I
am notoriously bad at turning away salespeople. From tour bus
recruiters on the streets of NYC to the sales lady at Macy's, I have a
difficult time simply saying no. Even if I have no interest in taking
another double decker tour of Manhattan, I just seem to have trouble
walking away. Unfortunately this is a trait that sometimes carries over
into our home.
Yesterday a salesperson came to the door to talk to us about getting a new roof. Yes, I am well aware that we are in need of a new roof but we aren't shopping for one right now. I tried to politely decline the offer of a free, no strings attached estimate but the twenty something salesman looked depressed when he sensed that I was going to turn him away. I caved and agreed to the estimate.
I was expecting the same person to come to the appointment later in the afternoon. Instead I discovered that the innocent, trustworthy looking scheduler was replaced with an aggressive and imposing salesman. (Talk about a bait and switch!) Scott wasn't delighted when he came home to find an eager and talkative salesman sitting on the couch.
Scott and I complement each other in many ways. Whereas I have a hard time disappointing a salesman, he is completely comfortable just saying no and moving on. I let him take the lead, hoping that the pitch would be quick. This particular salesman was difficult to dissuade because it took Scott nearly 90 minutes to get him out the door. He seemed sad when he realized that we wouldn't be buying a roof. It's a good think that Scott was home because I might have agreed to a nearly $20,000 home improvement project because of an unhealthy need to make somebody happy.
Yesterday a salesperson came to the door to talk to us about getting a new roof. Yes, I am well aware that we are in need of a new roof but we aren't shopping for one right now. I tried to politely decline the offer of a free, no strings attached estimate but the twenty something salesman looked depressed when he sensed that I was going to turn him away. I caved and agreed to the estimate.
I was expecting the same person to come to the appointment later in the afternoon. Instead I discovered that the innocent, trustworthy looking scheduler was replaced with an aggressive and imposing salesman. (Talk about a bait and switch!) Scott wasn't delighted when he came home to find an eager and talkative salesman sitting on the couch.
Scott and I complement each other in many ways. Whereas I have a hard time disappointing a salesman, he is completely comfortable just saying no and moving on. I let him take the lead, hoping that the pitch would be quick. This particular salesman was difficult to dissuade because it took Scott nearly 90 minutes to get him out the door. He seemed sad when he realized that we wouldn't be buying a roof. It's a good think that Scott was home because I might have agreed to a nearly $20,000 home improvement project because of an unhealthy need to make somebody happy.
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