TRICKS PLAYED BY THE E - COMMERCE SITES ON THE ONLINE CUSTOMERS

 In order to entice/retain customers (even if they are a dissatisfied lot), and continue to increase the yield per client, ecommerce companies resort to many tactics that many a time, are identified as unethical (at times, illegal). Some of them are: 

1. Subscription Trap 

When you want to unsubscribe, the site will redirect you through a series of pages, thereby tiring you and making it technically impossible for you to unsubscribe 

2. False Urgency 

Creating, of course falsely, a sense of the urgency in your mind. E.g: while booking hotel room, message popping out saying, “ only 1 room left”

3. Basket Sneaking 

While checking out, including additional items in your shopping cart without you knowing and/or without your consent  

4. Confirm Shaming

Using an audio or video response to create a sense of shame / fear / guilt in the buyer. For e.g: when you drop a product from the cart, a video response coming from the screen making you feel cringe feeling guilty or shame 

5. Forced Action 

Forcing the user to buy additional items. For e.g: auto check mark for flight insurance while booking an online air ticket. 

6. Privacy Zuckering 

When ticking ‘terms & conditions’ during an online purchase, the same term sheet would have included a line taking your your consent for sharing your data, without your realising it. Many terms & conditions are laborious and come in fine print and buyers don’t actually read while buying online ! 

7. Interface Interference 

The design of the site that manipulates user interface, depending on the system’s buyer knowledge E.g: a) highlights certain specific information; and (b) obscures other relevant information 

8. Bait & Switch 

Advertising a particular outcome based on user’s action such as luring customers into using a product under attractive terms, then change the conditions once engaged, forcing them to accept the outcome, usually a paid service. 

9. Drip Pricing

The pricing elements are not revealed upfront. Minimal pricing information is available but when you click to buy, other pricing elements are loaded to it. 

10. Disguised Advertisement

Hiding additional inputs from buyers until they are committed to making a purchase. E.g: disguised advt. on the software download page to boost ad revenue, such as, displaying advertisements with a prominent download button that closely resembles the actual download button for the desired software.

These are called dark patterns, and these tactics are employed  by e-commerce sites when you reach out to it for buying. Many Governments, now also India, are enacting regulations against it including punitive measures. 

NARCISSISTIC GASLIGHTERS

Long ago, while employed, a colleague of mine in product marketing used to mock at me regularly, telling me that many sales managers with whom I am communicating, feel that I am not in touch with reality, whenever I send them new campaign directions. Funnily, I never heard this from any sales personnel directly within the company. 

A Marwari entrepreneur friend in the same business vertical as I was, whenever we used to meet, told me me that he genuinely feel for me and my company but my way of handing a particular principal vendor was incorrect. (It was another thing that he also had this vendor as his supplier)

A young and enthusiastic auditor friend with a good background, an associate in the movement that we are part of, used to shower me all the respect on one-on-one basis, whenever got an opportunity in a crowd with me, cut jokes at my expenses

An advocate member of the club that I had chartered, used to listen to my speeches in the club intently but once it is over, will publicly remark in the end, “what else is expected of you, as usual, you did that long winding speech”

In my professional, personal and social life, I had come across enough of such associates/friends (?) trying to upset me or ridicule me with such comments, assessing me incorrectly, trying to manipulate the reality around me, I used to wonder, ‘why they do so’? 

Upon my reading and research over the period, I had realised that these are the envious narcissistic gaslighters, doing it to upset my self esteem, thus trying to off balance me, making me think that something is wrong with me. 

Gaslighting is defined as a manipulative tactic employed by someone to gain power & control over the other, planting seeds of uncertainty thus affecting other’s self esteem through the process of self-doubt. When it is done to you by egoistic people who are jealous of your abilities, they turn out to be Narcissistic Gaslighters. 

Through outright lying, manipulating reality, scapegoating and coercion, the gaslighter tries to intentionally distort your reality, making you feel that what you are  seeing or feeling isn't real. This could even affect your mental wellness. 

The gaslighters try to show that they love / respect you but their intent is to serve themselves, whether it is to gain more power or control or to feel that they are better than others.

How do you handle the envious, narcissistic, gaslighter? 

When you recognise one, as much as possible, be away from him. You consciously stand firm in your truth even if he is trying to use communication to make you self doubt. Do not indulge him or try to outsmart him, that is what he is waiting to pile on you further. By increasing the support system around you and sharing the truth with them you can help yourself retain sanity.

Beware of the gaslighters, they are toxic!