Better Business Bureau Strong Arm Sales Tactics
I received a voice mail today from a guy saying he is with the Better Business Bureau here in North Dakota and indicating he has “some reports on our company” or something like that. As I’m listening, I’m thinking, whoa, that’s pretty weird. So, I call the guy and leave a voice mail and he calls me back in a few minutes. He starts the call out the same exact way, but then quickly spins it into a sales pitch for being “certified” by their service. It’s a good sales pitch, but the whole time I’m thinking, crap, I’ve just been duped by the Better Business Bureau! I would never have returned the call had I known it was a sales pitch and my guess is this guy was plenty experienced with that and new the effect his not-so-vague voice mail would have. After about two or three minutes of pitch, culminating in the $895 “value”, I said I’d need time to think about it, really just wanting to get off the phone, and the guy immediately launched into close mode with his “what objections do you have”, blah, blah, blah. I wanted to just let him have it for what I felt was an abusive sales call from the Better Business Bureau of all places, but I didn’t want to get a bad “report” either and so I decided I’d just vent by blogging. 
May 13th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
You should call the Better Business Bureau on these guys!
May 13th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Whom do you complain to about a bad experience…with the BBB? Yelp, I suppose!
Was this guy really from the BBB? Were you able to verify that?
May 13th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Kevin, that’s a good question, I didn’t press him on that point. Now that you mention it, when I said, hey, can you send me something in the mail, he totally balked. Possibly a complete scam.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Mike, you’re too nice! If it were me, I would have just hung up after I realized it was just a cold call… and maybe blurb some expletives at him if he hooked me with the pitch and wasted my time for a few minutes!
May 15th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Yes you are way too nice. Seems like there should be some rule about that.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
You are indeed kind, however instead of hanging up (giving him the satisfaction of knowing you are ‘on’ to him), I just send half of my brain to sleep, act like a simpleton and ask him to repeat that. “Sir, please slow down and am not 100% sure I understand the value, could you please repeat that”? As he does, I set the phone down and continue doing whatever I was doing…until I hear “Hello? Hello…” at which point, I tell him “Now that you slowed down, it does sound interesting..and maybe a good value. Back at the start of the call, I forget what you call it though….”. these folks LOVE to talk…so I let them while I do whatever it was I was doing.
He wastes my time, I’ll shove it right back at them. Hanging up on them just allows them to a.) write you off and b.) bother someone else with an efficient use of his time. I’d rather make him slow down, waste his time and talk like a 2nd grader.
Just a thought.