Two Fridays ago, I was at Plaza Singapura for dinner with my pals, and as I was walking around the mall while waiting for them, this random guy jumps out in front of me and stops me to ask a few questions. Do I like movies? Am I within a certain age group (I think it was 20 to 50)? Am I currently working? Then he asks if I would like to receive a FREE movie ticket to watch the latest Star Wars movie. He talks about the pre-movie ads and asks if I notice the string of ads that play before the movie starts (Of course I do! I hate them!) then he offers me the opportunity to assist a marketing company by giving my feedback on those ads. Sounds like fun. I LOVE giving companies feedback. 
If I can make that advertisement time seem less annoying, why not? I ask for his company name (he looks like a part-timer) and he says it is ECONIX. He googles to show me a business registration page – doesn’t show much but somehow I was convinced by his spiel. I enter my name, number, occupation and age into his Google Docs form. (I think I did ask him at that point why they are using Google Docs and if it was even a secure way to collect and store information)
After I got home, I somehow got a little suspicious. When people ask if you are currently employed, and within a certain age group, USUALLY they want to sell you insurance. If you’re too old or too broke, you won’t be able to afford it. But the guy DID say I was only going to EVALUATE ads and it’s not a scam for sure, so I guess I just trusted him.
Damn.
Some guy called Nigel does the liaising via Whatsapp. He even offers me an additional ticket for a “friend / partner / family”. He says it is a movie review. At first it was about evaluating ads, now we move on to evaluating the movie proper, ya? (@_@) Sure! Hit me with it.
Pui! Movie review my foot lah. If it’s a movie review, I will ONLY talk about Star Wars when they call me. Hey, maybe I’ll make it a trivia session.
So we have to collect our tickets early, and join the queue to enter the cinema hall because it’s free seating and first-come-first-seated. If you want a good seat, you have to queue. Ahead of me in the queue was a man carrying a laptop bag and he had FIVE tickets. He kept stepping out of the line, making calls, drifting back in, leaning against the wall for support, etc. I think he was feeling nervous about his family members not having showed up. I only saw them just as we were about to get our tickets inspected. SO generous eh? I should have brought the whole kampung.
SO we get seated and this short, little guy pops out (He may be short only because I was seated at the back ya?) and shows us an old newspaper article of him hugging a toilet bowl…
Am I supposed to be impressed that you started a business at age 22? Have you heard about the 8-year-old Ryan Kaji who made $26 million this year? (@_@) Also… your name please? I can’t read Chinese characters that well, especially when they are tiny and far away from me on that screen.
This next slide with his photo on it doesn’t include his name too. Only the titles “CC” and “CL” under ‘Speaker’. WLE. You Toastmaster is it? CC and CL? I was ACB previously – Advanced Communicator (Bronze) – and I don’t even brag about it. CC only and you want to tell people? Wait till you are DTM lah.
*I’m assuming CC and CL are the Toastmaster abbreviations for Competent Communicator and Competent Leader ya.
SO? What is his name? I heard Cliff. Surname? I don’t know. He shows us pictures of his family, and his somewhat pretty home (condo unit on the ground floor, I think. Not the best. Probably gets a lot of litter from above).
Some random slides about insurance coverage, blah blah… and even this:
And then… random pictures of Adam Khoo. Why? You published all these magazines is it? (@_@)
Then there were VIDEO testimonials from Adam Khoo, Ken Chee, and a guy called Eric Chiew. I think Eric seemed the most happy to give his testimonial. Ken’s looked a bit forced. And AK was rambling a bit. And he mentioned something called Wealth Advocates. <- I think I’ve seen their ads(?) on Facebook before. The name rings a bell. How come not Econix though?
Anyway, Cliff has this FIRE thingy he wants to teach people about. How is FIRE a good acronym? Like liar liar pants on fire? Can change?
And then I almost threw up when he said USUALLY they charge $1,000 per appointment. Wah lau! This is a tactic used by speakers / trainers when they want to tell you about this “special offer” they have just for people who sign up today. Anyway Cliff went on to say it’s $250 for their special. But for YESTERDAY NIGHT ONLY, we’d be able to sign up for FREE!
Me: Woohoo! *throws confetti in the air*
Then he explains why it’s FREE to meet him / his team members:
At this point, I was thinking of setting off an alarm to kind of let him know I can’t wait for the movie to start and can he just sit down or step outside for a minute.
THEN the bloody lights COME ON! In a cinema hall that was already dark! *blink blink* Wonders never cease. And Cliff asks us to fill in the registration form that’s in the clear folder we have on our seats.
Of course I do just the opposite. Dropped it on the floor and later stuffed it into my bag to bring home.
The show started only at about 9.02pm. We were told it’d start by 8.40pm.
Anyway, here’s the Registration Form. At first glance, it looks decent, even like a form other insurance folks should copy.
But look closer, especially in a cinema hall where your eyes are struggling to get used to the light:
See that asterisk behind the “1-to-1 session*”?
Then locate the very fine print below, in italics no less:
“*I hereby give clear and unambiguous consent to support@econixholdings.com, its entities and partners to contact me via Text Message, WhatsApp or Phone call regarding any programs updates, events and materials related to seminary topics.”
When they say “partners”, that’s scary. Because it’s all encompassing. Partners could be just about anyone. Who’s going to call me? A real estate agent? A mortgage banker? Adam Khoo?!
Why would I want all these people texting, whatsapping or calling me? What happened to “We respect your privacy and will not share your details with others”? No longer popular these days?
Also… what’s Econix Holdings?
The website doesn’t even exist.
The domain name was recently registered via namecheap. But… nothing’s there yet beyond some ads.
Aiyah anyway… thank you for the movie hor. Even though I felt cheated. Firstly, by that guy at Plaza Singapura, who told me I’ll be reviewing the ads before our movie starts. I thought I’ll be making a contribution to the movie experience for cinemagoers. Then by Nigel, who tells me I’m reviewing a movie – which I think I can do decently well. Turns out all these men just want my money. Boohoo.
Truth be told, I am 100% OK with getting a free movie ticket and hearing your insurance or FIRE spiel before the movie starts. JUST TELL ME UPFRONT. I get really upset when I’m lied to, have my suspicions raised, then get my suspicions confirmed.
SO WHO IN THE WORLD IS CLIFF, THE CC AND CL?
According to LinkedIn, Cliff Teo is from AXA (same photo so should be this guy lah) and he is also co-founder of a company called Inmif Pte Ltd.
Strange how he didn’t mention AXA yesterday, and AXA isn’t in his slides too. Cleared with compliance already or not?
~
A note about insurance selling: I like salespeople who are sincere and upfront. Instead of telling me about this revolutionary “savings plan”, or how you want to do a survey, or have I heard about a higher interest rate from “POSB”, blah blah, I would encourage newbies to simply say “Hi! I know you might be busy but you look like the friendliest person here. I wonder if you could spare just three minutes to hear me share about how my company would like to help you (1) pay less in insurance premiums / (2) get higher returns on your investments / (3) pay less in taxes… legally?”
And no… definitely DO NOT ask me about whether I’ve heard of “F-I-R-E” unless you want to see an epic eye roll.
And the next time someone asks me to review a movie, I’m going to charge a fee. Usually it’s $1,000. But if they have read this post, there’s a special: $250.
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Update: I published this post around 10am and just after 5pm, I get a call from Nigel. He apologised and said he’s new to this. Said they meant to change “movie review” to “movie ad review” (erm ok… does that make a big difference?) and that they’ll stop this whole thing as it leaves a bad taste in some people’s mouths. AND he asked if it’s possible for me to remove this blogpost. HUH? I spent such a long time typing this, watermarking photos and all. My straightforward answer is NO.
Yesterday, I wanted to ask if Cliff could stop talking and just start the movie already. But I stayed in my seat and waited. So don’t make any requests of me. You guys did what you did. And I’ve blogged what I have. Did I misrepresent anything? Enlighten me.
Cliff said he was the unskippable ad before the movie. I was there to review the ad before the movie. So I give you THIS review lor. And you tell me to remove it? How is this making any sense?