The thing about free tickets

(Originally composed Friday, August 24, 2007)

Apparently I won a trip for two to Orlando in a raffle at a travel agency. Anyway, I was supposed to sit through a presentation about timeshares before getting my ticket. I was slightly overwhelmed by the fake enthusiasm and obvious aggressive salesmanship when I entered that place. I've been reading a lot about sales pitches and negotiation so it was easy for me to see through all the excitement. The presentation was SO fake, I almost vomitted in my own mouth. The man made it seem like all the problems in the word could be solved by buying timeshares. Whatever. I have enough brains to see through that.

After that, I was taken to a table where a really well-dressed sales rep was supposed to convince me to buy timeshares that day. I really am not interested at this point in time, I was just there to get my free ticket to Orlando that they'd promised. But this guy kept trying to pressure me into buying thousands of dollars worth of vacation timeshares. He was nice and all but he was just trying to sell me stuff. All I kept saying was, I'd like to think about this and come back.

So he called another older salesman for some factchecking. This man was even more smooth than the sales rep. He was in his 40s and very very pretentious, as if he was my best friend or something. He tried to authoritatively give me some 'special' deal, and I just kept saying very straightforwardly, I need some time to think about it. Then this guy's tone changed. He was sitting 2 inches away from me, and he suddenly gave me this terrible I-think-you're-scum stare. I didn't know what to do so I stared back at him, right at his eyeballs, for about 15 seconds. He was trying to intimidate me. Then he asked me where I was from. I said India. Then he got sarcastic and angry and started telling the sales rep that I was just saying that I needed time to think and that in reality I wouldn't come back. He said that all Indian people do this. He started asking me, why do you people always do that? Blah blah blah blah. Then he told the flabbergasted sales rep to not bother because I wasn't going to come back. The he walked off.

I was so surprised. I asked the sales rep what that was about. The sales rep was terrified. He was like, I think he's frustrated. Then he said that he had noticed that Indian people do do this and he asked me why. I was really fed up and tired and wanted my free ticket. I just told him that I didn't know, I couldn't speak for 1 billion people. I also told him that immigrants leave everything behind and dont like tossing their money about. He was really embarassed and he said, well, we're all immigrants. I told him no, you're not an immigrant.

Then he really tried to salvage the sale by asking me to please please please buy something and to not be mad at him. I insisted that I needed time to think. Then I got sent to another lady who tried to sell me some more 'special deals'. I said I wasn't interested.

Then I had to go to another lady who finally gave me the tickets. I told her what nonsense had happened and I told her that I didn't know what that guy's problem was because it's not like I'm doing him a favour and I don't have to buy anything. She was stunned and she said that she was going to talk to her manager. I didn't really care. I had had a bloody awful week, and I had no time to deal with insecure ignorant people.

Geez Louise, I have never seen such morons in my life. And the sales rep told me more than once that he didn't like his current job and was thinking of applying for a job at my office of Deloitte.

I'm just very excited that the whole time I was at that office, I sat like a total statue and was seeing through all the fake pretension and feigned concern and 'special' deals and sales maneauvers. I don't know what planet they think I'm from, but I ain't stupid. I am just so excited that I quietly busted a senior salesperson's pitches. I matched this huge white man's superior intimidation stare for about 15 seconds, and I didn't flinch. I seriously have no tolerance for pretense.