::A Geek in Korea::

My wife and I went shopping at E-mart in the mid-afternoon. There was a corridor next to the lockers, near the escalators that was swarming with middle aged women with balloons and fans. All of them were wearing creepy party hats, and they were clearly up to something. They made no move toward us, but were watching all the entrances and exits ready to pounce. I only noticed on the way out of the store, but my wife told me that they were trying to sign up students to a study at home program. This particular time is fiercely contested between school programs, because summer vacation means lots of free time for students.

My headphones died while I was at work, so I had to head back to E-mart later in the day. The same women were there, and I got to see how they operated. I was going downstairs to the electronics section to buy replacement headphones, and a woman and her five to six year old daughter got onto the escalator ramp right in front of me. One of the creepy ladies with a party hat came sprinting out of nowhere and got onto the escalator next to me.

“Oh, your pretty daughter needs a balloon! We’re giving them out! Girls love balloons, here you are!”

The little girl turned around and took the balloon from the woman. “Thank you.”

“Oh, she speaks so well! How smart and pretty your daughter is! Oh, and you look so hot, taking care of that beautiful daughter. You must be so tired taking her around town. Here is a fan.”

The mother took one of the hand fans. It was laden with information about a summer home school study program that the woman was trying to sell. “Oh, uh, thanks…we’re just…shopping. She doesn’t need a class.”

The mother and daughter were stuck with the creepy lady half way down the escalator and didn’t really have anything left to say. The creepy lady answered, “Well, I can’t go running back up the escalator, can I? I might as well continue talking. I think you should give our study program a try, it’s very good. Please call.”

I’m sure this creepy woman and all the other ladies that had lined the hallway had done this same routine hundreds of times during the day. They weren’t allowed to harass anyone in the store while they were shopping, but as long as they were in elevators, escalators, or getting their stuff out of lockers they must have been fair game. I assume that this must be worked out with the management of the store, as in they pay for the privilege of harassing the store customers with children. I wonder how many people actually think about it while they shop, then sign up on their way out.

It seemed like a very clever use of “trapped” time, but it only works when you have the right people in the right configuration on an escalator. There are a TON of mothers with children walking around the store during the day, so it makes sense they attack a place with such a high number of potential customers. I don’t look forward to being harassed by people all looking to score a quick buck from a frazzled parent though.