Oh Vendor Sellers

The vendor seller. This pictures was taken by me in Delegan beach, Gresik in 2011

I invite you to imagine when no vendor sellers around us or when they are prohibited to sell their product due to health reason. What will happen? I’m sure that some of us (especially me, maybe) we’ll be so depressed. If we’re hungry and no food at home, we have to go out, ride our vehicle, and then buy some food in the inn, cafe, or restaurant. Sometimes, I just shout to the vendor sellers who peddle along their product in front of my house when I wanna purchase their product. So, simple right. Actually, vendor sellers facilitate what we need, make our life simpler. I analyse that there are so many interesting things about vendor sellers especially their name, the way of attracting the customers, and also the price. 

In Indonesia, the name of vendor seller is Pedagang Kaki Lima (a merchant who has five legs). If we’re strangers, we’ll think that that’s funny. That’s impossible if a merchant has five legs. My elementary school teacher ever told me that five legs means two legs of vendor seller and three legs of their wagon. The vendor sellers push the wagon when peddling along their product on the street. Nowadays, many vendor sellers use cars to offer or promote their product. In Gresik Kota Baru (GKB) for example, many vendor sellers who sell pecel, Es Degan, nasi krawu and the other snacks use car to promote their product. I think it’s their strategy to decrease outcome in renting place. If we love eating vendor seller snack, just come there on Saturday night, that’s the heaven of vendor seller snacks.

The way of vendor sellers attempt to attract the customer is also fascinating to be known. Language as communication has two function, transactional and interactional. Transactional is when language is used to transmit the information. If it is spoken to establish or maintain the social relation is interactional. And, the vendor sellers use interactional. What the vendors seller are saying does not merely inform their product, but also to attract the customer’s attention. It is expected that the customer will buy their product from their verbal offer. Around my house, the vendor seller promote their product by saying what they sell like “ketan, ketan” or “pentol enjoy, pentol enjoy”. Some of them also use a thing like bell. It caws ‘ting-ting’ (but that’s not Ayu Ting-ting hahaha). When I was child, I loved eating es Wawan. When es Wawan vendor seller caws the bell, I went out and found the vendor seller. Hmm that’s yummy.

The price offered by vendor sellers is also different than other. Their product is cheaper that the other places offered. Why? I think because they do not need to buy or rent the place, they just use their body to sell their product in the street to their costumer. In addition, their costumers are from middle and low social class that have average income. That’s why they have to make their product cheaper so that their customer can afford their product. As a university student and kost girl in 2006-2010, the vendor sellers really gave me many advantages. I did not need to go out when the vendor seller came, just shouted them from my boardinghouse. If I was lucky, I could entrust my friend who wanted to buy the same thing with me. My favourite vender seller was Pak Min, meatball vendor seller who was nice to their customer. Now, he is not vendor seller anymore. He is the owner of Warung Bakso Pak Min. Good Job Pak Min.

As a person who gets many advantages from the vendor sellers, I just wanna appreciate them by saying thank you very much. Because of them, I can eat something with cheap price. Because of them, I don’t need to ride my bicycle when feeling hungry. Because of them, I can get many delicious snacks. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Vendor seller! Ita loves you very much.

Alfanita Zuraida