Colombian salesmen respond to fraud allegations

The fast talking salesmen hawking those volcanic fry pans are singing a different tune tonight as quite a few Belizean buyers are convinced they were duped. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports.

Gerardo Garcia Flores, P.R., Vafiponce
“A you are here I invite you to see that right here we have the thin model and the thicker model, but both are the same fry pan. It works similar.”

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
This morning Vafiponce International, the company behind the Global Discovery Trade Show held a press conference in Belize City to respond to allegations of fraud over their frying pans.

The group conducted an onsite demonstration similar to the original sales pitch, but with a noticeable extra step.

Gerardo Garcia Flores
“The first time you use the frying pan you have to put three drops of oil. This is to cure the sulphates. That is the point he forgot in the moment of making an explanation of demonstration.”

“This is the thinner one, this is lighter one and as you can see right here, directly with all the media here is the same thing.”

Kendra Griffith
“Why weren’t you telling people that there was a standard and there was an elite? Why weren’t you telling people?”

Gerardo Garcia Flores
“The difference is because some people like heavy as I said the first time. Some people like heavy, some people like light.”

Kendra Griffith
“People did not know that there was a heavy and a light and that is the problem.”

One of those consumers who didn’t know there were two versions of the product showed up at the demonstration this morning.

Dissatisfied Buyer
“That’s why we are paying for quality. Quality make the answer. This is a fake one, this is real. You should apologise.”

Gerardo Garcia Flores
“Yes, of course we apologise.”

Dissatisfied Buyer
“I accept your apology. But are you going to give me this one.”

Gerardo Garcia Flores
“Yes of course, we have no problem.”

According to Public Relations Officer Gerardo Garcia, the whole thing was a misunderstanding due to the language barrier.

Gerardo Garcia Flores
“The confusion the first time was the guy, the selling man, cannot explain you absolutely in English as most of us know don’t speak properly or perfect English.”

“We have fifteen years around Latin America, Central America and all the Caribbean island and we sell in French, in English and in Spanish, all that countries. It the first time that problem happen with us.”

While he could not come up with an exact figure, Garcia says they have sold approximately a hundred of the frying pans and have had about ten returned.

Jacqueline Woods, Returned Items
“It’s not a matter of the money; it’s a matter of what you say. They tell you something that it not so and I think people do get upset for that.”

This morning, Jacqueline Woods returned not a frying pan, but a plunger that she says also does not work.

Jacqueline Woods
“It really looked good the way they performed and the way they show it and explained to you it really worked and when I went and tried it the way you needed to do it, it just, the air just comes out. You pull it, they ask you to put three drops of oil and do this and do that, but in fact nothing, just air comes out.”

The Vafiponce representatives maintain that they have no problem exchanging or refunding the products and say they have corrected the error that led to the controversy.

Gerardo Garcia Flores
“We improve our demonstration at the moment and that’s the learning we get. It’s very expensive for us, but we learn. And we apologise for all the people here in Belize.”

Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.

The Global Trade Show is now operating out of the Orange Walk Multipurpose Complex. Before leaving the country, they plan to also set up shop in Belmopan and San Pedro.