Double glazing sales tricks

dsm10

Is there a law stating that a wife & husband must be present for a double glazed window quote? Seems ridiculous to me, but if there is, what is that law called?

dunroving

Interesting question. I've been pestered by a company going door to door and they seemed to be obsessed to know if I have a "lady wife" (their language). It seemed rather odd.

EssexExile

dsm10 wrote: »

Is there a law stating that a wife & husband must be present for a double glazed window quote? Seems ridiculous to me, but if there is, what is that law called?

Of course there isn't.

stuart45

Means if you are single you can't get double glazing.

Aylesbury_Duck

dsm10 wrote: »

Is there a law stating that a wife & husband must be present for a double glazed window quote? Seems ridiculous to me, but if there is, what is that law called?

It's just a way for a) the salesman to ensure the missing party can't scupper his sale by undermining their spouse's decision and b) for the salesman to play the tired old game of appealing to the wife's sense of home appearance and neighbourly opinion and the husband's interest in technical details and thrift. It's all very old fashioned but it's worked for decades so that's why they prefer to do it that way.

Ultimately, a company can decide to only do quotes where husband and wife are present. It's their business, after all.

Aylesbury_Duck

stuart45 wrote: »

Means if you are single you can't get double glazing.

Triple glazed homes must be interesting...

pinkshoes

The best used line to get rid of a sales person without signing the paperwork:

"I'll have to talk it through with my husband/wife/partner".

No law. They just want you both there so you cannot use this line to get out of a sale agreement.

zagfles

dsm10 wrote: »

Is there a law stating that a wife & husband must be present for a double glazed window quote? Seems ridiculous to me, but if there is, what is that law called?

It's utter rubbish and is a sure sign that you're in for a hard sell with pressure to sign up on the night. They know this won't work if only one of a couple are present.

It'll go something like this. They will waffle for hours about how great their products are, price won't be mentioned till the end, when they'll quote some ridiculous price, but give you a chance of a massive discount if you sign up immediately.

They will pretend this discount won't be available if you delay. They might pretend to phone their boss to get you a bit more off. They will try to make you feel special and privileged to get such a good deal.

Tip - if you really want to go ahead, arrange something (or pretend to) that you must attend an hour after the appointment. Why would they need any longer? It creates a defined end, otherwise they might be hard to get rid of without being rude.

Tell them at the start that under no circumstances will you be signing anything on the night. You want a quote which you'll think about and compare. Ignore any "but we have a cooling off period" bull. Sometimes these are hard to actually invoke and prove you've invoked (registered post proves you sent something, it doesn't prove what you sent).

Alternatively, find a recommended local firm who don't use such sales tactics and will just come round, measure up, give you a brochure and go away within 15 mins and let you think about it.

gday064

This is a sales technique of the large nationals. When they get you both together they'll ask you both to sign/agree on the spot. That way they can't get agreement from one of you and then you bail out because partner doesn't agree. Stay away from the nationals!! Go to a local installer and you won't be told silly lies like this.

FreeBear

pinkshoes wrote: »

"I'll have to talk it through with my husband/wife/partner".

Mine is "I'll need to discuss with the home owner" - They then try to get out as fast as they can.

JohnB47

zagfles wrote: »

It's utter rubbish and is a sure sign that you're in for a hard sell with pressure to sign up on the night. They know this won't work if only one of a couple are present.

It'll go something like this. They will waffle for hours about how great their products are, price won't be mentioned till the end, when they'll quote some ridiculous price, but give you a chance of a massive discount if you sign up immediately.

They will pretend this discount won't be available if you delay. They might pretend to phone their boss to get you a bit more off. They will try to make you feel special and privileged to get such a good deal.

Tip - if you really want to go ahead, arrange something (or pretend to) that you must attend an hour after the appointment. Why would they need any longer? It creates a defined end, otherwise they might be hard to get rid of without being rude.

Tell them at the start that under no circumstances will you be signing anything on the night. You want a quote which you'll think about and compare. Ignore any "but we have a cooling off period" bull. Sometimes these are hard to actually invoke and prove you've invoked (registered post proves you sent something, it doesn't prove what you sent).

Alternatively, find a recommended local firm who don't use such sales tactics and will just come round, measure up, give you a brochure and go away within 15 mins and let you think about it.

Totally agree.

We had an salesman in (one of the two big national firms, the one who's name doesn't start with an E) a few years ago. Told him we just wanted a quote and would decide after seeing other company quotes. "Yea yea sure", he said.

As said above, loads of waffle then a big quote but then a smaller one if we would sign up today. He even tried the trick of saying we could sign up today and cancel during the cooling off period. Then more waffle about some finance plan, during which I simply could not get him to explain why this was better than paying by cash - no loan. I think he didn't understand it himself.

In the end I started cooking our dinner as he just sat there. He eventually left in a real angry huff, after about three hours.

Just a common shyster.

I'd recommend getting a son/daughter/neighbour, hopefully on the bulky side, around at the same time - or at least waiting for a call to come round to help you resist them and get them out of the house. Better still, find a good local firm.