In January, we accompanied Karol (name changed), who was invited to a free eye examination. Karol was also supposed to receive a pair of glasses free of charge.
In this article, we describe the meeting and how two participants entered into credit agreements there. Each agreement was worth several thousand zlotys.
The article includes commentary from specialist prof. Dariusz Doliński, one of Poland’s most highly regarded social psychologists. The professor is the author of numerous scientific projects, experimental studies and theories in the field of social psychology, particularly consumer behaviour and the examination of techniques people use to influence others effectively.
There Will Be No Eye Examination: The “Low-Ball” Technique
The meeting took place in one of Bolesławiec’s restaurants with a hotel. The invitation we used was intended for people over forty. Karol did not trust the offer, so he contacted our editorial team so that a journalist could accompany him.
After entering the venue’s stairwell, we saw that there was no shortage of people interested in the free examination and glasses. Thirty people were waiting to sign the attendance list, while some had already entered the room. Most were over 60.
After signing the attendance list, we entered the room. Before we reached the chairs set out for the audience, a very friendly woman told us that there would be no eye examination that day. She explained that we had come to a training session. It would cover healthy living, products and the spine, and for taking part in the training we would receive reading glasses, individually selected afterwards. Participation in the training also included a paid-for package of tests for cataracts, glaucoma and intraocular pressure. The examinations were to be carried out in Bolesławiec at one or two clinics, depending on how many people signed up.
Commentary from prof. Dariusz Doliński: – From the very beginning, we are certainly dealing with a technique called the low-ball technique. It involves an offer that appears very attractive (free eye examinations and glasses worth several hundred zlotys) suddenly becoming less attractive (here and now, there will be “reading” glasses—as I assume, the kind that cost a few or a dozen zlotys in hypermarkets or at petrol stations, plus some training). However, we are dealing here with what is known as the commitment mechanism: if someone starts an activity and becomes involved, they then continue it even after it has ceased to be beneficial. Another mechanism is the so-called consensus rule. Since nobody leaves and nobody gives up, “I’ll stay too.”
Controlling People: You Are the Ones Who Care
We sat among the people gathered there. On the table in front of us were items displayed for presentation: portable photovoltaic panels with an inverter, a kitchen robot, an ozonator, an air conditioner, a juicer and a massage mat, which turned out to be the star of the meeting.
Twenty minutes after entering the room, the presentation began. It was led by a man in his forties. He introduced himself and explained to everyone that this was training organised by Medical (Medikal/Medica or Medika—none of these can be found online, editor’s note). He clarified that the meeting we had come to would concern only advertising the displayed items, even though we had been invited to a free eye examination.
– This has nothing to do with NFZ, the presenter explained. – It is a private initiative, and that is why there is advertising: companies pay for the entire campaign. What is important? The examination is free, and after the examination you are entitled to glasses for everyday use. There is a limit of PLN 500 per person. If you want something better, branded glasses, you will have to pay extra, he added.
The presenter came across as a stern person. He did not try to ingratiate himself with the audience. When a man in the room asked him about the titanium glasses that had allegedly been offered while encouraging people to attend the demonstration, the presenter explained that the man could choose such glasses individually at the clinic. When he heard further objections from the room, as several people reminded him that the glasses were supposed to be free, the presenter raised his voice and replied in a reprimanding tone.
– Didn’t I just say that?! Listen carefully! Because it turns out that you need to go not to an ophthalmologist, but to another specialist, he said with a laugh—and, surprisingly, the disciplined people also laughed in response.
The room was subdued, and nobody else challenged what was happening at the meeting. In our view, this was the first dishonest action by the organisers. If people are invited by telephone for examinations, honesty requires that such examinations be organised. Nobody, however, felt manipulated, and nobody left the room.
Commentary from prof. Dariusz Doliński: – The presenter isn’t very friendly? I have the same impression. But because of this, he does not seem like someone who cares whether we buy the mat. He is rather indifferent. Therefore, it is we who care about getting it!
Advertising Presentation: Miraculous Devices
The presenter discussed the devices’ advantages very skilfully. He seemed extremely competent. He spoke with passion and commitment. He also handled the audience well. He curtailed inappropriate jokes, while still engaging in dialogue with the viewers. He asked for their opinions, views and impressions.
For more than 30 minutes, he talked about photovoltaic panels with an inverter costing PLN 11,000; an ozonator for food and water costing PLN 6,000; a slow-juicing extractor with a self-cleaning mechanism for PLN 3,900; and a multifunctional air conditioner costing PLN 6,000, which heated, cooled, humidified, purified and dried the air at home. A kitchen robot cost PLN 5,000, and a cordless vacuum cleaner with a mop cost PLN 4,000.
In short, all these devices were supposed to improve our health and prolong our lives. The manufacturer’s quoted prices were pulled out of thin air. Checking online shops, similar devices can be bought for as much as 80% less.
The presentation culminated in a PLN 16,000 massage mat. It came with a neck massager worth PLN 4,000 and a foot massager worth PLN 6,000.
The mat’s presentation was accompanied by information about how difficult it is to see a specialist, how few physiotherapy treatments we receive through NFZ (and how, with various conditions, we need considerably more than the applicable limits), and how expensive visits to private physiotherapy clinics are. Summing up the entire argument: a mat capable of performing countless treatments is practically free if we calculate how much we would spend on treatments at a private clinic.
Lottery: The Gift Goes Only to Someone Who Wants It
After the presentation came time for small gifts, which were raffled according to a certain rule. The gifts were a liquid soap dispenser, a wrist pedometer and an odour and moisture absorber.
– There is one rule I always follow, the presenter said. – Only someone who wants to win will be able to win from me. I assume that I will not make anyone happy by force. I have coupons with your first and last names, written down when you came in. In a moment I will draw one, but first I will ask: who among you would be happy to receive any of these gifts? The person who wants to win raises their hand, and the person who does not want to does not raise it. The person who wants to win must be drawn on the lucky coupon and have their hand raised. Otherwise, if their hand is not raised and I draw them, it means they did not want the gift, so I will not give it to them, the presenter explained.
The drawing of the three gifts was only a warm-up before the more important event: the drawing for the massage mat.
– Medical equipment and a rehabilitative massage chair—a nice prize? the man asked. – PLN 16,000. I invite you to visit the manufacturer’s website; you can order one and spread the payment into instalments. If I said that anyone here could take this chair home for free, would anyone believe me? the presenter asked again.
The people in the room unanimously replied that they did not believe it.
– It is good that you do not believe me, because that will not happen, the presenter assured them. – Tell me, where have you ever seen rehabilitation equipment being given away for free? There is no such possibility. The person selected for this chair will have to pay for it. What will the distinction be? The person whose name is on this coupon will leave here 100% satisfied, even 200% satisfied! Why? Because only for this one person, our sponsors—the companies whose products I advertised to you—will fund an additional and, most importantly, free gesture for the chair, the presenter said, taking the kitchen robot in his hands.
The presenter added not only the robot but also the vacuum cleaner to the mat. This impressed the audience.
– Is this a good offer? Hands up, the presenter said, counting how many hands were raised. Of almost 50 people, nine raised their hands, although it is possible that some had come in pairs.
The presenter asked why people thought it was a good offer. Someone replied that the two devices added as gifts were expensive.
– Economics, the presenter summed up. – These are useful devices in every home and, as you pointed out, it is about their economic value. You have to pay for the chair, but with the chair you receive a robot worth PLN 5,600 and a vacuum cleaner worth PLN 4,000. I will add one more gift to that: this air conditioner. Is this a good offer? Who thinks so? The presenter counted 13 hands raised.
The total value of the donated equipment had already exceeded the price of the mat. It seemed that the presenter had “bought” all the viewers. Yet he continued to heighten the atmosphere. He asked who would like such an offer. Fewer people raised their hands. However, PLN 16,000 is a considerable sum, and it has to be paid. There was a man in the room who was interested. The presenter demonstratively tore up, in front of everyone, a coupon drawn earlier with someone’s name on it and announced that, in accordance with the rule that the gift goes to the person who wants it, this man would receive the mat and the free equipment. Everything was completely legal.
After the meeting, it was possible to sign up for the examinations. The free gift consisted of reading glasses—the cheapest of the cheap. The presenter encouraged people to take photographs of the equipment and look at it.
The Eco-Vital Miracle-Pot Scam Taught Us NothingCommentary from prof. Dariusz Doliński: – The drawing increases trust in the person running the campaign. They give something away, draw lots, someone wins—everything seems fair. If I am then drawn as the person entitled to additional (this time valuable) gifts if I buy a PLN 16,000 mat, I not only fail to see anything false in it, but actually feel special. It would almost be inappropriate to decline—others were not drawn and were not as lucky as I was. How can one not accept a gift from fate, the fact that one has been drawn from a group of people! It may have been intended to create the feeling that if I do not buy the PLN 16,000 mat, I will LOSE the things I can get for free (a vacuum cleaner, a juicer, panels). People are particularly sensitive to LOSS. (The desire “not to lose” is more important than “to gain.”) Thus, if knowledge about manipulation was being used here, the customer should not be made to feel that buying the mat means gaining a vacuum cleaner, photovoltaic equipment and so on as a gift, but rather that not taking up this opportunity means losing the vacuum cleaner, photovoltaic equipment and so on.
After the scandal involving Poznań-based Eco-Vital, a company selling “miracle pots,” which became famous throughout Poland, one might think that people had become immune to sales manipulation. Nothing could be further from the truth. It remains profitable for those doing the fishing to lure people with free gadgets and examinations.
Let us recall: between 2012 and 2014, Eco-Vital invited people to a cabaret performance or a performance by a well-known artist, and during those events presented pots. The presenter manipulated people and lied about the pots’ properties in order to mislead customers and, colloquially speaking, force the pots on them. In Bolesławiec, people were invited to such a meeting in 2013 under the pretext of attending a performance by Jerzy Kryszak.
The word “free”—examinations and gifts—still attracts older people like a magnet.
Under the law, products purchased at a demonstration can be returned
How can you withdraw from such an agreement? When making a purchase during a demonstration, consumers have the right to return the goods without consequences. In such a situation, they should submit a declaration of withdrawal from the agreement (on paper, electronically or by completing a special online form) within 14 or 30 days, depending on the event, and the entrepreneur is obliged to send confirmation of receipt without delay. And, as Article 31 of the Act states, such an agreement will be deemed not to have been concluded.
Free consumer advice in Bolesławiec is provided by Consumer Ombudsman Waldemar Sawicki at the Bolesławiec District Office, 12 Armii Krajowej Street, room 221
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