If you’ve ever walked by beauty and skincare shops like Israeli brand Dead Sea Premier or American companies Orogold and Forever Flawless, you’ve probably been the victim of some sort of sales tactics by their representatives. And it seems like their high-pressure approach has rubbed several people the wrong way.
At least 18 complaints have been filed with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) against these independent brands over the last four years. According to Case executive director Seah Seng Choon, three complaints were made in 2013 and 2014, as compared to the first four months this year, where seven have already been lodged. Although you could rationalise that the increase is a result of more stores opening up shop around the country.
Altogether, the beauty industry has received 1,921 complaints about ‘questionable sales tactics’ involving manicure services, facial and spa packages, and skin products from 2013 to April this year, reported The Straits Times.
It’d be easy to brush off, if the aforementioned brands hawked cheap beauty buys, but their products claim to incorporate ingredients like gold, diamond and minerals from the Dead Sea — probably to justify the steep price tags.
Sure, you can get an exfoliating gel from Dead Sea Premier for $49.90, but what if you were pestered to stay on and buy hundreds of dollars’ worth of products? Then there’s the $450 diamond-infused eye cream at Forever Flawless and the $7,000 gold-infused serum at Orogold which, let’s be honest, sound like way too high a price for the magical fountain of youth. It’s not to say these products are bad, but with such luxe prices, we’d rather make up our own minds, preferably with some time to think about the purchase.
Some of the badgering sales tactics include slapping a dollop of cream on a customer’s hand to ensure they have to step into the store to wash it off; offering free samples and pointing out flaws on your face that their products can help (of course); and holding on to your credit card while simultaneously introducing more items.
Here are more incidents experienced by netizens.
But ultimately, it really comes down to the consumer. If you’re not feeling the products they’re pushing, just say no and walk away.
