located in tourist areas, there are two or three relatively attractive girls who man the doors and ask you what you need as you enter. This puts them right between you and where you want to go, which is the pharmacist at the counter at the back of the shop. So you answer politely you have a cold, or whatever may be the case, and the girls walk you over to the most expensive "solution or non solution" to your problem there is in the shop. Finally if you can duck and weave by this interruption and  get to the counter, there are pill strips you can buy for normally 3-4 dollars to solve the problem though it pays to google your need first and present the "pharmacist" with your drug of choice.

If the girls nail you at the front of the shop, (as they would many tourists, thinking they were being well advised, not used to what is available in country) the products they flog you are marked up sufficiently that the pharmacist doesn't care what you buy since they still get a cut, and the girls, no doubt on commission only, get a hefty slice of the action, so all are happy.

Sounds like some investment banks around town….

No doubt, also, it may be similar to some execution tricks played by some , that guide you, on the other side, in the wrong direction, due to your need to get a fill quickly (due to health reasons:-) only to find out with a bit more effort and patience and knowing what you need, you could of saved much money.


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