Sanderson Blinds (no, this really is the appropriate forum...)

It is sexist the way that they have handled it, and it's depressingly common

However, when I am negotiating contracts at work (not blind-related ), if I am the "selling" party I will try to make sure all the relevant decision-makers are there so we can talk everything through and come to a decision there and then hopefully. If I'm the "buying" party I may try to avoid having all my company's decision-makers there because it gives me an excuse to have more time to think about the terms and package on offer

But in many examples on this thread all the decision-makers (one of them) were present, so insisting on more was irrelevant

Were they the sort of blinds which you can only open and close WITH YOUR PENIS?

Love it!

I had this trying to buy a kitchen. As I didn't have a DH, I was making all decisions - design, financial, the works. The woman in the showroom just couldn't get her head around it and would occasionally address questions to the middle distance over my shoulder where a "DP" would have been sitting.

They sent their brochure out to me address to Mrs Curve, despite having my correct title and it went straight in the bin.

It's to make you sign up at the home visit (less consumer rights) so you can't get out of it by saying "I can't sign til I've discussed with husband who's not here right now" ...then they've lost sale or have to come back

Had exactly this type of thing with car showrooms. Even when DH has pointed out to salesmen that he cannot bloody drive they still talk to him and ignore me.

I was most surprised at the BMW garage, where the salesman asked who the car was for and, upon hearing it was for me, treated me as the decision maker - guess I had my own prejudices shaken up there

I've had this with cars. We have two cars, both of which I own, and am the main driver. DH is a named driver on my insurance policy and uses them a bit. Buying them has proved such a rigmarole - dealers only want to talk to DH. We generally play along, and then watch as their brains explode when we sit down to discuss finances and I take the lead role.

When we had a load of work done on the house I said that we needed someone who I didn't feel intimidated by and who listened to what I said and didn't talk down to me. (I am much more decisive than DH and so most stuff was going to fall to me).

It was much harder to find that than you might have hoped.

Some of the contractors were awful.

I am ashamed to say that I sometimes sent in DH (who looks the part even though he's an indecisive pussycat) with a script. With some of them there was literally no point in me trying to talk to them

do you know I haven't even read the tread and have come straight down to post that I know exactly what you're going to say. The old "can I talk to your husband routine". gets short shriftbin my house and I threw the Sanderson guy out ( also ludicrously ober priced and spam you incessantly via phone and email and sell your details to PPI firms)

I find this outrageous. I am not married and make the financial decisions in my house. even if i was, this instantly = do not do business with these idiots for me.

lol kukesi superb

One of my friends was recently told by her electrician that it's difficult to deal with their renovation as no man is involved, and particularly so as he has to deal with two women who are more likely to change their minds all the time (they are a same sex couple). He said this to her FACE.

She finds it funny (she loathes confrontation, and I assume it's minor in the grand scheme of crap she's experienced). I find it makes me want to scream loudly, or weep at the state of society.

No choke of a joke, a similar thing happened to me with windows yesterday.

Guy knocks on the door from a local company, giving a quote that lasts a year, was I interested (never normally deal with things on the door, but want to do this in the future so thought a quote would be a good idea to start so I can carry on planning and looking around).

Asks title, advise Mrs
Later when checking convenient times to pop back asks what time is good, I give time, he asks if H will be home, advise no, asks to book later so H home, advise him I don't need H's permission to get a quote, he advises its company policy that both are home, I ask why, he says to do with trading standards and home ownership, I advise house is in my name only. All fine end of convo.

Boss rings to confirm appt, says and your husband will be there, I say nope, he says company policy bla bla bla, could we arrange another time, I advise house is in my name only and you would not be able to get us both together, he says oh ok then, what time is convenient to meet up with your husband and he can pass the details over to you.

I say you better ring my husband, he says oh to make the appt with him directly, I said, no, but you seem to think my husband has some superiority so you may prefer being told to fuck off by him and not me, thanks bye.

So some companies will actually refuse to quote for business for single women?

Holy fuckamoly.

That's a shite business plan if ever I heard one

We had this with the tv, I reserved, paid for it & the whole time the salesman spoke to dh about gaurantees etc.

Dh kept saying "it's the wife's tv" "no point telling me mate she's buying it"

The salesman just ignored him, It was like he didn't understand what dh was saying.

When I was single I blatantly lied to a double glazing company and told them my DH would be there etc etc. Of course, no DH so when the chap arrived he was really narked with me as we can't do it without your husband.

I don't think he enjoyed the string of invective that I unleashed about his attitude in the first place and why I had to invent a husband to get him to come out and quote for windows that he'd get commission for regardless of who was paying, then he really ought to go and think about some things.

I had a double glazing firm refuse to come out to quote (local company, not one of the big national rip-off merchants who get you to sign on the day) because my husband wouldn't be there. Not even when I explained it was my decision and the money was coming out of my account.

Oh well, I happily bought my 17 windows, two doors and roofline elsewhere. And I tell everyone who listens not to use them because of their sexist bollocks.

Were they the sort of blinds which you can only open and close WITH YOUR PENIS? Because if not, then they were being massively unreasonable, and I don't care if it is part of a sophisticated sales technique.

Sorry that was a rant that was unrelated to OP but came out of my brain and onto the screen

FWIW if any of you get any calls like that, try it. They get really flummoxed

It's quite funny when you think about it.

They want to speak to the man because HE IS MAN.

They can't say they want to speak to the man as sexist. So they use proxies, which they think will get them the man. e.g. the older person. the higher earner.

Of course in many households now those things will give them the woman. But they don't actually want to talk to her, they want the man because HE IS MAN. And then they get really really confused. And don't know what on earth to say.

I imagine they have a good day when they call a lot of households inhabited by gay men and on the days when they get lots of lesbian households they need a really really stiff drink afterwards

Have we slipped into some black hole and found ourselves back in the 1970s? If you have the energy, MsMsMs why not report on the Everyday Sexism website?

The fact that all the correspondence has gone to DH is the nail in the coffin of yes, it's sexist.

Incidentally do they really do this to men as well? I have never heard of anyone say that and DH says it has never happened to him. I think a man would be really shocked if a company said they were unwilling to quote / reticent without their wife/partner there. If people say it happens then fair enough I guess.

FWIW I have had experience with people wanting to speak to DH simply because he is the "head of the household" what tosh. I say "on what basis do you decide who is head of the household" and whatever things they come out with it's been me and they so oh but, you see, it's your husband we need to speak to.

FUCK OFF!

Having said that, if they've addressed all correspondence just to you it's a bit weird.

Not sure it's sexist. I work in a company which sells and if you don't have both people in the couple there for a big decision often one won't make the decision without talking to the other - whether male or female.