<p>Well, I know a sure fire way (pun intended) to get out of there. DH and I went to one years ago and in their minds “no means maybe or yes”. We said “no” so many times and they just wouldn’t let us leave. Finally DH got fed up and said the only way he would sign anything was if the salesman had a loaded weapon under the table pointed at him. He took offense to that, but still had to get his supervisor to come over to release us and the supervisor seemed indignant and said “we’d never do that”. It’s a great story now, but they just wouldn’t accept “no” (and believe me we never showed any sign that we might be interested in the property–and we had been saying “no” for about an hour at that point).</p>
<p>bookworm,
Didn’t know they let you sign up for the initial visit if you weren’t married. </p>
<p>We went to a local one many many moons ago just to get the free gift (it was a small portable B&W tv, if that gives you an idea how long ago it was)… I was very pregnant with s#1 and took FULL advantage of that. Got outta there pretty quickly.</p>
<p>I told them I was a single parent putting my twins through college-true at the time. This was a relatively local presentation. They backed off. </p>
<p>Wow… doesn’t anybody see this behavior as dishonest? I do… you committed to listen to a pitch for a certain period of time to get something in exchange. And everyone is now trading tips on how to lie your way out of it, take the free stuff, and run. You don’t have to buy. But if the deal is clearly to spend 90 minutes (or whatever amount of time) with them, then that is the deal.</p>
<p>Intparent,
It sounds to me like people are looking for ways out after they have completed the 90 min sales pitch. Often the sales people keep you there longer, in hopes of closing a sale. These suggestions are for after the visitor has honored their commitment. Doesnt sound to me like people are asking to avoid that.</p>
<p>Both times we have attended these things (when I was very pregnant wit S#1 and again when he was about 3) we stayed the required time and then became more assertive to end the session. Int he second case I really, really needed to change DS’s diaper. that was not something the sales guy wanted to participate in!</p>
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<p>I would be indignant that as an autonomous adult, someone would claim that I couldn’t leave until someone else “released” me!</p>
<p>OP again. We arrived Sunday. The resort is beautiful, the food is good but not great, and the staff is very pleasant. </p>
<p>@intparent - I wouldn’t consider violating the letter or the spirit of the rules. I went in knowing I “owed them” 90 minutes of my time, and I simply wanted to make it as pleasant as possible for all of us: DW, me, and them.</p>
<p>The presentation began with breakfast with our sales consultant. She was relatively new to the business, and was easily manipulated into being led off task; without really meaning to, she spent quite a bit of time talking about, among other things, her relationship with her father, siblings, and boyfriend, and her breast implants. I preferred this to a sales pitch, so I drew this out as long as I could. With only 15 minutes remaining in the 90 minute commitment we got up for her to give us a property tour. When I pointed out that she only had 15 minutes left, she told me, contrary to all previous representations, that the 90 minutes began at the end of breakfast. Seeing no benefit in debating the point, I acquiesced.</p>
<p>After the tour she began the selling process. My answers to her questions frustrated her. Example - Q: “How much, would you estimate, did you spend on your last vacation.” A: “Less than $100. We flew to the Virgin Islands using miles, and stayed at my brother’s house for free.”</p>
<p>But she was undeterred, staying on script even when it was awkwardly inappropriate. Maybe because I didn’t want her to have control of the situation, or maybe because I was just having fun with it, I did my best to keep her off script, either by giving her answers that broke her stride, or by answering her questions with my own questions. But I was always pleasant. Throughout the process, I kept telling her how much I enjoyed the resort, that it was a fantastic propery, and was that I was enjoying my time talking with her. The only problem, I told her, was that I wasn’t in the market for her product.</p>
<p>Finally, she brought in her “manager”, to “answer my questions” she’d been unable to answer which, of course, was a complete fiction. We had no questions at all and just wanted to leave. Things went very quickly with Hector. I began by telling him how much we were enjoying the resort, how our sales associate was delightful, and how I was impressed with his almost perfect English. As he looked at the notes she’d made on us I could see him looking for his path to a sale, but I’d made it pretty hard for him. He tried a few approaches, but I parried them well, and a few minutes later we were done.</p>
<p>Or so we thought. Before we could go, we needed to go through an exit interview so they could confirm we’d been treated well and to get feedback on their associates. Of course, this was their third level closer, the guy who knows all the tricks.</p>
<p>Up to this point I’d been having fun and had tried not to treat the salespeople as adversaries, but now my guard was up. I was prepared for it to get unpleasant.</p>
<p>This is when it became truly enjoyable, because of a few fun connections. The third level closer was a dual U.S./Mexican citizen. His mother is an American who had studied Mexican history at Pomona and went on to grad school in Mexico City where she ended up marrying a professor. As a CMC alumnus, I was able to give him some helpful perspective on his mother’s alma mater. His sister lives in Boston, as does my son, and his daughter is currently studying in Montreal, a city we love but he has never visited.</p>
<p>We talked Pomona, Montreal, family, etc, for about 45 minutes and he showed us a lot of family photos from his smart phone. But then we both knew it was time for us to put pleasantries aside and play our designated roles. He went into a well polished closing pitch and I politely but firmly declined. Just like that, it was over.</p>
<p>The entire process, including breakfast, took four hours. Surprisingly, I didn’t mind it at all.</p>
<p>Four hours??? That’s insane! </p>
<p>I’m glad you enjoyed it, especially since you were spending vacation time doing it. </p>
<p>Glad you enjoyed- made lemonade out of lemons, paid with your time for the vacation. We never bothered with those presentation offers although it was a bit tempting. I, too, would have had fun. A word to others from your experience- find out ASAP when the 90 minute meter starts running. Keep control of your enjoyment as you did and consider them the suckers for giving you the trip. They figure they make a profit if only a small portion of visitors buy into their plan so I would never feel like I was unfairly using them.</p>
<p>Stand up and leave after saying “no.” See what they’ll do. In the US, they cannot legally confine you by blocking your way to exit, and if they forget, a gentle reminder should solve the issue. I would not even dare to attend a sales pitch like the one our brave Sherpa did - in Mexico! </p>
<p>BTW, Marriott sales teams quickly figure out that we are not the type who buys timeshares, and they move on to schmooze others. Very classy and professional. Westin folks would not even make us listen to the sales spiel, unless we want extra points. They think their product speaks for itself. B-) </p>