My Trendwest Sales Experience

[snowdog650]

I went to a Trendwest sales presentation in Elk Grove, California a couple of weeks ago. My wife and I have been interested in a Marriott Timeshare up in Lake Tahoe for some time now ... so we thought that we would look around and give Trendwest a shot. The following is what took place:

1. Our primary salesperson, Suzanne, was absolutely wonderful. Very friendly, a great presenter, and a value to Trendwest.

2. The sales supervisor was extremely combative. When I told him why I was leaning towards purchasing a Marriott Timeshare instead of Trendwest, he told me that I was lying to him about the conditions of the Marriott package. I them told him that I could "guarantee" that I was not lying, and he then pulled out his cell phone, and told me that if I wanted, he could call a Marriott rep "right then and there ..." and if I was wrong, then I "needed to purchase a Trendwest package from him that night." When I declined, he then said that I was not "a man of my word."

3. The second sales manager was about as bad. After being there for nearly 2.5 hours, he finally told me that the interest rate on Trendwest packages was 13.3%. I told him that it was too high, and I could do better on my own. This person then berated me and said, "I don't think your credit is good enough." So much for that tax write-off.

4. When waiting for my "gift" for being insulted repeatedly, the exit interview rep (another manager) reviewed my information, and then proceeded to ridicule me for working in Federal Law Enforcement. He then told me that he "could not believe" that I did that for a living, and proceeded to give me a look as if I was lying to him, and then he shook his head and simply said, “here is your gift, Secret Agent Man.”

5. I work for an organization with over 25,000 employees, and have liaison contacts with individuals who literally represent hundreds of thousands of people. I will be sure to let everyone I can know about how I was treated by Trendwest "managers", and also make the point well known that Trendwest is not supportive of law enforcement.

6. I am using my "gift" that Trendwest provided me to spend time with Marriott representatives in Lake Tahoe, CA -- where I will purchase a timeshare from them.

I can honestly say that this was the worst sales experience I have ever witnessed. The worst part is that I feel terribly for Suzanne ... she must be losing sales hand over fist as a result of her combative, unsupportive management team.

Trendwest has an interesting product – one that I could see myself purchasing. That is, until their sales managers got their hands in the pot.

I guess it was pointless for me to transfer that $25,000 into my checking account before heading to the sales presentation ... just in case.

[GateKeeper]

There are too many of these stories out there for this to be a fluke. What a shame to have to deal with people like that. The management has been in the business too long and they've lost sight of the fact that there are still honest people in the world.
Hats off to you for being in law enforcement, too. Maybe the FBI will be looking into these jokers' backgrounds one day.

[snowdog650]

Originally Posted by GateKeeper

Maybe the FBI will be looking into these jokers' backgrounds one day.

Not without additional predication, we can't.

[carollia]

This seems to be an interesting topic! Great ideas

[Zosima]

Originally Posted by snowdog650

I went to a Trendwest sales presentation in Elk Grove, California a couple of weeks ago. My wife and I have been interested in a Marriott Timeshare up in Lake Tahoe for some time now ... so we thought that we would look around and give Trendwest a shot. The following is what took place:

1. Our primary salesperson, Suzanne, was absolutely wonderful. Very friendly, a great presenter, and a value to Trendwest.

2. The sales supervisor was extremely combative. When I told him why I was leaning towards purchasing a Marriott Timeshare instead of Trendwest, he told me that I was lying to him about the conditions of the Marriott package. I them told him that I could "guarantee" that I was not lying, and he then pulled out his cell phone, and told me that if I wanted, he could call a Marriott rep "right then and there ..." and if I was wrong, then I "needed to purchase a Trendwest package from him that night." When I declined, he then said that I was not "a man of my word."

3. The second sales manager was about as bad. After being there for nearly 2.5 hours, he finally told me that the interest rate on Trendwest packages was 13.3%. I told him that it was too high, and I could do better on my own. This person then berated me and said, "I don't think your credit is good enough." So much for that tax write-off.

4. When waiting for my "gift" for being insulted repeatedly, the exit interview rep (another manager) reviewed my information, and then proceeded to ridicule me for working in Federal Law Enforcement. He then told me that he "could not believe" that I did that for a living, and proceeded to give me a look as if I was lying to him, and then he shook his head and simply said, “here is your gift, Secret Agent Man.”

5. I work for an organization with over 25,000 employees, and have liaison contacts with individuals who literally represent hundreds of thousands of people. I will be sure to let everyone I can know about how I was treated by Trendwest "managers", and also make the point well known that Trendwest is not supportive of law enforcement.

6. I am using my "gift" that Trendwest provided me to spend time with Marriott representatives in Lake Tahoe, CA -- where I will purchase a timeshare from them.

I can honestly say that this was the worst sales experience I have ever witnessed. The worst part is that I feel terribly for Suzanne ... she must be losing sales hand over fist as a result of her combative, unsupportive management team.

Trendwest has an interesting product – one that I could see myself purchasing. That is, until their sales managers got their hands in the pot.

I guess it was pointless for me to transfer that $25,000 into my checking account before heading to the sales presentation ... just in case.

At a TrendWest (now Windham) presentation, the salesman was a very nice man, but the sales manager used high-pressure sales tactics on me and, when I refused to buy anything, he called me a liar and a miser. The credit guy was also very high pressure. I finally walked out and didn't get the gifts I was promised. If they ever call me again, I'm going to ask them to put my name on their no-call list (if they have one).