I actually got a good deal from a Telemarketer, I didn't know this stuff existed

[Bebpo]

Normally when someone calls me trying to sell me something I just hang up.  But I was playing videogames and doing nothing so I let them give the speech while I played and wtf it was actually a good deal?  It was Hilton hotels (because I signed up as a free hilton rewards member some time when I stayed at one I guess) and they're like "do you want to go to Vegas and stay at the Wynn hotel in a studio room with a jacuzzi for 3 nights, 4 days with 2 tickets to 2 vegas shows of your choice, a $200 voucher for any hilton hotel in the next 6 months, and a $100 dinner coupon for a nice restaurant for $199 total and you have to watch a 2 hour timeshare sales pitch tour on one of the middle two days?" and I was like uh...sure.  Considering usually I spend like $130-150 a night for a place in Vegas and I was figuring on going in 2014 sometimes (I can book anytime in the next seven months).

Now that was like...a really good deal.  Wtf, I had no idea companies selling you stuff could actually get you ridiculously good deals.  Especially these timeshare tour ones where they want to sell you on timeshare for the hotel and the wine & dine you.  I kind of want to see if I can get in on more of these. 

Now I'm going to stop hanging up on these guys/girls.  Also I thought it was a scam at first because it sounded too good to be true and they wanted my credit card info, luckily that's why I keep a "I don't give a fuck" 2nd CC that I only use for anything that might be shady so I can cancel if it is.  But then I got the e-mail receipt and it seems legit! 

This was a pretty nice christmas present, I am impressed.  Also the last time I stayed at a Hilton hotel in San Diego I mentioned the room was damp from humidity and one of the towel hooks tore out from the wall because the wall had gotten soft from the moisture.  Didn't even complain, just let them know for the next person and they refunded me the whole price of the hotel stay for the night.  So Hilton is in my good graces right now and I'd recommend signing up for their free member rewards thing.  I think that helped too when they refunded me because they were like "since you're a valued member" which is funny since I stay at a Hilton like 2 nights a year so, just like air flight points I never accumulate anything or get anything from it.

Anyhow, first time telemarketing worked!  Did not know such a thing existed.


PS.  If we do a Bore meetup in Vegas, we can party in my room.

[demi]

Lol, enjoy your hidden surprise. They dont just call you to give you good deals for no reason. It is a business to make money.

[Great Rumbler]

Enjoy the most boring two hours of your life!

[pilonv1]

Imagine the worst meeting you've had at work. This will be worse

[benjipwns]

Bebpo, I think this guy just bent himself over a barrel here.
(He did?)
Yeah, for our pleasure.

[Bebpo]

Imagine the worst meeting you've had at work. This will be worse

Yeah, but for the price of what they're giving me (probably about ~$1,000 worth of package for $200, so $800 / 2 hours = $400 an hour), I'd be the best paid meeting I'd ever had!

[brawndolicious]

bebpo, are you sure you won't get guilted into buying anything?

[Bebpo]

Like as in, "look at this starving ethopian child.  If you buy a timeshare here, half of the money will go to his village to feed the children"?

I dunno, that'd be a good pitch, but honestly I don't have anywhere near the kind of money to buy a timeshare anyhow so they can't really tempt me.  They're usually like $30,000-80,000/year I think.  My disposable income is probably like 5-10k/yr, lol.  I'm not their target audience at all, but I'll feign interest with the best of them for a nice cheap weekend in vegas with the gf!

[Joe Molotov]

*in before the "Check out this awesome deal I got on a timeshare!" thread*

[Eel O'Brian]

 

[Bebpo]

Actually reading the small print there is some shady stuff:

Minor shadyness is:
Sales tax, parking not included.  Extra charge for holiday, high season or weekend rates may apply.  Well, since I'm sure I'd be going on a weekend, probably extra $50 a night x 3 = $150, sales tax could be another $100 for 3 nights.

Bigger shadyness is:
You have to meet "personal financial qualifications at your tour" or they charge you god knows how much as it's the full price of everything you're getting for the package.  I looked and their e-mail says timeshares range from $12,500/yr - 53,000/yr" so I'm pretty sure I'd meet qualifications to be eligible for the low end of that spectrum, so it should be alright. 


Still was a little shady they didn't mention any of that stuff before I paid them!  >_< 

But it should be a good deal even if it ends up being like $300-400 for a weekend in vegas at a nice place with cirque de sole and dinner for 2 and other free stuff.

[Great Rumbler]

[demi]

Lmao.

[benjipwns]

People like us, we don't get got. We go get.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Bebpo, go watch this: http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s06e03-asspen

[Bebpo]

Bebpo, go watch this: http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s06e03-asspen

hehehe, yeah, one of the other options was a ski resort in Utah, but Vegas is a 6 hour drive from me, Utah is flying distance.  Plus if I wanna ski, we've got local mountains in northern CA.

[Bebpo]

You know, I am curious about the presentation simply because from my point of view timeshares don't make any sense at all. 

Say, you get a week of room + probably all you can eat buffet and shows for $12,500 in Vegas, right?  Well, one week at the Wynn in a nice room is like $250/night at most.  With 7 days that's like $1,750 + (buffet x 7 days = maybe $100 a day = $700) + some shows and stuff for, say, another $500.  Maybe $1,000 in gambling chips.  That's still only $3,950.  What the heck can they throw in to make $12,500 for a week seem "like a good deal"?

I don't get it at all.  I've never really understood timeshares and why they make any sense versus just booking weekends/weeks at a hotel.  My parents have a timeshare in Cancun, Mexico but it was pretty cheap and was for like 3 weeks/yr all food+drink+room free.  Which maybe is cheaper than paying that separately, but Vegas?  I'm really curious how they're going to try to sell me on this.

[nudemacusers]

we could all pitch in and get whatever dude isn't getting laid on here a hooker


and take turns banging her

[benjipwns]

I've never really understood timeshares and why they make any sense

For who, the people who join a time share or the people who sell them?

[Bebpo]

A bore meetup in a las vegas hotel room? There would be enough christian sidehugs to make Jesus blush.

Hey, I made a thread about 2 years prior about a mini-bore convention in Vegas but the consensus was that people were interested but Vegas was too far for most so it'd only happen if we did it in Seattle.  I dunno, to me a borean party full of drinks, hookers, and gambling sounds like a great time.  But alas, did not happen.

[nudemacusers]

A bore meetup in a las vegas hotel room? There would be enough christian sidehugs to make Jesus blush.

Hey, I made a thread about 2 years prior about a mini-bore convention in Vegas but the consensus was that people were interested but Vegas was too far for most so it'd only happen if we did it in Seattle.  I dunno, to me a borean party full of drinks, hookers, and gambling sounds like a great time.  But alas, did not happen.

Bozeman has cheap flights to vegas last I checked. But you need to take in account people's schedules, lives and all that. So it won't happen anytime soon methinks.

allegiant is pretty good for cheap airfare out of the flyover states.

I mean I'm down for meeting up with semi-random people in las vegas but I hope you are all ok with me passing out naked/in underwear in the tub.

[recursivelyenumerable]

I had a layover in the Las Vegas airport once. It was an airport. That is the sum of my Las Vegas experiences, and I am satisfied with this.

[nudemacusers]

I had a layover in the Las Vegas airport once. It was an airport. That is the sum of my Las Vegas experiences, and I am satisfied with this.

did you gamble and smoke in the glass cages?

[recursivelyenumerable]

I think I may have had a drink in an airport bar, possibly eaten something

[G The Resurrected]

My father got involved with a Vacation-share which allows him to travel to a lot of places around the world. He gets two weeks a year for the life of the company that he can go anywhere and all you pay is a small daily maintenance fee. He went on a trip this year to Dominican Republic on a free vacation where they sold him on this Vacation-share. It was a lifetime investment which will eventually transfer to me so long as the company still exists. I couldn't believe it when he told me how much he spent on it, but I guess a free vacation is cheaper than paying dividends and playing the stock game. I ended up looking it up and it was Diamond Resorts which is apparently a huge ass company with lots of places all around the world.

I'm excited to one day be able to use it.

[Mupepe]

Yeah it's not just a two hour pitch.  It's a whole weekend pitch.  They will basically try to tag along with you everywhere.  The tickets to the show?  you're probably sitting right next to your salesman.  Eating breakfast?  "oh hey, fancy seeing you here!  Did you get a chance to look over the information I slid under your door last night?"  It's a weekend of being pestered and not to mention the hidden fees that aren't covered.  Enjoy, bro.  A family member did one of these a couple of years ago.

[Steve Contra]

Oh god

[nudemacusers]

Yeah it's not just a two hour pitch.  It's a whole weekend pitch.  They will basically try to tag along with you everywhere.  The tickets to the show?  you're probably sitting right next to your salesman.  Eating breakfast?  "oh hey, fancy seeing you here!  Did you get a chance to look over the information I slid under your door last night?"  It's a weekend of being pestered and not to mention the hidden fees that aren't covered.  Enjoy, bro.  A family member did one of these a couple of years ago.

really? I figured it would be a day-long seminar or some shit at most.

[Shadow Mod]

Dude they pay for some stuff but then charge the fuck out of you for the other "smaller" fees. I thought this was well known.

[Mr. Gundam]

If you can get out of this, get out of it. Now.

[Steve Contra]

What's the company?  We can do some research to make you feel even worse if you want.

[Mr. Gundam]

What's the company?  We can do some research to make you feel even worse if you want.

Tis the season.

[nudemacusers]

You are a fucking lawyer... how could you fall for this?

YOU are the one that is supposed to swindle people like this... not the one to be swindled.

[Steve Contra]

[Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich]

You are a fucking lawyer... how could you fall for this?

YOU are the one that is supposed to swindle people like this... not the one to be swindled.

jesus christ, a late qualifier for ether of the year 2013

[Joe Molotov]

:deadpos

[Shaka Khan]

HoF this.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Not much to say here after Borys

[Shadow Mod]

You are a fucking lawyer... how could you fall for this?

YOU are the one that is supposed to swindle people like this... not the one to be swindled.

[Great Rumbler]

Bebpu~

[Barry Egan]

Bebpuuu threads are the best

[Bebpo]

Alright, did some research and it sounds pretty bad:

Timeshare Lure to Las Vegas a Joke
By A Yahoo Contributor, 10/31/08
I agree with what several other people wrote. I was at home, minding my own business, and I received a call about this timeshare presentation because I am a Hilton Honor Member. I told them that I was not interested, but the person on the phone assured me that I would not be pressured. In fact, she said, "We would not want to lose your valuable business as a loyal customer." As other people mentioned, I was called numerous times, but I finally was confirmed with a reservation that fit into my schedule. Afterwards, I received several phone calls insinuating that I had not made a reservation, although I had a confirmation number. After reading these reviews, I would have worried about this. I previously stayed at Caesar's Palace for a conference, and I can't say enough about how wonderful it was. However, it is a bit pricey, and I wanted my husband to experience the Cirque de Soleil Love Show, so I felt this was a great deal. We also made reservations to see Elton John's Red Piano show, which was phenomenal. As other people have mentioned, we called to ask if there was an airport shuttle, and there was not. We had to take a cab to the hotel. When we checked in, we were sent to a handicapped room, which did not have the jacuzzi tub promised. Although the room was clean, the decor was not up to the standards of other Las Vegas Hotels, and we had absolutely no view on the third floor. The hotel is extremely far away from everything else in Las Vegas. Taking taxis is expensive, and so we took the metro on one occasion and the bus on another. The bus was extremely crowded; most people were standing. To add insult to injury, there is no gambling at this hotel and hardly any food. The pool bar doesn't open until 10:00 a.m., so the breakfast choices are minimal. The pool water was freezing cold, and I felt it was one of the ugliest pools I had ever seen--no foliage, no view, and it faced concrete buildings. There was not even a place to set a drink next to the chairs. The pool personnel were nice enough, but they were one of the few contacts I had with personnel of the hotel. In fact, I was barely greeted by anyone during my entire stay, until we attended the timeshare presentation. The timeshare presentation wasn't too bad, but I certainly was not interested in this vacation club, and I would never pay $39,000 for it, even if it is on a points system. If other Hilton's are as out-of-the way as this one was, it is certainly not to my liking. I've stayed at Hilton's Waikaloa Village, which is far away from the main activities on the Big Island, but it featured an incredible pool and so many activities that one would barely need to leave the resort. Not so with this Hilton Grand Vacation Club. My advice is to save your money until you can afford a better Las Vegas experience such as Caesar's Palace.

"Overall, this place is great. A great room, nice facilities, housekeeping is great. The only sour thing is the tour and meeting you have to have with the sales staff during your trip. I know it is a time share offer, and I understand that you have to go to the meeting, but we were told that the meeting would be for two hours, and if the offer did not fit your needs, you would not be harassed. In fact, they kept saying "we are your friends at Hilton!" Well, three and a half hours later, they kept trying to offer us different programs for a plan that we would rarely use. We explained that we are more "road trip" people, and $37,000 for a time share program at 12% interest and payments each month of just under $500 did not fit within our budget, so they came back with a smaller plan for $400 at 12%, we brought up that they did not have many facilities in Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming...and this is where we mostly travel...these areas are not serviced by Hilton Hotels much either, as we tried to tell them, but they would not listen...finally, my other half just stood up and said NO! They then said they understood, and they needed a manager to come over and have us fill out an exit interview. We waited, and he came over, and guess what, he tried to offer us another opportunity to join!!!! My other half stood up and stated "NO!" The manager at this point was apologetic and stated that he just hated to see us miss out. We both stated that it was not a fit for us and please let us go. We were exhausted from the ordeal. The room was outstanding, just be prepared to be beaten down by their sales staff..."

Luckily, it seems that most complaints from people have to do with shitty transportation service from the airport, around town.  Cab fees.  Since I drive to Vegas when I go and have my car, that shouldn't be an issue.  The sales pitches sound ridiculously high-pressure and go on far long then they tell you, but I get high pressured sales pitches at my job with people trying to sell us marketing and it doesn't phase me.

Doesn't sound like a great deal, but maybe I'll still save a few hundred bucks overall for a weekend in Vegas. 

[brob]

[...]I get high pressured sales pitches at my job with people trying to sell us marketing and it doesn't phase me.

Doesn't sound like a great deal, but maybe I'll still save a few hundred bucks overall for a weekend in Vegas.

 

[nachobro]

I used to sell timeshares when I lived in Vegas. Not a great job but it paid well. Surprised you got such a good offer. But yeah, there's gonna be a decent sales pitch there. Probably some movie presentation bullshit then a meeting with a salesperson that will just try and wear you down until you either give in or actually physically walk out of the office. Have fun!

[Bebpo]

Thanks.  Yeah, in retrospect this was probably a bad idea, but I was on mind-altering medical drugs (legal medical) when they called and I made this thread so was awkward timing.

[CatsCatsCats]

Bebsy, just check out bookit.com or something similar. There's always great deals on Vegas. Vegas is cheap.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

You just made the worst decision of your life.

I've been on one of these before - I was with a (female) friend in Orlando and she came up to the room one morning, "hey, a guy in the lobby will give us free tickets to Sea World if we just go watch a 90 minute presentation!" I knew those things were a scam and was disappointed in her for falling for it, but what are you gonna do? So we went.

It was so much worse than I could have ever imagined.

The pitch took about 4.5 hours, we missed lunch (witholding food/drink is a common technique) we didn't get to Sea World until 3 PM. We had to go through four different managers, each of which a harder sell than the last. The final boss was basically physically assaulting me, getting in my face and telling me I was a god damned moron for not signing up for a fucking timeshare, how could I be so fucking stupid? No amount of saying "no" would get him to leave me alone. The sales pitch is "high pressure" in the same way as a Birmingham fire hose.

You are not going to enjoy your weekend, you are not going to save any money, at this point your best case scenario is that you escape with your life and, perhaps, the ability to one day return to and enjoy Vegas again. But it's unlikely. Good luck & Godspeed. You sorry dumb bastard.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Oh, and since timeshares are a scam of course there is no good reason to invest in one. So they abuse and prey people into signing predatory contracts. Most timeshares sell second hand for about 20-30% of what they cost new because they have absolutely no value.

If you have time, watch The Queen of Versailles on Netflix to find out about the CEO of one of America's largest timeshare companies and his crazy-ass wife's attempt to build the largest house in America. It will teach you a lot about the mistake you made.

[Bebpo]

You just made the worst decision of your life.

I've been on one of these before - I was with a (female) friend in Orlando and she came up to the room one morning, "hey, a guy in the lobby will give us free tickets to Sea World if we just go watch a 90 minute presentation!" I knew those things were a scam and was disappointed in her for falling for it, but what are you gonna do? So we went.

It was so much worse than I could have ever imagined.

The pitch took about 4.5 hours, we missed lunch (witholding food/drink is a common technique) we didn't get to Sea World until 3 PM. We had to go through four different managers, each of which a harder sell than the last. The final boss was basically physically assaulting me, getting in my face and telling me I was a god damned moron for not signing up for a fucking timeshare, how could I be so fucking stupid? No amount of saying "no" would get him to leave me alone. The sales pitch is "high pressure" in the same way as a Birmingham fire hose.

You are not going to enjoy your weekend, you are not going to save any money, at this point your best case scenario is that you escape with your life and, perhaps, the ability to one day return to and enjoy Vegas again. But it's unlikely. Good luck & Godspeed. You sorry dumb bastard.

That actually sounds fun in a confrontational arguing way and trolling sales people as they get all flustered in the futility of it all way.   Obviously it sucks, but seems survivable.

Also, putting the sales pitch off until day 3 would, presumably, allow days 1 & 2 to be pleasant good vacation experience because otherwise how are they going to sell you on a timeshare if you're like, "man, this whole things been a piece of shit so far, why would I ever invest in a timeshare here".  So 2 good days at a very cheap price, 1 ridiculous sales meeting and then gtfo of there. 


I dunno, the other option is to just not go and be out $220 (which is what they already charged me) for falling for a sales pitch over the phone.  Or I pay an additional $200 in gas/parking/taxes and get 2 good days in vegas, 1 bad day, a nice dinner, a show, and a gift voucher for a free night anytime in 2014 at any Hilton.  Seems like it's still worth doing and making the best of it.

[nudemacusers]

dude, isn't your time worth more than being annoyed/berated constantly for a day just to save a few bucks? I'm not some balla-ass rich guy but no thanks to any of that. 


edit: well I guess if I already put down non-refundable money I would probably do it out of stubbornness more than anything.

[Reb]

This thread is EXACTLY what I expected from the title.
Good times.

Bebpo, don't go, you made a mistake, cut your losses.

[CatsCatsCats]

The pitch is day 3? Easy! Bail day 2!

[CatsCatsCats]

Wait, I got it. Hip flask of castor oil. Throw up at the beginning of the meeting.

[Great Rumbler]

The followup to this thread is going to be spectacular and I eagerly await its arrival. Sorry, Bebpo.

[benjipwns]

trolling sales people

Everytime they start talking about costs fidget and say things like "I don't know, I'm usually not too good with money, I probably spend too much on things already" or talk about how you finally just sold your Condo, at a loss, but it was still a good investment because you built personal equity.

[Mupepe]

Yeah if you're sure you won't end up murdering someone and you're set on going because of the cash you put down just have fun fucking with them I guess. "are you able to split the payment between 4 credit cards? I would appreciate if you could make the payment on the 18th. I make the minimums on the 17th so there should be some available credit that day"

[nachobro]

The pitch is day 3? Easy! Bail day 2!

A few families did that back when I was working at one of these places, they usually got a hefty bill in the mail heh. But yeah, best way to get out of it is to listen for a bit and then just leave. Or have explosive diarrhea.

The salespeople don't give a fuck if you have to use 12 credit cards to pay for it. They get paid commission on the contract being signed, not you being able to keep paying for it.

[Van Cruncheon]

oh bebpo

oh bebpo, bless yo heart

[nudemacusers]

The pitch is day 3? Easy! Bail day 2!

A few families did that back when I was working at one of these places, they usually got a hefty bill in the mail heh. But yeah, best way to get out of it is to listen for a bit and then just leave. Or have explosive diarrhea.

The salespeople don't give a fuck if you have to use 12 credit cards to pay for it. They get paid commission on the contract being signed, not you being able to keep paying for it.

yeah, i would assume there would be some cancellation/early departure clause in the contract. I'm sure they anticipate people trying to outgame the game.

[Phoenix Dark]

should have stacked wisdom, but ultimately the income debuff will protect him