Strange phone call from Kusadasi rug merchant?

This afternoon I received a phone call from a woman who claimed to be affiliated with the carpet store in Kusadasi where many Seabourn tours conclude.

She asked for me by name, and said I "might remember her" because I had visited the shop with other passengers last summer (July, in our case).

She told me that the shop had brought some carpets to New York City for a showing and didn't sell them all. Rather than carry them back to Turkey, they were contacting past visitors to see if we might want a "private showing" of rugs in our homes (!!) I told her their carpets were lovely, but we didn't need one.

Did anyone else get this call? It is bizarre on several levels:

We attended the carpet-making demonstration, but did not buy anything.

We never gave them our home phone number.

We live 2 hours from New York.

Were they really going to schlep a truck full of rugs to my house?

I can only assume that Seabourn gave (or sold) my home phone number to them. Any thoughts on this?

I knew someone who received a similar call, however it wasn't near NYC and the line they'd been on to Turkey was Regent. I'm not sure its the cruise lines selling info rather than the callers obtaining the information via some other method.

Same thing in London (after a Silversea cruise): "hello, you remember me? I am Mohammed...". The calls continued for a number of years....

Did you take a private excursion ?? Those tour companies would have your contact info. I have been getting calls from "Mustafa the carpet man" since my trip to Kusadasi, took private tours there while sailing on an RCCL & Regent cruise (tour not thru either cruise line). Interesting that Mustafa knew I had returned. I believe the tour company sold my contact info.

Been getting these calls at least 2 or 3 times a year for nearly 8 yrs. Kinda of a joke at our house.

One of the odd things about the call I know about is that it was several years after the cruise - so Im thinking the contact information wasn't exactly obtained through above board channels.

They have brought rugs to our house twice. Bought a rug in Kusadasi but not from the home visits.

If you buy one of these rugs I know a bridge that's also in NY for sale.

JVilleGal, the tour we took was a Seabourn shore excursion to Ephesus and the Terrace Houses.

I specifically chose it because it was the only one that did NOT mention a carpet demonstration in the tour description. But the tour did conclude at the carpet shop.

Our home phone number is unlisted, and I am very guarded about giving it out. There is no way they would have my information unless Seabourn provided it.

JVilleGal, the tour we took was a Seabourn shore excursion to Ephesus and the Terrace Houses.

 

I specifically chose it because it was the only one that did NOT mention a carpet demonstration in the tour description. But the tour did conclude at the carpet shop.

 

Our home phone number is unlisted, and I am very guarded about giving it out. There is no way they would have my information unless Seabourn provided it.

Have you confronted Seabourn about this? It shouldn't have been company policy - there would have been no need for SB to have disclosed your US phone number to their local Turkish tour operator in the first place. Either someone made a mistake or stole the information for resell. Whatever the case may be, this warrants an investigation by SB.

Our privately arranged tour did not go to the carpet store or factory.

These rug sellers are renowned for their cheeky persistence but this goes above and beyond! Annoying though and a little concerning. I would NEVER invite them to my home no matter how tempting their "special offer".

The cruise ships are required to provide passenger lists, which include passport details, to the port authorities ie Customs. People within these organizations, the n association with traders, can be very resourceful!

Several years ago, while on a SB cruise, we did a private tour to Ephesus. We had specifically told the tour company we did not want to visit a carpet shop or factory and they agreed. But on the way back to the ship the guide said we were going to stop at a carpet shop. After a long discussion which almost turned into an argument the guide refused to agree and drove to the carpet shop. It was only when we refused to get out of the car and he realized that there was going to be no sale that he relented and drove us back to the ship. Not only did he not get a kickback on a rug sale he got no tip.

It's funny, we were on a Silverseas cruise and our private excursion in Ephesus took us to a carpet factory. The guide made out like we were going to this special restaurant that his friend ran and that he knew the food was good. As it turned out, it was the carpet factory. We had a fantastic lunch and the tour was interesting. We didn't buy anything and I suppose after 4 years, we won't be getting a follow up phone call :)

If you buy one of these rugs I know a bridge that's also in NY for sale.

Love your work WRIPRO

Many thanks.

If you buy one of these rugs I know a bridge that's also in NY for sale.

Like the one London sold to the Yanks? Oh, sorry - they did.

We had the same experience with the phone call to our home. We had been on a Regent cruise and visited Ephesus and the Terrace houses. We had not even gone into the rug store but walked back to the ship instead.

Thanks for posting this thread. We always wondered about the strange rug phone call.

We got another call last week. Same lady, same rugs, same spiel. When I told her she had already called us, she apologized and hung up quickly.

I think I will convey my annoyance to Seabourn.

We got another call last week. Same lady, same rugs, same spiel. When I told her she had already called us, she apologized and hung up quickly.

 

I think I will convey my annoyance to Seabourn.

My suggestion would be to have a whistle next to the phone and when starts her spiel blow it into the phone. Alternatively, if you are a kinder gentler person than I am, you can do a Jerry Seinfeld and ask for her phone number and then tell her you will ring her back at a time that's inconvenient to her.

Then post her phone number on this forum and Facebook and Twitter so that we can all give her a call or SMS text.

I gave received several calls about the rugs. In my case, a man named Ali calls. Caller ID indicates a Florida area code.

Several years ago, while on a SB cruise, we did a private tour to Ephesus. We had specifically told the tour company we did not want to visit a carpet shop or factory and they agreed. But on the way back to the ship the guide said we were going to stop at a carpet shop. After a long discussion which almost turned into an argument the guide refused to agree and drove to the carpet shop. It was only when we refused to get out of the car and he realized that there was going to be no sale that he relented and drove us back to the ship. Not only did he not get a kickback on a rug sale he got no tip.

We had a similar experience and conversation after touring Ephesus with an independently arranged tour. I showed the guide the email from the tour company confirming that we would not be subjected to a carpet shop stop and she accused us of not supporting the Turkish economy! It detracted from an otherwise excellent tour. My assumption is that Kusadasi tour guides get paid a significant fee to bring tourists into a carpet shop whether a rug is purchased or not. But fortunately, we did not receive a follow-up sales call.

We purchased a hand-woven silk rug from a co-op in Kusadasi. We had a wonderful lunch and rather enjoyed the rug sales pitch. I am certain we paid top dollar for the rug, but we love it and have it hanging over our mantle. Everytime we look at it we are reminded of our magnificent cruise, so it has been worth it to us. And I did receive a call early this year from "Omar" claiming to represent the co-op. Don't know if he was legitimate, but he was fine when I told him we were not interested in purchasing another at this time. We had our rug mailed to us so they had all of our information. Did not surprise me to get a call, and I wasn't particularly offended by it.

We got another call last week. Same lady, same rugs, same spiel. When I told her she had already called us, she apologized and hung up quickly.

 

I think I will convey my annoyance to Seabourn.

I would document this and send it to Seabourn.

If you have a good TA with contacts at Seabourn have them help you get it to the right person. Ideally, it should go to the VP of Shore Excursions.

Seems very strange that you didn't provide contact information to the vendor yet they called you.

Keith

We actually had a very good experience with the purchase of rugs in Turkey. However I am very sympathetic to those who are being harassed by aggressive merchants. We bought lovely rugs in Bodrum while on a land-based trip, and gave out our contact info. Periodically we receive polite phone calls from the same merchant who comes to the States regularly, as he told us he would when we bought the rugs. We simply say "No thank you," and don't hear again for 6 or 12 months. I wish that calls from home remodeling contractors and political campaigners were less frequent! But still, I am sorry for your bad experience, and agree that you should reach out to Seabourn to see what they have to say.