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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To cancel this window firm quoting a job only with husband present?

123 replies

Beachhairdontcare · 17/05/2017 20:59

So a nice chap knocked on the door, currently fitting new windows for neighbour. He noticed that our windows could do with replacing, we were in fact only discussing this recently and intended to look into this in a few months time. He asked if we would like a quick measure up and quote after he finished neighbours job, I said sure why not. He said the office would call to confirm.
Five minutes later I receive a call from the 'diary manager' at the office. He was calling to confirm the appointment, and to also confirm that my husband would be present too. Err no, it's just me I'm afraid. 'Ah well, it's company policy that both home owners are present, so I will call in the morning to confirm a time when you are both likely to be home'.
AIBU to tell him to do one? Or is this normal practice? Sounds to me like they intend to do a hard sell and want to ensure they get a signature. AIBU to be annoyed that they assume only my husband can make big decisions regarding our finances?!

OP posts:

Poisongirl81 · 18/05/2017 18:09

The salesmen are all on commission only hence being pushy or they have had a wasted trip. My oh used to work for them. It's crap.

samG76 · 18/05/2017 18:21

Poisongirl - if they made a decent proposal, they would get their commission in due course anyway when people accepted. Or do they only get their money if mugs customers sign up on the night? And presumably if they only spend half an hour at each customer they would be wasting less time and could visit more people?

LightYears · 18/05/2017 18:39

I can't believe this double glazing crap is still going on.

Poisongirl81 · 18/05/2017 18:44

I agree it was years before I met him he worked for them. Sounded horrendous.

SandyBells · 18/05/2017 19:49

Nothing much to add except for my own anecdote with Anglian. They came and asked if we wanted double glazing. I explained we were in a conservation area. Then they asked if we were thinking about a conservatory. I pointed out that our flat was on the third floor.

LaLegue · 19/05/2017 05:27

The only reaction to seeing or hearing the first price given with Zenith/Sharps/Dolphin/Anglian et al is to burst out laughing and say 'you cannot be fucking serious? Okay, conversation over I think.'

They will ALWAYS come down by at least half, they just hope and pray that there will be the odd naive fool who will pay anything. Even the price they negotiate down to isn't amazing but the initial ludicrously inflated price is designed to make you feel like you are eventually getting a bargain.

Honestly, I cannot stress this enough, avoids all these companies like the plague and use a local independent fitter and supplier, be it bedrooms, kitchens, driveways or windows.

Wh0Kn0wsWhereTheTimeGoes · 19/05/2017 06:13

We had this about 20 years ago with Zenith. We got the man in for a quote for 4 windows and a door after relentless telephone calls, just to compare prices eith other firms. We agreed beforehand that our limit for signing on the day was £500 (ie we weren't signing). He started with £12k and after several "calls to his manager" got down to £3k. We said goodnight at that point, it made me so angry to think that vulnerable people might have just accepted the first figure.

LucieLucie · 19/05/2017 06:20

Bin them, it's a sales ploy so you can't just get them round for a measure and quote then say 'okay thanks, I'll need to discuss with my husband when he comes home'.

We made an appointment to have replacement doors and windows with a large firm and got the call shortly before hand checking my husband would be there. I said no and they refused to attend. I went full on riot act explaining we were looking for an honest quote, not a hard sales technique.

Cowboys!

ProfYaffle · 19/05/2017 06:38

Agree with LaLegue, this is a sign of one of those companies who will be in your home for hours then piss about phoning their 'manager' for a discount. We had a rookie salesman once, we told him we know how it works, just cut the crap, ring the manager now and save us all a few hours - and he did! (we didn't buy anything though)

As millions of pp have said, local small company. Quicker, easier and they even allowed me to make a decision without my husband present. Whatever next

Youvegotafriendinme · 19/05/2017 06:49

The company we used did this. When we moved in the front windows were blown so had them fitting pretty soon after moving. A couple of months ago I was left some money and decided to do the backs. When calling the same company to arrange they asked me this. I told them he wouldn't be home and they tried to re arrange. I told them it was me paying and I didn't need DH there. There weren't rude in any way but after a couple of times they finally agreed.

I know why they do it, its to stop people from not doing it there and then and saying "I need to check with my DH/DW first. Cheeky sales tactic

QueenCuntyFlippers · 19/05/2017 07:00

The company I work for do this.
We provide a free quote, and we are a small business. We ask for all interested people (so husband and wife or if it's an elderly person they often want their son or daughter there)
It's a lot to do with making sure that it's a serious appointment as it costs us around £100 per appointment (lead generation, marketing, office, paying the rep, etc...)

Some people say, just come along and measure while I'm not in 😒 It's just not viable as a business / sales model.

I'm not sure that this lot are sexist, but we are the same if it's man or woman.

GiraffesAndButterflies · 19/05/2017 07:01

Someone should tweet this thread to Which or one of the other consumer champions. They'd have an absolute field day.
I'd do it but I've just cancelled my membership, feels a bit cheeky 😂

MaverickSnoopy · 19/05/2017 07:07

You could walk away and it's probably the easiest option.

I had a chap come to the door about our fascias, saying that he could quote us. I smiled and said "ever so sorry I haven't got any money". Not quite true, but I don't want to spend my money on that. The day before I had indulged someone about gardening and they took ages to leave. So I think sometimes you just need to say things to make things work for you.

If you're happy to walk away from this company then you could have some fun with them first. You could phone and book an appointment in but be clear that you only have 15 mins as you have another appointment. Also say that neither you nor your husband are open to a hard sell and that you will be obtaining three quotes and not making any on the spot decisions. If they accept your terms which are part of your policy then they can come. Your husband may or may not be called away before / during the appointment. You then stick to it. The more people who refuse to give into the hard sell the better. If they say that they need longer than 15 mins explain that due to other commitments this is all the time you will ever have. It would be interesting to see how it panned out!

AlpacaPicnic · 19/05/2017 07:28

I make all the financial decisions about our home maintenance, after discussing it with DH privately, as he cannot cope with being put on the spot or under pressure (mental health reasons)

I recently had a new bathroom fitted.
One firm insisted that we both be there for the appointment and refused to discuss costs with me.
One firm came round for measurements, invited me to their showroom for the quote and asked me if I wanted to go home and discuss it some more before making a decision.
Guess which one I chose?!

A decent company will be confident enough in their quote to jot have to resort to pushy sakes tactics, imho...

mustbetimeforacreamtea · 19/05/2017 19:16

What I would love to do...

Invite 2 companies to come and quote
Don't tell them that they are booked for the same time
First company arrives gets sent round to measure up with OH
Second company arrives and does measuring up with me
Both salesman told to sit on sofa while told what requirement is
Salesmen given 10 mins each (timed with stopwatch) to deliver presentation
Salesmen given 5 mins with no conferring to come up with best and final price
Salesmen thanked and told that 2 more companies would be competing the next day.
Overall winner would be notified in the next 24 hrs but any attempt to further negotiate would eliminate their bid.
Salesmen leave.

IRL I'd just go to a local company but I'd love to know what their reaction would be if they found themselves in this situation.

JoWithABow · 19/05/2017 19:47

creamtea that would be so funny! Someone totally needs to do that

StripySocks1 · 19/05/2017 20:09

We had safestyle round and the salesman was here for hours and did the phoning his manager for a better deal rubbish, he even resorted to showing me pictures of his child and telling me how he was on commission and he'd driven 2 hours to get to us blah blah blah but the guy from Anglian was the worst, he was so rude, he was telling us about their finance and I asked if we'd get a better price for cash and he kept asking how we would pay if we signed up with them and I said I'd use my credit card (because of the air miles) and he accused me of not having the money and why did I say I could pay cash when I obviously couldn't afford to and was I just wasting his time, he just came across as so desperate. In the end I sent the measurements off to a local company, they gave me a price and when I agreed to it they came round to check my measurements, no sales patter and about £10k cheaper that the national companies

mustbetimeforacreamtea · 19/05/2017 20:36

Jowithabow there's so many things to ponder - would they just walk out and refuse to take part? Would they want to hear the competition's pitch? IME it tends to consist of slagging off the opposition so would they stick to the same script? How low would they dare go to win the work?

missiondecision · 19/05/2017 20:50

Anglian windows by any chance.
I didn't use them after they used that one with me.

JoWithABow · 19/05/2017 21:22

Haha creamtea - I like to think they'd be so shocked they'd stick around to compete. Id start off by asking them a gentle introductory question such as 'tell me a bit about yourself'. This would give them them chance to mention any sob stories about young kids and two hour journeys. Then I'd ask them a competency based question such as 'tell me about a time you had to work under pressure' or something like that. I'd pull out their CVs and pick holes in them just like they do in the semi final of The Apprentice.
I like your idea about letting them know within 24 hours, we could let the unsuccessful candidate know that we'd be happy to offer some constructive feedback if they wanted.
Ah, I totally want to do this now

Calaisienne · 19/05/2017 21:36

I had to go toe to toe with the Everest guy and ask him "which part of you are leaving NOW is too difficult for you" he left quick smart. Bloody DP and DS3 (24) were giggling behind the banisters when I came back from closing the front door. £12k quote for a £1.5k job

mustbetimeforacreamtea · 19/05/2017 21:39

Oh yes definitely those questions and how about asking them to come up with 3 good points about the other company's product?

Empireoftheclouds · 19/05/2017 21:39

I would not use a company that knocked on my door looking for business. If you want new windows have a look online for local companies, get reviews and then choose 3 and invite them down to quote. Be clear at the start that you don't need the sales patter as you have already decided to buy windows, also make it clear before they start to measure that you will be discussing things privately and contacting them if you wish to go ahead.

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