o8o 
                                `"' 
ooo. .oo.  .oo.    .ooooo.     oooo 
`888P"Y88bP"Y88b  d88' `88b    `888 
 888   888   888  888   888     888 
 888   888   888  888   888     888 
o888o o888o o888o `Y8bod8P'     888 
                                888 
                            .o. 88P 
                            `Y888P  

~~ who ~~

Honestly? I don't know.

It no longer feels like it's my place to say.

I'll leave it for you to decide.

~~ communicate ~~

one-on-one moj@sdf.org
soapbox @moj@mastodon.sdf.org
hotline SDF Phone x2239

The Hard Sell

Published: 24 Jan 2022

Have you ever encountered a hard sell for something that you were actually receptive to receiving? "Yes, it's been a while, I could use an estimate for that service." That response should have been enough, no?

S: We were working in the neighborhood, ...
M: Sure, sure -- my "neighbors" trust you, so I should too.
   And you're already in the area, so maybe cut me a deal.
   Lucky me. Go on.

S: We're local. We hire lots of veterans. We ...
M: Nothing particularly relevant to the work, but good for
   you. We're building personal connections and trust, yes?

S: I see that ...
M: Yeah, that's just dirty. That's just a few years old.
   We're already working with someone for that. Got it
   covered.

S: If it's been a while, prices may have changed. If you'd
   like an estimate, ...
M: I'm happy to accept an estimate.

S: Great! So we can set up to have our guys up here for an
   estimate in a few hours. What time works best for you and
   your wife?
M: So you guys don't provide the estimate, eh? And my who?
   Just take some measurements right there. The others are
   the same. Figure between this many and this many.
S: Well, we have to take some measurements inside too, and
   there are some color and feature choices, so ...
M: Yeah... I see.

S: So, let's gather some information: Name, wife's name,
   phone numbers, email addresses, ...
M: I have a phone number for that. You don't need the rest.

S: Now I'm going to call back to the office to get you
   scheduled. We'll go on speaker phone and you can confirm
   this same information with them.
O: This call may be recorded. Let's gather some information...
M: You can have just the number I provided.

S: You'll receive a call from this number (indicates a
   number) to confirm your number and then let you know when
   the folks are on their way.
S: Thanks so much for you time. By the way, you can
   keep the appointment tonight or reschedule; the only
   thing that will make us look bad is if you cancel.
M: Well, we wouldn't want that, would we, new friends?

I gave it all a minute more than what it was worth: I checked the search engines for the number they said would call. I checked the Better Business Bureau for the company they claimed. The number and the company were linked and there were plenty of complaints, a combination of aggressive sales tactics and "they did okay, but once they have your money, ..."-issues. And that special number I gave? It did show a call from their number. No voicemail left. The fellows didn't come back to see if their new new friend was okay.

End of story.

What to make of it? Proven psychology weaponized and distilled to pure process: establishing quick rapport, disingenuous activity, eliciting personal information, leading strangers toward questionable outcomes. Having all of that pointed at you in full force? Yeah... I do wish we all, as human beings, would be trained to recognize the tactics, to resist them, and to shun the people who use them...

Day-dreaming aside, it's too bad: Those fellows ended up wasting a lot of their time with me, and I could have used that estimate. In the end, their own process killed the opportunity; they weren't geared to work with a genuine client rather than one who was caught in the undertow of their process.