Letters to the Editor
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Good advice but ...
As unfortunate as the LW's passivity was, I understand it. Women have a tendency to want to play nice, to not know how to properly assess a dangerous situation and act accordingly.
Although I would hope that I would not spend 2 hours with a nut like this, I've been sucked into situations that were uncomfortable and didn't take the necessary steps to get out.
I will say that I would not have tolerated this behavior in front of my kids. To me, that's the most puzzling part of this letter. My mother bear impulses really kick in if my kids are involved and I will do aggressive things I wouldn't do otherwise.
But Cary is right -- LW needs training to get over this before she gets in real trouble.
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how I know it's not true
Lowes, Home Depot and other national home improvement chains do not send employess to your home.
Period.
They do subcontract measuring and installation out to small companies and make VERY clear up front that they're not liablef or what that company does. So they would NEVER promise over the phone to give you $14,000 worth of labor or materials.
It. Just. Would. Never. Happen.
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Do not be greedy
Do not be greedy. Being greedy invites greed. It invites greedy people in and they will take advantage of you. Do not be greedy.
Do not accept the $14,000 renovation job. The first reason is that in your blind greed you will invite these people in and they will most certainly take advantage and con you out of more than you ever bargained for. Secondly, if the offer is legit, it is far beyond the realm of appropriate compensation for what happened. All you really need to resolve this is to have the contract legally voided and a letter of apology.
Nothing good comes from being greedy or taking advantage of people. Do not become the salesman.
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@ Lynx
"Between the "It's a fake" letters and the "OMG, Traveling Salesmen!" letters this letter column reads like a UFO community."
It's not traveling salesmen in general. It is The Travellers, specifically. Google it and become informed.
UFOs and fake letters, you're on your own.
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beleive me
Lowes, or any comparable national home improvement chain would NOT offer $14,000 worth of material and labor to make up for a rude employee.
It's a publically held company and such an outlay would be considered irresponsible and probalby illagal. publically held CEOS are legally required to act in the best interst of the comany, stock, and stockholders. Givng out $14,000 willynilly where a coupon for a free light bulb is appropriate is acting against the best interst of the stockholders and actionable. someone here with an MBA can tell you the terms, but that's just not what Home Depot would do, at all.
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not Travelers
Travelers wouldn't threaten you with a friend named Guido. they're of Irish stock (and very zenophobic, many in clusters in north carolina still have an irish lilt to their voice). If they were going to threaten you, it would be a guy named Liam or Sheamus.
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Cary's answer was right on the money
This woman has serious judgment problems. I don't even open the door when someone unsolicited comes knocking. I yell "Yes?" from inside. But this whole business about a "national chain" and $14,000 sounds extremely bizarre to me. She needs to call an attorney, and the fraud division of the police (or as my dad liked to call them, the Bunko squad).
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I sympathize, but
I hate going out to dinner with my parents. Why? Because no matter what the problem: raw food, screaming banshees, slow service, they will never speak up and try to resolve the problem. Because that would be "rude." Better to pay a pricey sum for food you can't consume without getting sick.
When I was a kid, my motto was, "I would rather die than be that much of a wimp." So if people pushed me enough, I pushed right back. But somewhere along the line, I started confusing being aggressive with being assertive. It's a problem for a lot of women I know.
Re-learning how to assertive as an adult has often been two steps forward and four steps back. But I keep at it. Do whatever you can to realize when your rights are being trampled on and the various ways you can deal with the situation. If you, like me, sometimes worry about hurting total strangers' feelings, ask yourself exactly why they are trying to manipulate you. Most times, it's not in your best interest, it's in theirs.
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A CEO’s responsibility is to create shareholder value
NO CEO of a national home improvment chain would offer a customer $14,000 for dealing with a rude employee. He'd be fired and possibly charged with irresponsible use of company money. Shareholders revolt for stuff like this, and company staff are charged for false financial records.
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Dear Cary:
I was harassed for $7000. an hour.
How much more can I expect?
-mom
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bad people rely on that confusion
Cary... honey, if I were in the same room with you, I'd be tempted to pour something over your head to wake you up. Where's your brain lately?
The confusion the letter writer felt is perfectly normal. Scammers rely on that confusion to do their work. For that matter, all salesmen rely on ingrained politeness and the inability of people to say no. It's not fair to make this lady feel as if she's some sort of freak because she didn't know how to deal with someone violating society's rules. Almost everyone would have found this situation confusing, because that's not the way we expect a salesman to act. He must go to other houses, right? Does he act like this there? What do other people do? Do they call the police on him? If so, then why isn't he in jail? He's not in jail, he's in my livingroom, therefore those other people must not have called the police...
Anyway, yeah, you should have called the police. You should have gone outside, gotten in the car with the kids, and said, "There's this creepy guy parked in my driveway who refuses to leave. He says he's a salesman but he doesn't act like any salesman I've ever met."
And I'm a little bothered by what you're doing now. File a complaint with both the BBB and the police. Don't accept these offers of help from a company that has proved to be shady already. Good heavens, what a setup for the classic, "We're half done and over costs, we refuse to close the hole in your house unless you give us more money!" scam. If they really want to give you lots of money, ask them for cash. But get these people out of your life.