I visited big bazaar yesterday and the offer goes like this. You can take any kind of junk there and get it exchanged for discount coupons!
I have seen a couple of stores do this before for promoting their sales but this one was particularly interesting. Generally the ‘conditions apply’ clause along with these kinds of promotions would be severe but in this case, it was very relaxed. They would take anything and when I say ‘anything’, I’m not joking. They take ANYthing!
I was pretty amazed by the number of people flocking the store with loads of junk from their homes – pretty much like a ‘spring cleaning’ season here in Trivandrum. By the time this offer gets over, Trivandrum is going to have some really clean homes!
But another interesting thing I noticed was that it’s probably not just the homes that might get cleaner, it’s the roads too. I saw a man picking up a scrappy piece of mudguard lying on the road and giving it to the store along with a sack full of other stuff (from his home I presume). This offer might just turn this place into the ‘green, clean’ city we’ve just talking about for years now.
A very intelligent guy even brought a broken toilet to get it exchanged for coupons. (No exaggeration here. I saw it with my own eyes!). People are bringing in heavy stuff like toilets and old computer monitors because they give coupons based on the weight of the stuff exchanged! Oh yes I couldn’t even think of lifting the first monitor we had bought. We should’ve kept it to get it exchanged for coupons!
But this offer has turned big bazaar into a big, noisy market place. There are huge queues in all counters and people are continuously shouting out offers over the PA system which kind of rings in your ears after a while and it made my shopping experience miserable. It was like they were desperate to sell their stuff! “I don’t want your buy 2 and get 2 free” offer, “I don’t want a split ac and get my second one discounted”.
I just wanted to finally get out and as I was waiting to pay the bill, I heard someone ringing a bell continuously and the orange-blue uniformed big bazaar employees shouting out loud “orange rupees twenty a kilo”. A maketing strategy straight from the ‘Palayam Market’ here in Trivandrum. It should work inside Big Bazaar too. In fact it did, as soon as the bell started ringing, a bunch of people rushed to the spot to get their oranges cheap.
But that was it! All that noise made me sick and it was like my turn to pay the bill would never come!
Finally, after paying the bill and getting out of that place, I heaved a sigh of relief, took in some fresh air and vowed to myself not to go back in there ever again!
Is se sasta or achha kahin nahi?? Makes me think. Does it really matter??
