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

[MsMsMsNOTMRS]

Here's the story. (Have namechanged, as have bitched about this to so many people that it will probably out me)

So I would like some new blinds. My husband would like them too, but that is not the point.

I ring up Thomas Sanderson. I give them my full details. I tell them I want some blinds. They say they will organise an appointment with a salesman.

I give my name as "Ms Z". I don't mention anyone else.

Lady on the phone: "Do you live with anyone else at the property?"
Me: "Er yes. My husband and my baby".
Lady: "And what is his full name?"
Me: "Er Mr X Y." (thinking WHY IS THIS RELEVANT?)
Lady: "And will he be at the appointment?"
Me: "No. He'll be at work."
Lady: "Because at the appointment some decisions will have to be made about the type of blind."
Me: "Really, it's fine. He isn't interested."
Lady: "Are you sure? Some of the decisions will have financial consequences." really? Shit. Better get the male in, since there is MONEY involved
Me: "Eh?" (Thinking, WHAT THE HELL?!) "It's okay, really, I have full authority to make financial decisions."

Phonecall over, I then get an email to "Mr and Mrs XY and Z" confirming the appointment.

The salesman comes and is very confused to be greeted by me ("I have a different name down for the appointment... Mr XY?).

Then after the appointment (at which my husband wasn't present, obvs), the contract for the blinds and all subsequent emails are addressed simply to Mr X Y. I have been erased from the picture. Although they are sent to my email address, obviously, as that's the one I gave, as the only person the company was in contact with was me.

What do you think?

On one hand, it's unimportant, on the other, it's hilarious. On the third hand, it's outrageous that (whether intentionally or not) this company appears to think that only the male head of a family can enter into contracts and make binding financial decisions. Therefore they have managed to drag out of me the bare minimum details of my husband and are merrily entering into correspondence with him in order to avoid talking directly to the feisty upstart wife who is trying to choose blinds BY HERSELF.

Hartwells in Kidlington are renowned for being sexist twunts. Especially the one near Sanderson Blinds.

Can you tweet them about it? I've seen people do similar with other companies and get a prompt apology because it's so publicly visible, they don't like it.

eve, funny you say that about Hartwells in Kidlington. I've had the same type of experience there. I even had a moan about it on here at the time. Wish I could remember the salesman's name. Such a sleazy git! He talked all the time to my then-DH (who cannot drive) while gently patronizing me.

I had a really odd one with a lettings agency recently. I'm getting divorced and moving in with a flatmate. So, I rang up about a house and they asked if it'd be just for me or was I married or with a partner. I probably should just have said 'me and my flatmate' but I took it literally (I'd been filling in forms with boxes for marital status earlier) and explained the situation. Later on he asks 'and is it Miss or Mrs' and I say (cos I haven't had the chance much yet) 'it's Dr'.

I got an email addressed to Ms Opaque.

I mean ... I'm totally happy to be Ms, obviously, but I can't quite work out what calculation he did there.

It might be that 'Dr' is not an option on his computer system, Opaque. We have this situation at work - the pensions provider my company use does not have 'Dr' as an option for titles on its system. We are a scientific company with probably somewhere approaching 50% of staff holding PhDs. But computer says no.

Oh, sure, could well be. It's just he didn't ask about 'Ms' as an option at all. I thought it was possibly one of those 'divorced women use Ms' things.

Actually what I find most disturbing about this is that companies don't do it just to piss us off - they must have a reason. And that suggests to me that there are a LOT of households in the UK where the wife genuinely can't make a decision about double-glazing without her husband to rubber-stamp it, which is genuinely frightening.

Everest windows did this to me.

Needed 26 (!) new double glazed windows, with plan to move on with conservatory after windows, so big business. DH and I both work more than full-time e.g. 60 hours per week + on-call. I earn more, incidentally, and tend to be the financial decision-maker, organise our accounts etc. Given this I took a few weeks off work to get quotes and arrange/plan various renovations. DH just not really interested/not his thing. No issue with needng to be joint debtors on any finance etc, we both earn enough independently for me to make credit applications etc alone.

When it came to calling Everest I couldn't even get them to come out unless DH home, on the basis that there would be "lots of decisions, including financial" to be made. I didn't take it any further, told them I wouldn't have them out to quote on this basis. They still give me sales calls and I remind them each time why I am uninterested in doing business with them.

I should add that most of the other double glazing companies I got in touch with tried the same thing but after the first question that suggested we were heading down that road I promptly told them I wouldn't be dealing with a company that made any suggestion that my DH needed to be present which stopped the others in their tracks and eventually I got 4 quotes and was able to proceed.

I had a similar experience with Anglian when I wanted to buy a garage door. I had no idea that this was such a common thing and, as they had initially approached me by cold calling on the doorstep, I became suspicious that they were some cowboy outfit who merely wanted to know if I was a woman living on my own. I invented a husband, made an excuse as to why he wasn't home when the salesman turned up, and then had to keep the lie going. Funnily enough, I decided not to buy because of the outrageous prices but, as the salesman was trying to force a sale, he urged me to call my husband and I had to go through the pantomime of calling a non-existant husband to discuss a non-existant proposition about a garage door that was doomed to non-existance. If you see what I mean.

My understanding is that, as fitting windows is structural work, you need the agreement of both owners of the property. However, why companies cannot learn to couch it in neutral language I do not know...

However, blinds....you should be able to pay Sanderson to adorn the inside of your window with dead badgers and not need to get anyone else involved.

As much as i hate this behaviour - i have been known to use it as a get out when being door stepped. "Oh, i can't possibly make that decision without checking with my husband..." blah blah.

I have also been known to tell them that my husband is a builder who carries out all the work on our home - this one really puts them off as they know he will be aware that they are overcharging. (this is true though).

I might be letting the side down - but I just can't be bothered with trying to explain that i can make a choice and that I don't want to go ahead. I just pretend that i don't make choices!

However, blinds....you should be able to pay Sanderson to adorn the inside of your window with dead badgers and not need to get anyone else involved.

I am surprised they don't have more complaints and people just refusing to have them round.

I had a similar experience with a flooring company over here (the US) about two months ago.

The salesman even referred to my husband as "the breadwinner," which as you can imagine, I did NOT take kindly to. I might be a SAHM right now, but I have other sources of income, and I am most certainly not reliant on my husband financially. Not that it would matter if I were, as the make up of our family finances were none of this asshole's business.

Furthermore while I am a Mrs. Furbyvilles, the account the flooring was being paid from was MY account, which Mr. Furbyvilles obviously has no fucking authorization over anyway.

Needless to say, a formal complaint was made, and even though the management response was to offer me a substantial discount, I still went with another company (costing me more) out of principle.

Don't get me started on Everest. We had the full on hard sales pitch complete with making calls to his boss to arrange discounts etc. The damn man simply would not address me to my face nor would he shut up, give us a quote and go away. After 2 hour I had had enough and threw his demonstration windows out the front door. The same demo windows he had insisted in carrying himself as they were bulky and too heavy when I originally offered to help.

Anglian, on the other hand were fine. The salesman had a serious look at the walls, sills and sizes then, when DH pointed to me and said "Talk to her, she's the one with the technical degrees" proceeded to do just that. He didn't even blink when I checked his calculations.

My understanding is that, as fitting windows is structural work, you need the agreement of both owners of the property.

That's fine, but can't they just ask whose names are on the deeds, because all owners need to agree on structural work? That's asking for the information they need without risking them putting their feet in it with assumptions about marital statuses, earnings or anything else.

I sort of hope someone else would get involved, if you tried to hang dead badgers in the window, but whether this should be the RSPCA, environmental health or mental health services, I'm not sure. ..

BranchingOut that is simply not true, because I did get a company to quote for windows after the sexist idiots refused. Not only that, they let me choose the design, sign the contract, set the date, and pay them. All without ever meeting my DH.

Don't they realise that the "I'll have to check with my husband /wife" is a fob off? They all seem to act like it is a rebuttal that needs direct action in anticipation. Rather than taking the sale that's on offer. Seems arse about face.

I vote for always telling them why you won't deal with this shit. And telling them high up why they've lost the sale. They think you're lying when you say you are quite capable of concluding the sale. Shitbags.

Ah, in the double glazing industry they are looking to make 'double header' appointments.

Basically they want both decision makers there in order to get the deal signed and sealed. If one or other is absent then the customer less likely to sign on the spot.

Never really thought of it as 'sexist' just as wanky pressure selling tactics.