{"id":601,"date":"2007-04-23T15:39:59","date_gmt":"2007-04-23T22:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/?p=601"},"modified":"2008-09-17T19:56:09","modified_gmt":"2008-09-18T02:56:09","slug":"death-of-a-sale-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/2007\/04\/23\/death-of-a-sale-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Death of a Sale. Man!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you find this searching Evans Glass or Eurocraft windows? Be warned! Do not let the Eurocraft window guys into your house unless you are willing to buy windows from them that day. They use will high pressure sales techniques and waste a lot of your time. I can not speak to the quality of their product as their sales techniques were such as to ensure that will never buy anything from them. <\/em><\/p>\n

If they’d showed up two weeks out, things might have ended differently, though not due to anything they did or did not do. After all, I responded positively to the hardware store pitch, willingly gave out my contact information, agreed to a visit from the crew, and let them in the house. It was my own fault. But about half an hour after they’d arrived, I was done. I could not wait for them to leave. And they were here for two and a half hours.<\/p>\n

Two and a half hours. God help me, I wanted to kill them.<\/p>\n

The problem was that I already wanted what they were selling, I just didn’t know if I could afford it. Our new home has very old windows, see, and many of them are painted shut. I would have been happy to buy new windows, absolutely delighted to. Thing is, I didn’t know when they walked in the door if I could afford them. I still don’t know, now that they’re gone. This has nothing to do with their prices, it’s all about my bank account, something over which, thankfully, they have no control.<\/p>\n

The sales guys weren’t having any of this. “Listen,” I said, “it might not look like it, but this is my work day. Are you going to need a whole lot longer?” “A little,” they said, and it was another hour and a half before Patrick, let’s call him Patrick, was saying “Well, I like to think we had a good time, maybe made new friends…” And even while backing off our front porch, Martin, let’s call him Martin because that’s kind of an older guy name, was still talking. “You want to get those windows in now while the house is new to you so you can enjoy them. It’s the best money you’ll spend on your house…”<\/p>\n

“Stop talking! Just. Stop. TALKING!” kept going through my head. J., as always, was more patient. “I think it’s the old guy,” he said. “I’ll bet he’s a friend of the owner. They draw straws back at the shop to see who gets to take Martin out for the day. You can bet Patrick was slapping his forehead in the car and saying ‘Why do I have to take him again?'”<\/p>\n

“Why don’t you put some more coffee on, sweetie,” said Martin. “Excuse me,” I responded, “I have to make a conference call.” Meanwhile, back at the kitchen table, J. was subject to more displays, more visual aids, more laminated Power Point slides. When I came back from my call, Martin started over again. “I showed him, let me show you…” I tried to divert Martin in to talking about anything else. I wanted him to charm with me with stories of his personal life. There was talk of dance lessons, of senior centers, of his unwillingness to retire, but it all came back to the quality of the company. I wasn’t interested anymore. They’d lost me at hello.<\/p>\n

Patrick was out in the car crunching the numbers or maybe calling 1-900 numbers, who can say. He came back in the house and started to lay out the bottom line. Sort of. “Here’s what I’ve got… but since you have the discount card, you have the discount card, right?” Even this part took forever. First we had to talk about the discount card, then about the order today price vs. the order next week price. Then, oh, okay, actually, if you’re hesitating on cost, let’s give you an additional 25%. We had to discuss financing, too, and the quality of the bank through which they finance. “Listen,” I said, this isn’t going to happen today. Next week, maybe, two weeks from now, maybe. But today, no. Not gonna happen.” “Well, just so we don’t get in trouble back at the office, let’s show you the company cost. We sell the windows to you at our company discount.” Of course you do.<\/p>\n

There are a few useful lessons in here, take note. One, and duh, if you don’t know this, please, pay attention, never, never, never accept the first price offered by a guy in tassled loafers, I don’t care what he’s selling. Two, ask on the phone how much of your goddamn day they are going to take up so you can plan accordingly. I’d set aside an hour – you’d think that would have been enough. Finally, find out ahead of time if there’s some same day deal and stall until you’re ready to buy.<\/p>\n

I hate this kind of hard sell and I hate being sold to. Plus, it was a waste of my time. I already wanted windows, I was absolutely willing to consider theirs. But I was so unbearably aggravated by the time they left, I had such a headache, I was so freakin’ tired of them that even if I had wanted to buy today, I would have sent them away and told them to come back in three hours after I’d had two aspirin washed down with Vodka. A-hem. Well, who can say if I’d have done that.<\/p>\n

Consider this a public service. Don’t invite the window guys in until you’re ready to buy. Set aside your entire morning and put the coffee on, sweetie, get your checkbook ready, and prepare for a standoff. Don’t blink until they’re packing up the briefcases and heading out the door.<\/p>\n

Other pissed off consumers:<\/p>\n