Saturday, 20 July 2019

Warning to flat-buyers: If you are going to Lodha Sales Office, don't take your chequebook & debit-card

Mumbai, 21st July, 2019: Attention Flat-buyers. When walking into Lodha's Sales office, Leave your chequebook and credit cards at home. Because it is unsafe. It is like walking into a market full of pickpockets and chain-snatchers.

Sales office staff of Lodha Developers Ltd -- recently renamed as Macrotech -- is highly trained to fool you into swiping the token amount, and getting sucked into a costly financial transaction where you may not gain anything at all, but you may end up losing your shirt.

How? Psychological control techniques. Its almost mass-hypnosis.

Watch this video:


Some of the sales staff are highly trained to "close the sale" i.e. make you swipe the token. You are not trained in the art of buying flats. You are not trained in the art of protecting your mind, and your money.

Lodha's sales staff are trained to make you lose control over your mind, your wallet and your money.

Highly imbalanced situation. You are at risk. It is like walking on slippery floor and maintaining your balance. Very difficult. If you put 100 persons or 100 couples in this situation, some are bound to fall!

1) UPSIDE VERSUS DOWNSIDE OF DECIDING ON THAT DAY UNDER TIME PRESSURE. Your perception of upside advantage  and downside risk is very faulty. Suppose you don't buy on that day.

Suppose you leave empty handed, without making a deal on that day. There is no loss to you, because you have all the opportunities to make a good purchase. You have infinite opportunities.

On the other hand, if you make an incorrect purchase decision on that day and swipe your token, there is huge loss and risk for you.

 What are the chances that if you decide on the same day, you will make a correct decision? Very small. There is overwhelmingly large chance that you will make a wrong decision.

Lodha staff artificially generate time pressure. How? With false information.

a) Limited inventory. They tell you that the flat that you have selected is unique, and inventory is very limited, and the demand is very large.

b) FAKE URGENCY. We will have to hold the flat for you. Pay token. They tell you that if you don't pay a token, that particular flat will be gone within a couple of days.

c) REWARD FOR URGENT TOKEN. They offer you discount for New Year, Gudi Padwa, etc. which is valid for that day only.

d) DOING FAVOURS, CREATING SENSE OF OBLIGATION. If you ask for a couple of days to make payment, they say, "We will ask seniors". They create a great pressure to pay within couple of days. Decision making under time pressure is dangerous and faulty, since this is a life-changing decision.

e) RISING RATES. They tell you that if you wait, the rates will be higher in a few days. So this is your last chance to buy an affordable house, otherwise, it will rise out of your reach.

f) NON-NEGOTIABILITY. They give you a table -- detailed breakup. This prevents you from bargaining and negotiating the price.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TRICKS:

1) Telling obvious lies. eg. "I am able to offer you only XXXX type of flats." If you accept this "I" language, you are accepting a statement that is obviously not true. He is not a builder, he is a low-paid sales staff. Also, he has no authority. You know he is lying, but you are letting it go because of decency, or unwillingness to argue.

2) Divide & Rule between husband and wife. There is always competition between husband and wife for getting approval of outsiders. Husband considers wife stupid. Wife considers husband stupid. Salesman will subtly show the husband or wife in a bad light, as if she is ignorant. He will use jargon, or correct the husband or wife. Or he will talk in ways that they don't understand, but they will pretend to understand ("Only stupid people will say that Emperor has no clothes"). He will create inferiority complex even in rich and powerful people. He will lean towards husband or wife, whoever is more gullible. The other spouse is marginalized.

3) Flat purchase becomes a prestige issue for either husband or wife. The salesman may create a situation where the wife pressures the husband, or the husband overrules the objections and questions of the wife. One spouse is marginalized.

4) Men habitually overestimate their financial capacity. They will swipe the token to prove to the wife that they can afford the flat.

5) Passing the lies of the sales staff, e.g. I-language. "I will give you a special discount, Sir, just for you. I am coming up with a new project in Thane where I will deliver 5000 flats in December 2021." Nobody questions these lies. "I have no inventory, sir. Last two flats left." "You are our special customer because Mr Gupta has referred you." After a point, you are unable to question the lies of the sales staff. You lose your ability to argue and question.

6) Assuming the sale. "So, Sir, which flat are you buying? The 2 BHK or the 2.5 BHK? I will introduce you to the closing manager, and you can finalize the details with him." If you sit with the closing manager, it is assumed that you have already agreed to finalize the deal!

ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY
Krishnaraj Rao
9821588114 and 8169471229
krish.kkphoto@gmail.com