Eating up other's time in the name of Direct Marketing

Finally I got a chance to visit MIT and Harvard Universities and go around them at the end of my stay in Boston. Me and my friend Arun went to Cambridge yesterday and took a long walk around MIT and Harvard and along the banks of the Charles river yesterday. But the happiness of that trip was almost spoilt at the end in the name of Direct Marketing. Before I go on what happened, a disclaimer: I dont have anything against the technique of Direct Marketing but its when they intrude into your privacy and eat up your valuable time it frustrates me.


While returning from Cambridge me and Arun decided to go to Burlington Shopping mall and just go around it. When we were about to leave the mall, two desis were approaching us. These two were totally strangers to us. One of them just keeps walking but the other guy just stops infront of us and opens up his talk by asking in English

"Excuse me I am quite new to this place. Is there any other outlet mall in this area other than this?"

Me being a stranger to that place too, I diverted the question to Arun. Arun gave them some directons to some other mall which were little far from that place. After getting them (I think he was never interested in those directions) he introduced himself and asked our names. We told him our names. Hearing the names "Sridhar" and "Arun" he curiously asked "Names sound South Indian to me. Which place are you from?". I said Coimbatore and Arun said Chennai. Immediately that guy in an effort to get more closer to us and start marketing started his Tanglish like this.

"Naanum from the adhe Chennai place dhan. Chennai-la endha place are you from?"


Hearing this something immediately struck me this guy is going to bore us for sometime and I felt as if slapping for this half baked Tamil+English. I was telling myself - "Dei !@#$%%^ onna tamil-la pesu illa english-la pesu. Ippadi rendayum kola pannadha"


My friend said he is from Ambattur and the guy continued like this.

"Naan from AnnaNagar. Its funny chennaila we never met but inga naama we are meeting paadhi world apart. Idha pesumpodhu I remember a story. One day some of my colleagues summa asked me and my friend, where you guys are from in Chennai. Naan, I was telling, naan Annanagar, SBOA school-la I studied. My friend also sonnan he too is from Anna nagar and avanum studied in SBOA. Then they asked, where do you stay? I told naan staying in some XXX apartment (I didnt hear this name, as I was never paying any attention to this brutal murder of 2 languages). He too sonnan that he is stayin in same apartment. Then my friends told us that dont tell us that you too are neighbours but still never met in Chennai. "


At this time the other guy who continued his walk before comes back and joins him. He too starts to ask Arun about some places to visit around there and continues his crappy Tanglish.


Finally thinking that as though they have become good friends of us they asked Arun if he can give his phone number so that they can contact him to get help on places around that area as they dont have anybody else to help. Arun by this time guessed where these folks are coming at and avoided giving his number. Then they opened the "Business" talk.

"Naanga, we are doing a kind of indha Amazon, e-Bay maadhiri business. Will you be interested to join us?"

Arun just cut them now saying that he knows where they are coming at and told he is not interested. Thank god I told them initially itself that I am just a visitor to that place and am on a Business visa and never paid any attention to their talks. Otherwise they could have asked my opinion on that business to and continued the crap. We left that place cutting their talk mid-way.

I had seen in Bangalore, about this direct marketing through people who are known to me. This is the first time I am seeing a total stranger coming and marketing to me though I have heard from some of my friends that they have been approached by total strangers in Bangalore too. One interesting tactic that one of my friend told, followed by the person who approached him is, first day he met my friend in Murugan Idly shop coming in normal dress and came walking. Second day he met him with a good jacket and came in bike. Third day he came and met him in a car as if to show he has become rich so soon through the direct marketing of Amway products.

I dont know why these people never realise that in the quest for money what they end up is losing good relationships. I am sure none of their friends would like to talk to them once they approach them for direct marketing. In the name of direct marketing what they end up is eating valuable time of others.