The majority of Brits were so cynical when it came to accepting a genuine offer of goodwill that they turned down free money.(Agencies) |
The majority of Brits were so cynical when it came to accepting a genuine offer of goodwill that they turned down free money, research has revealed. Cash was offered by five women to commuters at busy bus stations up and down the UK but an average of only eight people at each station, out of thousands of bus travellers, took up the offer. Women wearing a sandwich board that read "Ask me to pay your bus fare and I will" were positioned at bus stations in Newcastle, Medway, Manchester, Perth and Leicester, but were mostly just ignored. The experiment ran during morning rush hour each day for a week and just 38 people in total across the country accepted the offer. When questioned, the minority who did eventually accept the free cash admitted they were reluctant at first because they thought the offer was too good to be true. Those who did accept were generally teenagers, suggesting that the older we get, the more cynical of goodwill gestures we become. Results showed that 69pc of Brits were too suspicious to accept offers of goodwill and also felt rewards and freebies are often too good to be true, while only 23pc of people thought it possible to get something for nothing. The research was conducted by Ice, a loyalty scheme which rewards customers with Ice points for spending on eco-friendly goods and services. Jude Thorne, Chief Executive Officer of Ice, said: "Our experiment shows that as a nation, we simply don't accept the notion of genuine bargains, discounts and offers with no catch, despite admitting that difficult times are forcing us to seek them out actively." The company teamed up with Arriva UK Bus and Stagecoach Bus to offer free points redeemable against future purchases for customers who book their tickets online. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
最新調(diào)查顯示,大多數(shù)英國人在接受出于善意的誠懇饋贈時,經(jīng)常滿腹狐疑,甚至白給現(xiàn)金都不要。 在調(diào)查中,由五位女性在英國幾處人來人往的公交車站向上下班的人群發(fā)錢,盡管有數(shù)以千計的乘客上下車,但平均每個車站只有8個人接受她們的好意。 這幾位女性把廣告牌掛在身上,上面寫著“你讓我給你買車票,我就給你買。”她們站在紐卡斯爾、梅德韋、曼徹斯特、珀斯、和萊斯特的公交車站,但大多數(shù)人不理會她們。 這次試驗在早晨上下班高峰期進行,為期一周,全英國總共只有38人接受。 在被問到時,少數(shù)最終要了錢的人承認自己最初也不想要,因為他們不相信會有這種好事。 接受了錢的人一般是青少年,這表明人們年齡越大,對善意的舉動就越持懷疑態(tài)度。 試驗顯示,69%的英國人對善意的舉動滿腹狐疑,不愿意接受,而且經(jīng)常不相信派發(fā)獎品和免費贈品這種好事。只有23%的人認為天上也有可能掉餡餅。 這項調(diào)查是由Ice忠實顧客獎勵計劃進行的,該計劃給購買環(huán)保商品和服務的顧客獎勵積分。 Ice公司總裁朱迪?索恩說:“我們的試驗顯示,英國人不接受真實的廉價商品、折扣、饋贈這種概念,總認為會上當,盡管我們承認眼下的困難時期正迫使我們積極尋找這些。” 該公司與英國Arriva巴士公司以及Stagecoach巴士公司聯(lián)手開展了一項業(yè)務,對網(wǎng)絡(luò)訂票的顧客獎勵積分,這些積分將來購物時可以沖抵現(xiàn)金。 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Julie 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: sandwich board: 掛在身上的廣告牌 freeby: 免費贈品 catch: 圈套,隱藏的困難 redeemable: 可換成現(xiàn)款的 |