You cannot blame me for thinking I was on an episode of Rogue Traders or Candid Camera with the way that this company behaved last night, leaving me waiting for a team to jump out behind my sideboard and grandfather clock, yelling, “SURPRISE! WE GOT YOU!”.
Actually, between wanting to burst out laughing at the ludicrous sales technique, and the disdain I felt at the unproffessional behaviour of a consultant quoting us on insulation for our conservatory, I wasn’t quite sure how to interpret the situation.
Here’s what happened.
We have a conservatory built onto our house. This fine specimen is the classic ‘freeze-in-winter-melt-in-summer’ room that leaves us enjoying it’s ambience for a very limited time of the year. So, to solve the dilemma, I request a quote from a Manchester-based conservatory insulation company. They’re nationwide, and can have one of their representatives meet with us whenever it suited us. We agree on last night and so count the day to his arrival and a new living space.
At 7pm on the dot, the doorbell rings. I open it. Here’s the interchange:
Me: Hello.
James: Mrs Roberts?
Me: Yes. You must be from the insulation company.
James: Yes. (at which point he shakes my hand and walks into the house and into the living room).
Me: Sorry, what’s your name?
James: James. (and continues walking through the house and out to the conservatory).
I follow him into the conservatory and introduce him to Mr. Roberts. James promptly starts to look around, pulls out a chair, sits down, and starts to unpack an ipad, a folder and a notepad. He asks us a few questions (have we had anyone else out to quote etc. Pretty standard stuff, I thought).
He then starts his pitch.
He’s obviously done this quite a few times before. Its sounds like it. As if robotic, he instructs us to look through the file and pictures. While explaining how they solve all our problems he mentions competitor products and how expensive they are. He then puts an iPad in front of us and instructs us to watch the video, which we do – only because we don’t know how else to behave in this awkward situation. At this point, I start to expect Matt Allwright to pitch up at our house – something just doesn’t sit well. Torn between sympathy for James (yes, sympathy… “He’s probably struggling, done this so often, it’s nighttime, he’s away from his family etc) and the disgust at the automated presentation of the solution we’re after, I look to Mr Roberts for any sign of direction. He is being his usual patient self and watching the video calmly offering comments here and there. I do catch his eye and he offers a wink. We’re on the same page.
While we’re watching the video, James promptly gets up and starts to measure the conservatory space. Not really paying much attention to what he’s doing, he returns to the table and starts to scribble a few things down on his notebook. The video that we’re watching comes to a close, as a sweet old Northern lady tells of the wonderful service and workmanship she’s experienced by this company. James then does the unthinkable. He shoves his notebook in front of Mr Roberts and I with 2 figures scribbled on it:
£3,295
– 20% December discount
———–
£2,636
Not quite knowing how to react, I read the figures out aloud and try to fill the awkward silence thinking that James, at this point, will probably jump in and explain what this includes. He doesn’t .
So I do the unthinkable.
I thank him and tell him that we need to think about the figures. We’re not ready to commit to this purchase tonight.
It’s what happens next that leaves Mr Roberts and I dumbfounded.
James promptly starts to pack his bag, puts away the figures (Not leaving the quote with us) and stands up. Trailing behind him, he makes his own way back to the front door, opens it and walks out. I thank him for his time and say goodnight, to which his response, without turning around or shaking my hand, is, “Alright”.
And with that, Elvis left the building.
I don’t consider myself an unreasonable person, and I recognise the debilitating restriction that insecurity brings, but the behaviour I saw in James last night made me furious. He did not offer a business card, or a copy of the quote (scribbled), or enquire a little more about our time frame. He did not want to know our plans and when he should follow up. He simply got the hump, when we said that we weren’t going to commit to the price last night, and walked out.
Please tell me that we don’t STILL, in this day and age, have so-called professional sales people who still behave like this?
I think I need to track James down, and get him to read this blog. To us, he’s the brand. And the way he behaved doesn’t make us want to do business with this brand, at all. Unfortunately, the lasting impression he left us with was an expectation of seeing this company on the next BBC Watchdog episode and James, taking pride of place, armed with his folder, his iPad and his scribbled quotes.
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