By now you’ve probably asked yourself why did I decide to call my company AbsolutelyNothing. Well, it all begins with a vacation…
A Bit About Timeshare Vacations
My partner, Diane, and I were vacationing at a timeshare in Orlando, Florida. ☀️ This was a timeshare that my parents bought before I was born as an anniversary present to themselves. We have been visiting this same location for over 30 years. It holds a special place in my heart, and Diane also cherishes fond childhood memories from her visits there with her family. Over time, my parents have grown somewhat jaded. I’ve generally attributed their curmudgeonly attitudes to their age. One topic they’ve always been particularly grumbly about is the sales meeting.
During your stay at this timeshare, they invite you to attend a one-hour “brunch”. In exchange for a $50 gift card, previously $100 according to my parents, and breakfast (aka bad coffee and prepackaged muffins) salesperson tries to sell you new products. They attempt to convince you to buy an additional “week” at the current location or “floating nights” that can be utilized anywhere within their network.
So, the scene was set.
My parents loathe these meetings as they aren’t thrilled about interacting with salespeople. However, Diane and I decided to approach it with open minds. We both draw decent salaries, share sentimental attachments to the resort, and despite my parents’ adamant negative sentiments towards the administration, we were open to learning about how we might vacation in the future. We were poised to spend money. Long story short, we were youthful, naive, open-minded, influenceable, and armed with disposable income.
And yet, now I too am a curmudgeon.
A Dreadful Meeting
What ensued was a meeting with a guy whose demeanor suggested his previous job was being the most resilient manager at a cellular store. He tossed out feeble questions attempting to establish rapport and goodwill with us. I will omit our responses because regardless of how we replied, he seemed prepared with his rehearsed responses.
“Where are you from?” —> “Oh, my uncle’s stepmother lives there.”
“How’s the weather?” —> “Yeah, I love the sun; that’s why I settled in the Sunshine State.”
“How did you meet?” —> “Ah yes, a lot of people are meeting that way these days.”
Then, he began rattling off figures for some hypothetical scenarios, comparing the costs of purchasing a lake house versus buying into a timeshare. He had no tables, no fliers, just a stuttering fountain pen, scratching out almost illegible notes and drawings. As the meeting progressed, my frustration escalated due to:
a. His numbers just didn’t add up. I’m not an expert in home buying, but something seemed off.
b. His handwriting was increasingly illegible.
c. It was evident he was following a script and that a customer needed to assert “no” three times before he would relent. (I dread the thought of dating someone like this).
Having reached my limit with these shenanigans, I finally said to him, “Okay, thanks. This all seems semi-plausible, but we’re going to need to think about it. Can I keep this piece of paper you’ve been writing on?”
His reply: ”No.”
“So, is there a brochure or other materials we can take to make an informed decision?”
His response: “Unfortunately, no.”
“So, what can we take with us out of this meeting?”
Him: “Absolutely nothing.”
😤😤😤
In Conclusion
Then it dawned on me; this man had deliberately created an imbalance of information, intending to deceive me. This was not a mutually beneficial transaction. He had no regard for us; we were just victims on his path to commission. His behavior outraged me so much that I spent the subsequent hours by the pool drafting a harsh blog post (on my personal blog), designed to provoke the company and bring to their attention the error of their methods.
This salesman was a piece of work, yet I soon realized that he wasn’t the issue. The problem was that he served as a reminder of a ubiquitous issue on the web – an imbalance of power and transparency. It’s evident in the way companies gather our data under the guise of providing a free or inexpensive service, but fail to disclose how it’s being utilized in a respectful manner. It was just another instance that motivated me to develop a solution to help us reclaim our digital footprints. 💪🏼 At least this time, I got a name out of the ordeal.