A Mailed Dinner Invitation To Listen To An Annuity Sales Pitch

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
The person giving the pitch is described as "a dedicated and focused insurance professional." I went to one of these for a time share scandal many decades ago. I got up and ran out when I started seeing a handful of sales scum cheering on when a couple agreed to sign up. Sad that it still goes on.
 

When I was young and stupid, (instead of old and stupid as I am now) those presentations were much more common. Fortunately, even back then I wasn't quite "that" stupid and made for the door in a timely and, may I say, dramatic fashion:giggle: leaving a stream of "sailor talk" in my wake.
 

We went to one Time share (Gimmick) in Florida....And Never again....They stuck is in a room for a half an hour....We were ready to get out of there when a Woman came in the room....She did her thing and we told her we didn't think this was for us....So she said, come on now, let's see
some rooms...So we did!!!! We actually were there for 3 hours and we didn't buy a thing...They did give us a Restaurant pass...We never used it...
I gave it to the Bell Hop in our Hotel Room....
 
Timeshares are modern day curses in my opinion. I'd put this in the same category (almost).
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
 
Annuities, for the most part, are a great deal for the banks and insurance companies. They make way more off a customers money than they will ever pay out. About the Only upside might be that the returns are better than any money "rotting" in a checking/savings bank account.

We, also, attended a couple of these annuity and time-share "seminars" a few years ago....It didn't take us long to figure out that they, especially the time shares, were almost a scam.

A couple of years ago, we sat in on a "home security" seminar....it was almost laughable. They wanted to set up the house for a "smart phone" security and fire safety system....at a cost approaching $8,000...and that didn't include the smart phone. We ate their free meal, and I didn't see anyone gullible enough to be offering to buy into this scheme.
 
Some friends fell for the free dinner pitch at a condo time share complex in Cancun. They were locked in a conference room and couldn't leave. Talk about mad! That little trick backfired on the presenters big time. No time shares were bought by that angry crowd!
 
22 years ago, I worked with a married couple. They were in charge of payroll & accounting. They had a 7-year-old daughter who loved me - more than she liked her parents. They invited me to her 8th birthday party. I got a little suspicious when I saw several really expensive cars parked at their house.
Well, they weren't just inviting me to the party. After the party, I was given a pushy, aggressive sales pitch for cell phone plans the guys were selling (the guys who drove those pricey cars).
I politely said "No, thanks" & my co-workers were really disappointed - as if I ripped them off by eating free cake & not doing business with them. I could see why their daughter couldn't stand them.
 
Many companies have similar tactics. I guess they must work, otherwise they couldn't afford them.
 
We were once invited to some friend's house for a "Travel Party". It was for snacks and refreshments, not dinner. The details of what we were going over there for were vague. These people didn't have parties, ever. I jokingly said to my husband on the trip over to their house, "This is probably some kind of pyramid scheme or over priced travel club". It turned out to be the latter. The womans' brother was trying to recruit new members into a travel club.
Two problems with inviting us~1. My husband didn't have a job at the time, no money for travel. 2. I knew that the online prices to go to these places was far less than the prices their "Club" was offering. We had already gone to some of the places they were pushing and knew exactly how much expense was involved.
The membership wasn't cheap, either.
We watched the movie presentation, finished our Fritos and dip, drank our lemonade, and high tailed it out of there!
 
Sometimes it's at a nice hotel and they make ya feel real special. My husband got sucked into signing up for some sale program, not an annuity. Well, he didn't follow through and it was money wasted. In some cases even when an individual does follow through, it's money wasted.

My attendance at a timeshare presentation was just the opposite. They snagged us on the boardwalk and offered $75 cash. As soon as I saw the view, I knew I had to have this oceanfront timeshare. By the time I got finished with the three salesmen (I wore the first two out...the last was their manager) we paid 37% of the asking price, did a no interest deal and had a couple of perks thrown in. I had gone to other timeshare presentations that were a NO due to prohibitive costs and limited usage. This one...one of the best decisions I've made. I now have a vacation home that I can go to anytime I want for a small fraction of what Jersey shore vacation homes cost...even considering the purchase price, maintenance fees and resort costs. In addition, I can literally stay at my home resort (if I book through the exchange Getaway program) for up to six weeks at the same cost for just a Saturday night in nearby hotels in Atlantic City. Last year I went down for 8 (non consecutive) weeks. This year I plan to use 14 weeks.
 
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When I look at the photo of the thick steak on the invitation I often tell my husband "Lets go have the dinner, they can't make us buy anything." :LOL: So far he hasn't taken me up on my brilliant suggestion. :cool:
 
When I was young and broke I suffered through a Florida timeshare presentation to get a free ticket to Disney World.

The investment companies and the eldercare/estate planning law firms in this area still offer them every now and then.

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Linda said:
When I look at the photo of the thick steak on the invitation I often tell my husband "Lets go have the dinner, they can't make us buy anything." :LOL: So far he hasn't taken me up on my brilliant suggestion. :cool:
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We did that a couple weeks ago
Mainly we wanted to know just how good those steaks were
Did the math in my head on the annuities while listening and waiting for dinner
They didn't press when touring from table to table after the presentation

That steak was delicious
 
it usually is not the company that pays for these dinners . it is individual salesman who band together and are trying to earn a living ..

i would never waste their money if i knew i had no interest just to have them pay for my meal .

i think anyone who works for a living should have someone who mooches off others do it to them ... one may not like the product but i think it is in poor taste to make them spend money on you when you know damn well you are not interested .
 
Well, bless my soul! The truth has come out: time shares are a scam! He, he, only kidding! These scams have been going on for decades. I have seen them in Hawaii & I have seen them in Mexico. I don't mean to brag or present myself as all knowing but I have never gone for even one of these scams. I guess I read about them too often. Being a traveler all my life I could never understand why anyone would ever want to go back to the same darn place year after year after year when there are over 200 countries in this world to explore & you'll never see them all. Yes, I know there are some time shares that are located in different countries. I think most people who go to time share presentations are really ignorant of the pressure they will face. Getting that free meal, free day trip, free whatever is just not worth it. Who needs to listen to all that crap & have your vacation spoiled? Sorry but leave this packer out! Buyer beware!
 
Gary O' said:
I didn't 'make them'

Talk about poor taste......pfft

Did I mention the steak was delicious?
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sure you did .. just by going ... if you had no interest in the product , which generally is the case then it is the wrong thing to do to people trying to earn a living and funding these things from their own pockets which is how most of these events are ...these people are trying to earn a living not host a dinner party for people with no interest and who want a free meal .

sorry ,, but as a commissioned sales engineer for decades of my career i feel very strongly about people wasting my time and money as i try to feed my family and i respect what others do for a living if they are in sales .
 
mathjak107 said:
as a commissioned sales engineer for decades of my career i feel very strongly about people wasting my time
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Heh, you guys started it

For what it's worth, I had moderate interest
The steak brought me in
The presentation educated me a bit
And helped me to make a decision

I had rather high regard for your input....riiiight up to this thread
Now, yer just wunna 'them'

I'll continue buying/selling land instead of tying up my money in the paltry interest annuities yield
 
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On this I agree with Gary O
Gary O' said:
Heh, you guys started it

For what it's worth, I had moderate interest
The steak brought me in
The presentation educated me a bit
And helped me to make a decision

I had rather high regard for your input....riiiight up to this thread
Now, yer just wunna 'them'

I'll continue buying/selling land instead of tying up my money in the paltry interest annuities yield
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On this I agree with Gary O, the steak was the come in and they did. Very plain, an agreement struck steak for a sales pitch. Your time and theirs was part of the bargain.
 

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