Okay...first of all, my mum ain't gonna like this if she finds out...so lets hope she doesn't visit my blog no more...secondly, for those of you who knows my mum, do me a favour and zip it up, will ya...thanks...no rewards, though...*grin*...
I just lost (for the moment) RM1.6k...which is a lot of money, especially for a person like me, who earns just enough wages to cover her monthly expenses (piano and violin lessons, food, petrol, etc)...
No, it wasn't robbery, though it is pretty rampant these days...it wasn't scams either...
You see, I usually do my students a favour, by helping them purchase instruments or whatever they need for their lessons. One can't get much discount buying books, but we music teachers do get a special discount when it comes to purchasing music instruments...especially when dealing with the instrument dealer themselves, and not through any franchisee....
All my students who have purchased music instruments through me, have been quite disciplined so far...they know my financial situation, and are good to their words...some paying me the full sum by cash (yea, I get really scared knowing that I am holding a couple of thousand Ringgit CASH in my handbag), some by cheque...well, mostly cash...
Naively, I never asked them to pay a deposit (which I should have, of course), as they seemed really serious about the purchase...besides, all of them gave me no trouble and was prompt in closing the deal...
Until now...
One of my adult students have been expressing interest in purchasing a keyboard with a budget of RM1.5k-2k...she needed it anyway, since she does not own a piano, but is taking up pop piano lessons with me...so she asked me to look for one...which I told her I will...she even offered to put a down payment (which I should have taken, but being the idiot that I was...didn't)...
I placed an order for the Casio keyboard that matches her needs...got it at RM1.6k when the market price was RM1.9...the keyboard arrived in a couple of days, and I send her a message to inform her so...she replied that she wanted to see it, but wouldn't be able for the coming 3 weeks since she had to attend a training, yadaa, yadaa, yadaa...so I said, that she could do so once she comes back...
I hate it, when at this point when I am doing people a favour, I still have to constantly follow up on them, like a naggy grandmother...
3 weeks passed and still no news...I messaged her again, quite irritated this time...and freaked out, upon reading her reply..."I need to do some research first."...what blardy research?...why didn't you tell me in the first place?...why tell me now?...why don't you just not tell me at all??...
And finally, 3 days after..."I think I would prefer a digital piano. Can you please help me look out for one?"...
I gave her a good piece of my pewny mind...and insisted that she would in the least help me find a buyer...I got three "sorry(s)" from her...and a dial tone...never heard from her since...not even attended my class...till now...that was 2 weeks ago...
So now, I am stuck with a new keyboard, with no one to sell to at the moment, as I have got no new students to introduce it to, I can't tell my boss as I'll be fired for not helping them sell the company's instrument (which by the way, is much more expensive...and whats more, no commission for me)...all my music friends either have got a keyboard of their own...or need a keyboard that has more functions that the model that I am holding...
Yes, if you're asking...I definitely have learnt my lesson...though I do wish that it didn't have to happen now...all the money that I have saved for my trip to Aussie...just evaporated!!!...damn it!!...
I just lost (for the moment) RM1.6k...which is a lot of money, especially for a person like me, who earns just enough wages to cover her monthly expenses (piano and violin lessons, food, petrol, etc)...
No, it wasn't robbery, though it is pretty rampant these days...it wasn't scams either...
You see, I usually do my students a favour, by helping them purchase instruments or whatever they need for their lessons. One can't get much discount buying books, but we music teachers do get a special discount when it comes to purchasing music instruments...especially when dealing with the instrument dealer themselves, and not through any franchisee....
All my students who have purchased music instruments through me, have been quite disciplined so far...they know my financial situation, and are good to their words...some paying me the full sum by cash (yea, I get really scared knowing that I am holding a couple of thousand Ringgit CASH in my handbag), some by cheque...well, mostly cash...
Naively, I never asked them to pay a deposit (which I should have, of course), as they seemed really serious about the purchase...besides, all of them gave me no trouble and was prompt in closing the deal...
Until now...
One of my adult students have been expressing interest in purchasing a keyboard with a budget of RM1.5k-2k...she needed it anyway, since she does not own a piano, but is taking up pop piano lessons with me...so she asked me to look for one...which I told her I will...she even offered to put a down payment (which I should have taken, but being the idiot that I was...didn't)...
I placed an order for the Casio keyboard that matches her needs...got it at RM1.6k when the market price was RM1.9...the keyboard arrived in a couple of days, and I send her a message to inform her so...she replied that she wanted to see it, but wouldn't be able for the coming 3 weeks since she had to attend a training, yadaa, yadaa, yadaa...so I said, that she could do so once she comes back...
I hate it, when at this point when I am doing people a favour, I still have to constantly follow up on them, like a naggy grandmother...
3 weeks passed and still no news...I messaged her again, quite irritated this time...and freaked out, upon reading her reply..."I need to do some research first."...what blardy research?...why didn't you tell me in the first place?...why tell me now?...why don't you just not tell me at all??...
And finally, 3 days after..."I think I would prefer a digital piano. Can you please help me look out for one?"...
I gave her a good piece of my pewny mind...and insisted that she would in the least help me find a buyer...I got three "sorry(s)" from her...and a dial tone...never heard from her since...not even attended my class...till now...that was 2 weeks ago...
So now, I am stuck with a new keyboard, with no one to sell to at the moment, as I have got no new students to introduce it to, I can't tell my boss as I'll be fired for not helping them sell the company's instrument (which by the way, is much more expensive...and whats more, no commission for me)...all my music friends either have got a keyboard of their own...or need a keyboard that has more functions that the model that I am holding...
Yes, if you're asking...I definitely have learnt my lesson...though I do wish that it didn't have to happen now...all the money that I have saved for my trip to Aussie...just evaporated!!!...damn it!!...
3 comments:
Emily, Emily...when it comes to keyboards or anything more than RM100 or so, ALWAYS get the full amount from the student first, NOT the other way round! This has always been standard operating procedure for me, and so far I haven't had any problems all these years.
Is it possible for you to negotiate with the shop a return of the Casio keyboard? I assume it's still in its box and unopened. Of course most retailers won't be happy about this, but this is where you'll have to turn on your charm, in a nice way, of course.
Life's tough, and we make mistakes, but that's how we learn as we go along. Wishing you all the best.
Philip
Ya, silly me...
I have tried to negotiate the return, but unfortunately, the purchase was made a month ago, and all the accounts for that specific month has been closed...so it would be really an inconvenience...besides, I really do not want to end up in the bad books of this dealer, as I don't know him very well...and believe it or not...this dealer is from Penang!!...he was involved in a Casio fair or something, and managed to get it at a very cheap price...
*sigh*...its alright...its an expensive lesson learnt...I will just have to suck up to it...and try to look around online...or sell it on ebay...
I just wish I am not so broke right now!!!...*grin*...
Emily, have you tried spreading the word in your college, or Mudah.com, that sort of thing. You never know, someone could be looking for a keyboard like yours.
Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Kind regards,
Philip
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