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Source: Morning News

"Auntie gave it to you. You are students and don't have much money. If you have money, just give it to me." Recently, some citizens said that they encountered "tricky flower vendors" while visiting the Bund in Shanghai. The flower vendors first tried to win the sympathy of tourists by offering free flowers. Once the tourists accepted the flowers, they would be charged 30 to 60 yuan per bouquet. Most of the people targeted by these vendors are young couples. Some of them had to buy the flowers out of consideration for their feelings, while others quarreled with the vendors because of this.

Relevant departments in Huangpu District said that the management department has noticed this situation and launched a special campaign against the phenomenon of unlicensed flower peddling on the Bund. Since July, more than 30 unlicensed flower peddlers have been investigated and punished. Next, they will further implement long-term and normalized management, reasonably arrange management forces, improve the dispatching of posts, increase the frequency and intensity of post inspections, ensure timely and effective handling of unlicensed flower peddling and related incidents that disturb citizens and tourists, and deal with unlicensed peddlers and forced buyers and sellers in accordance with the law, so as to jointly maintain a civilized, harmonious and orderly tourist environment in the Bund Scenic Area.

Reflection: Encountering "Flower Scams" While Visiting the Bund

According to citizens, the "tricky flower selling" situation mostly occurs on the Bund at night.

In summer, the Bund is still very lively at night

On July 3, a netizen @梦境扯灭者 posted on a social media platform that she encountered a "trickster flower seller" on her way from the Bund to Yuyuan subway station. An old lady holding a bouquet of flowers first stuffed three bouquets of flowers into her and her companions' hands in the name of free flowers.

After the netizen accepted the flowers and expressed his gratitude, the other party's attitude suddenly changed. He first emphasized that it was not easy for him and asked to "give as you see fit." After charging 10 yuan for each bouquet of flowers, he emphasized that the minimum gift for each bouquet of flowers was 30 yuan.

As they were in a hurry to catch the last subway train, they were unable to argue with the vendors and could only choose to pay.

In fact, the situation encountered by @梦境扯灭者 is not an isolated case. Some citizens said that they encountered similar situations on the Bund.

Xiaoying (pseudonym), a Shanghai citizen, told reporters that she encountered a similar situation on the Bund on June 12.

"She rushed over and forced the flowers into your hands, and then asked you to scan the code to pay." Xiaoying told the reporter that she felt she was "morally kidnapped". "She said, 'You are so kind, just accept the flowers, good people will be rewarded.' If you don't pay (the money), she will keep pestering you, saying, why don't you pay for the things you took." In the end, Xiaoying paid the other party 5 yuan out of courtesy. In Xiaoying's view, 5 yuan is not much, but it is also a loss, because she didn't want the flowers in the first place.

"Next time I encounter something like this, I will just return the flowers to the other person and leave!" Xiaoying said.

Another netizen @再睡五分钟 said that he and his friend had also been tricked by a vendor into selling flowers when they were waiting for a traffic light near the Bund. Similar to @梦境扯破者, the vendor also first offered flowers as a gift, but after collecting 10 yuan, the vendor changed its attitude and said that they had to pay 60 yuan before they could take the flowers away.

The reporter noticed that the flowers sold by these flower vendors are mostly common varieties such as gerbera and roses. The flower composition is relatively simple and has limited appeal to customers.

Under this routine, young people are easily fooled by the words "pay as you see fit" and pay the other party according to their own psychological price. Once the fee is paid, the vendors will change their attitude and ask young people to pay a higher price for the flowers.

Investigation: Flowers were stuffed 7 times in just a quarter of an hour

Some citizens said that they had recently encountered similar situations on the Bund. What kind of people are these "tricky flower vendors"? On the evening of August 6, a reporter from the Morning News·Zhoudao Shanghai spent four hours squatting on the Bund to observe.

It turns out that in order to avoid supervision, these vendors mostly appear after 10 p.m. In order to increase their success rate in selling, their targets are mostly couples from other places who come to Shanghai for sightseeing.

At around 10 p.m. on August 6, a woman dressed in black and holding several bouquets of flowers appeared on the Bund.

According to the pictures shared by netizens on social media, this woman had previously used tricks to sell flowers on the Bund. In the following hour, the reporter witnessed her trying to stuff flowers into the hands of tourists many times.

From 11:00 to 11:15 that night, within just a quarter of an hour, the woman tried to stuff flowers into the hands of different young couples seven times.

A woman dressed in black and holding many bouquets of flowers appeared on the Bund

At 11:04 that night, she followed a couple and tried to hand them the bouquet. After failing, she shifted her attention to another couple and suddenly handed the bouquet to them. After the girl waved her hand to refuse, she and the boy stood there for a few seconds before leaving.

At 11:05 that night, the woman handed the bouquet to a young couple. After being rejected by the boy, she followed them for a while before giving up.

At 11:11 that night, the woman handed the bouquet to a couple holding hands, but was also rejected.

At 11:14 that night, the woman handed a bouquet of flowers to a couple sitting on the roadside taking pictures, but was rejected again.

Afterwards, the woman handed the bouquet to a girl who was resting on the roadside. After she turned away and refused, she handed it to a boy who was traveling with her. After being rejected, she then stuffed the bouquet to another girl who was traveling with her, scaring her so much that she stepped back.

At 11:15 that night, the woman handed the flowers to a foreign couple. After being rejected by the girl, she handed the bouquet to the boy who was traveling with her, but was rejected again.

Afterwards, the woman stuffed the bouquet to another couple who were resting on the roadside. During the exchange, the two sides even seemed to push and shove each other. After arguing for nearly a minute, the woman left in a huff. The girl told the reporter that the flower seller kept telling her that she wanted to give the flowers to her.

"She just wanted me to buy flowers. She said she wished us well and gave us flowers, but it should be that she wanted us to buy (flowers)."

The girl explained that the reason why the two parties seemed to be pushing each other was actually because the flower seller forced the flowers into her hands and she was trying to return the flowers to the other party.

A nearby vendor said that similar "tricky flower selling" situations have occurred many times and everyone is disgusted: "Those flower sellers just put the flowers in your hands and say they are for you, and (once) you take them, they ask you for money."

Response: More than 30 people who sold flowers without a license have been investigated and punished

Obviously, this kind of "trick of selling flowers" has greatly affected the tourists' travel experience and also brought negative impact to the Bund scenic area.

In this regard, relevant staff of Huangpu District told reporters that the management department has also discovered this problem. Under the leadership of the Huangpu District Urban Management Law Enforcement Bureau and the Bund Scenic Office, special rectification work has been carried out against the phenomenon of unlicensed flower peddling on the Bund. Since the end of July, more than 30 people who peddled flowers without a license have been investigated and punished. At present, the number of unlicensed flower peddlers on the Bund has been greatly reduced.

Relevant units in Huangpu District stated that they will further implement long-term and normalized management, rationally arrange management forces, improve dispatching and post scheduling, increase the frequency and intensity of patrols, ensure timely and effective handling of incidents involving unlicensed flower peddling and nuisance to citizens and tourists, and deal with unlicensed peddlers and forced sales personnel in accordance with the law, so as to jointly maintain a civilized, harmonious and orderly tourist environment in the Bund Scenic Area.

Source | Morning News·Zhoudao APP Reporter Zhang Yiwei and He Jiajun