Caveat Emptor

I had the good fortune of reading the book Influence: Science and Practice a few years back.

That has helped me to look back and see when I have been taken advantage of in my life. I can also better tell when someone is trying to bullshit me into buying something I may not need or want.

The goal of most sales people is to take away all your excuses for turning down their product. They want to convince you that your purchase is a "no-brainer".

That's exactly the problem; they don't want your brain involved in the process.

A pair of salesmen came along to my house peddling home security systems. They rolled out about every sales tactic found in the Influence book that I read.

First, they insinuated that the alarm system was "free".

Yeah. Uh-huh.

This was a setup for the "low-ball" technique.

They also said that this was a promotion only being done for about maybe three houses in the area.

That was the tactic of scarcity. Make something seem precious, and people will want it. I would be foolish to turn down a rare opportunity.

They got me to admit that I would want a security system. They got me to verbally acknowledge that having a system would increase the value of my home and make my wife and children feel so much safer. If I say "yes" to this, then I would be foolish to say "no" to the system if it were "free". They even had zeros in all the blanks on the contract showing that I wouldn't owe anything at all if I signed up. They even said that I could try it for a week, and have the service turned off if I don't stay with the plan. The equipment would even be mine to keep!

Then they shove the contract at me and try to get me to sign it while they "see" if the company has enough money in their advertising budget to follow though with this exclusive "promotional" offer that I've been given.

Had I not known about these kinds of sales tactics, I probably would have signed without even reading the contract!

And I would have found myself royally pissed about week later when I realized that I didn't get what I had expected. Worse-- I would have been locked into a three year contract paying for something that I thought was totally free.

Since I could recognize that they were being aggressive, (though they were such polite and nice fellows on the surface) I went into critical thinking mode and starting asking a ton of annoying questions. I slowed things down a bit because they were trying to ram this sell down my throat despite how gentle they came across in conversation.

After all, maybe they do have a good product. I like what I see. Even when you get a decent deal, you've got to wade through a lot of the sales fluff you get during a purchase.

But, I'm not buying if I don't know exactly what I'm getting into.

Up front.

• I finally find out that you DO have to pay $50.00 a month for the monitoring of your home.
• You DO get locked into a contract of three years.
• You do get a grace period to try the product. But it's NOT a week. It's only three days.
• The techs will come out and fix any problems for free-- but only for the first 120 days.

I wouldn't have known any of these things, if I hadn't read the contract right there in front of them and challenge them on all the contradictions between their speech and their contract. The contract itself even says, "Do not sign this form if you don't understand the terms of this agreement and have not read this contract in it's entirety".

See why you should read the contract?

Now, here are some pros in the product's favor:

• The company head quarters did receive awards for their customer service recently.
• Their product seems to have quality, seems solid and appears to be quite advanced.
• They are very affordable. My wife really, really wanted an alarm system a few years ago, but we didn't get it; Too expensive. I would have to pay lots of money up front for the equipment, get a phone line, and then pay their monitoring fee. Here, I only had a monitoring fee. That's a huge savings compared to the offer I received a year ago.

I still didn't like the sales tactics they used, but I was impressed with the product and even the price (which they try to hide for as long as they can). Since I knew I had three days to cancel, I gave it a try.

I did my homework some more during the grace period. I tested out the system. I read up on the company.

I discovered that most people like their service when they know what they've gotten into. But most people hate the company when they unwittingly signed a binding contract without understanding the terms of agreement.

There seems to be a dichotomy between their product and their sales force. The product seems worth having if you want a security system. Their customer service is even award winning. But, the sales team will eat you alive if you don't stay on your toes. So buyer, beware!

I can deal with $50.00 a month for three years if I know that's what I'm signing up for. I CANNOT, however, deal with $50.00 a month if someone surprises me with that news a month later!

After doing my research, I have decided to keep the system.

I called back to see what I would have to expect if I wanted any enhancements or upgrades. They started trying to sale me more stuff after giving me the prices for all the upgrades I asked about.

I told them I'd like to sleep on it. They tried the "scarcity" thing again. If you hang up . . . you might not get this deal from my manager later.

"OK, well, that's too bad for me then. I'll call you back if I'm interested. Thanks."

I did the math. I know what I want in the future if I upgrade. And I know that I don't want their exclusive deal that supposedly discounts the upgrades I want.

By now, you might be saying to yourself, "Uruk, you said that you recognized all of these sales tactics, yet you still bought the product. Weren't you still fooled by them anyway?"

Possibly. But, the way I see it . . . I didn't treat this situation like a "no-brainer". That's what the sales guys wanted. Rather, I walked into this knowing what I'm getting. So the difference is that I purchased this knowing the terms and agreeing with them, rather than having terms I don't like or didn't realize imposed upon me later.

In short: I bought the system of my own free will because I evaluated the product. I did not buy the system simply as a reflex to psychological cues. I don't think I'll be waking up in the morning wondering, "how the hell did I get trapped" three days later. I walked into the deal with my eyes wide open.

At least, I think.

Caveat emptor.

Four Inches

I'm having to deal with maintenance for two houses.

I bought my first home years ago. It was a tiny match box.

That's fine for a newlywed couple in love, love, love.

Ah . . . I remember those days . . .

But a matchbox house sucks when you've been living in it for five years now and your second child is on the way.

Our house changed from our nest to the incredible shrinking box. It just got smaller right before our eyes.

My wife eventually told me that she was moving, with or without me.

She wasn't joking, either.

Hmmmm . . . .

So now I live in a second home. My first home is still my financial problem. Oh, and so is the current one. But I won't gripe about my current house. It's not shrinking like the first one. But I pay enough on it each month to where it had better not start shrinking.

I'm renting my first house out to someone (finally). I had a different tenant months ago, but she vanished after not paying rent for several months.

At least the place was really clean when she left and she didn't steal the stove and refrigerator.

So, now I have to be the landlord and Mr. Handyman. I have to fix things I don't even know how to fix around my current home.

I had to change the locks because of the previous tenant. Kinda neat-- but only when you don't have a million other problems to fix. At least I found out that you can have a lock re-keyed instead of buying new locks. That saved me several hundred dollars!

I also learned how to get a broken key out of a door knob. Take the cylinder off the door and then carry it up to Ace hardware! Oh, and don't throw away the broken handle part of the key in disgust. It can come in handy if you need to make a new copy of your broken key.

I had to get a guy to add freon to the refrigerator. He educated me on the implications of a freon leak. While cheap to repair, leaking freon is your refrigerator warning you that a $500.00 repair is in your feature should the leak be a bad one.

Or, perhaps you're being forewarned that a new refrigerator is in your future. Which ever comes cheapest-- $500.00 part or a cheap (but decent) refrigerator for a rental property.

Hmmmm . . . .

At least I'm informed.

And I had the illustrious opportunity to fix a toilet as well. I didn't know I could fix toilets. But I can.

A little. Just a little.

All that-- a broken key in a lock, changing locks, fixing a refrigerator, and fixing a toilet all in one day!

I even went to the hardware store and found the concrete based tile for the siding of the house. A few pieces have to be replaced or my insurance company won't renew my insurance policy.

Apparently the style of this tile is rare. I tried to get some custom pieces made. I measured and everything.

But they didn't have any sheets that were wide enough to make the pieces the correct size.

But maybe I can still make it will work . . . so I decided to take a chance.

I'm four inches short.

Four inches stands between me and getting the most important task out of the way concerning that old house that I've grown to hate so much.

Just four inches.

Grrrr . . .

Back to the drawing board.

It might also be time to look for a different insurance company.