Are festival offers genuine?

Vox Pop

Hema, Principal, Government P U College

“We cannot say that all those who offer lucky coupons are going to cheat the public. One of my friends recently won a Maruti car after shopping in a mall. But she was asked to pay the tax amount for the vehicle, after which the key was handed over to her. There are genuine vendors who keep their word. On the other hand, there are vendors who deceive people. During Deepavali time, all of us plan to buy something or the other. These vendors know our weaknesses very well and plan accordingly to encash our sentiments. So, we should stop purchasing blindly in the hope of getting a prize.”

Shanmukha, Former Director, Fisheries

“I don’t believe in any of these bumper offers. They are just marketing gimmicks. Nowadays, even on small occasions, one sees big vendors promising offers of a lucky draw. But I have never won anything from a lucky draw. Neither  have my friends so far. And in all lucky draw
contests, the vendors reserve the right to terminate or suspend the prizes without any notice to customers. So, it will be foolish to believe that one can win a car from these kind of offers.”

K G Raju, Store Manager

“We started offering bumper gifts seven years ago. Till date, we have distributed 46 cars in different models to our customers and we have all the data to prove our claims. There could be some foul play at some places. At such times, customers should be careful while filling the coupons. The draw date, venue and timing should  be mentioned on all the coupons along with contact numbers. With this information, customers can follow the developments and can keep a tab on the vendors. If they smell foul play, they can raise the issue at the consumer forum.”

Anjana, IT professional

“Deepavali is something to look forward to. It is a time especially to bring home electronic items as there are discounts galore at all the major showrooms. I expect a discount on MRP but I am not interested in the lucky draw. Though I have filled out such coupons several times, no ‘miracle’ has happened till now. I would like to shop at those places which  give me flat discounts on the items I purchase rather than shopping for lucky prizes. In the end, nobody knows whether someone has won the prize or  whether the draw really took place or not. So discount sales are more helpful than  bumper prizes.” 

Vinay, Media professional

“All the festival discounts are bogus. Vendors hike prices before the festival season and during the offer period, they lower their prices a bit. When big showrooms and malls are spending enormous money on their maintenance, how can they give anything to customers without any profit margin? So, no one is favouring us by extending such offers, only exploiting the sentiments of customers. However as the brands themselves reduce prices during Deepavali every year, people look forward to Deepavali offers every year. So, it is a fine opportunity for retail outlets to fool the innocent public.”