Tricks of the trade

Time of India

a day ago

Amit Kumar was trained as a Mechanical Engineer with specialization in thermal engineering from the University of Roorkee (now Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee) where he was awarded the University Gold Medal. Post his graduation, he decided to pursue a career in renewable energy, a novelty in the early eighties. He had retired from TERI in July 2021 whereas Senior Director, Social Transformation, was responsible for initiatives focusing on energy access, holistic rural development, and community engagement. There he had also led research activities in the fields of renewable energy and resource-efficient process technology applications. As Dean (Distance & Short-Term Education), TERI University between 2014 and 2016, he was responsible for the development and outreach of the University's online courses, management & faculty development programmes, and skill enhancement initiatives. LESS ... MORE
Let me clarify at the outset. This piece is not about trade and tariffs being played out by the only superpower in the world, simply because that is out of comprehension of lesser mortals like yours truly. Rather, this is about those tricks that we all witness day in and day out, in ads and in apps. The most ubiquitous ones must be terms 'up to' and 'T&C apply' so much so that it appears that businesses would have come to a halt had these addendums were not there. Actually, because of these seemingly innocuous terms in fine prints, anybody can get away with any lofty claim. In use since 1930s, the new incarnation of 'up to' can be seen in many apps, especially when promising cashbacks. Recently, while paying my restaurant bill through a popular dining app, it prominently showed a credit card discount of 20%: catch was, you guessed it right, 'up to Rs.150'. Effectively, 20% of Rs.9500 – my restaurant bill – worked out to be Rs.150! A mathematical equation worth JEE-Advance. Even a founder of one of India's most popular online restaurants aggregators admitted on record this sleight of hand (an IITian himself, naturally he is deft in maths) but defended it nonetheless in the face of competition. Then there are new age suffixes and prefixes like 'Real' etc. that let you believe about the genuineness of the inherent product quality. But again, there are fine prints with disclaimers that these are just brand names/trade marks and do not represent their true nature.
Every day we come across glossy advertisements of magnificent real estate projects promising the moon. But yet again, it's fine print that may need magnifying glass that divulge wealth of `real' estate. 'All the information including but not limited to all designs, layouts, specifications, plans, services, facilities and infrastructure are illustrative and subject to change, without notice. This advertisement is purely conceptual'. An upcoming seven-star property tom toms the brand associated with one illustrious businessman and president – in that order – and what it has to say: 'The name and mark is used under the license, which may be terminated or revoked'.
In these times of everything quick, food or groceries, finding detailed bills for the items ordered is nothing short of treasure hunting; so well camouflaged they are kept amidst a lot of random merchandise information. And they certainly are treasure trove of multitude of hidden charges. Sample these: handling charges, small cart charges, processing fees, and surge charges etc., to name a few (it appears that there is something known as `cash handling charges' if the delivery happens to be cash-on-delivery). These charges including hefty packaging charges may well be hidden under `GST and other/restaurant charges' that you can access only by clicking on it. Reportedly, q-commerce players have justified these charges towards ensuring `proper' handling and `quality' delivery. Going by the recent reports of FSSAI's observations around the storage practices, one can surmise that the much-acclaimed properness is limited to handling only, not in the storage. But here one cannot blame them, right from the beginning, these hyper-local warehouses were called `dark stores.' I wonder in what condition the items would arrive if the consumer had an option not to pay `proper' handling charges? Maybe we will get to know the real import of the term 'conditions apply'! One thing is clear; it is time to brush up one's mental maths to be able to total up the actual bill amount – in minutes. Afterall, not everyone is an IIT alumni.
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