Wait, I should clarify: she didn’t enter anyone’s private room. She handed her card out to the grandparents who were watching their grandkids through the window of the nursery and the other women who were waiting for ultrasounds. I think the recovery rooms were on another floor. I probably didn’t word that clearly enough.
Although I find your story somewhat questionable if it supposedly happened in the United States
It didn’t, it happened in China. Also, there were reps from at least three other different companies there, as well, handing out samples of diapers, formula, and catalogs for clothes. I was a bit annoyed and embarrassed, but what are you gonna do? That’s the way it is over here in many cases.
Well, I’m glad I didn’t have my babies in China, then. :rolleyes: For all we know, it’s more socially acceptable to try to sell insurance to hospital visitors there–that’s bizarre as hell (to us), but there it is.
I can’t stand insurance people bothering me–I’m with the OP. I canceled my newspaper subscription because they would not leave me alone. I got Sundays and Wednesdays, but they wanted me to get it daily. I told the gal who called the last time that if they called me again, I would cancel. Bingo. 2 weeks later, another sales call. Buh-bye newspaper. This was before the massive hemorrhage that is occurring now. I miss my paper, but not enough to put up with the nonsense.
Who is this agent to decide she knows better than her client? She needs to stop harassing him and to ask him if he’s considered the need for gap insurance etc. She deserves to lose his business–there are too many agents out there who don’t treat their clients this way.
What is it with insurance agents, anyway? I had one (a fellow church member) attempt to sell me life insurance at a church marriage retreat. WTH? I dislike pushy people and I won’t buy from him. I might have if he had approached me under different circumstance.
I consider ivn the color guy for the Pit. He’s basically background noise, but every now and then he’s amusing.
Most people who don’t like this sort of thing will just quietly change companies or agents. They won’t bother to tell the company or agent WHY they’ve switched, but I can guarantee that some people switch because of this.
If someone works in this manner, s/he shouldn’t be too surprised or upset that s/he gets an earful of abuse occasionally from someone who’s already told three other agents or reps not to call again. If an agent or rep doesn’t like this, then s/he can switch marketing strategies, or switch jobs. Damned few people who are not in the business are going to care about their feelings.
It’s a culturally different view of privacy, I guess. Of the 20 or so cards she handed out that day, my wife got 14 new customers. :::Shrug:::: Take from that what you will. There were also six new mothers recuperating post-birth in a single room, too. Again, different expectations of privacy in different places.
Seriously, though: “get another job” is just ignorant advice. As if jobs just grow on trees or it wouldn’t mean throwing away years of training and experience for an insurance rep to switch jobs suddenly. If, as was mentioned above in one post, one “doesn’t care” that insurance agents have to try and make their living off of you, then I don’t think it’s fair to expect them to care about whether or not you’re being bothered by their calls. The road goes both ways.
On the other hand, a happy customer is a paying customer. An unhappy customer is a soon-to-be-ex-customer. I’m just happy I’m not in insurance.
The insurance agent is the one who’s the aggressor, or offender if you like. The agent is the one who is annoying people. She doesn’t have the right to annoy people. Period.
The customer is the one seeking out the service of the agent in the first place. Couldn’t it then be said that said customer brought it on themselves? You’re the one who gave that agent your phone number, she didn’t it buy it from someone else, she got it from you. As I said, if you don’t want an insurance agent to call you then don’t buy insurance.
Anyway, I have nothing else to say about this issue. My wife’s happy, I’m happy, her customers are happy, you’re probably happy.
No, it can’t be said, reasonably and honestly, that the customer is responsible for his/her own harassment. This is like saying a woman “brought it on herself” for getting catcalls, when her action was to go out in public without a male escort. This is just an attempt to deflect the blame from the agent (and possibly the company) who is trying to do a hardsell, when the customer has already indicated that such tactics are unwanted. I will bet that NONE of your wife’s customers said or implied “I want you to call me up whenever you’re running low on commissions”. My husband and I own a home and a farm, three vehicles, and one RV. And we insure them all with the same agent. And you know what? She doesn’t call us up and badger us about buying new insurance. The thing is, you see, we’re already her customers, and when we need to insure a new vehicle or whatever, then WE call HER up and inform her of our need, and she is delighted to write up a new policy. We’re mature, responsible adults (well, mostly responsible), and we know that it’s in our best interests to get a policy on large purchases/investments.
Now, I appreciate you are trying to defend your wife, and I respect that. But I don’t respect her business practices, nor do I respect her company’s policies. I note that you said she’s a Chinese insurance agent. China does not have great consumer protection, and I think this practice reflects that.
The thing that drives me crazy our our insurance company (Farmer’s) is that all correspondence that comes to our house is addressed to my husband. I shopped for the insurance, I signed the contracts, I pay the bills and they only ever have interaction with me.
I complained about it and was told that their computer only lets them put in one name for letters to go to, they can’t do 2 or a group. And so they just in default chose the man’s name. Even after I complained the stiff is still addressed to my husband.
When I bought my first house, the realtor was a friend of my dad’s.
I was the same as you, Palo.
In spite of this, the realtor kept talking to my husband and somewhat ignoring me. I started getting so mad that I finally told my dad that I was about to tell his friend off. I think my dad said something to him - and eventually we started understanding each other. Funny thing is, to this day, the realtor and I have become friends and he holds a dear place in my heart.
Very much so. As an RN, if I saw a visitor passing out business cards, I’d tell them to stop. If they didn’t, I’d call security. Most (if not all) hospitals here have a no soliciting policy. It works for your wife because it’s culturally approved (on some level). If you all moved here, she would have to change her practice.
Not sure it that was directed at me. I didn’t tell you to have your wife “get another job”. But I strongly disagree with you on your last point. A relationship has been established by the customer and the agent. The biggest part of that relationship is trust, but the second is respect. Respect my time and my boundaries as a customer and I may well not only give you more business, I’ll recommend you to my friends and family. Push it with me and you’re out on your ear. Which would your wife prefer?
Perhaps things are different in China, but here the middle class and upper middle class has been upsold for decades. We recognize every trick and ploy. We detest them. In an agent, I want competence, intelligence, trustworthiness and discretion. Not someone more interested in their next commission. Obviously, YMMV.
I didn’t realize where you were. But at least I don’t have to worry about her giving me insurance cards when I’m in the hospital – this is obviously one of those cultural disconnects that leaves both sides wondering WTF is wrong/isn’t wrong about that practice?
That’s OK, corpses don’t smell too great after a few days sitting in a back room at the Post Office.
kidneyfailure, talk about different societal expectations. Here, I would be pissed as hell if someone tried to sell me insurance OR products (or stiffs) while I was in the hospital. Not attacking your wife, just sayin’ it’s a whole different world.