Point no Point
Last night Trav and I got to experience the life of Timeshare Sales Presentations! Of course, the lure is in the Canucks Tickets we were going to receive after sitting through their 90 minute presentation, but after last night, and after being in there for over 3 hours, I'm not sure the Canucks Tickets were worth it.
We were invited to attend Point to Point Destination's pitch. I admit, we really had no interest in buying their timeshare, and I admit, they oddly enough did a pretty good job of keeping us interested in what they have to offer. But in the end, I wish I had stuck to my guns and just remained neutral, took the tickets and be on my way. Instead, we went through quite the highs and lows of should we, shouldn't we?
It's not that the plan sounds or is bogus, it's how they do their sales pitch. Very typical salesman type format, fake rapport building, giving you the 1 on 1, telling how valuable your time is, find out your background and current vacation details, and then wham, give you the all time best deal around only available that night. So now, you're feeling like a such a test case or lab rat: they got you in, lured you with a carrot of a gift, convinced you this is the right way to go, and then they watch you squirm over your decision. They won't allow you to think about this over night, so you're really forced into making an over $20,000 decision right there and then! (with blah blah incentives for only that night blah blah blah). And all we wanted were those silly Canuck Tickets. Very bizarre experience, yes, our first timeshare sales pitch.
We came very close to buying, and then Trav decided to call on his dad (during his washroom break) for some advise and opinion on timeshares , b/c seriously we did not research this stuff prior at all, and to make a decision without research for Trav, no way! Anyway, after some good advice from his dad, we probed with further questions (oooh, we had good questions where even they got stumped, finally, it was good to see them squirm a bit!), and in the end, we declined... *phew!
The best part of this whole experience was watching the Sr. Manager get up, put on his big smiley grin, shake our hands as he said out aloud so all could hear, "Congratulations"! What the..?! Okay, now that's pure sleeze sales cheese!
Anyway, lessons learnt and we learnt how we make decisions, not on impulse, but with lots of research, that's why it's taken Trav almost 2 years to buy the TV :)
Vacations are fun and timeshare or no timeshare, we still have lots of vacations to look forward to!
3 comments:
The timeshare experience was a fascinating experience for me. Up until last night, I had never been able to understand how people could go into a timeshare presentation looking for a $100-$150 freebie, and walk out with a $20,000 'investment' and annual dues in perpetuity.
I get it now. These guys are good. I didn't ever really feel 'pressured' or that they gave us the 'hard sell', but they did manipulate us to the point that it almost seemed like a the best idea ever!
The highlight of the night was definitely the 'congratulatory' handshake designed to make all the other couples stop and think, "well, there's another couple, just like us, and well, it looks like they just bought... why not us?"
In the end, I was so glad we said no. I was literally on a high, because I felt like we had won a hard fought battle. We were down and out, they almost had us, but we battle back, just like the Canucks in Detroit last night!
-TBJ
my only ts experience was in mexico, and i had been forewarned to avoid them at all costs (DON'T MAKE EYE CONTACT!), plus, i would've only been 21 at the time with no money to my name :P
the one thing i have difficulty saying no to is a nice condo/townhouse. i've been very tempted to buy 2 different properties in the past year, especially when they throw in the "free upgrades". even with our current condo, we bought it without comparing it to others. in the end, it was a good purchase :-)
Good for you guys, standing your ground like that! Yep, we had the same Mexico experience for a free jeep rental and dinner. If Chad weren't there with his sharp questions to stump the eventually-squirmy sales lady, I think I would have dropped the money, it sounded that good (after all, I mean, isn't my time valuable and worth it!).
Really couldn't help but feel 'violated' after the whole experience, though.
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