Kiosk hawkers elevate the hard sell

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Pushy salespeople are not uncommon. But the behavior of one group of hawkers at an Albuquerque mall isn’t just pushy, it’s illegal and downright frightening.

Over the past year, many Coronado Center shoppers have complained about sales clerks at three kiosks at the mall. Police have even put two salesmen in handcuffs.

"Victims who alleged they had been grabbed, forced to sit in a chair or grabbed and not released until somebody came along and told the guy to let go of the lady,” said Officer Randy Newbill of the Albuquerque Police Department. “I've had two of those.”

"James," who is scared to be identified, was one of those people. He went to Coronado Center last month and said a woman at a kiosk called Secret Spa grabbed his arm as he walked by.

"(She) said you need some of this facial stuff and starts rubbing it on my wrist," James said. "I kept telling her I don't want this stuff. I don't want to buy it."

Nonetheless, James said he was pressured into purchasing $200 worth of face cleansers, creams and scrubs that he could not afford.

When he got home, his mother came unglued.

"He was coerced, duped, taken advantage of," said his mother, who also didn’t want to be identified.

The upset mother went to confront the vendor the next day. It took an hour with three security guards by her side to get her son's money back.

Newbill said he's received and heard plenty of complaints about aggressive, pushy sales people from Coronado kiosks called Secret Spa, Oro Gold and Hair Secret. He believes all three shops have connected ownership.

Last April, Newbill arrested Ran Hgbi and charged him with false imprisonment for detaining a mother and daughter at Hair Secret. Newbill said the mother was frightened and the daughter was crying.

The officer used handcuffs to detain Ido Ksantini in December. He faces the same charges for trying to sell a woman products at Oro Gold and not letting her leave.

Charges were later dropped against Hgbi because he fled back to his home country of Israel. The Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office is still reviewing the case against Ksantini.

Three KRQE News 13 employees went undercover on two different occasions to see how we would be treated at these kiosks. They experienced hard sells but nothing overly aggressive, and nobody forced them into chairs or tried to restrain them.

The salespeople’s tactics may have let up after a recent warning from Coronado Center's management. Over the phone, the mall's general manager said he's aware of the complaints and his staff has warned the employees.

GM Randy Sanchez said their behavior has improved and the problem is not bad enough to evict them.

But James' mother said the objectionable behavior is still happening.

"Come on, this is 2012.  People don't do business like that," she said.