Malaysians must learn to pay reasonably for services rendered to us, just as we wish to be paid fairly for our wages.
It is different from shopping for goods, as it is fine to buy things cheaper at wholesale prices or at hypermarkets than at supermarkets or convenience stores.
We should not underpay for services, just as we do not wish to overpay, and this maxim will serve us well.
But many Asians tend to bargain when purchasing goods or services. After getting maximum discount, some have the audacity to ask for free gifts.
Ironically, those who are greedy easily fall for scams, such as a free tour in Shanghai inclusive of four nights hotel accommodation and three full days sightseeing.
The total value of the accommodation plus sightseeing is many times more than the return air ticket on a budget airline, which is affordable at only a few hundred ringgit.
But “winners” of such free tours are likely to be “losers” upon reaching the Shanghai hotel, which may only be two or three stars, instead of four or five.
But the nightmare would begin the next day, as they would be taken for shopping instead of sightseeing tours, with the tour guide piling pressure on those who do not buy, and the shaming would continue for three full days.
Those who cannot bear the insults and wish to opt out would have to pay for the accommodation and sightseeing as compensation to the organiser.
If you are the victim, such a catch-22 situation is further exasperated by the fact you feel vulnerable in a foreign land and without recourse to complain in Shanghai or back home, as you have not paid for anything and therefore no contract of service.
Free tours are nothing new. In the 1970s, Malaysians could travel to Jakarta for free provided they pay for a certain amount of casino chips in advance and gamble for a minimum number of hours.
In the 1980s, Singapore tour operators were not charging their China counterparts for airport transfers and sightseeing tours when handling tour groups, as they could easily recoup their costs and make profits from shopping commissions.
We are fast reaching 2020 and zero tour fares are no longer freely offered but elements remain, and may manifest in other forms, such as a voucher for free tours in Shanghai.
Just like honesty is the best policy, a good maxim is not to expect or look for free lunch.
YS CHAN,
Kuala Lumpur
