there is no free lunch in this world.

something i learned the hard way. ok not very hard but still quite terrifying.
so here's how the story goes.

chin/szeman/cheryl/me went for a walk-in interview for a supposed "roadshow" that was advertised in the straits times, where the basic pay was $80 per day.
the office was at shaw house, company called Oriental Travel and there was a large number of prospective interviewees. we were starting to worry about clinching the job.
so when it was our turn, the lady janice just asked some questions and accepted us. she was very vague in what the job was about and how the company operates. all we were told was we had to get people to fill in lucky draw coupons.
briefing adjourned to the next day 3pm @ mccafe.

it was during briefing that cheryl sensed something fishy. being the street-wise cheryl that is. in short, the lucky draw coupon we would be asking people to fill in have to fulfil 5 criteria before it is deemed qualified and 1 dollar falls into our pocket.
1) singaporean/PR (caucasians not accepted)
2) marital status: married/engaged
3) age: 28-63
4) combined household income: at least $4000
5) MUST own a major credit card

and there was 3 types we could choose from.
i. $2 for every qualified coupon
ii. $1 for every qualified coupon and $40 per show-up
iii. $1 for every qualified coupon, $40 per show-up, $200 bonus if weekly target achieved. (this one's for people who could commit >1 month)

and that's where the catch comes in. "SHOW-UP"
so every qualified coupon will be keyed in and a telemarketer will call EVERY qualified person that they will win an elegant diamond watch if they come down for a obligations-free online demonstration by Oriental Travel. and if they do show up, the telemarketer gets $40, we get $40 too. that confirms a show-up.

the most fishy part was about the company.
she explained that we're not employed by Oriental Travel but by JSM. upon probing by cheryl, she told us JSM means Jue Shi Marketing. and we're not allowed to divulge any information that speaks of Oriental Travel, the reason why we're conducting this lucky draw is because we want to collect information for a demographics survey. damn bull sia. who the hell will sponsor prizes like a car, 10K cash, holiday trips, countless diamond watches, digital cameras just for a survey? having worked in saffron before, their idea of an incentive is cold hard cash to the respondent, usually not more than $100. this was too good to be true.

another weird part was when cheryl asked the receptionist at Oriental Travel office, out of curiousity, how much are the tour packages, the rude malay woman said it's under membership. and how much is the membership? the woman just cut her off by saying please call to enquire. which is damn rude because that place was the freaking reception, where else to enquire then? we dismissed it as plain rudeness for thinking we're not rich enough. but when i asked janice if the lucky draw coupon was the avenue by which they obtain people for membership, she just said it was to get people to view the online demonstration.

and what's most ironic is that she prepared for us this FAQ which includes this question: "are you a timesharing company?" which we have to reply, "sir/mdm, what is timesharing?" "we're a market research company".
they're simply lying out of their teeth. and to think she got the guts to tell me and chin that every company has their way of earning money, quoting pantene shampoo with their exaggerated tv ads. oh well at least they pay money to lie through legal means.

there were so many loopholes to the whole thing.
i probably was blind not to see it. luckily cheryl embarked on an online search and came across this.
and hell, the first post was dated 2 years back. with the procedures, names, ncompanies all the same, no doubt can this be an online hoax. janice & co had to be the real counterfeit. i guess probably the victims would feel anguish towards the young innocent surveyors but they are also victims. i'm sure most of them went into this without even knowing it's all a scam. the 2 boys present on the briefing with us were so innocent, they absolutely had no questions or whatsoever.

so a word of advice to all my friends,
when looking for a job, be realistic.
and when approached by such fraud companies, be pragmatic.

why doesn't CASE or any governing body crack down on these companies?