lunar new year's round the corner...but am i excited?

I'd just bought a polo-T last night. Purple or pink. It's hard to differentiate. Most people, regardless of ethnicity, would buy lots and lots of new clothes during the new year festivities. Except me. Don't you think clothes are getting more and more expensive these days? As much as i want new clothes all the time, my Dad's not Bill the Microsoft Gates. I shudder even to think that he's my Dad. Wait! Is he married?..Mmmm....

Back to my new clothes. Or, rather, my one of two new tees. Polo Ts used to be like what...S$16...for Giordano, Hang-Ten, U2 quality....Mine cost like 29...And its like 2 for 39...I only need one...Why the hell would i want two tops of the same design with different colours? I could have used that extra 10 more something else. I do feel cheated. Very cheated. Dividing 39 by two would give you 19.50...which is slightly more expensive than the regular 16. Well, but now i'm paying 29. To put it simply, these retailers are coercing you to buy two. Only idiots like me would buy one. Look around and you'll realise that all these Giordanos are doing the same. 2 for 35. I mean, isn't that like copycat or cahoots marketing? On a pretext of a CNY sale, all regular items are marked up, bundled and promoted as if there was a sale. In fact these people are making more money than usual, considering the individual pieces now cost more (19.50 - 16), plus people are getting two instead of one. So for people who buy the promotion, they earn an extra $7 in profits. From idiots like me, they earn an extra $13. That's why i refrain from buying stuff during the festive period.

I was in the sales sector. And boy am i turned off and disgusted by the practices of retailers. As what my colleagues and i would say: The people on top makes cunning and senseless decisions while those below, puppets and sinners. How often a time do we have to lie to everyone in order to boost sales. Fancy cheating your own fellowmen. Cheating old ladies with bullsh*t promotions and inferior goods. People would often say thats the way businesses are. I hate businesses.

I was once ticked off by my manager while serving a customer and a shopping mall in the heartlands. She said i shouldn't be telling the truth to customers. Well, i said if she wasn't happy i was telling the truth, she could complain or fire me. And let the GM know about it. Let HIM explain to customers how good is inferior goods are. Let HIM tell them how value-added his promotions are. Put it this way. I'm from the heartlands and i know how much these people have to scrimp and save to buy new clothes. They are ladies in their 40s -60s. They dress modestly. They don't buy clothes every now and then. And here you are, trying to trick them into paying more for some inferior sh*t, so that you'll earn higher commisions and the GM can change his car. That's the problem with businesses. Profits are never enough. Year after year, bosses want higher profits than before. Maybe someone can write a post-doc thesis on that. Does this profit-targeting follow some kind of rule or law? Linear? Exponential? Is this profit-targeting ever going to reach a pleateau where your bosses say that as long as this year's profits are the same as last, you're doing a great job?