Everything ends someday. Business comes and goes, people change to suit the circumstances of a changing world, but the Motherland cannot be changed.
What happened was what I expected. The company did not make concessions and did not agree to consider partners’ proposals to overcome the current situation. Contrary to common sense, what apparently should have happened happened.
I want to start with a quote from a famous German philosopher and psychologist.
If other people do not understand our behavior – so? Their desire for us to do only as they understand is an attempt to dictate to us. If that means being “asocial” or “irrational” in their eyes, so be it. What offends them most is our freedom and our courage to be ourselves.
Erich Fromm
The main postulate of the InCruises company to this day is – Pay! And we will try to resolve your issue someday.
It all started not today
From 2016 to 2020 there were perhaps the best times and conditions at InCruises. The offer to travel on luxury liners, coupled with thoughtful marketing, brought pleasure to every partner at any rank. That is why the club constantly recruited more and more active members and partners.
The share of Russian-speaking countries prevailed in these years, and the CIS market was of great importance for the company. Therefore, any suggestions and assistance were impeccably implemented by management. We worked in very comfortable conditions, although there were attacks from outside, but, as a rule, this was done in the interests of tour operators and competitive companies. The prices in the club were really very competitive.
But time passed inexorably, the club was actively gaining momentum in other countries of the world. The importance of the CIS market weakened every year.
Pandemic
The pandemic hit many industries, but tourism suffered the most. We must pay tribute to the management, the club continued to develop even in such difficult times for everyone. But it was precisely this time that became the starting point. Partners and club members came during the global crisis with great hope that everything would soon return to normal and become the same as it was before the beginning of 2020.
But, alas, booked cruises were regularly canceled, and people continued to pay membership fees. Yes, someone managed to go on a cruise during these difficult times. But this is a small group of lucky ones who were able to guess the period of quieter time.
What motivated people in these 2 years? Of course, hope for better times. After all, active members of the club could book the trip of their dreams. They were canceled later, but the key phrase here is COULD book. The tension grew.
New membership 2.0
After the pandemic situation began to return to normal. A new membership agreement was announced. You couldn’t refuse, you could only accept the unfair conditions. Before this, a survey was conducted with a clumsy translation, where many simply did not understand what they wanted from them and checked the boxes at random.
I also could not help my partners who asked questions about filling out the questionnaire. If the entire concept of new membership had been proposed for consideration at once, nothing like this would have happened. Based on the results of this incomprehensible survey, it was decided to change the conditions of membership.
Everything would be fine, new people coming would decide for themselves whether they like this version of the agreement or not. But all the rest, long-time supporters of the club were simply presented with a fait accompli. Disagreement with the new conditions did not give access to your personal account. Stalemate situation.
They joined the club and accumulated bonus points under one set of conditions, but were offered to spend them under completely different conditions. Yes, it is worth saying that, according to the company, it has found a wonderful way out of the situation. InCruises management promised long-time partners an indulgence. Namely
Accumulated bonus points can be spent in the next 2 years on more favorable terms. The first half of the cost of the cruise can be paid in full by BB 1:2, and for the second half they can pay for it, but 2 times more. Here was the first surprise about the fact of taking away part of the BB from the partners’ accounts.
Now they are speculating on this, they say we met you halfway, bent over and gave you the opportunity not to pay extra in cash. So. Membership has been accepted, the promise has been made, pay the dues, but we will not provide the service yet, as well as the opportunity to invite new partners. That is, our agreement with the company is unilaterally violated. There are no memberships or partnerships. I will add that in the politics of the country that the club represents, there is exactly the same trend.
Legality of the company in the Russian Federation
Last year, the Central Bank added InCruises to the list of companies with a pyramid scheme. To which the club president promised the partners to resolve the issue. Send lawyers and convey the concept of the club. Things are still there today. To be honest, I doubt that there were even such attempts.
In a word, the company InCruises is officially banned in the Russian Federation. Theoretically, a partner in a club could be recognized, to put it mildly, as violating the law of the country. Well, I already wrote earlier that payments to an extremely unfriendly country can be regarded in the current situation as…
Running in the official appeal to club members
Of course, the company management knows that people in our countries are concerned about what is happening in the club and are ready to defend their rights in court. Therefore, it does not send mailings on behalf of the company to the mail of each member, as has always been the case. Plays it safe and delivers news through leaders. They, in turn, test the letter in chats. To which the partner community is constructively indignant, those items are removed, and literally the next day another option is given.
A striking example, in one appeal, the management of the InCruises club devoted an entire paragraph, which gave time for leaders to emigrate from the country to maintain their income, and for us to have a payment holiday so that we could relax and not pay attention to what we don’t need to know. A day later, this paragraph was no longer in the new appeal. Although the leaders give themselves away by publishing posts about how well they live in a particular country using Instagram and other places.
It seems that everything was planned much earlier. Apparently the public imprisonment of 17 leaders of the Finiko company structures greatly frightened them. Now they are far away and it seems to them that they are unattainable. You can freely earn high salaries by carrying out American assignments.
The hypocrisy of leaders
Last week I attended a team meeting, the reason for which was my first publication about common sense at InCruises. Where I learned a lot about myself from the leader of the branch. I remember one statement, or rather a call to think: — and for what purpose did he write this article? He is pursuing some selfish motives.
She said a lot of things besides that. For example, she invited partners who don’t have money at the moment to sell boots or a dress they had lying around and pay the membership fee. At the same time, she says that she does not know exactly when changes will occur and whether they will happen at all. In general, the person was rocking from side to side. But she still recommended paying, what if everything will work out.
Addressing partners and readers, I would like to use the question addressed to me from this lady. Have you ever wondered what goals she and her comrades are pursuing when they say this? What kind of secret intent and what motives does she have?
Output
I perfectly understand the people who find themselves in this situation. They want to preserve their investment in the club by any means necessary. Alas, it is definitely not possible to return it. Therefore, they will pay membership fees in September on parole, I can’t even say exactly whose. The management refuses to officially make a statement, and act through dummies. I mean the leaders of the club. A similar and painfully familiar situation in Ukraine, isn’t it?!
I always looked with a little envy at the diasporas of people from the Caucasus, Central Asia, China, and Vietnam. How friendly they are! They solve any issues and problems together and unite when necessary. Why we Russians are not like that? A? Why something very terrible can unite us, like war?
Why can’t we unite together and firmly declare to the club’s management that we will not tolerate such treatment and demand that we accept our conditions? Leaders should unite everyone, and not think about their own personal benefits. Don’t bend under America, let it bend under us!
So, for those activists who motivate their actions by obliging their structures to pay, they are acting for the benefit of their partners, so that they do not lose the accumulated BB. Surprisingly, your goals and mine coincide! But I’m not calling for you to lose even more and I don’t have selfish goals like you. That’s the whole difference.
I’m glad that everything will change soon, but I don’t know with what eyes you will look people in the face.
My solution
I’m not going to pay further! And I don’t recommend it to you, dear teammates, in order to avoid even greater losses. The beautiful fairy tale InCruises has come to a logical end. Time cannot be turned back, it will not be the same as before, no matter how much you hope and no matter what they promise you. IMHO.
In conclusion, I want to answer a possible question – Sergey, you don’t believe at all that reservations will be established soon? To be sure of anything, only an idiot can be 100% sure. I do not exclude the possibility that they will throw a bone for the dogs to fight. There will be several cruises, perhaps, over which people will fight. This has already happened, remember? Those who didn’t have time were late.
But I don’t see anything good in the medium and long term. Now we are from the Russian Federation and Belarus 20% and they no longer listen to us, in the future there will be even less.
To those who say that I am a “negative”, I propose to put the above on one side of the scale, and on the other endless promises and systematic deceit.
I’m just positive and moving on! In March, I mentally parted with my savings and take it as an experience.
And for those who really want to go on a cruise, there are good alternatives.
Be kind and fair throughout the world!
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