Everyone has heard of secret organizations like the Knights Templar or The Black Hand, but what you may not know about are the secret sales people invading Antelope Valley College.
They tread as heavily as students on campus because they blend right in with the crowd. Marisa Karpinski, a fourth semester student at AVC, says that she’s been bothered every semester with the same pitch every time. “They would come up to me and ask me about my hair, and if I would like a special card that would allow me a certain percentage off at their salon. They would pull out a brochure that had a card attached, and show me all the potential offers I could get, along with all the places the salons were stationed—none of them even close. They start out by saying I have beautiful hair, and ask what I do with it.”
If that weren’t bad enough these sales people know how to put the pressure on as Karpinski notes “When with friends they try to persuade us by pulling the two-for-one deal, so that if one of us even as an inkling to get it, the other friend will be roped in. They lie, saying that they never do this normally, but among the many encounters with them they always pull that line.” So its not always just an ambush when students are alone but they’ll even attempt group sales.
Has anyone even reported this kind of activity? Is this legal? Questions were raised when investigating the story, but both lead to the same general answer, probably not.
When asked for a description of the undercover hair people, Karpinski had this to say, “The people are often over done on hair and makeup, looking like a retarded Barbie/Ken doll come to life, though much less proportionate. If you don't want to purchase the card, they ask why not and always say, "I'm not being picky, but can you tell me why?" with an 'I-eat-kids-for-breakfast-
lunch-and-dinner' grin. Or they ask why we're not interested or what they can do for a better sales pitch.” Not only are they trying to get sales but they’re collecting information on how to approach the process next time, almost like a hunter learns the psychology of his prey.
Let's say you break down and want to buy their product—oh wait, you can’t. They only accept credit cards which rules out a large portion of the student population. Karpinski commented, “By only accepting credit cards, that effectively cancels me out, and I tell them so.” Yet, they continue to push the sale, noting that even if you don’t have a credit card you can use your parents. Apparently they claim to have a salon near by but upon further research the closest one is actually in Simi Valley.
This seems to be a general problem for a few students and it’s generally easy to detect. Making this known to the student body will hopefully help rid the college of these Salon Nazis and make our campus a bit safer. If you or someone you know is approached by undercover sales people report it to campus security immediately.
-By Russell Spencer
