Door to door Utilities salesmen

Cagey

Would never entertain purchasing anything from a door to door salesman. If I want to purchase anything or change insurance/supplier etc I make my own enquiries. I amnever rude to a sales person on the phone or at the door but I have had to hang up when they did not take no for an answer.

DNKPets

I cant wait for the next one to call. I am going to ask him to give me his ID badge so I can phone for confirmation. Once I have the badge I will bring it in the house and place it in with one of my Tarantulas or Scorpions and then offer it back to them. I believe this may tempt them not to return to my house.

Derek

ben500

Tell them your a mass murderer and just in the middle of dismembering a corpse if they don't mind waiting a few moments while you get your cleaver you'll be right back.:rotfl:

Choc

You people make me laff!! Before all this tinternet you always switched suppliers after a meeting with a rep.And many people had no knowledge of unit rates and so-on so were happy to be ripped off by BG.

If it wasnt for the reps after deregulation many people wouldnt have saved the money they have.

I do also agree with some comments with door to door sales, i used to do this myself for BG and there are some proper !!!!!! out there.Yes they did ruin it for everyone elso too.I used to go with the honest approach which if done properley got the best results.

I remember explaing to a lady one day for about an hour,she agreed to sign and then in walked her 7FT husband whom happened to had a bad day.At first he was really p

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d that i was there and he could see she was just about to sign but when i got him to sit and i explained everything and how he was only going to save £15 per year and not some magical figure he was quite happy(thank god).

Honesty is the key and its a shame there are so many scammers out there.

chinup_3

okay- have done d2d for a while on more than product especially utilties up to 3 yrs ago.lets get some things straight.
there no such thing whatsoever as a 'salesman secret mark' left on gate etc ! sorry but thats just funny! gypsys in the country years ago- yes. 'knocking' is a numbers game, simple as that.
putting a sign saying '' no salesman'' etc etc does NOT work- in fact its a 'badge of honour' to sign somebody up who had one !! in other word a 'challenge magnet'- take it down- NOW.people stick em up and foreget they've even got it there after a while anyway,mostly. true
the best rebuff at the door is to calmly and politely[lighten up people their human as well !! bills and kids as well-jeez!] is indeed as said previously say'' sorry chap its not my house i'm renting it and i don't have permission to change'' or quite simply, scarily none of you seem to have worked this out, ''who are you? oh i'm with you changed last month over internet.''[the walk sheets usually quite behind]
doorstep sells did indeed account for huge majority of utility and other purchases at one time,but to to mis-selling and the internet only deals and increasing use its dying a death. virtually impossible to make a living now from it as a rep so hence won't be seeing much of them!
if this helps, press thanks !!

nickj_2

my brother had a friend who was pestered by a double glazing company who kept ringing up, in the end he got so fed up that he told them he was interested in a conservatory and could they come round to measure up , when they turned up they didn't realise he lived on the 2nd floor of a block of flats , he asked them if they could put it on stilts they left never to be seen again

geordie_joe

I love these salesmen, to me they are fair game and very easy meat.

The thing to remember is they never know the prices, they are just trained to say thier company is 15% to 20% cheaper than the company you are current with.

At best they can get you to show them your bill, they then take at guess and tell you how much you could save if you switched to their company.

So, whether they are selling gas or electricity, or both, you insist they tell you how much it costs.

They can never do this and keep insisting you show them your bill and they will tell you how much you could save.

Stick to your guns, insist they tell you how much their gas/electricity costs. They eventually give up and admit they can do that. Some of the quicker thinking ones say they did have that information in leaflets, but so many people are signing up they have run out.

Next you ask how much gas/electricity they have got. This always stuns them, but they recover and tell you they have more than enough to supply you.

You then say "how do you know that? You don't know how much I use, so how can you say you have enough"

They then try to get you to say how much you use, but stick to your guns, get them to tell you how much gas/electricity their company has.

Of course they can't, and soon give up.

Next you say "Ok, your selling gas and or electricity, give me a look at it."

This also stuns them, it wasn't covered on the training day.

Usually they ask what you mean, and you say "i want to see a sample before I buy"

They then say "I can't just carry gas/electricity around with me!"

This is the best bit.

You then produce a battery and or a can of lighter gas. Tell them the salesman that called an hour ago left them as free samples, and they are really good quality and very cheap.

They have no answer to this, but it is fun watching them

Finally you deliver the killer blow. Look him straight in the eye, and with a straight face say

"Look mate, your selling gas/electricity, but you don't know how much is costs. You don't know how much you have and you haven't brought a sample so I can see the quality. Do you really think you are going to make a sale?"

I usually add a bit more to the end, but by this time the poor salesmen (I prefer to call them con men) are totally destroyed.

Please don't anyone reply saying these people are only doing their jobs. They are not, they are not paid to knock on any door and walk away without a sale. They are paid on a comission basis only. If they don't get you to switch supplier they don't get paid. It is because of this that they try every dirty trick in the book to get you to switch.

I belive that if someone is going to knock on my door and try every dirty trick in the book to get me to switch, I am entitled to pull a dirty trick to prevent this.

Taffyfella

These people are only doing their jobs!!

geordie_joe

Taffyfella wrote: »

These people are only doing their jobs!!

Is it their job to knock on my door and say there are here to make sure I am getting my fuel discount, when they are really there to get me to switch supplier.

Is it their job to tell me I can save 20% on my gas and electricity if I switch to their company, even though they don't know which company I am currently with

Is it there job to tell me the other 5 occupants of my block of flats have just signed up to their company, even though I know the other 5 occupants are actually at work.

Is it their job to forge your signature on the form after you have made it plain that you don't want to switch, and closed the door.

Is it their job to knock on your door and say "i was just passing and noticed that your outdoor meter box has been damaged. Do you realise that your current supplier will charge you £2,000 to repair it, but if you switch to my company we will repair it free of charge."

Is it thier job to get you to sign a form, to get further information when the form is actually a switch supplier form.

Believe me, I have heard every trick these people have in their book, and none of them are ethical or honest.

If I wasn't alergic to animals I would have a big dog just for when these people call.

As it is, I will settle for destroying them when they call, and the knowledge that the first one that tries to put a foot in my door will be going home without it.

Taffyfella

Hook, line and sinker!

I was only joking Big Joe...You have alot of pent up agression which needed to be released on this forum! You even stated in the first post " Please don't anyone reply saying these people are only doing their jobs" I was only havin a scarf with ya, so lighten up.

Fair point all round, however you can't tar them all with the same brush.

If you went to the supermarket and a member of staff was rude to you, would this denote all staff in the same supermarket were rude too?

I detest anyone who mis-leads another purely for financial gain, I see this as fraud. Energy companies have measures in place to reduce erroneous transfers and it is getting better.


Anyway I would love to write an essay but I can't be bothered

Taff