Shades and Blinds - Buyer Bewar
I feel like a superhero! Tonight I installed my own roller shades and wood blinds, and they look great! I ordered them through Home Depot, received them last week, and procrastinated as long as my wife would tolerate. I must admit, I ordered them throuh Home Depot before. Initially they sent the wrong shades. And…
I feel like a superhero!
Tonight I installed my own roller shades and wood blinds, and they look great! I ordered them through Home Depot, received them last week, and procrastinated as long as my wife would tolerate.
I must admit, I ordered them throuh Home Depot before. Initially they sent the wrong shades. And I had to go through seven kinds of grief till they corrected their error.
But I still feel really good.
Last year my wife invited Budget Blinds over for an estimate. This Eric Griffith guy tried to pressure us to buy by offering a discount that was only good the first time he was at our home.
Can you imagine that? I did call the Department of Consumer Affairs to report him. I don’t know
whether they followed up.
But I don’t think that
coming out for a free
consultation, then pressuring a consumer
with a one time only price is a ethical way to do business.
We also called Empire, who missed two appointments with us. So I went to Home Depot.
The funny thing is, had
Budget Blinds not
pressured us to buy, I probably would
have called them back after Empire failed to show. Their loss, my savings. It was a marathon event, but I did save money doing it myself.
Thanks for the tip on Smith and Noble. I think their prices are high anyway. If you’re not buying better service with that high price, why shop with them at all?
i’ve used smith and noble before and was one of their biggest commercial customers in new york per their customer service agents. notice the operative word is “was”.
they make too many mistakes on a regular basis and the quality is equally inconsistent. and, big problem, when they make a mistake, they don’t stand behind their product.
if you get lucky, you get a decent product for the price. if not, you get stuck with an expensive load of junk that is broken or doesn’t fit.
check out apartmenttherapy and go see comments there. the horror stories are myriad. i would rather gamble in vegas with my money than risk cash with them again.
I did not suggest that the immediate-purchase price would be available at a later date. It is not and would not be.
The discount was not phony, though I accept that it might not have been presented appropriately.
We can quibble about semantics, but I accept your choice of vocabulary as well. My point was that I have often had prospective customers willing to write a check immediately (usually because they were in a hurry to have the treatments installed) but I have encouraged them to wait and consult with others and set up a time for me to come back and show the selections to others so they could feel more comfortable with their selections.
Of course the consumer is in the driver’s seat. I don’t ever forget that. In your case, I made a mistake, maybe even more than one. I apologize again for that. I don’t remember ever consciously trying to pressure someone, but my intention does not change the fact that you felt pressured. I will work to be more aware and to avoid that type of situation in the future.
Thank you again for the insight.
All the best,
Eric Griffith
Budget Blinds of Brooklyn
Considerable effort to turn on a dime. You wrote: “I agree no one should be pressured to buy. If a customer is not comfortable with their choice I often suggest that they wait and have me come back in a week to discuss it again. However, even in those cases, when they are eligible for the immediate-purchase price I offer it to them because I also believe it is important to offer consistent discounts. Likewise, I think that the DCA requires that I offer it if it is available.”
First: “If a customer is not comfortable with their choice.” Well, the correct term is potential customer, or shopper. Having not yet bought from you, I was not your customer. Any shopper who has not yet bought from you is not your customer. “Choice” is also not correct. The word “consideration” might be. “Selection” might be correct. And based on your performance in my home, and the reality of consumer rights, “I suggest that they wait and have me come back in a week” is ridiculous. Here we were, not ready to buy, telling you we wanted to shop. And would call you if we wanted to buy from you or discuss anything with you. But being pressured by you to buy on the spot to receive a one time only discount. And, because you responded to my post here we are discussing theoretical similar cases where people are not ready to buy but want to do more research or shopping and you have the gall to say that if a shopper is not comfortable with their choice you suggest that they wait and you come back in a week?
We were telling you that we wanted to shop and consider other products. You tried to pressure myself and my wife to buy so we would not shop and see more products. We had not made a final choice. We had made selections we were considering. All we had done was look at your products and consider from what you had to offer. We wanted to see more. And get more prices.
We were telling you we were not ready to proceed. That is what all this hoo haa here is about. Shoppers rights to tell a sales person they want to shop more. And not be pressured to buy to get a phony discount.
It is not a choice, it is a product someone is considering at the moment. It is a choice when someone writes a check.
You have everything backwards. The consumer is in the driver’s seat, not you. The shopper tells the salesperson who has come into their home what they want to do. You, the salesman, do not tell the shopper what to do or when to do it.
This business you suggested of what you now term the immediate purchase price possibly miraculously being available on a second visit to a potential consumer’s home is really precious.
Smoke and mirrors.
I’m not sure in what way I have “made considerable effort to turn on a dime”. I explained our policy, which your responses imply is adequate and fair. I apologized for any lapse in executing that policy. The apology was sincere.
I suppose the only answer here is that you don’t believe me. There is nothing I can do about that. But as far as I can tell I have been consistent in my statements and reacted to new information with respect and consideration. That is the opposite of “turn(ing) on a dime”.
As for “pompous and phony”, I guess we’ll just have to disagree on that. Passing on savings to customers who cost us less is the right thing to do and that is an “opportunity” for the customer to save some money. Maybe we understand the word differently, but when something is available at one time or place when it might not be available in another time or place, that is what I consider an “opportunity”. To assume that I believe my customers need me more than I need them not only ignores everything I’ve written, but also twists the meaning of the word “opportunity” into something that I don’t recognize.
I realize I will probably never convince you. I also understand that you will probably not reply again. Nevertheless, I thank you for bringing this issue to my attention. It certainly will help to make me a better consultant and Budget Blinds a better company.
Regards,
Eric Griffith
Budget Blinds of Brooklyn
Mr. Griffith, you certainly make a considerable effort to turn on a dime. I have no vendetta against you. It doesn’t matter if you did your normal routine in my home, of if as you proposed you possibly were having a bad day. You were unprofessional and did pressure myself and my wife. And you cost yourself a sale and referrals. Honestly, anyone who asks me about blinds, I will tell them that the representative that Budget Blinds sent to my house was high pressure and unprofessional. Because you were.
Now lets go back to your first responding comment. You wrote: ” That said, I am extremely sorry you felt pressured. We try to present it in a way that provides you an opportunity…” That’s pompous and phony, similar to your manner in my home. If anything, my wife and I presented you with an opportunity to earn our trust and business. For you to come into a stranger’s home to discuss a product that you sell and install and they may want to buy, then tell them that you are giving them an opportunity is absurd.
Somewhere along the line you fooled yourself into thinking that customers need you more than you need them.
Now I’m going to forget about you till someone asks me about blinds or shades.
In response to your last paragraph first, I certainly do agree with you. Our policy is that when we give a price, we immediately offer whatever discount is available for immediate purchase, before the customer has said anything. It does sometime slip my mind due to other things being discussed and due to the fact that it is available on some items and in some install situations but not others (since we represent a number of fabricators, the pricing policy is rather complicated). But to answer your question, yes, if they purchase and I haven’t offered them the applicable immediate-purchase prices, I do offer it at that time (or sometimes call back later to tell them it is less expensive than we thought).
As for Installation, I have NEVER advertised free installation. We don’t provide free installation, and never have. Installation is included in our price, and we tell everyone we talk to that the cost of purchasing blinds from us is always dependent on the difficulty of the install. I do know that some of the franchises (there are 1000 of them across the nations) DO advertise for free installation, but all advertising material does carry a disclaimer saying that each franchise is independently owned and operated, specifically to deal with that situation. Unfortunately I do not have any control over what other franchisees do. However, if you have seen any advertising with “Free installation” on it, I would really like to know what it is so that I can respond appropriately.
I agree no one should be pressured to buy. If a customer is not comfortable with their choice I often suggest that they wait and have me come back in a week to discuss it again. However, even in those cases, when they are eligible for the immediate-purchase price I offer it to them because I also believe it is important to offer consistent discounts. Likewise, I think that the DCA requires that I offer it if it is available.
As for my attitude, unfortunately I do not know who you are and cannot properly respond. I try really hard to treat everyone with deference and respect. It is my desire and in my nature to be considerate and polite. That has helped me to build a business based mostly on referrals and repeat customers. However, we all do have bad days and during these tough economic times there has been a lot more pressure on all of us. If I was rude or pompous or inappropriate, I do truly apologize. That is inexcusable. It also might explain the timing of the immediate-purchase offer — if I was preoccupied or upset about something else, I might not have been as focused as I should have been.
So, I agree with you: It is not appropriate to pressure the customer. It is not appropriate to say you’re giving “Free installation” and then charge more for a difficult one. And It is vital that the potential customer be treated with respect and consideration.
I don’t feel like offering the lower price is inappropriate pressure, though I do understand that I might have done it inappropriately in your case. I do NOT advertise for free installation (and if you or your wife saw that I would appreciate a heads-up). And I am sincerely sorry if I was not respectful, considerate, and professional.
However, I DO appreciate this dialogue. If I haven’t answered your concerns, I encourage you to continue this (or contact me directly at egriffith at budgetblinds dot com). I seldom hear from the customers who don’t buy, and it is helpful in every way.
Regards,
Eric Griffith
Budget Blinds of Brooklyn
Actually, I did tell you that I felt offering a lower price to buy on the spot was undue pressure. You gave the same answer then, that it costs you more to return. You were rather adamant and pompous in general. Your clenched jaw was a tell tale sign. Essentially, we all know that the idea is to prevent the consumer from seeing other products that might be better, and to get other prices that might be less for the same thing.
In your comment you indicated you charge more for a more difficult installation. My wife said your advertisment that she responded to offered free installation. It certainly seems to me that you are full of double talk.
A honest businessman offers legitimate and consistent discounts. Your cost of time is your cost of time. It is part of being in business. It’s a tough world, Mr. Griffith. Today’s consumer has a multitude of choices. No one should be pressured to buy. No one should be expected to spend their money till they are comfortable. And you have a lot of nerve pressuring people to buy in their own home.
If you go on a consultation and some one accepts the opening price, do you then give that person the discount for buying the first time?. You did not offer us that discount till we told you we wanted to think about it.
I’m sorry your experience with Budget Blinds was not what your expected it to be, and I’m very sorry that you felt like you were being pressured unfairly. I would rather you had discussed the issue with me than call the DCA, but only because you might have felt better with an explanation. I do not believe I did anything unethical, and certainly nothing illegal, when I visited.
There are numerous reasons we offer a discount if you purchase immediately. Primarily, however, wouldn’t you expect to pay more for something that costs me more? Return visits do cost us money, as does administrative work of keeping track of open quotes and the liability of accepting an order and credit card charge without an original signature.
The price quoted (and though I don’t know who you are nor the specific quote, I do know our pricing policy) was fair, reasonable, and competitive. I let you know the discount was available, but did not pressure you to accept it. In order to kepp our prices as reasonable as possible, we offer that discount for customers who require less work for us. Very much like the same product mounted into concrete on a 14-foot high ceiling is going to cost more than it would mounted into wood 6 feet off the floor.
That said, I am extremely sorry you felt pressured. We try to present it in a way that provides you an opportunity, but does not make the customer feel pressured any more than a store that offers a one-day sale. And we go out of our way to make it clear in all of our literature that offers are only good at the time of the initial consultation.
I also try to make clear to most customers that they ALWAYS will save money if they purchase and install the blinds themselves — I’ll even make recommendations if that’s what you choose to do.
So, again, I’m sorry that your experience with us wasn’t what you wanted, but congratulations on your successful purchase of new blinds and shades.
Regards,
Eric Griffith
Budget Blinds of Brooklyn