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No-Touch Policy-
No-Touch Policy-
Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
reports.
"I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
no-holds-barred selling style.
Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
customer will be willing to pay.
It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
'We're Hunting!'
"We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
during the holidays.
Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
at carts near Akron, Ohio.
"Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
Minneapolis mall.
"You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
malls every holiday season since then.
He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
video as a recruitment tool.
The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
"Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
operators.
Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
pass.
No-Touch Policy
The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
"I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
The Starmaker
He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
I'm within my rights.
He's an illegal.
Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
reports.
"I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
no-holds-barred selling style.
Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
customer will be willing to pay.
It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
'We're Hunting!'
"We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
during the holidays.
Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
at carts near Akron, Ohio.
"Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
Minneapolis mall.
"You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
malls every holiday season since then.
He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
video as a recruitment tool.
The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
"Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
operators.
Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
pass.
No-Touch Policy
The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
"I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
The Starmaker
He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
I'm within my rights.
He's an illegal.
Re: No-Touch Policy-
"The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
"The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
Re: No-Touch Policy-
Matthew Kruk wrote:
>
> "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>
> A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
Oh, did I forget to post the link from that nazi newspaper The Wall Street Journal?
http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
Matthew Kruk wrote:
>
> "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>
> A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
Oh, did I forget to post the link from that nazi newspaper The Wall Street Journal?
http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
Re: No-Touch Policy-
The Starmaker wrote:
>
> Matthew Kruk wrote:
> >
> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
> >
> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>
> Oh, did I forget to post the link from that nazi newspaper The Wall Street Journal?
> http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
Now, if you see one of these illegal israelies get beyond 24 inches from his cart, shoot them,
spit on them and step on them like roaches. It's the American Way. Tell them go back
to Israel! They are not wanted. They are un-wanted....they are an un-wanted race.
http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
reports.
"I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
no-holds-barred selling style.
Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
customer will be willing to pay.
It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
'We're Hunting!'
"We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
during the holidays.
Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
at carts near Akron, Ohio.
"Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
Minneapolis mall.
"You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
malls every holiday season since then.
He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
video as a recruitment tool.
The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
"Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
operators.
Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
pass.
No-Touch Policy
The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
"I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
The Starmaker
He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
I'm within my rights.
He's an illegal.
The Starmaker wrote:
>
> Matthew Kruk wrote:
> >
> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
> >
> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>
> Oh, did I forget to post the link from that nazi newspaper The Wall Street Journal?
> http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
Now, if you see one of these illegal israelies get beyond 24 inches from his cart, shoot them,
spit on them and step on them like roaches. It's the American Way. Tell them go back
to Israel! They are not wanted. They are un-wanted....they are an un-wanted race.
http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
reports.
"I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
no-holds-barred selling style.
Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
customer will be willing to pay.
It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
'We're Hunting!'
"We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
during the holidays.
Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
at carts near Akron, Ohio.
"Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
Minneapolis mall.
"You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
malls every holiday season since then.
He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
video as a recruitment tool.
The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
"Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
operators.
Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
pass.
No-Touch Policy
The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
"I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
The Starmaker
He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
I'm within my rights.
He's an illegal.
Re: No-Touch Policy-
Then you have these
illegal israelie religious gangsters
coming to the United States
getting together
to fleece Americans.
To steal from Americans,
then run back to their
country.
They should be shot on sight.
It's the Christmas thing to do.
'We're Hunting!'
"We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv.
"...a
sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
than 40 Israelis who were working illegally..."
Why are they arresting them? Just shoot them!
The Starmaker
Maybe I should go to the mall myself, ...and handle it, my way.
The Starmaker wrote:
>
> The Starmaker wrote:
> >
> > Matthew Kruk wrote:
> > >
> > > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
> > >
> > > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
> >
> > Oh, did I forget to post the link from that nazi newspaper The Wall Street Journal?
> > http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
>
> Now, if you see one of these illegal israelies get beyond 24 inches from his cart, shoot them,
> spit on them and step on them like roaches. It's the American Way. Tell them go back
> to Israel! They are not wanted. They are un-wanted....they are an un-wanted race.
>
> http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
> Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
> Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
> one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
>
> But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
> salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
> miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
> tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
> eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
> about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
>
> Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
> in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
> reports.
> "I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
> after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
> and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
>
> At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
> crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
> no-holds-barred selling style.
>
> Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
> passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
> lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
> flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
> Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
> culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
> customer will be willing to pay.
>
> It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
> vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
>
> 'We're Hunting!'
> "We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
> vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
> for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
> during the holidays.
>
>
>
> Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
> role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
> cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
>
> But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
> in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
> kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
> wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
> Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
>
> Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
> mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
> trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
> mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
> Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
> Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
> housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
>
> For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
> head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
> Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
>
> She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
> her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
> at carts near Akron, Ohio.
>
> "Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
> 28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
> company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
>
> Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
> and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
> sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
> than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
> crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
> vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
> special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
>
>
> Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
> 2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
> awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
> fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
> Minneapolis mall.
>
> "You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
> be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
> Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
> malls every holiday season since then.
>
> He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
> about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
> Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
> the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
> video as a recruitment tool.
>
> The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
> YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
> Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
> have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
> products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
>
> Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
> carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
> merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
>
> "Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
> Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
> which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
> operators.
>
> Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
> remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
> upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
>
> Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
> think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
> their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
> would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
> the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
> if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
> worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
>
> The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
> much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
>
> The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
> Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
> outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
> irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
> 26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
>
> After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
> operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
> Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
> pass.
>
> No-Touch Policy
> The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
> no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
> agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
> salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
> specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
> a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
>
> Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
> competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
> losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
> sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
> Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
>
> "I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
> really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
> http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
>
> The Starmaker
>
> He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
> I'm within my rights.
> He's an illegal.
Then you have these
illegal israelie religious gangsters
coming to the United States
getting together
to fleece Americans.
To steal from Americans,
then run back to their
country.
They should be shot on sight.
It's the Christmas thing to do.
'We're Hunting!'
"We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv.
"...a
sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
than 40 Israelis who were working illegally..."
Why are they arresting them? Just shoot them!
The Starmaker
Maybe I should go to the mall myself, ...and handle it, my way.
The Starmaker wrote:
>
> The Starmaker wrote:
> >
> > Matthew Kruk wrote:
> > >
> > > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
> > >
> > > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
> >
> > Oh, did I forget to post the link from that nazi newspaper The Wall Street Journal?
> > http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
>
> Now, if you see one of these illegal israelies get beyond 24 inches from his cart, shoot them,
> spit on them and step on them like roaches. It's the American Way. Tell them go back
> to Israel! They are not wanted. They are un-wanted....they are an un-wanted race.
>
> http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
> Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
> Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
> one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
>
> But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
> salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
> miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
> tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
> eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
> about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
>
> Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
> in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
> reports.
> "I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
> after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
> and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
>
> At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
> crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
> no-holds-barred selling style.
>
> Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
> passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
> lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
> flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
> Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
> culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
> customer will be willing to pay.
>
> It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
> vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
>
> 'We're Hunting!'
> "We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
> vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
> for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
> during the holidays.
>
>
>
> Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
> role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
> cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
>
> But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
> in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
> kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
> wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
> Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
>
> Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
> mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
> trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
> mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
> Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
> Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
> housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
>
> For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
> head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
> Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
>
> She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
> her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
> at carts near Akron, Ohio.
>
> "Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
> 28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
> company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
>
> Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
> and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
> sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
> than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
> crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
> vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
> special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
>
>
> Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
> 2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
> awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
> fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
> Minneapolis mall.
>
> "You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
> be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
> Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
> malls every holiday season since then.
>
> He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
> about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
> Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
> the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
> video as a recruitment tool.
>
> The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
> YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
> Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
> have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
> products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
>
> Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
> carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
> merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
>
> "Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
> Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
> which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
> operators.
>
> Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
> remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
> upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
>
> Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
> think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
> their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
> would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
> the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
> if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
> worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
>
> The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
> much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
>
> The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
> Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
> outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
> irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
> 26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
>
> After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
> operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
> Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
> pass.
>
> No-Touch Policy
> The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
> no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
> agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
> salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
> specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
> a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
>
> Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
> competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
> losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
> sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
> Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
>
> "I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
> really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
> http :// online.wsj,com /article/SB122826483720274329.html
>
> The Starmaker
>
> He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
> I'm within my rights.
> He's an illegal.
Re: No-Touch Policy-
"Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
@edtnps83:
> "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>
> A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
"Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
@edtnps83:
> "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>
> A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
Re: No-Touch Policy-
On Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:46:12 GMT, Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.>
wrote:
>"Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
>@edtnps83:
>
>> "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>>
>> A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>
>Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
Why say it at all? Who cares if the Israelis are selling cosmetics?
Are they celebrities? Are they television characters?
On Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:46:12 GMT, Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.>
wrote:
>"Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
>@edtnps83:
>
>> "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>>
>> A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>
>Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
Why say it at all? Who cares if the Israelis are selling cosmetics?
Are they celebrities? Are they television characters?
Re: No-Touch Policy-
Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
> @edtnps83:
>
> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
> >
> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>
> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
non-Jews are Fascist, racist, nazi.
Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
> @edtnps83:
>
> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
> >
> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>
> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
non-Jews are Fascist, racist, nazi.
Re: No-Touch Policy-
weary flake <wearyflake@hotmail,com > wrote in news:wearyflake-
D9CC2B.12283904122008@news.giganews,com :
> Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
>
>> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
>> @edtnps83:
>>
>> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>> >
>> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>>
>> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
>
> non-Jews are Fascist, racist, nazi.
Seriously, why is it?
weary flake <wearyflake@hotmail,com > wrote in news:wearyflake-
D9CC2B.12283904122008@news.giganews,com :
> Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
>
>> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
>> @edtnps83:
>>
>> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>> >
>> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>>
>> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
>
> non-Jews are Fascist, racist, nazi.
Seriously, why is it?
Re: No-Touch Policy-
On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:36:32 GMT, Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.>
wrote:
>weary flake <wearyflake@hotmail,com > wrote in news:wearyflake-
>D9CC2B.12283904122008@news.giganews,com :
>
>> Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
>>
>>> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
>>> @edtnps83:
>>>
>>> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>>> >
>>> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>>>
>>> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
>>
>> non-Jews are Fascist, racist, nazi.
>
>Seriously, why is it?
Did you miss the part where he said he wanted to kill them because
they are Israelis?
On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:36:32 GMT, Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.>
wrote:
>weary flake <wearyflake@hotmail,com > wrote in news:wearyflake-
>D9CC2B.12283904122008@news.giganews,com :
>
>> Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
>>
>>> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
>>> @edtnps83:
>>>
>>> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>>> >
>>> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>>>
>>> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
>>
>> non-Jews are Fascist, racist, nazi.
>
>Seriously, why is it?
Did you miss the part where he said he wanted to kill them because
they are Israelis?
Re: No-Touch Policy-
David Johnston <david@block,net > wrote in
news:13ijj4ll89uandq755jbg8cmsbpaikraru@4ax,com :
> On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:36:32 GMT, Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.>
> wrote:
>
>>weary flake <wearyflake@hotmail,com > wrote in news:wearyflake-
>>D9CC2B.12283904122008@news.giganews,com :
>>
>>> Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in
>>>> news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076 @edtnps83:
>>>>
>>>> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>>>> >
>>>> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>>>>
>>>> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling
>>>> cosmetics?
>>>
>>> non-Jews are Fascist, racist, nazi.
>>
>> Seriously, why is it?
>
> Did you miss the part where he said he wanted to kill them because
> they are Israelis?
He's just a blowhard.
David Johnston <david@block,net > wrote in
news:13ijj4ll89uandq755jbg8cmsbpaikraru@4ax,com :
> On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:36:32 GMT, Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.>
> wrote:
>
>>weary flake <wearyflake@hotmail,com > wrote in news:wearyflake-
>>D9CC2B.12283904122008@news.giganews,com :
>>
>>> Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in
>>>> news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076 @edtnps83:
>>>>
>>>> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
>>>> >
>>>> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>>>>
>>>> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling
>>>> cosmetics?
>>>
>>> non-Jews are Fascist, racist, nazi.
>>
>> Seriously, why is it?
>
> Did you miss the part where he said he wanted to kill them because
> they are Israelis?
He's just a blowhard.
Re: No-Touch Policy-
Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
> @edtnps83:
>
> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
> >
> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>
> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
In Jewish eyes, it is fascist racist nazi to make the accusation,
but really, understand, according to Jews, every non-Jew is a
fascist racist nazi when it comes down to it.
Bluuuue Rajah <Bluuuuue@Rajah.> wrote:
> "Matthew Kruk" <overthe@rainbow,com > wrote in news:B3qZk.2222$si6.2076
> @edtnps83:
>
> > "The Starmaker" <starmaker@ix,net com,com > wrote in message ...
> >
> > A bunch of racist Nazi shit.
>
> Why is it racist and Nazi to say that Israelis are selling cosmetics?
In Jewish eyes, it is fascist racist nazi to make the accusation,
but really, understand, according to Jews, every non-Jew is a
fascist racist nazi when it comes down to it.
Re: No-Touch Policy-
On Dec 2, 10:38=EF=BF=BDpm, The Starmaker <starma...@ix,net com,com > wrote:
> Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
> Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
> one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
>
> But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
> salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
> miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
> tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
> eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
> about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
>
> Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
> in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
> reports.
> "I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
> after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
> and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
>
> At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
> crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
> no-holds-barred selling style.
>
> Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
> passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
> lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
> flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
> Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
> culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
> customer will be willing to pay.
>
> It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
> vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
>
> 'We're Hunting!'
> "We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
> vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
> for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
> during the holidays.
>
> Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
> role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
> cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
>
> But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
> in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
> kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
> wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
> Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
>
> Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
> mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
> trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
> mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
> Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
> Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
> housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
>
> For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
> head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
> Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
>
> She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
> her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
> at carts near Akron, Ohio.
>
> "Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
> 28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
> company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
>
> Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
> and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
> sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
> than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
> crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
> vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
> special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
>
> Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
> 2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
> awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
> fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
> Minneapolis mall.
>
> "You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
> be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
> Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
> malls every holiday season since then.
>
> He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
> about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
> Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
> the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
> video as a recruitment tool.
>
> The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
> YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
> Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
> have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
> products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
>
> Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
> carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
> merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
>
> "Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
> Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
> which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
> operators.
>
> Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
> remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
> upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
>
> Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
> think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
> their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
> would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
> the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
> if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
> worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
>
> The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
> much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
>
> The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
> Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
> outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
> irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
> 26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
>
> After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
> operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
> Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
> pass.
>
> No-Touch Policy
> The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
> no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
> agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
> salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
> specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
> a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
>
> Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
> competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
> losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
> sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
> Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
>
> "I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
> really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
>
> The Starmaker
>
> He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
> I'm within my rights.
> He's an illegal.
Interesting article. Something I should have paid attention to while
shopping at malls. However, can't you say "No Thanks" and go about
your biz?
Mike
On Dec 2, 10:38=EF=BF=BDpm, The Starmaker <starma...@ix,net com,com > wrote:
> Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
> Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
> one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
>
> But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
> salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
> miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
> tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
> eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
> about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
>
> Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
> in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
> reports.
> "I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
> after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
> and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
>
> At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
> crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
> no-holds-barred selling style.
>
> Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
> passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
> lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
> flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
> Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
> culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
> customer will be willing to pay.
>
> It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
> vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
>
> 'We're Hunting!'
> "We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
> vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
> for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
> during the holidays.
>
> Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
> role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
> cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
>
> But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
> in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
> kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
> wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
> Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
>
> Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
> mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
> trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
> mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
> Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
> Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
> housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
>
> For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
> head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
> Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
>
> She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
> her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
> at carts near Akron, Ohio.
>
> "Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
> 28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
> company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
>
> Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
> and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
> sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
> than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
> crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
> vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
> special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
>
> Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
> 2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
> awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
> fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
> Minneapolis mall.
>
> "You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
> be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
> Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
> malls every holiday season since then.
>
> He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
> about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
> Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
> the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
> video as a recruitment tool.
>
> The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
> YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
> Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
> have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
> products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
>
> Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
> carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
> merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
>
> "Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
> Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
> which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
> operators.
>
> Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
> remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
> upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
>
> Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
> think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
> their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
> would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
> the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
> if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
> worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
>
> The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
> much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
>
> The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
> Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
> outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
> irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
> 26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
>
> After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
> operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
> Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
> pass.
>
> No-Touch Policy
> The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
> no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
> agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
> salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
> specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
> a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
>
> Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
> competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
> losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
> sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
> Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
>
> "I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
> really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
>
> The Starmaker
>
> He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
> I'm within my rights.
> He's an illegal.
Interesting article. Something I should have paid attention to while
shopping at malls. However, can't you say "No Thanks" and go about
your biz?
Mike
Re: No-Touch Policy-
"King B Man" <kingbman@aol,com > wrote in message
news:5d9a45be-eb13-4c3d-a235-e6e53147f720@k24g2000pri.googlegroups,com ...
On Dec 2, 10:38?pm, The Starmaker <starma...@ix,net com,com > wrote:
> Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
> Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
> one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
>
> But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
> salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
> miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
> tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
> eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
> about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
>
> Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
> in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
> reports.
> "I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
> after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
> and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
>
> At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
> crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
> no-holds-barred selling style.
>
> Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
> passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
> lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
> flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
> Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
> culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
> customer will be willing to pay.
>
> It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
> vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
>
> 'We're Hunting!'
> "We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
> vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
> for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
> during the holidays.
>
> Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
> role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
> cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
>
> But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
> in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
> kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
> wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
> Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
>
> Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
> mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
> trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
> mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
> Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
> Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
> housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
>
> For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
> head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
> Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
>
> She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
> her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
> at carts near Akron, Ohio.
>
> "Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
> 28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
> company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
>
> Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
> and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
> sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
> than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
> crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
> vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
> special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
>
> Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
> 2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
> awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
> fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
> Minneapolis mall.
>
> "You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
> be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
> Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
> malls every holiday season since then.
>
> He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
> about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
> Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
> the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
> video as a recruitment tool.
>
> The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
> YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
> Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
> have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
> products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
>
> Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
> carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
> merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
>
> "Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
> Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
> which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
> operators.
>
> Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
> remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
> upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
>
> Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
> think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
> their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
> would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
> the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
> if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
> worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
>
> The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
> much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
>
> The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
> Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
> outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
> irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
> 26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
>
> After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
> operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
> Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
> pass.
>
> No-Touch Policy
> The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
> no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
> agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
> salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
> specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
> a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
>
> Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
> competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
> losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
> sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
> Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
>
> "I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
> really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
>
> The Starmaker
>
> He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
> I'm within my rights.
> He's an illegal.
Interesting article. Something I should have paid attention to while
shopping at malls. However, can't you say "No Thanks" and go about
your biz?
Mike
Most peoples' first instinct is to be polite and not make a scene. I was
accosted by one of these guys at a mall in Oregon. They can be persistent
and try to make you feel slobby and icky for not buying their product. It
was the fingernail polisher thing this guy had. However, from now on I'm
going to tell them to take a hike. I'll call for Security if I need to. In
fact, I'll mosey over to the mall just to set one of the little shits up.
"King B Man" <kingbman@aol,com > wrote in message
news:5d9a45be-eb13-4c3d-a235-e6e53147f720@k24g2000pri.googlegroups,com ...
On Dec 2, 10:38?pm, The Starmaker <starma...@ix,net com,com > wrote:
> Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
> Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
> one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
>
> But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
> salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
> miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
> tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
> eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
> about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
>
> Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
> in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
> reports.
> "I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
> after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
> and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
>
> At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
> crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
> no-holds-barred selling style.
>
> Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
> passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
> lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
> flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
> Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
> culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
> customer will be willing to pay.
>
> It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
> vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
>
> 'We're Hunting!'
> "We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
> vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
> for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
> during the holidays.
>
> Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
> role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
> cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
>
> But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
> in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
> kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
> wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
> Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
>
> Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
> mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
> trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
> mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
> Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
> Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
> housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
>
> For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
> head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
> Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
>
> She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
> her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
> at carts near Akron, Ohio.
>
> "Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
> 28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
> company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
>
> Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
> and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
> sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
> than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
> crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
> vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
> special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
>
> Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
> 2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
> awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
> fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
> Minneapolis mall.
>
> "You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
> be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
> Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
> malls every holiday season since then.
>
> He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
> about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
> Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
> the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
> video as a recruitment tool.
>
> The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
> YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
> Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
> have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
> products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
>
> Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
> carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
> merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
>
> "Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
> Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
> which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
> operators.
>
> Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
> remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
> upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
>
> Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
> think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
> their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
> would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
> the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
> if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
> worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
>
> The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
> much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
>
> The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
> Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
> outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
> irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
> 26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
>
> After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
> operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
> Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
> pass.
>
> No-Touch Policy
> The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
> no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
> agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
> salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
> specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
> a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
>
> Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
> competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
> losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
> sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
> Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
>
> "I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
> really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
>
> The Starmaker
>
> He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
> I'm within my rights.
> He's an illegal.
Interesting article. Something I should have paid attention to while
shopping at malls. However, can't you say "No Thanks" and go about
your biz?
Mike
Most peoples' first instinct is to be polite and not make a scene. I was
accosted by one of these guys at a mall in Oregon. They can be persistent
and try to make you feel slobby and icky for not buying their product. It
was the fingernail polisher thing this guy had. However, from now on I'm
going to tell them to take a hike. I'll call for Security if I need to. In
fact, I'll mosey over to the mall just to set one of the little shits up.
Re: No-Touch Policy-
Pithy and Original wrote:
>
> "King B Man" <kingbman@aol,com > wrote in message
> news:5d9a45be-eb13-4c3d-a235-e6e53147f720@k24g2000pri.googlegroups,com ...
> On Dec 2, 10:38?pm, The Starmaker <starma...@ix,net com,com > wrote:
> > Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
> > Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
> > one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
> >
> > But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
> > salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
> > miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
> > tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
> > eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
> > about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
> >
> > Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
> > in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
> > reports.
> > "I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
> > after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
> > and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
> >
> > At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
> > crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
> > no-holds-barred selling style.
> >
> > Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
> > passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
> > lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
> > flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
> > Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
> > culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
> > customer will be willing to pay.
> >
> > It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
> > vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
> >
> > 'We're Hunting!'
> > "We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
> > vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
> > for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
> > during the holidays.
> >
> > Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
> > role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
> > cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
> >
> > But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
> > in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
> > kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
> > wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
> > Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
> >
> > Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
> > mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
> > trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
> > mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
> > Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
> > Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
> > housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
> >
> > For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
> > head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
> > Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
> >
> > She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
> > her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
> > at carts near Akron, Ohio.
> >
> > "Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
> > 28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
> > company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
> >
> > Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
> > and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
> > sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
> > than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
> > crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
> > vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
> > special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
> >
> > Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
> > 2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
> > awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
> > fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
> > Minneapolis mall.
> >
> > "You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
> > be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
> > Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
> > malls every holiday season since then.
> >
> > He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
> > about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
> > Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
> > the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
> > video as a recruitment tool.
> >
> > The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
> > YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
> > Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
> > have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
> > products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
> >
> > Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
> > carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
> > merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
> >
> > "Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
> > Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
> > which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
> > operators.
> >
> > Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
> > remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
> > upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
> >
> > Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
> > think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
> > their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
> > would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
> > the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
> > if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
> > worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
> >
> > The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
> > much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
> >
> > The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
> > Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
> > outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
> > irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
> > 26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
> >
> > After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
> > operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
> > Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
> > pass.
> >
> > No-Touch Policy
> > The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
> > no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
> > agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
> > salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
> > specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
> > a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
> >
> > Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
> > competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
> > losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
> > sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
> > Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
> >
> > "I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
> > really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
> >
> > The Starmaker
> >
> > He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
> > I'm within my rights.
> > He's an illegal.
>
> Interesting article. Something I should have paid attention to while
> shopping at malls. However, can't you say "No Thanks" and go about
> your biz?
> Mike
>
> Most peoples' first instinct is to be polite and not make a scene. I was
> accosted by one of these guys at a mall in Oregon. They can be persistent
> and try to make you feel slobby and icky for not buying their product. It
> was the fingernail polisher thing this guy had. However, from now on I'm
> going to tell them to take a hike. I'll call for Security if I need to. In
> fact, I'll mosey over to the mall just to set one of the little shits up.
Don't call security, just beat them up! Trample them to death, it's Christmas!
Pithy and Original wrote:
>
> "King B Man" <kingbman@aol,com > wrote in message
> news:5d9a45be-eb13-4c3d-a235-e6e53147f720@k24g2000pri.googlegroups,com ...
> On Dec 2, 10:38?pm, The Starmaker <starma...@ix,net com,com > wrote:
> > Ana Guembes made a quick trip to the Westfield Fashion Square mall in
> > Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
> > one recent morning to pick up some face powder at Macy's.
> >
> > But before she could get to the department store, she was accosted by a
> > salesman at a cosmetics cart in the middle of the mall corridor. "Hello,
> > miss. I want to show you something," he called out to her, brandishing a
> > tube of lotion with Dead Sea minerals. Soon the salesman was applying
> > eye gel, salts and creams to Ms. Guembes's skin while chatting away
> > about their cleansing and beautifying properties.
> >
> > Young Israelis are manning kiosks in just about every significant mall
> > in the U.S. thanks to a song by one of their own. WSJ's Ilan Brat
> > reports.
> > "I didn't mean to buy anything," said Ms. Guembes, a 40-ish nanny. But
> > after 45 minutes at the cart, she'd spent $129 on a container of eye gel
> > and two nail-care kits. "They know how to catch you."
> >
> > At malls across the country, shoppers are being besieged by a determined
> > crop of salespeople: young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a
> > no-holds-barred selling style.
> >
> > Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching
> > passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body
> > lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by
> > flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup.
> > Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the
> > culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a
> > customer will be willing to pay.
> >
> > It's a far cry from the selling style of many of their fellow cart
> > vendors who tend to be more passive and let customers come to them.
> >
> > 'We're Hunting!'
> > "We're not selling here -- we're hunting!" said Ms. Guembes's Israeli
> > vendor, who gave his name only as Yaniv. Working 12- to 14-hour shifts
> > for commissions of 20% to 30%, the Israelis can take home $500 a day
> > during the holidays.
> >
> > Turkish, Chinese, Indian and other immigrants have long played a big
> > role in the mall-cart business, thanks in part to the relatively low
> > cost of entry -- about $10,000 for setting up a cart or kiosk.
> >
> > But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players
> > in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and
> > kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say
> > wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las
> > Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
> >
> > Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the
> > mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting
> > trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their
> > mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language
> > Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise.
> > Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize
> > housing and transportation for their temporary workers.
> >
> > For five consecutive seasons, Angelina Kissa sold aromatic pillows,
> > head-massagers and hair-straightening devices at carts in Ohio,
> > Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
> >
> > She lived in apartments in groups of up to eight, with rent deducted by
> > her bosses from her paychecks. She says she made $8,000 her first season
> > at carts near Akron, Ohio.
> >
> > "Christmas in America, people buy so much," says Ms. Kissa, who is now
> > 28 years old and works in Las Vegas as a distributor for a fruit-juice
> > company. "A good hustler can sell anything, like ice to Eskimos."
> >
> > Some of these temporary workers are here without work visas. Immigration
> > and Customs Enforcement has conducted occasional raids, including a
> > sweep of several malls in 2004 and 2006 that led to the arrest of more
> > than 40 Israelis who were working illegally, according to ICE. But those
> > crackdowns haven't appeared to temper the number of Israeli cart
> > vendors. Some Israeli-owned companies are lobbying Congress to create a
> > special temporary work visa for the mall-cart workers.
> >
> > Israeli folk-rock musician Rami Feinstein first worked the carts in
> > 2003, dreaming about making enough money to record an album. He felt
> > awkward in the beginning because of the pushy tactics required to sell
> > fingernail-buffer kits and other products at a cart in a suburban
> > Minneapolis mall.
> >
> > "You have to be very strong mentally to hear, 'No, no, no,' and to still
> > be smiling...and still wait for the person that would buy," Mr.
> > Feinstein says. But the money was good, so he persisted. He's sold at
> > malls every holiday season since then.
> >
> > He channeled his frustration into a song called "Something Amazing,"
> > about the sales pitch he used to sell cosmetics. Seacret Spa LLC, a
> > Phoenix-based company that sells skin-care products using minerals from
> > the Dead Sea, learned of Mr. Feinstein's song and offered to produce a
> > video as a recruitment tool.
> >
> > The video became popular among Israeli youth when it first appeared on
> > YouTube in 2007. The 32-year-old's album came out earlier this year.
> > Izhak Ben-Shabat, president of Seacret Spa, says thousands of Israelis
> > have signed up to staff carts that sell his products. He says the
> > products are now in 550 U.S. locations, up from 20 in 2001.
> >
> > Wholesalers say cart operators have tried hiring Americans to staff
> > carts, but they lacked the art of the hustle -- too polite to move the
> > merchandise, especially for 12 hours straight.
> >
> > "Israelis are natural-born closers" on the sales floor, says Steven
> > Malkin, marketing director for Vancouver-based Relaxus Products Ltd.,
> > which supplies slippers, toy airplanes and other items to cart
> > operators.
> >
> > Adva Arnon, an Israeli who was saving for a South American trip, pushed
> > remote-control helicopters and Dead Sea skin-care products at carts in
> > upstate New York and on the West Coast two recent holiday seasons.
> >
> > Having grown up on a communal farm, or kibbutz, in Israel, she didn't
> > think she'd excel at the job. But she learned to grab customers and rub
> > their hands with lotion or Dead Sea mud, telling them of the wonders it
> > would do for their skin. She started high and then lowered the price if
> > the customer agreed to buy two products, or threw in another item free
> > if the customer took two at "full" price. She remembers selling $450
> > worth of Dead Sea products to a single customer on several occasions.
> >
> > The secret is to "talk, talk, talk. You can't let the customer think too
> > much," says Ms. Arnon, now 28 and a university student in Jerusalem.
> >
> > The Israelis' hands-on approach irks some Americans. In recent weeks,
> > Katie Kovacik says she has watched Israelis at several carts in a mall
> > outside Chicago use the same clip-on hair extensions and straightening
> > irons on one shopper after another. "That's gross," said the
> > 26-year-old, who's studying to be a skin-care professional.
> >
> > After fielding complaints about overly aggressive vendors, some mall
> > operators have taken measures. The Natick Collection, a mall in Natick,
> > Mass., forbids cart salespeople from calling out to customers as they
> > pass.
> >
> > No-Touch Policy
> > The Westfield Group, an international owner and operator of malls, has a
> > no-touch policy for cart sellers, unless a "customer shows interest and
> > agrees" to product sampling. The company also stipulates that
> > salespeople must stay within 24 inches of their carts. "There are very
> > specific rules of engagement, and they are enforced," says Katey Dickey,
> > a spokeswoman for the Westfield Group in the U.S.
> >
> > Some non-Israeli cart operators have mixed feelings about the
> > competition. Israelis "are really hassling people a lot," and people are
> > losing respect for the carts, says Ayhan Yuce, a Turkish immigrant who
> > sells jewelry, sunglasses and toys at carts in about 60 U.S. malls.
> > Still, he's considering studying Hebrew.
> >
> > "I really would like to hire some of those Israelis," he says. "They are
> > really good salesmen. You have to admire them."
> >
> > The Starmaker
> >
> > He moves more than 24 inches from his cart, I'll fuckin shoot him!
> > I'm within my rights.
> > He's an illegal.
>
> Interesting article. Something I should have paid attention to while
> shopping at malls. However, can't you say "No Thanks" and go about
> your biz?
> Mike
>
> Most peoples' first instinct is to be polite and not make a scene. I was
> accosted by one of these guys at a mall in Oregon. They can be persistent
> and try to make you feel slobby and icky for not buying their product. It
> was the fingernail polisher thing this guy had. However, from now on I'm
> going to tell them to take a hike. I'll call for Security if I need to. In
> fact, I'll mosey over to the mall just to set one of the little shits up.
Don't call security, just beat them up! Trample them to death, it's Christmas!
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