Monday, June 9, 2008

Suckered!

Have you ever felt like you have a big sticker on your forehead that says "SUCKER!" Typically I am good at NOT getting suckered into things but today I must have been wearing the sticker.

It was a super busy morning as we had a bunch of things to do before getting Scott off to the airport for his work trip to Denver for the next few days. He left around noon and Easton has refused to take a nap so I have been random things around the house including laundry. I had run upstairs to get some hangars and on my way down I notice 2 shilouettes through our front door. I hadn't heard the doorbell ring and was tempted to walk on by but then I thought that if it turned out to be the missionaries I would feel really bad. So, I opened the door. It was a boy and girl (maybe around 16 years of age????) and the first thing the boy said was "sorry we're late, do you want us to set up right here?" My respone was a blank stare as I had no clue what he was talking about. He then tried to tell me that they were the kids I had ordered off from eBay. ???? Looking back he was pretty whitty and funny but I was not in a mood to laugh or be joked with. So it turns out they are selling magazines to raise money for college. They earn a certain amount of points depending on which magazine and how many magazines you decide to subscribe to, etc. They "claimed" it was their last day to sell and they still needed "x" amount of points. My thought was that they probably use that line on everyone, everyday. The last time a guy came to my door trying to earn money for college he was selling books and it turned out that those were some of the best books I've ever purchased for Easton. Very educational. So, I decided to take a look at the brochure and see what magazines they were selling. They didn't really have anything I was interested and willing to actually pay for (I get my fill of the celebrity gossip magazines for free when I go grocery shopping). Right when I about had them convinced I wasn't interested Easton came running to the door. Then the girl directed me toward the children's subscriptions. The boy kept pulling out all these clever lines to be pushy without me really thinking he was pushy. I looked at the children's stuff. At this point I was trying to see what was the lowest amount of points (that probably meant the lowest cost) so I could sign up and get them off m doorstep. It sounds rude but it's nearing 100 degrees and there was a fly coming through the open door every 5 seconds! I finally found something for Easton and figured they would want a credit card to pay. Nope! They wanted cash so they could get bonus points! I hardly ever have any cash. Turns out I was right. After going back and forth with them a few times I raided my emergency cash stash to pay them and also had to take $2.00 worth of quarters out of the car wash jar to get the correct amount and get rid of them. I shut the door and proceeded to check on the laundry all with the afterthough of "what was I thinking! I'm such a sucker!" :) (At least I was smart enought to actually make sure it was a legitimate deal before handing over my money.)

7 comments:

Erin said...

I hate it when people come to your door like that! Always a pain. We've all been a sucker before to just get rid of them! :) Sorry about the heat...humidity is so much worse than St. George dry heat! I thought I was going to die every summer in Virginia when we lived there...and I don't even want to think about what my hair looked like!
p.s. Love the new blog design!

Liz said...

Been there! I hate solicitors, I always feel sorry for them. I have to be right up front with them, or I end up doing what they want. At least it was something for Easton!

Brad and Kaci said...

Been there! I am the biggest sucker. I feel like I always have to buy something. Brad always tells me if they are motivated enough to walk door to door, then I should buy something from them. Sure!!!! Right????

Angie said...

Great story, Jess. I'm sure you'll enjoy the magazine. Those kids sounded pretty persistent. We've had that magazine sales pitch a few times at our house. I sometimes wonder if it's real or just a sales pitch for a company. Whatever it is, I gues it worked!

Lisa said...

I'm glad you wrote about it, because it makes me feel better about the times I was suckered in! Once at BYU I bought an Oil Change certificate- like 8 oil changes for $60. Great deal, right? I got ONE oil change, and a month later the place closed down. I'm lucky that we live on base now, and I won't be tempted by solicitors!

Anonymous said...

I love it. Those same magazine college kids came to my apartment door. How funny is that, and guess what, it was over two weeks ago and they used that same line on me. That is hilarious. I was tending my neices and nephew so I had five kids at dinner time who were sceaming and playing very loud so they were more than happy to leave my door without me buying anything. Now that Jeriah is a door to door seller, I have a new appreciation for them. It's funny how relatvie everything is.
When is Scott going to have a busniess trip toward our direction? I'd love to get together with you. Miss you Jess!

Maren & Danny said...

I think we have all been in that situation so don't feel too bad! I usually buy something quick just to get them out the door! :0) I am with Kaci though-if they have the nerve to go door to door we should at least hear them out right? :0)