Swindler, Trickster, Sharper, Imposter, Dodger, Charlatan, fraud, fake, phony, Mountebank, Imposture, artifice, trick, hoax, mislead, dupe, delude, gull, con, hoax, fool.
No this article is not about calling names or about boasting about the author’s knowledge about the vocabulary of the language. Nor is it a lesson in TOEFL. It is about a burning topic that touches us all. That is CHEATING.
According to the Random House Dictionary of English Language, The Unabridged edition…
Cheat: Use of fraud to obtain an unfair advantage over others. It implies conducting matter fraudulently for profiting one self. E.g. cheat at cards.
Deceive: Deliberately misleading or deluding to produce misunderstanding or to prevent someone from knowing the truth. E.g. To deceive our parents.
Trick: is to deceive by a stratagem often of a petty, crafty, a dishonorable kind. E.g. To trick someone into signing a note.
One of the issues that need to be addressed and addressed fast is the eroding value system that was the binding thread of our society. A small attempt is being made to look at the issue of cheating from a different angle and try to find out how we can possibly try to avoid the potholes that come inevitably from practicing the so called fine art of cheating especially in the much abused and much misunderstood craft of marketing.
In this modern world, the winner takes all. Nothing succeeds like success. Success at all costs has become the in thing. Cheating indeed has become a fine art that is indulged in many areas. Let us first look at various examples of cheating. It is important that such an exercise is undertaken because the fields that indulge in this art of cheating are seen as glamorous and they in many cases shape our behavior, aspiration and outlook.
Goods Once Sold will not be taken back: Almost all the items that we purchase usually come with this tag attached. It is as if the seller is saying that once the sale is transacted the relationship has ended. In the era of high pressure selling it is very possible that the buyer is taken in by the hype and would regret the decision later by which time it is already too late. He/she can’t reverse the decision and is saddled with a product that he/she dislikes or even hates. Think of the negative word of mouth this disgruntled customer can generate. A disgruntled customer is like a misguided missile. We don’t know who will be hit till the missile hits the target.
Sales People approach: Many of the trained salesmen are trained to say only about the positive aspects of the product and keep silent about the negative aspects. E.g.; an electronic typewriter salesman explaining about the letter style and keeping silent about the bold lettering facility. The buyer buys thinking that bold facility exists only to realize at a later stage that such a facility does not exist. Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) exists on paper, but was the buyer aware?
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