Not a slimy saleshole tactic as such, but some of these bring to mind something that’s kind of amusing, at least to me:
I get a lot of cards from flippers* that have the usual spiel about wanting to buy my house for cash, no closing costs, fast payout, blahblahblah (curiously omitting the fact that they want to pay maybe 20-30% of market value). For some reason — probably having to do with my last name containing an apostrophe — a parcel search based on address doesn’t return a name. So their pathetic attempt at personalization looks like “Dear Name not found in database” or somesuch.
At least they’re cards, so I’m relieved of even the minute temptation to open them.
*I used to joke about “flipping season” coinciding the first robin of spring, but now it appears to be a year-round activity.
i remeber my experience with angies list … i had a plumbing emergency and found out the place id used for years had dissolved and people were suing each other and id see this new thing called Angie’s list signed up and found a list of plumbers
Picked one that was in the area of what we could pay for and even used the onsite coupon which didn’t get recognized by the guys i called
Well come to find out most of the people on the “list” weren’t there voluntarily … they just grabbed a phone book tossed everyone in town on it and once people started using it attempted to shakedown the business for advertising and listing fees because they made them “popular”
after the work was done and paid for he gave me a card for 20-40 percent off if I called them directly …they were giving one to everyone in the hopes they’ed quit using “the list”
I have been getting phone calls, a recording that announces something about Bank of America <muffled> Chinese <muffled> Start recording now then segues into something in spoken Chinese … at which time I tend to hang up.
No idea what they are wanting, I don’t happen to speak Chinese.
I also had an odd happening on my phone, something in Russian appeared on my calendar, 2 different ‘appointments’ everyday, one at 0200 and the other at 0400 - again, no idea how it got there [I don’t do email or go to any random internet sites, I have 2 that I regularly go to and I will occasionally google for directions] but I was able to decline all instances and get it off my calendar.
The Chinese-language robocalls are, from what I’ve read, claiming to be from the Chinese embassy or the Chinese government saying that you need to pay money to them or face arrest. As you can guess, they’re aimed mostly at Chinese people living in the US. And that tells you just how cheap these calls must be, given that only a tiny fraction of the people in the US are the target and yet they’re calling numbers seemingly at random.
My wife is from China and we got one of these calls on our answering machine. In the message, they stated that the Chinese embassy was holding a package for us and to call them back at the number provided. Our assumption was that they would require some kind of delivery fee and then disappear, but we never did call the number so we don’t know how the scam would have proceeded from there.
I needed a new picture window and a window salesman just happened to be walking by. When I asked him for a price he told me he didn’t know, his job was to set up appointments for the real salesman. Ok, so I started setting up an appointment. Then he asked for a time when both my wife and I could be there, so I told him I wasn’t married (I’m married). Two days before the scheduled appointment I get a phone call saying that they looked up my house and discovered I was married and I needed to schedule an appointment for when both my wife and I would be available. Needless to say I cancelled my appointment using a lot of foul language.
First off, Could you imaging if it was my wife that made the appointment and they told her she needed her husband there to make a purchase? That shit would not fly.
Second, What kind of a low down, piece of shit, company needs to work spouses off each other to make a sale? Do they hold training courses in identifying the weak spouse and driving a wedge in their marriage?
I’ve only been on about 1.5 years so far, but yeah that’s exactly what I thought too. Best I can figure is they have enough people paying whatever jacked-up price is asked at the end of the promotional price that they can afford to play the games with those of us who won’t put up with it.
Seems about the same as the BBB and to greater extent, yelp. Everyone is on yelp, anyone can write reviews. But as a business, as soon as you ‘claim’ your yelp page you start getting sales calls and emails from them on a week basis (or more). Pay money to place ads around the site, pay money to show up when they search for a competitor, pay money so your ad shows up ON a competitors page, pay money so those things don’t happen to you. Goes on and on and on. We never gave them a dime and ended up blocking their number and using an email filter to delete their emails before they even get to us.
My WAG, and I’m not condoning it, is that they don’t want one spouse agreeing to it and then cancelling a few days later when their S.O. decides against it. But still, put a clause in the contract to prevent that like a non-refundable deposit. On top of all that, poking around online, finding (what could be) unreliable information that you’re married and calling you out on it is just bizarre. You should have told him your wife passed away or left you just a few days ago and sarcastically thanked him for reminding you as you cancel the appointment.
They had no interest in selling you a single picture window. They wanted to replace all the windows in your house. And yes, they absolutely have training in how to identify which spouse is leaning towards the purchase and working that.
There are reports of American Home Shield (you may have seen their Grim Reaper commercial) pulling this in reverse: they’ll pull a non-functioning appliance out and put a new one in but that old one will sit on the curb until they’re paid to take it away, often for not much less than what that new appliance costs. Assuming they decide to even honor that coverage in the first place.
In my area, and I assume many others, door to door sales people have to get a permit from the city. That being said, if you’re having a problem with one, call the police. Their permit will be revoked
Also, they must leave if asked. Of course, that’s not restricted to door to door people, anyone must leave if asked. If they don’t, their trespassing. I imagine a call to 911 telling them that you’re trying to get someone to leave your house and they’re refusing will get a quick response, both from the police and the salesman.
A few years ago, I got a set of new appliances. The delivery people first wheeled the old appliances out onto the sidewalk, then brought in the new ones. By the time they got the first new appliance into the house (not even installed) and went to get the second one, the old ones had disappeared from the sidewalk.
Similarly, when I got a new furnace installed, the installers just wheeled the old one into the alley and one of them said, “if it’s still there when we’re ready to leave, we’ll call someone.” Sure enough, it was gone in less than an hour.
Done =)
Just had a blast screwing with a Robert Brown on Face Book … Got a message asking me to friend him, so I did the fair thing and went to his page to see what he had for public access. Pics - about 5 of them. Distinguished looking army guy, officer, serious rank, JCOS badge, infantry rifle, armored badge, some other odds and ends. Pacific rim sort, showed one pic seeming to involve Hawaii. SO I friended him and we started to chat … basic pleasantries, nothing particularly serious - me being in CT, he was originally from York PA. He is purportedly on the American Peacekeeping Force in Syria. I asked him what his favorite aspect of his MOS and his least favorite aspect … his response - his favorite was access to getting into the military academy, his least favorite was having his daughter! I finally got tired of messing with him and defriended him as I had stuff I needed to do :p:p:p:p:p
When I go through the mail at work, I toss the junk mail (80% of my mail) without opening it.
A few years ago our phone company went through a bankruptcy and got a new name. The new phone company’s first bill looked like junk mail, so I tossed it. Apparently most other people did as well. They redesigned their envelope and resent the bills, with no surcharge for not paying the original.
Dang! Now I kinda want to go out and buy a printer, even though there’s nothing wrong with the one I’ve got, just so I can do this! Shoot, I may just change my email ferreals–my friends will understand and everyone else can … well I don’t care about them.
