RE: ShopTalk: Vacuum Salesman

[Urban, Michael J, SOLIT]

From the other side of the fence (sort of):  I got out of the Army in the fall of 1974, and was at loose ends for a couple of months until starting college in the spring.  I was also flat broke.  For two weeks, I sold Kirby vacuum cleaners door to door in Austin, Texas.  Actually, spent the first week learning to pitch the darn things, and learning the company song.  Was in the field at the start of week two.  I was good at it.  I actually sold a Kirby vacuum, which is a top shelf machine, to a couple in a mobile home.  Their floors were covered with this thin carpet that looked like indoor/outdoor stuff, but I convinced them that they just had to have my machine, and left with signed contracts.  The next day my boss told me that their credit had been denied, and I was supposed to go back out there and get the machine, and tell these folks their credit was no good.  It was about this time I decided that perhaps this wasn't what I wanted to do, and told the guy he'd have to go pick up his own machine.  I found something else to pay the bills until school started.  Ended up cooking short order Mexican food and jerking beer in a true Texas dive, and I stayed with that all the way through school.

 

Mike

 

 

 -----Original Message-----
From: Harry F. Schiestel [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Sunday, November 24, 2002 12:42 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: ShopTalk: Vacuum Salesman

Hi TFlan > I can tell you really like to pull their chain, this is good.  I once invited 2 vacuum cleaner salesman into my house on a Friday night since we had nothing planned for the evening.  When they entered I told them I would not buy a vacuum regardless of how good it was and how cheap it was going to be offered to me and my wife.  Now that I had established my ground rules I thought it was fair game to play with them.  The one guy spotted our table tennis and immediately indicated he was a very good player from college.  So we played several games for about 45 minutes (I guess this was to warm me up for the upcoming sale).  Then we went upstairs where we were joined by my wife for the demonstration.  Being a good hostess I offered refreshments (after all this was my entertainment for the night).  Every time they asked my wife if she needed a new vacuum or like the one being demonstrated I would counter with honey isn't the one we own now all you want or need?  Now the 2 guys bumped it up a notch.  Dumping a full pail of sand into a box, they proceeded to pick it all up, and wow the vacuum suction did not waver from when the bag was empty > surely this must be the best vacuum on planet earth.  I then said why don't we go to the garden and get real dirt?  They said what's your point we do have sand which is the same as dirt.  I said no, and do you know the term permeability?  I told them I work for a casting foundry and we use a lot of sand to make green sand moulds.  Sands yield an AFS Grain Fineness Number based on screen size distribution > this correlates to Permeability testing (amount of air that can pass thru voids).  I told then we just completed research on a fluid bed, where we filled a 45 gallon drum with lake sand, added compressed air to the bottom and now we can take a styro coffee cup and push it down 3 feet through the sand and never break the cup.  Then I said why don't I go outside now and get some real dirt.  Then they wanted to talk price, so I widdled them down from $1900 to $700 (after 3 calls to their boss).  When he wouldn't go down any more, he said this is the lowest price I can offer you so lets draw up the legal agreement and you can have your vacuum.  I said, do you remember my comment when you entered my home.  It was "I will not buy a vacuum regardless of how cheap it is offered to me".  Now the older guy got real pissed and started to get insulting so I showed them both to the door.  Cheap entertainment for the night > actually it was quite amusing to see their high pressure sales tactics.  Oh I forgot to mention, the evening with the salesman started at 7:30 pm.  There were 2 of them.  When I showed them to the door it was 10:30 pm.  They wasted 6 hours >>>>

PRICELESS !!!!

Thanks HarryS (Golf54.com)

-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Al Taylor
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 1:47 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: ShopTalk: Telemarketers

I love it.  I especially love it when they have their "pro that will fit you" as part of the scheme.  A little bit of fitting knowledge and you can drive them up the wall.  I ALWAYS get them to hang up.  Pretty proud of that too. ;-)

Al

At 01:03 PM 11/22/2002, you wrote:

Well, I got a call this a.m. from a "major golf club testing company." Its the first time in about 6 years. I absolutely love getting these. My first question was "what company." The female voice of the caller told me ". . . well, we work with Ping, Callaway, Taylor(sic), Adams, and several of the smaller companies like Cobra." I then asked what exactly was the reason she called me. She replied ". . . we know you are a dedicated golfer with a low handicap. You're just the kind of person we need for our test program." I then asked which major company's clubs they wanted me to test. ". . . well sir," she replied, " the clubs are under a 'private' name because it is, after all, a test program, and the major manufacturers don't want it know that an outside testing company is doing the work." So I asked again, "what's the name of your company?" She wouldn't give me a name. I asked for the name stamped on the clubs. Again, no information provided. 
 
 SNIP / SNIP

  
TFlan