Free Business

And so the TN government is distributing free TV sets to anybody who has a ration card ! What was supposed to get you two kilograms of rice ( amongst other stuff ), getting you a television set… is a giant ‘freee leap’ in fortune. And we talked about it.

Tax payer money being frittered away. Scheme being misused by well off folks who use their four wheelers to go and get themselves a free TV etc are legitimate and important issues that need to be debated.

For the moment, lets look at this ‘Free’ business. Visit any mall. Or any kirana store. Or watch the ads ( the serials are boring anyway & Rakhi Sawant has chosen). Or flip a magazine. What catches our eye, are the words, ‘OFFER’. ‘SALE’, and of course ‘FREE’ !

We ( the missus and me) are quite often amazed at the freebies that are being away. And the combinations.

Buy ‘Mixed fruit Jam’ free get ‘tea bags’.
A brand of soup, free with chicken. Soap with shampoo.
Get Shampoo free with shoe polish.
Vacum Cleaners free with ‘Holiday resorts’.
Dish washers with toilet cleaners.
Magazine subscriptions with zoo entry tickets,
cars with TVs,…and the like.

You get the drift..don’t you. And theres the other genre. Discounts.


Flat 50 % off. Upto 70 % off.
70 % + 20 % off. ( An offer where you get a 70 % off, and a 20 % off on the balance)
Buy one get four free !

(And obviously with that ubiquitous asterix leading to a ‘conditions apply’. Of which we will not speak of now).

Such offers tempt. And i am sure must be some part of the brain which gets activated, when this word ‘FREE’ is seen. Maybe ‘aroused’ is a better word there. And sometimes ( read ‘often times’) reality, need and such else is suspended. The card swiped, the purchase made and the deal done.

And leaving the wondering on whats to be done with the freebie (Or the main product), for later.

Like here. In this motel on the way to Daman. Buy ‘one Pakoda, get one tea free’ !!! Phew !


This was the most elegant offer that i have seen ! And unfortunately seen when we were well into plouging into our meal.

I was amused in a surprised sort of a manner. And even before the surprise was settling in and the lips could contract from the smile, the Pakodas were ordered, ( i bet they wouldnt have been ordered if wasn’t on offer).

And voila, after the sumptuous meal there wasn’t space in the tummy for tea ! Some freebie. This tea.

But today, i must tell you, we got two kilograms of sugar free. For using some card or something like that. And we have been gloating like Mohammed of Ghazni after his conquest of Delhi. Or some place like that.

PS :

1. Please notice, that i have said ‘WE’ all along.
2. And i must say this again. Any indication in this post that i am poking fun at the missus or that she is solely involved in this, is pure conjecture.

Just saying.

17 thoughts on “Free Business

  1. Oh yeah sale is everywhere….but the purchasing power of individuals.

    lol…that was hilarious one pakora one cup tea free…wonder what the size of that pakora will b!!

  2. Long long time ago, before fancy places started handing out degrees that sudddenly enpowered people to manage human resources, lazily called HR by people who should know better, women were already handling not only HR, but Finance, Accounts, Resources Management, Inventory Control (and Management), Forecasting, Supply Chain Management. They know a good deal when they see one. Whether it is pakodas or people.

    P. S. Notice that I didnt mention your missus at all.

    P.P.S. Hi Mrs Kavi….:-)

  3. manju says:

    Nice post, Kavi! Yes, there are freebies galore on offer. Never mind that they hike the price of the original item before offering anything free!

    BTW – Has Mrs. Kavi read this post?:)

  4. sujata says:

    I love discounts and freebies and always go ahead and buy things that end up lying unused, because of this habit of mine. But truly the word discount or free just triggers the response”go get it now” for me..and I follow. Lovely post and the pakoda deal was very tempting. I love gujju pakodas!

  5. Debabrata says:

    Yesterday WE went to the Lifestyle store which offered fabulous discounts and buy one get one free bonanza.Bought 5 shirts(for men) and one set of salwar kameez.
    Need I say more?
    Incidentally when we married, my in laws got a cook, a housekeeper, an ayah and a companion…all for free.
    Please note I did n’t mention ‘mister’ either.

  6. Lou says:

    You are right, a very sly marketing trick..it does work on the human brain.

    I try not to fall for it, but often I buy things I do not need, to get a free item I do not need!

    And I agree with the above comment, nothing is “free”, the cost is hidden somewhere.

  7. Shaili says:

    lol ur blog’s so hilarious! btw, u got 60 followers now 🙂

  8. Sajan says:

    If there is SALE through out the year, then what’s the original MRP??? Apparently it works brilliantly in India. Even one of our garment clients wants every campaign as effective as the ‘sale ad’. Day before yesterday I saw an offer in LifeStyle where you buy one citizen eco drive watch(about 4 grand) you get another one free. The thalapakattu biriyani shop at the end of our road gives one biryani free with every biriyani you buy. I wont be surprised even if Mercedes Benz comes up with a buy-one-get-one free offer in India. And as usual brilliant post Kavi.

  9. Swatantra says:

    These sales gave me a thought of how much margins these people work on, as after the sales of 70% or whatever off they still have some margin they are earning!!!

  10. Neha says:

    nice post kavi…ur daman fever is still on and strong…hmm..good..:)

    n I agree with nazish..the pakora thingi was hilarious..

  11. i will wait for the day when our fav Ramayee coffee bar gives a chicken leg free with an order of aatu moolai..:)
    true and we as intelligent consumers end up scouring the paper for all offers. Soon we would end up like the yanks who spend half their day snipping coupons and the rest half using them for offers…no wonder shopping stress is big ….cheers, SA

  12. Rush says:

    Pakoda ke saath, chai free?
    now this is hilarious..really gets you wanna buy the pakoda plate on the pretext of having some chai.
    And we must have some guest posts by Missus..really looking forward to that now!!

  13. Jeevan says:

    Behind every freebie there is some scraping in money or quality.

    Free TV is said to distribute for non television holders alone, but whoever have ration cards get tv lately and they happily connected with cable and watch serials without disturbing others. It comes as a gift in many homes avoiding remote fights. My uncle told me that we also get TV, but I said we should not buy, since it’s for poor’s alone and even though they like to give, ask for LCD!

  14. Kavi says:

    NR : The size was decent ! And that was perhaps why the tea didnt have much space !

    Ugich Konitari : Well, after the undeniably well presented argument, and new found alliance with my supreme court, my argument has been summarily dismissed !

    🙂

    Manju : Thank you ! Mrs.Kavi usually reads all the posts. ALL posts !

    🙂

    Sujata : Ah ! Sometimes there is a feeling that this affliction is deeply directed towards me. Glad that we have company of good souls like you ! 🙂

    Debabrata :LOL ! My case stands dismissed. Again ! 🙂

    Lou : Ok ok !! we are all in it together ! indeed !

    Shaili : Ah thank you ! thank you !! Now, do i give you a free gift..for becoming the 60th follower…hmm !

    Sajan : What ? That Thalapakattu is giving one for one ? My God. I must come there !!!

    And Benz one for one is too much imagination. Or must i say..hope !

    Swatantra : you bet they are making a tonne of money ! A tonne. No less !

    Neha : Ah the Daman hangover is long lasting. I can tell you that much !!! 😉

    Spiral : Aatu kaal soup is an enticing offer. Maybe we should start a campaign for that ! I think so ! 🙂

    Rush : Ah ! You think of that as enticing as well ! Ok. So its not US alone !! 😉

    And the guest post…i think i will nudge the missus to the comment section !!!

    Jeevan : You are so right. That TV is meant for the others ! Indeed. But many care two hoots !

  15. Aleta says:

    I don’t trust freebies or sales. There are attachments to the freebies “you must buy so much of something else” or the sale is just a hiked up price or the merchandise.

    That said, on this past vacation, when we went to Maine (one of the poorest states in the US) ~ while shopping at antiques stores – we found some fantastic prices. It is because of the economy that individuals are lowering the prices just to make a sale. But then, that’s an individual and not a store.

  16. Shaili says:

    I’d like to say YES u do, Kavi. will you? 😉

  17. nsiyer says:

    Hilarious! I enjoyed it. I remember when my missus offered one apple and one orange to my nephew, he asked her ‘which one was free?’

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