1 October 2007

Rip Offs

| Tiffo
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1st: Called one of these national companies selling their wares in shopping centers wanting to get a quote for roller shutters. They said they do not give quotes over the phone, I said I already had 2 done over the phone. They said they could offer substantial discounts on retail prices if I placed one of their ads on my front lawn. I thought why the hell not. Alarm bells should have rang when they said :”Will you wife be at home?”

Well the appointed time arrives and I get a call from the salesperson saying they are not far but seem to be lost but won’t be long. Where the hell are they coming from?

They, yes they arrive. 2 of them. But lets not Focus upon that. After some introductions they look at the job, ummed and ahhed and talked about it to themselves. 10 minutes later they finish and ask if they could come inside and discuss the options. I said no lets sit outside.

What followed was a very slick presentation about how they were a national company and not just based in SA (huh?) and energy efficiency. I cut them short and said as you no doubt can see I have roller shutters installed (less than 12 months ago in-fact). Just give me the price for the basic model. Astoundingly, their price was substantially more than the two quotes. So I said what about this thing about advertisement. Well they said that if I was willing to advertise their company for 3 months and enter into a non disclosure agreement about their prices they could offer me a very good discount. This worked out to about $900 more than the phone quotes I had been given for each window or twice the price.

I got up and decided to show them the gate then and there. They then went in to a spiel about how ‘you get what you pay for’; the cheaper alternatives don’t have injected insulation in the slats, their product has better insulation; they have a patent yada yad yada. When I hinted that I might be selling the place soon, I think their hard sell tactics and reliance upon the guilt for the environment had all but evaporated and they bolted. My parting shot to them was, they could have saved themselves the trouble if they could have quoted me a price over the phone like the others.

2nd: went and bought 2 doors in Fyshwick. Since I did not have the ute that day, I asked Plus delivery. $100. I just about had an stroke then and there. That is more than getting a load of gravel delivered from Corkhills.

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If I understand correctly it is the Focus mob that operates from shopping malls in Canberra? Seems to be highly relevant to the Business category.

If I wanted a warning about the risks of not getting quotes etc, I would watch TT or ACA.

The relevance of this thread to Canberra is tenuous at best, this is hogwash.

p.s. Thumper for Admin and everybody must respeckt Che.

This post authorised by Mælinar, of no fixed internet abode.

Sounds like the guys who used to flog ‘roof restorations’.

Tiffo, I got some doors cheap from Doors Plus in Fyshies with free measure, delivery and installation. They even do 12 months interest free if you renovate from tax return to tax return like me.

This probably means the wall in which the windows sit needs to be repainted (and on, and on)

Might be easier to just demolish the house and build a new one around the double-glazed windows?

el ......VNBerlinaV87:34 am 02 Oct 07

Tried sleeping in another room?

Sammy suggested up above why don’t I get double glazing. If I did, it would not solve the problem with complete blockout of the room and as he suggested I would have to invest in curtains (heavy). Come what may, double glazing does not protect your house from a hot westerly summer sun. I would then need to invest in awnings. To install the double glazing, I would have to rip-out the old windows which means destroying the architraves around the window and probably some of the wall to fit the new windows. The new architraves will require painting. This probably means the wall in which the windows sit needs to be repainted and since shades of colours can change with time, the other walls in the rooms need to be repainted as well.

You starting to see that replacing the windows with double glazing is becoming a major headache? Thanks Sammy.

And air conditioning…

You would need double glazing, curtains AND new paint to sleep during the day?

Sammy you are smart…..

Cost for double glazzing, curtains and awnings, installation, fix the walls, paint the room $6,000. Cost of roller shutters $1,700.

Joe Canberran7:40 pm 01 Oct 07

Sometimes the existing solution is the best.

Comment by Sammy — 1 October, 2007 @ 6:21 pm

Another piece of Sammy Gold – two in one thread!

I, like Tiffo by the sounds of it, require the occasional sleep during the day so I can work during the night but unlike Tiffo have found the “existing solution” plus the occasional use of those sleeping masks you get on aeroplanes more than effective. It’s the heat during the day that mucks me up more than anything.

VYBerlinaV8 now_with_added grunt7:01 pm 01 Oct 07

It’s easy to bag people for being tight, but a lot of home improvement type small-medium companies have an unbelievably large markup on their product. Also, while some such products are ‘better’ in quality, this is often not reflected in the (unrealistic) price. I generally take the view of trying to understand the level of quality I actually want/need, then seeking quotes accordingly. To say something is simply ‘better quality’ does not a value proposition make. There are many items where I am only seeking average quality, not ‘top quality’. Occasionally, I pay more for better quality. One of my pet hates, though, is salespeople who push the ‘quality’ line to sell to their overpriced product.

Smart people pay attention to how much things cost. idiots spend more than they have to

Idiots pay attention to how much things cost. Smart people consider the value they will derive from the purchase, and use that to make a decision, rather than an arbitrary instrument like price, without reference to other variables.

el ......VNBerlinaV86:24 pm 01 Oct 07

Gold.

Darken the room so much that I can sleep in the middle of the day

Sometimes the existing solution is the best.

Go to Argus Home Security.
I had them do my whole house with rollar shutters and a couple with plantation shutters plus had special security doors put on. 2 doors and over 20 windows for only $13,000 (labour and materials)! This was two years ago so it may be more now. Worth a go anyway.

West facing sun.

Darken the room so much that I can sleep in the middle of the day.

hingo_VRCalaisV61:54 pm 01 Oct 07

hahaha I second that. Sammy’s comments are great. I agree with roller-shutters looking ugly as well.

LOL @ Sammy. Posts like that are the only reason i hang around this blog now.

The question i’d be asking is why you’re buying those roller shutters? Don’t you think it makes your house like a prison, and freaking ugly as well?

Why not invest in double-glazing? You get the security and insulation benefits, without the ugly sheets of metal attached to your house.

Smart people pay attention to how much things cost. idiots spend more than they have to.
Yeah, the fact that they had to send 2 people around to do the hard-sell-speil says a lot about their operation… and the higher price is probably to pay the salespeople. Who are no doubt on commission. Businesses like that are best avoided.

In response to tybreaker, they claim they sold curved slats and I wanted a price on them to match my existing roller shutters. The other company that installed my other electric roller blinds also have insulation in their slats and they installed my first roller shutter 8 years ago without a problem.

Let me put it to this way:

Company F: Manual version approx $2,700 per window pre discount or $1,750 after discount.
Company A: Hard wired electric version $1,300 or $850 manual.

Yes price is a consideration, that’s why I don’t buy BMWs.

As I said, I had two quotes already from local companies happy to do so. This company refused to do so. Has two guys turn-up. Cannot give me a simple quote without going through their presentation and then tries to get me excited with what a great deal I am getting if I advertise their company for 3 months and enter in to a non-disclosure contract. You work it out.

Anyway, I don’t want any sympathy, just letting everyone know, yes by all means shop around, and be very wary.

Maybe some people don’t have high-paying jobs with zero intelligence requirements! And maybe, just maybe, when making a major purchase they like to shop around! :O Oh em gee, that is bloody unheard of.

I was at the markets yesterday, and apples were selling for more than oranges.

I couldn’t believe it. I left immediately, and went home to count the money in the shoebox under my bed.

I think a dollar is missing. I might call the police.

More expensive doesn’t imply rip-off. If you want sympathy, you’d need to at least explain why their quality is no better than the other quotes you received. Probably hard to do when you’re obviously focussed on the price alone. I’ve read a little on roller shutters and there is a wide margin between good and basic quality. Enough of a margin to allow the cheap stuff to be sold cheap and the good stuff to seem expensive by comparison.

Life must be tough for a tightarse.

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