Pay Ahead Dilemma During This Pandemic, Will you do it?

I Have To Pay first? Pay a deposit/fee to ensure a place for your short term course. Pay now to book your place for next month's baking lessons. Pay a deposit for registration and membership fees first. From Facebook advertisements it will be like this, "Bank in RMxxx for purchase". These are the usual business transactions! But now with pandemic, I am skeptical in paying ahead! Why? Times are bad and many businesses are affected. Here are the senarios:

1. Restaurants and cafes membership. For example, even a restaurant that I have been patronizing regularly and saw many customers everyday can also suddenly close down the next week. OMG, this is the restaurant where you are encouraged to be a member, pay a certain amount ($$$) earlier and whatever you eat will be deducted. They say it saves you the hassle of giving cash and also they waive the charges for the containers for the takeaway. Yours truly here stupidly paid RM100....... Another situation where another restaurant that asked you to be member, and give discounts if you deposit money first. e.g. if this member pay ahead RM100, he will get 10% discount on next dine-in bill, if RM200-it will be 20%, RM300 it will be 30%....Will you do it?

2. SPAs and Beauty parlour treatments. You are encouraged to buy a package of a few treatments at a discount from the normal price. "If you buy 5 treatments/facials you will save 20% and we will give you an extra free facial." Will you do so? Mind you these packages are not cheap its in the four digits range! I had an experience here where I bought a facial treatment from one online platform for just RM60 (usual RM180). I went to do, found the services OK. After treatment, they will give me a cup of tea and try to sell me vouchers at a discounted rate which is only RM100 per facial. So I bought  one, then thinking that I will give my daughter a treat, I bought one more. Well, one month later I went there found that it is all locked up, business closed down!

3. Fitness Centers. Some established well known fitness center also so close down suddenly leaving members who paid up front astonished and a hole in the pocket! 

4. Travel agency.  Once there was a well known travel agency in also suddenly closed down overnight leaving all its employees in a lurch! Employees turned up to work the next day finding the office locked up! Imagine people who have paid up thousands of dollars on booking fees for their much awaited holidays.

5. Buying from social media pages. I have friends who have paid a certain company to purchase, bank in the money to an account and then couldn't contact the seller anymore. Recently during this pandemic, a friend got cheated buying masks from a seller through social media and the masks didn't arrive! The seller closed down the social media account and could not be contacted.

Yes, this pandemic affected many people and some are just forced to close down as business is running at a loss. But what about people like us, the innocent public? Are they closing down for real? Or are some really all out to collect money and close down when they have collected a large sum of money? 

Most people are stressed out during this pandemic including me. Please forgive me, but it has also made me more suspicious for all this pay ahead transactions. I did buy some fresh vegetables from online last year, but I bought from the ones that do COD transactions. 

Nowadays even my online purchases from established online platforms, such as Shopee, I prefer to pay at Seven Eleven (7/11)shops. I have gotten so paranoid to even use my credit card especially during this trying pandemic times with an over thinking and worrying state of mind. Occasionally old mentality sets in too....from a lady whose nearing 70 years old! 

I was thinking of learning a  new skill during this pandemic to keep by mind occupied. But after checking on the net, many asked me to pay first for the course. How? I am now at a dilemma too! 

Would you do it? Pay ahead during this pandemic? Well let me know in the comments, ya.