If you’re looking for replacement windows in Cleveland, you may enjoy our four-part series outlined in How to Avoid Window Sales Tricks and Scams. In this post we highlight the strange, but all too common strategy of spending hours and hours at your home, being very friendly, just to guilt you into signing a contract to help them out. We call it the:
Nice-Guy, Pity Me, Mouths-to-Feed, Sales Tactic
We can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard about a window salesman from another company who plays this card. And honestly it’s hard not to want to help a nice guy that’s down on his luck by doing your part and paying twice as much as you need to for replacement windows, isn’t it? OK. Maybe it’s not.
The window sales guy could likely start by building rapport for the first 30 minutes: they love the house,
“are these pictures of your children?”,
“do you golf?” …
Then move into an hour long presentation, or more, about the most mundane details of the window that are available in EVERY window on the market until they get to a ridiculously high estimate which you are then expected to negotiate for another 30 minutes or more. You think that’s bad? It gets worse! After 2 – 3 hours they try to make YOU feel guilty because they have “mouths to feed,” “could lose their job,” or “won’t be able to pay the rent” if they don’t get the sale. Amazing! The tactic is basically to force you to spend a ridiculous amount of time on the sales call so you feel guilty about taking up so much of their time that you will actually pay enough for the windows to cover the salesman’s rent, his grocery bill and help him keep the job!?!
Spotting this one is pretty easy too. We all love to get to know the people we’ll do business with but if 30 minutes has gone by and the salesman is still trying to get to know you, red flag. Also, if you feel you’re getting a 60-minute lesson in how a window is made, another red flag.
Avoiding this one does require a little proactive conversation at the beginning something like, “Thank you so much for coming to give us an estimate on our windows. Out of respect for your time I think it’s only fair to make sure you know I am not making a decision on my replacement windows tonight. I was hoping 30 minutes would be enough time to gather window measurements, work up an estimate and explain it to me. Will that be good?”
No Pressure Replacement Window Estimate
At Integrity Windows we don’t play that game. We’re a locally owned and operated window company with a showroom in Lakewood. We keep our overhead low by not blasting the airwaves and the billboards with advertisements so our prices are transparent, competitive and without the need to negotiate. You can come to the Lakewood showroom and get an estimate, or we’ll happily send Tim Folger or Ron Anders to your home. We don’t jack-up the price of our windows so that we can sell them 50% off and make you feel like you got a deal. We don’t pressure you – ever. And we don’t take more than 20 minutes to learn about what you want, tell you what we would prescribe and calculate the total cost of windows and installation. We’ll hang-out and chat a little longer if you want some company, or we’ll email you a quote if you would rather skip the pleasantries. Your choice. Call now and find out what it’s like to get an estimate from a window company that doesn’t play games – we’re confident you’ll choose to buy your windows with Integrity.
