Tell me, honestly. How many of you looked at this blog because it used the word "free"? I think since inception and till perpetuity this will be the most attractive, most alluring, most tempting and most abused word in human history.
Open a newspaper and there will be ads shouting free. In fact creativity in using the words free has reached new heights. Get 20 gms free with 100 gms of soap x. Not 120 gms of soap at price of 100 gms but 20 gms free is what will catch your eye. Or buy a washing powder and get a car free. Yes of course there is a catch or an asterix. That car will be won by one of the million buyers whose name will be drawn out of the hat. But because the car is free now one million more people will buy the washing powder.
Or you are surfing the net and an ad is furiously winking at you. Buy four shirts and get one free. So hey, I have bought my full inventory for the week at the price of only four fifths! You drive down the road and a famous Bollywood hero is promising you free talk time, free sms, free broadband, free apps....no wonder the mobile service providers are such a loved lot. They give virtually everything free....between 11 pm and 5 am!
So what is this free craze? It's actually a bundle of contradictions. Let's buy it no, its free. Notice the contradiction. People are buying shampoos because you get free soaps with it. Or people are buying talk time because SMS are free with it. The question is do you really need those soaps or those SMS's. The free craze has made us stock up things which we may not need or which we get by buying something else. I have actually stopped going to the malls. Last I checked, I had three bottles of shampoo which I had got free (check my profile photo please!), two similar looking Sun glasses which were again free (I wear numbered glasses), four pen drives, yes these too were free (I have three cloud accounts), three floral t shirts (I would much rather leave the flowers on the plants)......you get the picture.
And the free story does not end here. I walk past a fast food joint in the hot sun and it promises me a free cola if I order a large size pizza (I will finish it in 3 meals). Why cant I just but the cola and save some money? It's because I need the satisfaction of free. The neighbouring kirana guy is offering me free one ice cream family tub if I buy my monthly groceries worth Rs 5000 from him. Do I realise I can buy the same groceries at a supermarket with a tub of icecream for 4750, but then the fun of free is not there. Even the neighbouring Dhobi is willing to iron 2 shirts free every month if I give him 50 clothes to be ironed in a month. Well he can keep his free offer to himself as I will have max of 25-40 clothes. Not to forget my bank allows me to withdraw my money from the bank's ATM free, five times a month. So that I don't crowd his branch!
The other day I saw an ad for a classified ad. Give us a fifty word ad and get 5 words free. Sure enough a few days later I saw an ad congratulating Ravi Bhaiya on being released from jail 2 months in advance. I guess the lure of free 5 words found a good reason.
If you think all the above is a joke, think again. Some management colleges invited me to do some guest lectures and were expecting me to do so .....free. I spend time to prepare, put together case studies, talk to some friends, meet some consumers and am expected to do all this free. Because it is a guest lecture, sir. It is sold as a free offer to the students. Join our institute and get free guest lectures from industry veterans.
As consumers we must realise that nothing in this world is free. If I am getting a razor free today it is because I will use its blades or cartridges for the next 2-3 years and will spend enough to make up for the free blade and more. Or if the telecom service provider is giving you rock bottom rates he will jack them up after a few months....ultimately you will end up for paying everything.
Free also gets us into bad habits; collecting unnecessary things, spending more than necessary and even wasting natural resources. Our building society takes a lump sum maintenance from each flat including water charges. So in the minds of most water is free...so it is wasted sumptuously.
The free bug as you can see is fully on us. We are lured by it and fall into its trap unhesitatingly. Now do me a favour. Please re post, retweet this piece...for free.
Open a newspaper and there will be ads shouting free. In fact creativity in using the words free has reached new heights. Get 20 gms free with 100 gms of soap x. Not 120 gms of soap at price of 100 gms but 20 gms free is what will catch your eye. Or buy a washing powder and get a car free. Yes of course there is a catch or an asterix. That car will be won by one of the million buyers whose name will be drawn out of the hat. But because the car is free now one million more people will buy the washing powder.
Or you are surfing the net and an ad is furiously winking at you. Buy four shirts and get one free. So hey, I have bought my full inventory for the week at the price of only four fifths! You drive down the road and a famous Bollywood hero is promising you free talk time, free sms, free broadband, free apps....no wonder the mobile service providers are such a loved lot. They give virtually everything free....between 11 pm and 5 am!
So what is this free craze? It's actually a bundle of contradictions. Let's buy it no, its free. Notice the contradiction. People are buying shampoos because you get free soaps with it. Or people are buying talk time because SMS are free with it. The question is do you really need those soaps or those SMS's. The free craze has made us stock up things which we may not need or which we get by buying something else. I have actually stopped going to the malls. Last I checked, I had three bottles of shampoo which I had got free (check my profile photo please!), two similar looking Sun glasses which were again free (I wear numbered glasses), four pen drives, yes these too were free (I have three cloud accounts), three floral t shirts (I would much rather leave the flowers on the plants)......you get the picture.
And the free story does not end here. I walk past a fast food joint in the hot sun and it promises me a free cola if I order a large size pizza (I will finish it in 3 meals). Why cant I just but the cola and save some money? It's because I need the satisfaction of free. The neighbouring kirana guy is offering me free one ice cream family tub if I buy my monthly groceries worth Rs 5000 from him. Do I realise I can buy the same groceries at a supermarket with a tub of icecream for 4750, but then the fun of free is not there. Even the neighbouring Dhobi is willing to iron 2 shirts free every month if I give him 50 clothes to be ironed in a month. Well he can keep his free offer to himself as I will have max of 25-40 clothes. Not to forget my bank allows me to withdraw my money from the bank's ATM free, five times a month. So that I don't crowd his branch!
The other day I saw an ad for a classified ad. Give us a fifty word ad and get 5 words free. Sure enough a few days later I saw an ad congratulating Ravi Bhaiya on being released from jail 2 months in advance. I guess the lure of free 5 words found a good reason.
If you think all the above is a joke, think again. Some management colleges invited me to do some guest lectures and were expecting me to do so .....free. I spend time to prepare, put together case studies, talk to some friends, meet some consumers and am expected to do all this free. Because it is a guest lecture, sir. It is sold as a free offer to the students. Join our institute and get free guest lectures from industry veterans.
As consumers we must realise that nothing in this world is free. If I am getting a razor free today it is because I will use its blades or cartridges for the next 2-3 years and will spend enough to make up for the free blade and more. Or if the telecom service provider is giving you rock bottom rates he will jack them up after a few months....ultimately you will end up for paying everything.
Free also gets us into bad habits; collecting unnecessary things, spending more than necessary and even wasting natural resources. Our building society takes a lump sum maintenance from each flat including water charges. So in the minds of most water is free...so it is wasted sumptuously.
The free bug as you can see is fully on us. We are lured by it and fall into its trap unhesitatingly. Now do me a favour. Please re post, retweet this piece...for free.
